Major: Biology on Pre-Med Track
Location: PA
Low Income
EFC- 0
Accepted:
-Cabrini University
-West Chester University
-Temple
-Drexel
-UMass-Amhearst
-University of Vermont
-University of Delaware
Deferred: Northeastern
Awaiting: Dickinson College & Marist College
I’ve gotten into Cabrini University’s Honors College and after financial aid and merit, the cost of attendance is practically free, less than $950/yr (no loans) - which is affordable for me. Although, I know Cabrini isn’t that great of a school, it was mainly a safety.
The costs of the other schools range between $6,000-$25,000/yr (loans required). Since I plan on going to medical school, my goal was to accumulate the least amount of debt as possible undergrad, to save up and go all out for med school.
Would going to Cabrini hold me back from getting into med school? Or should I attend a better school with more opportunities, and just deal with the debt?
Get through your undergrad as debt-free as possible, and save any debt for medical school. The important thing is to do well in your undergrad and have a high GPA. Congrats on receiving a full ride!!!
@chercheur Thanks! Would going to Cabrini count against me, when applying to med school. Would they rather see a flagship school in addition to a good GPA?
@bopper Good point, Cabrini I think does well with 1-2, hospitals are about a 20-25 mins away though. Success of graduates getting into med school I don’t think is very high, as the regular 4 year grad rate is like 45-60%.
Cabrini may not offer all the opportunities like research that will help you get into Medical School straight out of college so you might plan to work on those other aspects after you finish your undergrad degree. I have an acquaintance that graduated in '16 that is currently working in a lab and applying to Med School after attending a smaller college for undergrad.
@Dolemite Another thought was to take courses over the summer each year to graduate in 3 years. And using the remaining year, as a gap year to work in labs/hospitals, do research, gained experience etc. Could this work?
I would try to shoot for one of the other options if they are reasonably priced. What is the net cost to you (including loans) for each of your current college options? If you list them, I think you can get some good feedback.
You can borrow about $6K a year yourself, or $27K total. I think any school on your list (maybe except for West Chester) that you can go to without borrowing more than that is worth considering. People may say to save the money and use it for medical school, but you and your parents don’t actually have any money. It’s a question of whether when you apply to medical school (with a potential further debt of $200K) you have a debt of $27K or zero. It could be that the advantages of a number of those schools will be worth the difference. And if you end up not going to medical school, at least you’d have a debt you could reasonably handle and a degree from a better school.
Borrowing $50K or $100K, for several reasons, is really not a good idea. If you don’t get into medical school, you might not be able to handle that much debt and the banks might go after your co-signer. Even if you do make it to medical school, it might take a couple of years to get in, and that much debt could make things very difficult.
I’m not sure accelerating your graduation from Cabrini will help much since it’s basically free. What would be your Cost of Attendance for Temple? Would AP credit help you graduate from there in 3 years?
@Dolemite Since my FAFSA was selected for verification, getting financial aid has been taking longer, after running the net price calc, it’s estimated at $25,000, including scholarship, can’t know for sure.
The only AP credit I have is for Spanish & Italian, don’t think it will do me any good.
@Wilson98 West Chester is my next least expensive one, haven’t gotten the financial aid back, but net price calc estimates around $6,000. Is that more than its worth?
My older sister went to a very small, very low tier school in Northern California for her undergrad. It took her along time, but through research, work with professors, and a lot of medical related experience she was accepted to Harvard Medical, as well as others.
My other sister is going to have to pay back the $200,000+ she collected from undergrad and grad school back for the rest of her life. If she did the debt free option she would’ve.
@OhWhatsHerName Thanks for the insight!! Did your older sister go to med school straight out of undergrad, or did she take a few years and accumulate experience? With my choice of future career, I can’t really afford to take time between undergrad & med school–I’d be like 33 by the time I’m done.
@Elly710 She went straight to! This was a few years ago so perhaps it was easier then but I’m not sure. She did take I think 5 years in undergrad? But I think it’s doable.