Boston U (14k per y) or U Rochester (40k per y) for pre med?

College Search & Selection
1

So I recently got accepted into both schools, and tentatively received a need based award of about 59k from BU (which drops my cost of attendance down to about 13k-16k), which is almost like a dream come true because it’s gonna save me a lot of money. However, the offer will only get finalised once i accept their admission offer, and I’m worried the final offer might change, because 59k is almost too good to be true.

U Rochester gave me about 9k in merit, but im worried they wont offer enough need based, and that i might have to pay anywhere between 30k-45k, which is a lot compared to Boston’s offer. However, it seems to me that U rochester might be the better school for premed, based on all the forums I have read through.

I like the opportunities at UR more, like the research, and the class sizes and less grade deflation also appeals to me. However the difference in cost is too much for me to ignore. Boston seems to be more cutthroat, with a lot of competition for opportunities as well as grades

I am extremely keen on medicine, and I think I’m more than above average in sciences and maths.

Any advice?

2

How does the offer only get finalized after you accept the offer? First I ever heard of that.

Advise is to wait until FA package comes from UR. If it’s lower than BU, and it’s still your top school, ask if they can match the BU FA.

3

All financial aid is not truly finalized until the student has accepted admission, any final financial paperwork required has been submitted, and the student’s final transcript had been received. Don’t worry about the wording of the BU letter.

The real question here is whether or not that BU aid package is truly affordable for your family.

4

Okay thanks a lot! @suzy Do you think going to U R for almost more than twice the money would make sense as a pre med? If you know a bit about UR or Boston please let me know!

5

Thank you for the reply! Yes, the BU offer is extremely helpful because paying 30-40k a year would have been a huge burden on my parents. However, they are still willing to pay it if UR is that much better than Boston, which is what my conflict is really about.

6

You also need to consider the financial saving in terms of the later cost of medical school. If Rochester will be a burden, what about medical school?

7

You will be successful at both of you take advantage of opportunities.

I’m from the Rochester area. My family includes many UR alums. It’s just as cutthroat as BU. It has a special place in my heart.

However, due to the cost, BU is your best bet. Although Rochester is amazing, BU will allow you to graduate with the least amount of debt for med school.

Best of luck.

8

@karlee2510 Thank you for the input! I am hoping to negotiate with Rochester to get more aid from them, so if I have the same cost at both places, do you think Rochester would be a better option?

9

With similar costs, I’d recommend UR for your stated interests and goals.

10

I think BU and Rochester are very similar academically. When you are going for pre med especially, where you go undergrad is not as significant as utilizing all your resources and feeling comfortable.

If you can get the price the same, it seems like you would like Rochester more because of the class sizes and emphasis on pre med. UR doesn’t have the social life, school spirit, or sports like BU if that’s important to you.

If you feel most at home at UR and you can get it affordable, go there for sure. Rochester is a great place to be. If you can’t, don’t spend the extra money.

11

Few colleges will negotiate financial aid and you will certainly not get anything near $26,000 more per year. If your family is wealthy and can pay for UR and medical school out of pocket then go to UR.