I am in a tough position. I am trying to determine whether or not I should attend WUSTL (W/ no aid/scholarship, total cost = $66,000) or Case Western (W/ aid, total cost = $36,000). My planned area of study is pre-med (biochemistry) with a possible minor in political science.
My parents are against paying full price for WUSTL. The cost of attendance would put a big dent into my family (upper middle class with 2 other brothers in college soon). However, I find WUSTL MUCH MORE appealing than Case Western in many regards: Food, Dorms, Campus, People, Academics, etc.
At the end of the day, I don’t know if I will be put at a severe disadvantage attending Case in terms of getting into a good med school, quality of life (Case is known for a lesser quality of life apparently), and research/shadowing positions (I know Cleveland clinic is near Case Western, but WUSTL appears to have more research positions open and 2 hospitals on campus).
What are your thoughts? WUSTL or Case? Is it worth it to go $120,000 more in debt attending WUSTL??? AM I making Case Western seem worse than it actually is?
I applied WUSTL ED and have talked to the admissions reps about the financial burden - they understand if I need to pull my acceptance due to financial reasons but will not offer any more aid.
How soon until your two brothers start college ? If they are twins & start next year, then take a gap year & you may qualify for substantial financial aid at WUSTL. If not, then Case Western is the wiser choice.
I understand everyone’s recommendation to attend Case, but the disparity in rankings and resources is so large that I’m unsure if the cost is justified or not.
I understand everyone’s recommendation to attend Case, but the disparity in rankings and resources is so large that I’m unsure if the cost is justified or not.
In an earlier post, you wrote that you had a 1560 SAT & other outstanding qualifications. Do you have any other options ?
$120,000 of loans for undergraduate school can easily double after graduation with deferments & minimum payments. Can affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage & can cause a great deal of personal stress.
@"D.Mat1234: If you are referring to the US News rankings, then just turn the magazine upside down & Case Western will be higher on the rankings list. Problem solved.
I was accepted into UNC, Uchicago, Umich and Upitt, all offering no aid or scholarship money. My choice came down to Uchicago and WUSTL, and I decided to attend WUSTL with the hopes that I would qualify for one of WUSTL’s scholarships. However I was not selected for any WUSTL scholarships and I now believe the real choice comes down to WUSTL at full price and Case Western at half price.
I was under the impression that high-paying medical specialties allow you to pay off loans relatively easily, but a large part of me believes that the $120,000 more debt isn’t practical in the broader scheme of things like you said.
Again, WUSTL does seem to prepare you better for med school and one can assume they can land you into a better med school based on their abundance of resources. Maybe my assumption is an exaggeration as many are saying.
WUSTL seems close enough to many schools just barely below HYPSM level such as Duke, UChicago, Northwestern, Rice, etc. in terms of resources and pre-med prestige to med schools. However, I believe at the end of the day the quality of life probably doesn’t justify the extra $120,000?