<p>This is a very general question you’ve asked, with no easy answer. One, what is your dream school? Do you even have a solid shot of getting in? Keep in mind any school with a sub 15% admit rate is a reach for everyone. Two, what would the cost difference be? Does your dream school meet 100% of financial need, or offer merit aid? Three, how much can your family afford? Have you talked to them about your school list and the potential costs associated with each, and if they could contribute at all? The way you worded your question, it seems as if your parents plan on contributing nothing. Is that because your parents can’t afford it (meaning you might get significant need-based financial aid at many institutions), or just because they don’t want to? Have you run the free financial aid calculators on your potential schools’ websites? As to if you could pay off your loans, that is entirely dependent on factors you haven’t provided, including how much those loans would be. Keep in mind that your potential career path may also change and you may not end up going to med school. For us at CC to give you any sort of a useful answer, you’re going to have to provide more information then a generalized question asked by thousands of students each year. </p>