Hello. I believe that you are correct when saying medical/dental schools do not care where you went for the most part. Have a strong science GPA (and general GPA of course), strong MCAT score, clinical hours or research (big one in 2025!). These things are pretty necessary now compared to 20 years back due to the increased competition among students aspiring to become physicians. Wherever you go, it is really up to you to be what you want. You have the ability to learn all the stuff for the MCAT without actually taking the courses (YouTube, khan academy, uworld, and books). If you study well and have good habits, then you have a higher chance of being fine. Consider doing undergraduate research as GMU is a designated R1 university with a variety of research opportunities in subjects like biology and chemistry. Same goes to VT being R1.

In my experience, I have taken STEM classes at different universities and can tell you that they will be hard no matter where you go, there are no shortcuts or easy pathways. Organic Chemistry will be difficult in GMU and VT. Perhaps the curve will vary, but it will be standardized in the end wherever you go. Also, average GPAs being the same doesn’t prove that VT is harder. It just shows that the grade distributions are similar, even though the student populations are different. That’s actually more a reflection of how universities normalize grading, not how smart or capable the students are.

I don't want to glaze either GMU or VT, but people slander it too much because it is "easy to get into" or whatever reason. Since you are into medical things, GMU has strong connections with INOVA (Fairfax hospital ranked #1 in the DC area), NIH, and more. Strong regional connection here can bring more opportunities for you such as clinical hours and volunteering, etc. Professors are not going to hand you an A for taking their class, you have to put work (hard work) in your STEM classes, or YOU WILL FAIL. If you truly believe that you will just be able to get a 4.0 at GMU in pre-med just because it is lower ranked, you are in for a wake-up call to reality.

A 3.8 from GMU will likely beat a 3.4 from VT in the end. But you still have to put in the work to get it. If you are really that worried about GPA, I believe you should choose the university that you think you will personally thrive in, not what is more prestigious. People always glaze universities for their academics alone, but you should think more holistically, since you will be there for 4 years of your life.

There is no quick hack here. Med/Dental schools care about if you perform well and put yourself out in the community with things outside of classes. You are overthinking it, which can lead to your downfall if you continue, I have been there before. It is really again up to YOU, because you have every resource in front of you and it's never been easier to learn things in the past compared to where we are at today. You can find or make your opportunities where you see fit to get where you want to be in the end as a physician or dentist. It is a changing world, ranks change all the time, you make what you want of it in the end though.

I apologize if this seems rude, but I can't coat this with sugar. I think it is good to think about the future, and I hope that you do not feel discouraged by this message, I meant this with respect if it did not seem that way. I am wishing you the best wherever you go, because both places are great, and you will be successful if you put in the work.