Medical school = UMass is the better choice.
Good luck, OP.
Working your tail off this summer and thereafter is its own reward, because life is work. So the more you stick your face in the mud now, the more toughened you will be for BC, med school and all that follows.
@NavalTradition From the academic or financial standpoint? I’ve spoken to many alums, many of whom went on to become dentists and physicians.
@mg29409 Putting in another plug for UMass - I am guessing that your AP credits will go a lot further at UMass than at BC, and that you could actually graduate in less than 4 years if you wish, or perhaps you would be able to double major or pick up a minor or two in something else which interests you. You may be able to take a few courses simply because they interest you, not to fulfill requirements. Or you could take a lighter course load and have more time for extra curricular activities, or research, or a job.
In my experience from many college visits with my 3 daughters, most private colleges were much less generous with AP credits. They are generally much more likely to give you elective credits for APs(and require higher scores) than most public Unis, instead of allowing you to earn credits for required courses and enabling you to skip introductory level, prerequisite courses and start out with higher level courses.
I hope that you are able to let go of your anger and upset about not getting financial aid packages which are as high as you had hoped they would be. As an only child, I am sure your parents want your college experience to be the absolute best it can be. They are likely feeling incredible pressure(not necessarily from you, but from from themselves, because they love you) to take on more debt than they are truly comfortable with in order to make your dreams come true.
When making your decision, consider that taking out the extra loans or squeezing extra $$$ out of their budget somehow to pay for BC is likely a huge burden for your parents, and they may not be willing to tell you, because they cannot bear to disappoint you, or they feel that they are letting you down. Like many families, they have probably have not saved nearly enough for retirement, they may not have traditional pension plans, because so many companies have eliminated them over the past several decades. Healthcare costs are rising, too. We have employer provided healthcare that we pay nearly $7K per year for and it still has fairly high copays and deductibles for everything. Every year, we pay more towards premiums, and at the same time our out of pocket costs and copays are increasing, too. One of my daughters needed emergency surgery last year and we ended up having to pay $3500 out of pocket. Unexpected medical expenses, home and car repairs, job losses or pay cuts do happen. Try your best to evaluate your college options looking at the big financial picture for your family, trying to leave the emotion over your dream school out of the equation.
@mamag2855 I can’t use my AP credits to replace my pre-requisites anyway, whether its at UMass or BC. Med schools recommend you retake the classes in college, plus, since I know the material already from high school, getting an A will be that much easier. So I already start college with a high GPA, which is perfect.
I am not angry or upset anymore, I am focusing on the future and reality now. My parents are not the type to hide things from me, they tell it to me straight. We have enough savings for college. We have emergency money set aside for the circumstances you mentioned, like the emergency surgery with your daughter, or in case dad gets laid off, God forbid.
BC isn’t that financially demanding now that I look at it. If it happens that I will take loans, its fine. Lots of people take loans, and I’ll need to get a job to help pay anyway.
Glad to hear that you have looked at the finances carefully with your parents, and that you are putting together a college payment plan which will work for the whole family without creating a lot of financial stress. Best of luck to you going forward:)
“I am not angry or upset anymore, I am focusing on the future and reality now.”
Glad to hear it!
You’ve matured a lot over the last 2 days!
Remember that anger will always blind you to reality.
Until you let it go.
Then you can see your options more clearly.
Congratulations!
Best thing to learn from this: 1). count to 10. 2) If that doesn’t work, repeat #1 until calm;)
I’m glad you are working on this. My S cab lash out without thinking too.you’ll get there.
Good luck to you!
@mg29409 Financial. You’ll be paying out the nose for medical school. DO NOT take on debt for undergrad, if that is what BC would entail.
@mg29409 be real honest with yourself - given that you want to get what “is yours and what you deserve”, how are you going to feel when classmates/roommates are doing study abroad programs, going out to eat, going to concerts, out on dates and taking spring break trips and you can’t afford to join in? How are you going to feel serving and cleaning up after these same classmates in the cafeteria 10-20 hours a week while many of them are able to spend that time on homework or just having fun? My guess is you are going to feel bitter about how much more you have to do to make BC work than a lot of the kids there. Are you sure this is the college experience you want?
I do not agree with you. Many students, even ones with extra cash, work on the dining halls or other school jobs. There is no shame in doing this.
Oh c’mon. You missed a lot of this thread.
And you think work study kids can’t do anything but rinse dishes? Poor Cinderellas?
No, I’m just saying I don’t believe the OP is going to be ok with making big changes in what he/she has to do to attend this school. It was unaffordable two days ago, but now OP and mom are both going to get jobs to make it work?
I said something similar upthread. BC has a lot of rich kids. It really, really sucks to not be able to go out with them because you can’t afford it. Or go on the spring break trip.
UMass Amherst is much more economically diverse.
@Flo123: I’m going to be up to my neck in coursework anyway, seeing as a biochem major and being pre-med is extremely demanding. Really not getting your point here. We do have savings for the first few years. Mom will most likely work a couple of months to a year, then that’s it. I’ll have to work over the summer, so what? Lots of kids have part-time jobs at my school, and since I wanted to concentrate on my schoolwork to get into a great school like BC, it’s time for me to move on to the next step.
While they’re out partying and having fun, as you claim, I will be working hard to get into medical school. I’m not going there to screw around. Sure, I’ll hang out with friends from time to time, and only travel for service trips and other related activities.
There are plenty of rich kids at UMass too, and plenty of kids on financial aid at BC. You find your peers and do things on your budget no matter where you end up.
Twoinanddone is so right. But who really thinks rich kids on campus are living like the Rich Kids of Beverly Hills tv show? Can’t afford what? Pizza at the campus hangout? The film at the student center? Study group, joining a club or throwing a frisbee?
LOL. One of my cousins has a nephew by marriage who is from one of the wealthiest families in Europe. Nice kid, you would NEVER know. He is constantly borrowing her car, sleeping on their couch and borrowing a couple of dollars from his uncle!
I was picturing one of those bad teen movies from the 70s, maybe Love Story after the father cuts him off when Flo (above) described the dining room scene. It is a valid point but I think OP can decide for himself when he visits.
OP, are you planning on staying on campus? I think commuting wsuck suck up a ton of time and money and not give you a good BC experience.
Your Net cost is the same regardless so you should definitely live on campus.