So, I have always been an academically successful student and many of my peers and teachers thought I had a good shot at Ivy League colleges, but that dream did not work out. As a Biology major, I got rejected from Princeton, UPenn, Brown, NYU, Johns Hopkins, and waitlisted at Columbia. Clearly, I may have been overestimating my chances at elite colleges. I did not have enough of “target” schools on my list besides Boston University. So I’m left with mostly NJ colleges & BU to decide from for my next 4 years. The costs are as follows:
Boston University (accepted to Kilachand Honors College): $35k dorming
Montclair University(Honors Program): $8k commuting ($21k dorming)
Rutgers University New Brunswick : $29k dorming
Rutgers University Newark: $10.5k commuting ($24k dorming)
Ramapo College(Honors Program) : $14k commuting ($26k dorming)
The College of New Jersey(Honors Program): $24k dorming
(Also Seton Hall, but I’ve seen a generally negative perception of their Biology program and strength for medical school preparedness)
I would love to dorm, but obviously I must try to keep debt down in order to pay for medical school or other graduate education I may pursue. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere at Rutgers NB, but they’ve been unhelpful in my attempts to negotiate a better financial aid offer(as they gave me literally $0 ) or admission into the Honors Program. My family can contribute around $10-$12k/year, but I would need to take out loans for the remainder. I would also be willing to apply for any outside scholarships, but they have dwindled in number by this point of the year (and many of them have a need-based component which disqualifies me since my family earns over $100k/year). I highly appreciate everyone’s insights and comments on this matter !
So it looks like commuting to Montclair or Rutgers Newark would be within your parents’ contribution, and commuting to Ramapo could be done with your parents’ contribution plus small loans or your work earnings. The other options would require both the federal direct loan and a stretch amount of work earnings (that may be harder to do if you also do the expected volunteering and shadowing for pre-med purposes).
Remember that the process to apply to medical school is expensive, so you may want to take one of your two cheapest options to save money for that. Of course, you also need to consider that, even if you are successful in getting into a medical school (most pre-meds are not), you will need to take debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for it.
NJ parent and NJ college prof here.
TCNJ and Rutgers NB are both good academic fits for you. But they’re more expensive, and you are debt averse. This state really does no favors to its brightest students - but that’s not something you can control.
See what Montclair and Ramapo can offer you through their honors program. Montclair may have a larger bio department . As a top tier student, you may find some courses to be too easy for you. You may want to use AP credits - if you have them - to get credit for non-science courses. I believe their honors program is relatively new- you may want to check out what they offer. It would be unlikely that all your courses would only be with honors students, but I could be wrong. Do try to find out how many students have been successful med school applicants.
Rutgers- Nwk also skews to lower stat students. But check it out, FWIW. And there are hospitals nearby for you to volunteer with. It looks like you have a positive attitude about the realities of the finances. Students in your position sometimes double major, or do a minor. Perhaps you can take Spanish courses etc. that would complement your medical prep. Or something along those lines.
Hi, so Ramapo has updated and my tuition would be covered as a commuter student (including a meal plan), so I’m reconsidering my options once again. Also, my TCNJ price included the “indirect expenses” category which I did not factor in for my other colleges. So, my direct cost is closer to $19k.
@momprof9904 would love to hear more of your feedback in this situation. and yes, I (and definetely my family) are very debt averse, but I do want to have a good undergrad experience and good opportunities to get into med school. I feel like I applied to the wrong schools by relying too much on NJ public colleges (and maybe transferring after my freshman or sophomore year would be my best option?) I’m just feeling generally very confused in this situation as I had expected better options to choose from as an academically successful student. most of my peers with similar stats are attending schools rutgers nb, but my financial situation is holding me back.
@DadTwoGirls Your insight was helpful on my earlier thread and would love to hear more from you!
Reconsider tcnj with your parents contribution and a student loan of $5500?
Can you work in the summer to get some extra $? There may also be some jobs on campus, but usually available after freshmen year. If that’s still too much of a stretch, consider Ramapo. You can try to visit their bio department and see what they have to offer.
Don’t feel badly regarding your outcomes. That’s pretty much the norm for students who are bright but unhooked. The greater options are only available if you can afford them without parents cosigning loans. You would have just gotten more offers like the one from BU, and they also would be unaffordable. And large merit would be available only for universities well below the tier of Rutgers nb or tcnj. So you did nothing wrong. Not a lot of counselors are clued into the level of competitveness or the financial realities.
Im also a biology major considering either Montclair or ramapo. it looks as if i will be paying about the same and i am dorming. is one considered better than the either?
Ramapo has nice dorms. Montclair has more of a commuter vibe. I’ve heard many good things about Ramapo. Montclair isn’t as popular, for whatever reason.