<p>I am a junior this year, and am (as expected) facing the impending reality of finalizing a college choice over the next year.
Thus, I'm looking for some insight into MIT admissions. My case is slightly abnormal because my family's income recently skyrocketed from below the poverty line to 140k+ a year and I would also like to attend medical school. </p>
<p>Here is my question: Around how much debt can I expect to accumulate after going to MIT and, with that in mind, would it be worth the cost?</p>
<p>Here are some fun facts that relate to my question:
1. I believe I am a solid candidate to be accepted into MIT. I have decent test scores and have started a successful debate club, am president of our math club, drum major for our marching band and participate in medical research. With that said, I'm no ISEF winner so I wouldn't stand out in a pool of accepted applications.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My family currently makes upwards of 140,000 a year. We were living on minimum wage plus social security from around 2008-2012 after my father was diagnosed with lymphoma, so we emptied our savings.</p></li>
<li><p>I can almost certainly go to Louisiana State University for free. It is likely that I will even receive a few thousand dollars worth of stipends each year. I am competitive for the stamps scholarship at the more expensive local private school, Tulane University.</p></li>
<li><p>I want to go to medical school and later become a neurosurgeon. So I can expect almost no income until 2023, 50-70k a year from 2023-2030 and then plenty after that. Of course, there will likely be delays and obstacles along the way. I would like to major in Chemical Engineering as an undergraduate, which should allow me to get my medical school requirements without deviating too far from the degree path.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are lots of posts on this forum, so thank you (really) for taking the time to look through this post
- Julian Stanley</p>
<p>Definitely don’t ever identify yourself online especially since you are revealing your parents’ financial information. As for your question, definitely apply to MIT including financial aid if you get in. Then make your assessment. Always keep your cost low when you are pursuing a medical career. I have been shocked by the cost of medical tuition nowadays. Especially with the rapidly declining reimbursements in medicine. But you can’t make that decision until you are admitted and visit your schools. Pick the school you can be successful while minimizing your expenses.</p>
<p>Lol, this guy. I guarantee 100% that he will not be accepted into MIT, unless his income skyrockets yet again from 140k to 140m (long lost cartel uncle from across the border) and a new Julian Stanley School of Medicine mysteriously, or perhaps not so mysteriously, is erected at MIT. </p>
<p>This guy seems a bit too sincere to be a ■■■■■, but then again, they are becoming more and more subtle. Humor him if you wish - or, an even better idea: don’t.</p>
<p>Look into UAlabama’s College of Engineering - the university as a whole is better than LSU and if you reach ACT32 you qualify for Honors College, HOnors Dorms, full tuition, a $2,500 stipend, and a bunch of other perks - all are merit-based. So, apply to MIT, CalTech, Stanford, HarveyMudd, Olin, URochester, RPI, Rose Hulman, whichever top schools you want, and keep UAlabama and LSU as safeties, this way you can’t lose. :)</p>
<p>Read the Financial Aid 101 thread in the Fin Aid forum so you can see how it all works. Run the Net Price calculator on the MIT website. You can only take out 27k loans as a student. It doesn’t seem smart to take more and your parents shouldn’t in their position. I’m afraid with current income you are in a tough position. Try for a couple competitive scholarships but put in applications to LSU and Alabama.</p>
<p>CollegeAlum & Frugal Doctor - Thankyou both for your concern. I will be careful - although Julian is not my name. Even so, I have little doubt that more of my personal information is fairly well available to anyone who is willing to put in enough effort, so I agree that being less revealing would probably be a good idea for the future. </p>
<p>MYO & Brown - Thankyou for the advice. I will make sure to keep Alabama in mind. </p>
<p>Arrhenius - I don’t fully understand your criticism. I have nearly a year before I apply for my undergrad school, and I am aware that MIT does not have a medical school. I would attend MIT for chemical engineering and I have competitive stats - 4.0 GPA, 34 ACT, 2200 SAT, plenty of AP tests, debate awards, medical volunteer hours, research hours, and a decent writing ability. MIT is a reach for everyone, but I feel that I have a solid shot. Your other posts seem to be fairly well-thought and knowledgeable. Why are you confident that I will not be admitted to MIT? </p>
<p>No one can say if you’ll be admitted to MIT. Not even the MIT adcoms who hang out here.
Read through the MIT Decision Threads from this and past years. You’ll see many with perfect SAT/ACT scores, all A’s for grades, with long lists of ECs - who get rejected. Then you’ll see a few with much weaker academic profiles who get accepted. </p>
<p>There are numerous discussions in this MIT forum about how unpredictable it is to get accepted - even with exceptional academic profiles. You might want to read through them.</p>
<p>Try asking mom2collegekids. I’ve read her son got a full tuition or full ride to U Alabama, got extremely close to a 4.0 in ChemE and took the pre-med route.</p>
<p>Run the Net Price Calculator for MIT and see how much you would have to pay approximately. I know a couple MIT pre-med students from my school who I believe are currently biology majors and they have decent GPAs. Those are probably the 2 most dedicated students I’ve ever met, though, and ChemE is definitely one of the most rigorous majors out there so you may be in for a challenge at a top school like that.</p>