<p>Honestly, I think 27k is really not that bad because, while I know you think med school is where you’ll end up, you completely might not. Also, if you work during summers and make good money, you could easily cut 8-10k out of your loans right off the bat, and to me, 20ishk of loans is reasonable.</p>
<p>I think you have a tough decision, but, think short term in this case and not long term. Go to a place where you have the options to change your mind and explore yourself</p>
<p>My Mom is expected to pay between $8K and $10K per twin. This is way more than she can realistically afford. The finaid offers that I have are not reliable because of the FAFSA mistake, so they are all being recalculated. I’m encouraging my mother to compile a list of her expenses so that she can get the expected family contribution lowered. She isn’t really encouraging me to go to any of the expensive LACs (Grinnell, Smith, etc) because we can’t afford them. I don’t think she fully understands that we can get the EFC reduced if she demonstrates need. She wants me to go where I will be happy, but she doesn’t see how she can possibly come up with the money. Everyone in my family for the last 3 generations has gone to University of Nevada- Reno. They don’t really recognize or understand big name LACs. They also can’t justify spending so much on college because they don’t know the extra opportunities and experiences these schools can provide.</p>
<p>If you are really, really serious about pre-med, I think you should go to Stetson, and bank any money your and/or your mom can for med. school.</p>
<p>I’m not seeing a very clear picture of the cost comparisons, but I’m with M’s Mom. If the most significant cost difference between Stetson and Grinnell after aid is $8K in loans at graduation, then that should not be a show-stopper. You could cover much of that in a few months of employment after graduation. The bigger issue seems to be whether you are willing to sacrifice all of your UGMA savings to go to one of the preferred schools. Right?</p>
<p>Grinnell COA is about $50K/year (a little less, actually). Your UGMA will cover about $25K/year (assuming you use it all and do not lose too much to capital gains taxes). Capped loans, work-study, and summer employment may cover about $10K/year. So your gap is about $15K (before aid). Can your Mom (and perhaps other relatives) realistically cover $5K/year? Will Grinnell cover the balance (~$10K) in grants? </p>
<p>If your Mom (Dad, other relatives) cannot cover as much as $5K, then in my opinion it would be reasonable to borrow a little more than $2K/year. So then it really does seem to come down to whether or not you are willing to use up all your UGMA money. Correct?</p>
<p>That’s correct. It’s about the parental contribution, the UGMA (med school), and the amount I would need to take in loans. Grinnell would cost me nearly 5x the amount that Stetson would cost me. Med school tuition is $15,000 where I expect to go, but with the state of the state I imagine it will be about $20k when I get through undergrad (if they don’t close the med school altogether.) Plus there’s room, board, books, and that this med school would have me fly frequently between two cities during the clinical years. The choice: take out loans and then go to med school and take out another $150K, or go to undergrad with no loans and take out significantly fewer loans for med school.</p>
<p>I don’t how how much Grant Aid Grinnell will give me because I’m waiting for a recalculated finaid award. I sent my deposit to Stetson so that I wouldn’t lose my place in the Global Village housing.</p>