<p>I was just wondering because I got accepted to Yale EA, and I plan to skip a year with all my AP credits from high school because of financial purposes, but all the expenses for 3 years will still be >130,000 which is an opportunity my parents aren't jumping on. I am not eligible for financial aid because my dad makes over 220,000 a year and our assets are worth more than 1,000,000 including our house, condo, cars etc. I also was accepted into USC with a full-ride scholarship, and I plan to go to medical school after college. My dad saved around 90,000 for me, and I could either spend it all and take out a loan if I go to Yale, or I could go to USC for basically free and save the 90k for med school. Does anybody have any advice or has anybody been in a situation similar to mine? All input and help is appreciated.</p>
<p>Be aware that just because USC is not an "ivy" doesn't mean that you won't get an excellent education there. The full-ride USC gave you sounds very appealing as you won't be in near the 250k debt when you finish with both college and medical school.</p>
<p>First off, Congratulations on the scholarship to USC! That is not an easy thing to have accomplished. My son is in the same situation. He was awarded the trustee scholarship. Although USC is not his first choice, he does understand that going on to law school will require a lot more $ than just undergrad. I have been told over and over again that where you earn your undergrad is not as important as where you get your graduate degree. This being said, my suggestion would be to take the USC scholarship and pat yourself on the back for earning such a wonderful merit, do your absolute best at USC and get into the best medical school you can get into.</p>
<p>USC is a wonderful school with a very impressive medical program. My mother is on a liver transplant list and USC is where she is being treated. It is such an impressive facility. </p>
<p>We were very impressed with USC on our ExploreUSC visit. My son also knows someone who turned down Stanford to attend USC on a Trustee scholarship. She is now an Attorney and his mock trial coach. She is quite successful and the connections after graduation with USC is like nothing I have ever seen (the best!)</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Yes, we were in a similar situation. S had the opportunity to attend more than one Ivy. We do not qualify for need based aid, so we would have had to pay for the full cost of attendance. S opted to take a scholarship (not full, but significant) at an OOS flagship university that is highly ranked in his major (engineering). The money that will be left in his college fund will go a long way towards graduate school. If he had gone to the Ivy, there would have been less than nothing left. </p>
<p>Also two years later, S is still happy with his decision. I think this is so because the school he chose was a good overall fit for him.</p>
<p>thanks for the input. I guess it is alot better to save for grad than to be in 40k debt for undergrad :)</p>
<p>Congrats on the scholarship and your acceptances!</p>
<p>But I'm mad at your father for giving you a hard time!!!! If he's already saved 90K and Yale for 3 years is 130K, that's only 13.3K a year he has to come up with on his 220,000 salary!</p>
<p>Frankly, I think that it is neither appropriate or helpful to criticize the financial decisions made by other people's parents.</p>
<p>The OP wanted comments or he/she wouldn't have given the details of why he/she wasn't getting financial aid. And I'm still mad at his father.</p>
<p>Only 13.3k a year? Maybe I just come from a very poor part of the country, but 13.3k seems like an extremely substantial amount to put away towards college every year. 220k really doesn't go a long way after taxes, bills, mortgages, living expenses, etc. I think it's extremely rude to ever criticize anyone for something financial, especially a complete stranger.</p>
<p>Well...as I gather the OP is considering medical school. From my knowledge, medical schools do not give scholarships. The cost is on the OP and his/her family. Debt from undergrad added to debt from med school can be a nightmare to surmount. Receiving a full scholarship for undrgrad and $90k in an education fund for med school would significantly reduce the amount of debt the student has.</p>
<p>I think you are a wise individual to consider the cost of higher education. As a parent, I will soon be asking myself, "What value are our children going to get for the dollars spent on their college of choice?" Not only do you have room, board, tuition, fees and books; but potentially travel to and from school, internships, study abroad, car, sorority/fraternity, clothing, insurance...... When a student from a family that does not qualify for financial aid, accepts merit money and attends a non ivy, he/she may very well have a more well rounded experience in that there may be more dollars available to pursue other activities. What if you choose to double major and extend your undergraduate years? Many second and third tier schools are attracting the best and the brightest by making tuition affordable. I think it is great that the ivies have opened their doors to so many families that have an income less than $180,000, and I would assume that the ivies also realize that they are potentially attracting a different type of student. I actually know of one family that claims to be divorced (the father lives outside the country), the mother teaches school, she receives money from the father and other family members that she does not report. It is amazing the scholarships so far received for a top prep school out of state, amazing summer opportunities, SAT prep courses, and the mothers plans for an ivy for her child are no less impressive. I watch this from a distance and think that if this is the quality of student that is now attending an ivy, well, the merit money is looking better every day!!!! Good luck with your decision. Be thoughtful and research all of your potential expenses and whatever your decision, make the most out of your college of choice!!!</p>
<p>lol. I actually have a different problem. </p>
<p>My family income would get me a substantial amt of aid from most ivy-level schools, but I was rejected @ Duke as an international with aid.</p>
<p>I received the trustee scholarship from USC as well, and a full-ride from SMU, which is a considerably lower ranked, but still great school. I also get an almost full-ride from a reputable state school. </p>
<p>I'm having trouble coming up with the $13,000+ that I'd have to pay for housing/board @ USC, but I would definitely love to go there. </p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>I'd say Yale. It will open more doors for you and 130,000 dollars is a small sum over the lifetime of a doctor. If you just want to be family practice doctor in Encino for the rest of your life then I would say USC would be okay.</p>
<p>Some food for thought. I would definitely suggest doing some in-depth research before making a decision.</p>
<p>What I notice is that a lot of people look at $130k as $130k. Well, it is $130k after tax dollars which converts to approximately $200k (depending on tax bracket) of income when you consider federal income taxes, state income taxes, FICA etc. Now consider the cost of Medical School. Just like undergraduate schools, the cost of attendance varies widely. Lets say that the cost is $40k a year (there is a wide variation, I know) for four years. That is an additional $160k after tax dollars or about $240k in earnings. So now a student needs $440k in earnings (not counting interst) just to pay for their undergraduate and medical school education. Then there is residency. At this time, a physician is not making the big bucks and any money borrowed will have interest continuing to compound onto the loan. Currently, Stafford loans are capped at 8.25% and PLUS loans at 9%. For every $10k borrowed there is about $900 in interest each year (using the PLUS max). Below is a hypothetical accumulation of debt over 5 years after the OP's college fund is exhausted using the PLUS loan interest rate.</p>
<p>last year undergrad borrow $45,000
Interest (9%) 4,050
Total debt after undergrad $49,050</p>
<p>First year med school borrow $40,000
Interest 3,600
Debt from undergrad 49,050
Interst on undergrad debt 4,415
Total debt after 1st yr med school $97,065</p>
<p>Second year med school borrow $40,000
Interest 3,600
Prior years' debt 97,065
Interest on prior years 8,736
Total debt after 2nd yr. med school $149,401</p>
<p>Third year med school borrow $40,000
Interest 3,600
Prior years' debt $149,401
Interest on prior years 13,446
Total debt after 3rd yr. med school $206,447</p>
<p>Fourth year med school borrow $40,000
Interest 3,600
Prior years' debt $206,447
Interest on prior years 18,580
Total debt after 4th yr. med school $268,627</p>
<p>After this time, the borrower will have to pay approximately $24,000 the first year after completing medical school just to cover the accumulating interest for that year with no payment towards principal. That is over $2000 a month just on interest! But remember, that is after tax. The borrower will have to earn $3000 just to cover the interest. Then there is the payment towards the principal.</p>
<p>Below is a link for an interesting paper on Medical School student debt.
Medical</a> Student Debt:* Its Causes, Effects, and Possible Solutions</p>
<p>Congrats on USC! I've not heard of any full-rides offered there, but even if you meant full tuition that's a pretty great deal. All the advice above is excellent. I don't think either choice would be the wrong decision. But I urge you to make sure your premise of being able to complete Yale in 3 years is accurate. I'm not saying your premise is wrong, but I wouldn't be so sure their AP credit policy is that generous.</p>
<p>Also from what I've read and heard. Private medical school is no $45K but rather $65K. That is a lot of money. I would take the free ride and do your absolute best at USC. After all medical school is about SAT/GPA. Congratulations at the full tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>I agree with rainmama....doublecheck Yale's AP policy. </p>
<p>My son was accepted at Stanford and only one of his 8 AP classes will count.</p>
<p>Columbia_Student-
I actually have seen numbers up to the $70k range for some med schools. Also, we all know the numbers will just keep getting higher. I just used $40k as an example to show how fast debt can actually add up.</p>