<p>I'm planning on majoring in biology, with a particular emphasis of anatomy and medicine, and international relations. I'm also extremely interested in journalism and ideally hope to pursue a career in that, medicine, or international politics. I've been trying to sort out a dilemma and to no avail: should I attend Cornell over UMD? At UMD, I'm being offered the prestigious Banneker Key scholarship (full ride - tuition, room+board, books, etc.) and a spot in the Gemstone program. UMD is about an hour away from home. At Cornell, I'll be a Tanner Dean Scholar, a distinction given to about the top 40 -50 students at the College of Arts and Sciences. I'll be getting a $600 books scholarship for one year and $2500 for research during the summer between junior and senior year, as well as special advisory opportunities. A more informal advantage (but I think just as valuable as the others) of being a Dean Scholar, is being known personally by the deans of the college (meaning, for example, that if they know of any special opportunities, etc. then we'll be the first to come to their minds.) However, I will be getting no financial aid from the school except from those dean scholar's benefits. I've visited both campuses. I truly feel that Cornell is a better fit - the atmosphere, culture, architecture, and landscape are all superior to College Park. Money is what's holding me back. Your thoughts?</p>
<p>Congrats! What an achievement! Sounds like you want Cornell, but $220,000 or so is a lot of money to hand over. What do your parents say, or maybe they don’t want to say? It is their money, and their personal circumstances. Hopefully, Cornell and UMD ugrads and grads will come on.</p>
<p>Thank you. My parents are willing to pay for Cornell depending on what I study. They don’t see the point of paying so much if I’m going to go on the pre-med route however b/c I’m thinking of dabbling in the humanities as well, they feel so-so about sending me to Cornell (although it isn’t exactly numero uno in the humanities, it certainly is better than UMD in this area.) The thing about going to UMD, I feel, is that I’ll have a lot more opportunities, internships, etc. in the govt., political organizations, the media, etc. being so close to DC.</p>