<p>Our family is in a bit of a quandry and soliciting opinions. My son was awarded a full tuition scholarship to Fordham University. He was also admitted to Georgetown. We are not sure how much money Georgetown will offer, but I fear it will not be much. My son aspires to go to medical school. What should he do? Go for the prestige of Georgetown or accept the scholarship to Fordham?</p>
<p>Hardly a quandary. If he’s hard-working and smart enough to get into top med schools from Gtown, he can get into top med schools from Fordham. It’s the difference between being a 3.8/35/involved student from Famous Catholic School A vs. a 3.85/35/involved student from Well-Respected Catholic School B. Save your money so you can better afford whichever med school he gets into or wants to attend.</p>
<p>Thank you, anglegrinderman.</p>
<p>I concur w angelgrinderman. Go for it with Fordham.</p>
<p>Thank you, dowzerw. Any other opinions?</p>
<p>Congratulations on knowing so soon about your options! </p>
<p>If he specifically wants to go to Gtown med school, then their undergrad might be best. Luckily, med school admissions is not about prestige, so if he plans on going to any other med school (except maybe WUSTL’s) I would take the debt-free option. </p>
<p>Alternatively, if your son has an intensive major in addition to the core-curriculum, it might be harder to schedule the pre-med courses at Fordham, although many people appear to do it. </p>
<p>I think you should wait until you receive FA, then visit each school, and perhaps, bump this thread so we could give you more advice. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The quality of education he’ll get at Georgetown will far surpass that of Fordham, not to mention the potential for connections for the future. If you can spare the money, definitely go for Georgetown.</p>
<p>Thank you for your comments Junior Mint and jcdeac!</p>
<p>re: @jcdeac: I have to disagree with the quality-of-education bit. Science/premed courses will be comparably rigorous at both unis. The FCRH/FCLC honors programs, should he get into one of those, will give him at least as good an education as he’d get at Gtown. Fordham’s regular core is solid too–just a (small) step below.</p>
<p>Thanks, anglegrinderman!</p>
<p>I’d go with Fordham and suspect the full tuition scholarship there will open up events/classes/attention at Fordham that he would not get at GU.</p>
<p>Gtown! Gtown! Grown! They will definitely give you great FA. Also, don’t denote your undergrad years as merely a stepping stone to medical school. If the fiscal issues are really that strenuous, go with Fordham, otherwise Gtown is the way to go!</p>
<p>Thanks, muckdogs07 and ram0276? I really appreciate your opinions. Anyone else?</p>
<p>Why will the quality of a Georgetown education “far surpass that of Fordham”?</p>
<p>First, I would wait to see what aid you get at Gtown before making a decision. If it would be a financial hardship (which is understandable) to pay Gtown and then med school then Fordham with a full tuition scholarship is a great option. Talk to your son honestly about the choices. Maybe visit Fordham once again and meet with the pre-med adviser while you are on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks, spirit77!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your S on his two excellent options! </p>
<p>I personally am not of the opinion that prestige is all that important in selecting a college. I also don’t feel that blanket statements that Georgetown is automatically a better education than Fordham are all that helpful as there are at least some programs at Fordham that are better than Georgetown even though Georgetown is the higher ranked school. If money were not a consideration, I would look at the differences between the pre-med programs, student body, location, etc. and determine which is the better fit. If your S prefers Georgetown then certainly wait and see the FA package before making a decision. But your S is likely to do well at either school and given the cost of medical school, Fordham’s scholarship money, if significantly higher, should tip the scales IMO. I offer my opinion having lived through 14 years paying off my husband’s law school loans and the affects it had on our lifestyle! </p>
<p>My S is a Junior at Fordham and has no regrets that he turned down offers from higher ranked schools…and cost was NOT a factor in his decision. People choose to attend lower ranked schools for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>Best of luck! :)</p>
<p>Thank you, sandkmom! I appreciate your insight!</p>
<p>Claim your account (first time user link)</p>
<p>
Actually, it is more common for universities not to take “their own” in grad school admissions, so I’d check that out before making an assumption. </p>
<p>I agree with those who say you should wait to hear your finaid offer from Gtown before making a decision. Like SandKmom, I have a daughter who chose Fordham over more prestigious schools, by the way, and she feels she made the right decision.</p>
<p>Speaking as a parent of 4 (3 currently in college, 1 graduated), and who was in a similar position to you with D1, looking back I can say that if we could do it all over again we would have taken the scholarship schools over the prestige school that gave no merit aid. What we could have done with the money we spent and borrowed… </p>
<p>If he does well at Fordham, he should have no problem getting into medical school.</p>