Full Ride in State School vs. Columbia

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi CollegeConfidential - have a tough decision to make and was wondering on other's opinions on this issue. (not that I haven't gotten a lot already, but ... this is kinda of important)</p>

<p>I have been accepted into Maryland University- College Park and Columbia University. I am interested in Biomedical Research, pre-med, aiming for MD/PhD, but I also would like to enjoy a good liberal education - literature, music, dance, history, etc.. </p>

<p>Factors for Columbia:
- Financial aid still leaves me 25k short.
My parent's current job contract ends in June, and so they are jobless from then on. They have several interviews going on, but nothing is for sure. They have previously agreed to give 10k a year, but considering the conditions, I am not sure how likely that is.
- NY
I love the city, my grandparents live in Brooklyn and I would love to be able to visit them once in a while. It provides a number of learning and internship opportunities.
- Internships
As I mentioned before I am interested in biomed. Columbia has a vast array of that - I would just have to pursue the opportunities
- Ivy
prestige, high education standards, self-explanatory
- Too liberal-arts?
During my visit I started to worry that the focus of the school was too much on its liberal arts, to the point that as a bio major and pre-med I would in some ways be ignored. In a way that's good, since it seems to lower the tension between pre-meds that I've noticed in other places. Yet, I hope it's not enough to make me shift my focus.</p>

<p>Factors for UMD:
- Full Ride!
Tuition, boarding, book... they even give me an ipod touch for joining.
- Integrated Life Science Program (2 year program)
New systems biology program. I am very interested in systems biology. Even if I went to Columbia, I planned on taking these classes, although at UMD they have a 4 special classes lined up for that. It also provides an internship, meaning I could intern at UMD or NIH, Children's Hospital, etc..
- Honors Program
The honors program provides several perks such as the honors classes. These will have 25 student classes with one of the best professors from Maryland. They also offer H-version classes, where a normal introductory class, say for example, Chem, will be given in a slightly more challenging way and also in a smaller class setting. </p>

<p>So now the question is... is it worth it?
Go to Columbia and get a loan?
Go to UMD for two years and then try to transfer?
Go to UMD for four years?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

2

<p>If you go on to medical school, it may not be that good to be dragging $100,000 of undergraduate debt along.</p>

<p>If you do not go on to medical school, be aware that the job and career prospects for biology majors are not that good, so having $100,000 of debt at graduation is not a particularly good thing to have in that situation.</p>

3

<p>I would take the full ride to Maryland! Agree completely that $100,000 worth of debt at graduation isn’t something you need to follow you through med school, and potentially into much of your early adult life. Malpractice insurance is absurdly high for MD’s. UMD is a fantastic school and for FREE?! I say GO!</p>

4

<p>The maximum amount that you can borrow without a co-signer is the $5,500 you can borrow as a Stafford Loan. This means that even though $25,000 is much too much to borrow, you probably can’t even borrow it in the first place.</p>

<p>UMD has made you a great offer. Go there. You can wait to decide about transferring in a couple of years.</p>

<p>Don’t forget that you can still go visit your grandparents any time you want. Just pick up the BoltBus at the Greenbelt Metro Station, and then change to local transportation once you get off it near Penn Station in New York. <a href=“FlixBus welcomes BoltBus travelers”>FlixBus welcomes BoltBus travelers;

5

<p>Columbia is a great college but I can’t say it is worth an additional $100,000, especially in uncertain times. Maryland is a very good school and I would not hesitate to go there, especially on a full ride. Good luck to you</p>

6

<p>Columbia is amazing, but $100k of debt is never worth it. Go for Maryland.</p>