I need some help! I’m not really sure what I want to do in terms of career, however I know I want to do something related to biology/medicine. My family is from England and my parents want to move back (I live in Indiana right now), so I applied to 5 schools there and 5 schools here in America. I have managed to narrow it down to Purdue University, the University of Manchester or the University of Durham, but I’m still not really sure where to go.
Here is kind of the baseline information for each college:
Purdue would be around $25,000 a year, even though it’s in-state. I got into the engineering school, which is well ranked in the nation. They gave me $2,000 in scholarships.
University of Manchester requires that I take a foundation year, so it’s around £13,000 for the first year and £9,000 for the last 3. I need a 3.5 GPA to have a solidified offer, but I got into the BioScience program.
Durham hasn’t given me any information on finances yet, but the fees tend to range from £10,000 to £18,000. I need 2 fours and a five on AP exams and I applied for Health and Human Sciences.
I could also go to Indiana University for a lot cheaper, but I don’t think I want to go there. If someone could help me out that would be greatly appreciated! :-bd
Make sure you’re comparing the same costs. The figures posted for Purdue could be total cost of attendance, which include housing, books, fees, food, etc. (not familiar with exact Purdue, just guessing based on our state school costs.) The costs you’re listing for the English schools appear to be only tuition; if so you need to add an estimate for housing, etc. to be consistent.
Are you set on what you want to study? If you want engineering then it sounds like Purdue. The UK schools tend to be more major focused with less time for other classes - is this what you want for college? Do you want to stay in the States or go back to England after university? You can go to the other one, but transition might be easier if you stay in the same country after finishing undergrad.
How soon are your parents moving? Would you lose in-state status if they move while you are in college?
What is your citizenship/immigration here? If you aren’t a citizen and don’t have a green card, it will be difficult to stay here for the long term, and a UK degree will set you up better for a career there. If you aren’t a citizen and don’t have a green card, med school admission here would be very nearly impossible. Most med schools don’t admit any international students.
When you do the math, be sure that you are comparing the same sets of costs (tuition, fees, housing, meals, travel, books/materials, personal expenses) and in the same currency. Exchange rates vary, just use the rate of the day. How easy is it for your family to cover the total costs of each place! Keep IU in the mix for a bit longer if it has majors you like.
Have you only studied in US secondary schools? If so, and the money works, you may be happiest here for college. The UK system would be very different for you. A decent degree from Purdue or IU can get you into a grad program in the UK if you decide to move there eventually.
Thank you @milee30, I totally forgot to address the tuition vs housing thing! I haven’t received the price for housing, books, etc for the British schools, but the fees and tuition alone for Purdue are $9,992.
@bouders I am a dual citizen, but I believe the UK schools count me as a foreign student. As of now I have no preference for where I live after college, but Indiana has a lower cost of living…
What your citizen ship is will be important when you apply to medical schools, and there might be some advantage to doing undergrad in the same country (my understanding is that the UK and US have separate systems for accrediting medical schools). As such the questions posed by @bouders are important.
Also, I am wondering about your finances. The numbers that you are citing are pocket change for a few people, unattainable for other people, and about in the comfortable range for still others.
Sorry, I asked a question while you were typing the answer. You might want to be sure that the UK schools know that you are a UK citizen. We ran into a situation applying to Canadian schools from the US that they cited one cost when they didn’t notice that my daughter was a dual citizen, then the cost changed quite a bit in our favour when we sent them proof of appropriate citizenship.
@happymomof1 I am a dual citizen of both countries, and my parents aren’t sure when they’re moving and whether or not they will keep the house. My sister has 4 years left of high school, so I’m probably okay because we will still have an address here.
During middle school I lived in Saudi Arabia and went to a British school, but then came back here for high school. I’ve been in the British system before, it just wasn’t in England.
“You might want to be sure that the UK schools know that you are a UK citizen. We ran into a situation applying to Canadian schools from the US that they cited one cost when they didn’t notice that my daughter was a dual citizen, then the cost changed quite a bit in our favour when we sent them proof of appropriate citizenship.”
Different system for UK uni. If cwhite24 is a UK citizen that means she won’t need a visa and will find it easier to work in the UK, but since she hasn’t lived there for at least the past 3 years she won’t qualify for UK rates, she’ll still be paying the same rates the international students pay. But as you can see, the international rates are reasonable.
If your parents are not living in Indiana (or another state), you won’t get in state tuition. It doesn’t matter if they own a house. One of them has to be physically present in the state to get in state tuition.
My two children in college are dual US/Canadian citizens. My son just finished applying to US law schools and my daughter applied to US undergrads 2 years ago. Their results were not as good as students applying from within the US. I think there are several reasons for this, but @DadofTwoGirls mentioned one of them which is that admissions officers might not even realize you’re a citizen if you do your prior schooling in a different country. The acceptance rates for international students and even out of state students tend to be very low for med school.
You could extend the time you have to make a decision by depositing at your favorite university in each country.
if you want med school in the UK, you must get into med school right out of HS.
UK classes will NOT be acceptable for US med school;Ms; all applicants must have at least 2 full years of classes at a US college.
Purdue is world class for Engineering. However its weeding is no joke and grade deflation is real. Student feel happy with a B.
As a consequence, it means an excellent degree for engineers but a counterproductive choice for med school (where your GPA needsnto be sky high. No allowance for engineering grading.)
Why not IU?
Did you get into the honors college at a university you got into?