I am just a first semester junior in high school, but as I look into colleges, I see that there are two main routes I might take for pre-med schools: Go on a very low cost school (like the full tution/ride at Bama or the local school my dad works at) or take out some loans at a better university (with substantial financial aid, so no 60k sticker price) assuming I can get into one. How much debt would be too much at a top 50 school if I intend to go to medical school after undergrad, or would it not be worth it to study at a nicer college?
The standard advice for pre-med students, is to choose the option that leaves them with the lowest amount of debt - preferably no debt at all. That is because it is likely that they will pay for med school entirely with loans, and that debt will be more than enough for them to pay down once they begin their careers.
I guess that makes sense, thanks!
Definitely choose the lower debt route.
Even though physicians salaries after residency are decent, you will be paying back student loans for decades. This is due to the fact that most medical school aid is based upon loans, which start accruing interest right away. This continues until you are finished with your residency. Depending on the specialty you may have some loans with interest accrued for 7-10 years before you even start paying it down.
For medical school acceptance, no one really cares where you did your undergrad degree anyway. GPA and MCAT score are king. So anywhere you can go to get a high GPA with the lowest cost is the best choice.
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would it not be worth it to study at a nicer college?
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Not only would it NOT be worth it to borrow for a top 50 schools, but 75% of freshman premeds never apply to med school because of extensive weeding and changed career paths.
Med school is extremely expensive! You don’t want to have debt for undergrad AND med school. There is little/no aid for med school, and right now, costs can be over $90k per year. By the time you went, costs could easily be well over $100k per year! Plus there are a lot of hidden costs to med school, including a very expensive process to apply for residencies for specialty choice.
Are you eligible for tuition exchange? That might open a lot more doors for you.
@twoinanddone No I’m not unfortunately. Thanks for the replies! I guess I’ll look at the opportunities without debt
I think you need to consider that you’re unlikely to want to be a doctor by the time you graduate college, so you shouldn’t sacrifice choices for a dream you have as a junior in high school but may no longer have 6 years from now.
It doesn’t have to be either/or in terms of application.
Apply to your flagship, instate residential colleges, UAlabama, and to affordable colleges that may require limited debt.
Note that some colleges, such as Brown, Amherst, Davidson, Colby, Emory, Grinnell, or Haverford, don’t package loans, so if you need financial aid and don’t want debt, those would be ideal. With costs, never assume: always run the NPCs.
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
- The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school (or at least not pile on more debt)
- The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
- Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
- Success in graduates getting into med school
- Options if you don’t go to med school
So East Podunk may not prepare you well enough for MCAT.
Cornell may be tough to get a good GPA in.
But State U would be affordable and prepare you well.
Even Harvard students complain classes at their school don’t adequately prepare them for the MCAT.
[Premeds in Search of MCAT Prep Say Harvard Classes Provide Insufficient Instruction]( https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/16/mcat-test-prep-premed/)
It’s a myth that your undergrad college prepares you to take the MCAT; you prepare yourself. The MCAT tests far more than just factual knowledge (course content).