Debt like the kind you would incur at U of C is life-crushing for your parents. Don’t do that to them.
@12345n That is easy for you to say as a 17 yo high school senior who has never had to pay off a debt in your life. That dream would turn into a financial nightmare for the family.
@tomofboston I know it may seem like that, but my father gave up his dream to attend UChicago after he was accepted to go somewhere more affordable and he has regretted it every day of his life. I don’t want OP to go through the same thing. He now says that debt could have eventually been paid off but going there would’ve been worth it. There’s no need to be rude if I want to encourage OP live his/her dream.
@12345n Your father went to college in a different (read: at a time where college was comparatively much cheaper). College these days is NOT WORTH life crushing debt- the job market just isn’t good enough for college grads. Living a dream is fun, but the reality of the situation is that U Chicago is not worth what that kind of debt would do to his family’s life.
@Qwerty568 I know though it was only cheaper in terms of comparing it to this time but it was a lot pertaining to currency values at that time itself. It probably wasn’t as much though. I don’t want OP to undergo soul crushing debt, I’m simply telling him/her what I think they should do. And plus, they will probably receive some aid which could help cover part of the cost or maybe most of it so part of the cost might also help go a long way.
I have gone back and read the original post again. It seemed to me UChicago would be a great fit for the OP. If you are granted with $30K for merit scholarship, they must like you and what you may bring to the University. For whatever it’s worth, that’s the highest amount of merit scholarship that Chicago has offered that I have ever heard of. The fact that you get no finaid tells me that your parents’ income must be relatively high and their net worth must not be too low.
If your parents are willing to take on a loan to finance your Chicago education, I would dive in and embrace the next four years of UChicago experience. Northeastern is a good school, but Chicago is your dream school that admitted you with a sizable merit scholarship. The quality of education and the campus experience you’d get from Chicago will benefit your career and enrich your life forever. To me, there’s no comparison.
At the end, go with your guts. Good luck to you with whatever decision you end up making.
OP. is it $30,000/year or $30,000 over 4 years at Chicago?
^ Post#54 stated $30K/year.
That’s probably a combination of FA and merit aid, even if it states “grant” and “scholarship”.
OP, how much would YOU have to borrow? More than the federal limit? How much would your parents have to borrow?
The Robertson is an amazing opportunity too, wait until you hear back.
Northeastern Scholars sounds like the best deal for now.
@pvdcv96 - are you coming to the University Scholars event at Northeastern 2 weekends from now?
For Med school, nobody cares what undergrad you went to. Even though you have no connection to Northeastern, Chicago isn’t worth the 120k in debt piled up from 200k in debt from med school.
Thanks for your opinions, I appreciate it! Just to make a few things clear: Chicago offered me no need based aid because they only look at my parent’s earnings, and not their losses, so the 30k/year came from the admissions office. Also, Northeastern’s scholarship only covers tuition, so UChicaho would only be 17k more expensive than NU
@nanotechnology yes I’ll be going to the University Scholars weekend
I’m a Northeastern hater (because they’re main goal seems to be to improve their reputation and ranking instead of giving the best possible education) and UChi lover but in this case my vote goes for Northeastern. UChicago is obviously superior in everything, but not 100k+ worth it specially if you’re going to med school. If you’re a good student, you’re going to thrive wherever you go, that’s the truth. And Northeastern does have a good name nowadays and although I’m not a fan of it, it does provide a good education. I just don’t think you’ll be able to enjoy your years at UChi knowing that you’re taking so much debt! You’ll feel like you HAVE to love it even if you don’t.
What if UChi isn’t what you’re expecting after all? You’ll feel terrible and it might make you drop your grades. At Northeastern, you’ll probably be a top student, which will really help with med school. And being in the honors program (or whatever it is) will really stand out as well.
Go for Northeastern.
Those two goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact they are synergistic. Giving the best possible education will raise the ranking which will attract top students, faculty, research funding and philanthropy which will in turn result in a rise in the rankings.
Also. “their” not “they’re”.
Wait, so it’s a difference of $68k, not $100k+? Hm. Going for the money is usually a good bet, but here Chicago may just be worth the spread. Still, visit both then decide.
Look, you could always go to UChicago for grad school. Albeit, it’s going to be extremely difficult, but not impossible. You’re saving yourself a lot of money by going to Northeastern AND still getting a quality education. As mentioned before, because it’s not AS competitive, you’ll most likely rank higher and possibly have a better GPA.
Also, consider this: you’re dream life (again, mentioned before) is to ultimately be in the medical field. That is going to be a lot easier when you don’t have a staggering debt to pay off and attended a good undergrad college where you’ll be at a higher rank (as opposed to a more prestigious college where you may be shadowed).
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@pvdcv96 - Any new thoughts after the Scholars weekend?
Yeah I did not like Northeastern…so I had an interview at Loyola for a full tuition scholarship, so I’m waiting on that. If I don’t get it, I will go to UChi