Duke vs Brown vs UMich (Premed)

I have three great schools to choose from, but at Duke and Brown I’ll be paying 10k more than at UMich. Plus, my parents’ income fluctuates so this could increase to over a 20k difference in the future. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I think Umich is the best option financially, esp since I need to save money for med school. But I have this “what if I went to…” feeling in the back of my head all the time. Has anybody been on the same boat… I’m confused

All 3 of those schools are fine for a premed or for a student who changes career paths.

What are your parents saying about a possible situation of income increases and having to pay more? It would seem like the income would have to go up a good bit to increase costs by $10k.

Are you instate for UMich?

One advantage for UMich is that UMich SOM has a very favorable bias towards its undergrads.

Make a list of pros & cons (or ranking of each school in each category) & weight them accordingly. Considering all 3 are very strong academically and the uncertainty of your parents’ income, cost should be weighted as the primary factor. Cost is even more important when you consider the cost of med school after 4+ years. Can you graduate in 4 years from UMich/get your classes when you need them? If not, then the costs between UMich & Duke/Brown may not be as great. Other things to think about that are less important than cost, but still impact your day to day life at school are:

How many years of housing is guaranteed? Duke guarantees 4 yrs, not sure about the other 2.
Weather (Duke wins)
Sports/social atmosphere – Mich, Duke, then Brown?
Greek system? Mich, Duke. Not sure about Brown.
Core curriculum? Yes at Duke, no at Brown, I assume yes at UMich.
Ability to get research opportunities?
Small classes w/key profs (important for LORs)
Food/dining?
What the surrounding city/area is like?
And whatever else may be important to your school experience.

Good luck to you! You have a bright future.

They are equivalent universities academically. All will be good for pre-med. But 70% of pre-med’s eventually decide to do something else so you should evaluate what you might do as an alternative.

Duke and Brown will have smaller classes and a more personalized experience. Is that worth 40-70K more? It depends what is more important to you. But Michigan also has LSA honors, the residential college, and learning communities which can bring down the scope of the university.

We faced a similar choice with other private schools - Michigan at a guaranteed in-state lower price, with only small annual increases, or privates for 25-30K / yr more with annual increases of 5-7%. We chose Michigan.