<p>I was lucky enough to be accepted into both of these schools. Unfortunately, I was not given any scholarship money from Miami, and it's going to be difficult, (but possible with lots of debt), to attend. Charleston on the other hand is less expensive and I am expecting Merit scholarship money, making the costs much less. </p>
<p>In your opinion is it worth the extra money to go to Miami? I saw Charleston and really liked it, but I have yet to visit Miami. I am interested in Marine Science and both schools seem to offer good programs. What's the right choice????</p>
<p>Will you have to take on significant debt to attend U Miami?</p>
<p>Will you have debt no matter which route you go? I’d recommend calculating how much in loans would be required for each option if so–then compare your anticipated monthly payments. There are loan calculators online that show the monthly payments. This helped us/my D rule out some schools–we could only pay up to a certain amount, in order to save resources for other kid…</p>
<p>CofC is a very good school…and having less/no debt will help you.</p>
<p>Will you be pursing grad school after? You might want to try to talk to some faculty members at CofC to see how many Marine Science students typically go on to graduate studies, and where they go.</p>
<p>Charleston is a great school in a very nice city, and it has excellent offerings in marine biology and marine geology. Chemical and physical oceanography are admittedly not as prevalent as at Rosenstiel, but that is not really important at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>Marine science unfortunately does not pay at all well even with a graduate degree, as the supply of jobs is low and the demand high. I would personally keep my costs down and head for Charleston.</p>
<p>My thing is I absolutely love fishing. So much so to the point where I can’t see myself not doing something that has to do with it. I’m not sure if I want to go the Marine Science route OR minor in something like marine science and major in marketing and try to work for a fishing company at a corporate level. This way, I’ll have a Marine Science background and the knowledge to hopefully land a better paying job. That’s the plan anyway…</p>
<p>I think Charleston and Miami will give me pretty much equal opportunities in the way of education once everything is said and done, so I think I’m leaning that way as of now as the debts after college will be SUBSTANTIALLY less. </p>
<p>If anyone has any ideas on my thoughts PLEASE let me know =)</p>
<p>Less debt is definitely the way to go. Run the numbers and talk to your parents, but the last thing you are going to want to have to deal with when you graduate is a ton of debt. CofC is a fine school and Charleston is a great place to live.</p>
<p>If Miami will require ANY more than the max Stafford loan each year, then it is too much debt.</p>
<p>When will you find out about merit money from CofC? Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I find out by the end of February how much merit money I will or will not receive from CofC. As I understand it now, it is a state subsidized school, so any merit scholarship money rewarded to out of state students results in “in-state” tuition to the school. So basically, any small scholarship for me can mean $15,000+ so that is definitely an attractive offer!</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at U Miami. She is a double major, MarineBiology/Chemistry. It is a very tough program and the students who get in (only about 100) have the top stats of all the accepted students at Miami. The program is very heavily science/math intensive. One of the great things about Miami’s program is the abundance of research opportunities as an underclassmen. </p>
<p>If you are looking for more of a marketing type degree, I would say the cost of Miami would not be worth it to you. If you are looking to go into the research field, then Miami is arguebly the best Marine program at the undergrad level in the country. That said, going into loads of debt for college is usually not a good idea.</p>
<p>FYI- Don’t count on merit awards at CofC to equate to instate tuition unless you read that on their website. My son applied there as a safety in 2009 and we thought he’d get lots of merit but he did not. Maybe you’ll get some grant money which would be nice!</p>
<p>Other son is at Miami. Great school but large debt anywhere, in most majors, is not worth it. Go see the program and facilities though. That may help you decide and compare CofC’s program.</p>