My youngest is a junior in high school, ranked 1 in her class, and 1480 in SAT on her first try. We are coming up with her college list, which we hope to finalize this summer once she is done with her AP exams. She is planning to major in Biology as a pre-med student. We are aware that we need to save money for med school so we are selecting schools where she would get a scholarship. The cheapest option is for her to attend the university where I am a faculty (a top 50 SLAC) since tuition will be free and she can even stay home if she wants to. However, we are worried about the optics of me being her instructor since the Biology department is quite small. Other universities in her list are Lafayette University, Case-Western Reserve University, and the University of Pittsburgh, where she might qualify for Tuition Exchange ($38,000 /yr). Her safety is our state university, where she qualifies for free state tuition. Her Dad wants her to apply to reach universities like Cornell University or Johns Hopkins University, which are not only extremely difficult to get into but would be more expensive as well since she will only be able to get $19,000 tuition reimbursement from my university. My question is would it be better for my daughter to attend the university where I work so we can save the money for med school? How do we deal with the possible conflict of interest of me having her as a student in my class? She has toured my university and likes it except for the possibility of having me as her teacher. If she is accepted in one of the tuition exchange universities or her reach universities, there would be a gap of more than $20,000/yr (except for Pitt, where tuition will be free). This is more money than we can afford because we have another child still in college. Her State University would be her safety- but we both feel strongly that a smaller university would be better for her. One complication that we also have to think about is that she is not sure she really wants to go to med school, in which case, sending her to the private universities in her list would be more palatable. I hope you could give me some insights and recommendations to help us decide. Thank you.
I think it is all fine. Why would your college offer the benefit if everyone would be concerned with the optics. Perhaps you may not be able to grade her exams or not. I am not sure on the rules on that part of the equation.
It seems to make good sense to me to have the economics well thought out.
How do you feel about your college if she chooses another major after her first year?
You can run the ânet price calculatorsâ very accurately for the reach schools with your husband. Once you see the cost levels, you can make better judgements.
Pitt has a tremendous premed program too and offers a wide range of opportunities if she changes gears. That might be the perfect mix from a cost perspective and to avoid the conflicts of interest that are concerns of yours.
Pitt sounds like a great option. Itâs big but not huge and itâs not really a party school. I donât think your kid should be at your school. Case and Laf are great but not worth an extra 80k.
Second the rec on Pitt. Top 15 med school nearby and plenty of research opportunities.
Your D would be competitive for the Honors program (smaller classes) and merit money. With tuition-xchange, itâs a great value.
Are you the only professor that teaches in your department?
Your D can attend your university, live in the dorms and have a different experience than commuting from home.
Have you considered the land grant universities at Cornell? As a NYS resident, the 19k would cover approx half of the tuition at College of Human Ecology or School of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
This is slightly premature since there are no guarantees that your D is going to get into any of the reach schools.
Personally Iâd recommended being super clear on the budget and running the costs. Donât have her to apply anywhere that isnât affordable.
The optics might be disturbing and disruptive whether or not you grade her tests & other work as suspicion might be aroused about advance knowledge of material / questions on any test.
Additionally, since GPAs are important in the med school admissions process, it might be wise to avoid temptation.
The University of Pittsburgh for free is an outstanding option which should be given substantial consideration.
OP: Has your daughter ruled out applying to any public university honors colleges with automatic scholarship awards based on GPA & standardized test scores ?
P.S. The appearance of possible conflict-of-interest seems overwhelming in this situation. Could cause problems for both you & your daughter.
It seems that the main problem with her attending your college is around her majoring in your department. Does she really have a particular passion for biology as a major, or is she just in that large demographic of students who think of bio as the default major for premeds? It is not necessarily the best choice just because a student is pre-health.
If she majored in something else - anything else - then her overlap with you would occur in, at most, the one year of general biology required for premeds. (Surely you canât be the only one who teaches this course?)
You say sheâs not even sure about med school. Thatâs all the more reason to avoid a bio major unless sheâs so dedicated to the field that sheâd want to pursue a PhD program if not med school. She would have many more options with a bachelorâs in math/stats or physics, or even psychology or a social science field.
If sheâs truly a bio âlab ratâ then sheâd probably be better off at Pitt. If her interests are broader or less certain, then your LAC, in a major other than bio, could give her a wonderful education and college experience for free - not an option to write off lightly!
I really donât see an issue with her helping you construct the exams for your class⊠?.
I agree with not doing bio even if going into medical school. She has to think of what she will do with that major post graduation.
I honestly donât see an issue if she takes your class. Kinda sucks for her though (sorry, I assume your a great professor but your mom also). Or maybe sheâll have greater respect for you once she sees how awesome you are in classâŠ
Maybe ask someone else to grade her tests or something like that?
In general⊠Go with the best, cheapest option if medical school âmightâ be in her future. As a hint. Most people that I knew in medical school âhad a need toâ become a doctor. Most at a young age. Not saying this is the golden rule but if sheâs not showing signs of this maybe another medical profession or something else entirely is up her alley.
Thank you, everyone, for all your responses. You have confirmed what we think- that Pitt would make the best sense in terms of her major and cost. We have an understanding that she would only attend Pitt if she can get a merit scholarship or she qualifies for the Tuition Exchange. Hopefully, she gets a chance to re-take the SAT to improve her score to ensure she gets a scholarship. My colleagues have assured me that it is okay for my daughter to attend my college. But our college (pre-COVID) has a tight interaction between faculty and students, and I didnât want us to be constrained if we are in the same department. She is adamant that she wants to major in Biology, otherwise, I would really encourage her to attend my college. Another possibility that we have thought of is for her to take Biology courses (that I am teaching) at another college so she doesnât have to attend the classes I teach. It will be interesting what happens next year. Since she is my youngest child, and with the COVID pandemic, a part of me wants her to stay close to the family. I am grateful that my job is secure for now, and that she can avail of the education benefits.
Are you the only instructor for some of the courses that she is likely to want to take (or has to take for major requirements)?
Unfortunately, I am the only instructor for the two-semester General Biology courses. She can skip one of the courses if she gets a 4 or 5 in AP Biology. I really like support and training that students get in the college where I teach, so I am hoping she could attend. I graduated at a state university in California, but I am a firm believer in Liberal Arts education after joining this college. So, I was excited over the prospect that we could get a liberal arts education for free for her. Although, if she gets into Pitt, that would be great as well. I may bring up Cornell with her- but it is a crapshoot who gets accepted.
Am I the only one that finds it odd for posters to be telling a Professor of Biology about the job prospects in Biology?
Not really- I think when I am in my Mommy mode - I forget the advice I give to my students about a Biology degree. I quite understand why my daughter wants to go into Biology, despite the poor job prospects, since it is the most relatable science and the most interesting (for us). The key, of course, is to have a back-up plan which typically means post-graduate education. That is why we are trying to minimize her college costs.
Honestly I would not worry about the optics. Iâm a HS science teacher and I have had my daughter in class. It was kind of fun but no one questioned my ethics (which is the real issue, not your daughter).
But I would pose the question to your dean or department chair or whoever is your supervisor. And pose it in email so that you have a written response you can save. They are almost certainly going to say âgo for itâ because they are going to want a 4.0, 1480 SAT kid in their freshman class.
She doesnât have to major in biology to eventually apply to medical school. In addition, Biology major doesnât exactly make for excellent job opportunities if she doesnât get accepted to medical school.
Does she think a biology major is a must do for possible medical school? If yesâŠtell herâŠthatâs not the case.
Save your money if you want to help with medical school costs. Including living expenses, this can easily be $100,000 a yearâŠor more. There is precious little aid for medical school beside Loans, Loans and more loans.
If she likes the LAC and you like her at the LAC, itâs a win-win.
If youâre really concerned about the optics, yes, have her take the classes you would teach elsewhere where it is equally or more rigorous.
But really, who would care? A few Aâs would mean how much of a difference in overall and science GPA?
Though do have her look at honors colleges at the cheap/free schools. Some of them provide some very nice opportunities and perks.
I agree with you that focusing on prestige when you have to pay heavily for it seems misguided.
Case and Lafayette (Marquis) also have fairly generous merit scholarships. Case also has a couple of highly competitive full tuition merit awards. While long shots for every student, she has the stats to be considered, especially if she has the opportunity to nudge her SAT up a bit more. While TE is a great option, she may be able to do better with merit awards. Question: do TE and merit stack?
There are so many great schools with Tuition Exchange. I know the âdesirabilityâ of your school can be a factor, but I would look closely at that list and go from there. It sounds like your D would be a desirable candidate. My Dâs BFFâs parents both teach (one is provost) at the university friend attends and she is majoring in their field at their school. (She is living on campus, not at home) So, it does happen & probably fairly regularly as free tuition is a major perk for most people who are in higher ed.
Would you daughter consider a bio-engineering type major in case she decides against med school?