<p>[America's</a> Biggest Brain Magnets | Newgeography.com](<a href=“http://www.newgeography.com/content/002044-americas-biggest-brain-magnets]America’s”>America's Biggest Brain Magnets | Newgeography.com)</p>
<p>I’m just going to tell you what you already know. Take the scholarship.</p>
<p>Remember, you can still go to the west coast - for grad school! :D</p>
<p>Not only are WA schools up for budget cuts, they are also looking at tuition hikes (as much as 15%) to make up the gap. UW is huge. It can be great fun for the self starter but there are students that get lost in the system every year. We know of several students that started there and switched to other schools for the sophomore year. </p>
<p>Seattle will be here once you’ve finished your degree. I’m glad you’re charmed by the area (it is nice!) but Seattle is also expensive. In addition to your out of state tuition, you’ll have travel expenses and high local costs. It would be so much smarter to get your degree and come out here with minimal debt. There will already be plenty of people here with tons of debt and you’ll be happy to be different.</p>
<p>Congrats on the OSU scholarship. You should also be considered for the OSU Honors & Scholars program which will get you added perks regarding housing choice, course registration, etc. As said by many other posters, take the OSU deal and be a Buckeye for 4 years. Once you are in grad or med school and on your way, you won’t think twice about where you spent your undergraduate years (except during football season 
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<p>Andreamarie-- I think you should also revisit OSU, maybe on admit days if they have them, or schedule a visit to talk to some faculty in your intended major, visit or stay in a dorm with students. If there is an honors program that you are a part of, visit with staff and students affiliated with that program as well. Trying this university for a year seems a very reasonable option, and it may very well be that you fall in love with it. All that people are saying is true with regard to keeping undergraduate debt down.</p>
<p>But, since you have family in Washington state, would applying for summer internships there be an option? Particularly if you have a place to stay with family, this could help you explore and enjoy Washington/Seattle while getting good academic/work experience. Actually, even if you had to take an unpaid internship and pay for your own food/lodging/transportation, maybe your parents would be willing to foot the bill for that, given that your undergraduate education would be largely free (excepting possibly books, etc). Just a thought! Congratulations! These decisions are very hard, and it sometimes is easy to forget that these hard decisions are the ones we want to have (vs. I got in no where I want to go; now what do I do?) All the very best to you.</p>
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<p>Amanda, when you get your UW letter in a few days, I think you may find that it was never a financially realistic dream. UW only meets 79% of need and has no large OOS scholarships. Its cost of attendance for OOS students is close to $40,000, and its students rate it only a 76 on financial aid on a 60-99 scale. It may turn out that the full ride at OSU was a godsend for you.</p>
<p>Popping back in to second mamita’s suggestion of a summer internship. Summer is THE time to spend here. The weather is lovely, the days are long, and there’s a lot to do outdoors.</p>
<p>I was also going to suggest summers in Seattle! Plus, some schools have exchange options where you can spend a semester at another college and your financial aid would carry over.</p>
<p>I agree that grad school in Seattle, or a gap year or two there before med school, are the way to go. Graduating with no debt is a fantastic way to go into adulthood–congrats!</p>
<p>Congrats on the scholarship!</p>
<p>I’m curious why you want to do an engineering undergraduate, if you want to go to med school.</p>
<p>Engineering is a <em>lot</em> of work, and tends to have a very rigid class schedule, which doesn’t leave much opportunity for classes outside your major.</p>
<p>I should have added that the situation at UW has deteriorated so much already that I know more than a few students who are choosing to go to Western Washington U. rather than UW because they are more likely to get the courses they need.</p>
<p>UW does not give any scholarship or grant money to out-of-staters – all you will get is loans from UW so you would be paying close to full cost at UW. I’ve got family in Seattle and am hearing the same story as mini-- </p>
<p>so you should be very grateful for the OSU offer and TAKE IT. You have the rest of your life ahead of you to live wherever you want – and it will be so much easier for you to pick up and move to your dream community if you don’t have to worry about paying off a ton of student loans.</p>
<p>And CONGRATULATIONS on that full ride offer! I thinks that sometimes we all just have to accept or believe that there higher power in this world with somewhat different plans for us… and recognize when we are given the signs – and this sign couldn’t be more clear. </p>
<p>Also – since you have a free ride offer for college, that is a tremendous relief for your parents. I think you deserve a little bit of a vacation this summer. Can your parents afford the airfare for a trip out to Seattle so you can visit with your family there? No matter where you go to school, you have the freedom to travel and visit any place you choose – and I certainly think that with the generous offer from OSU, you can remind yourself of that with a quick visit to the city you love.</p>
<p>If you want to go to med school and you love UW, plan to move to Seattle after your undergrad years, live there and work there, establish residency and THEN apply to UW. They rarely accepted out of state (WWAMI) people. Taking a year or two off to work, especially in the medical or medical research fields both looks good on your app and is good mentally for you.</p>
<p>I live in Washington and my D was accepted by UW last year. UW is a great school on a beautiful campus. As we researched and visited other WA colleges, I was surprised to learn that more students from Western Washington University are accepted to UW Med School than UW students. I would advise my D to take the full ride, do really well, take a rigorous course load of pre-med, then apply to UW for Med School. Good Luck with your decision.</p>
<p>The day my daughter’s great merit award came in the mail from school #4 on the college preference list, she held it in the air and proclaimed: “If [school #1] doesn’t give me any money, I am going to [school #4].” And she did. She is very happy to tell adults when they comment about Daddy paying her tuition that in fact Daddy doesn’t pay her tuition.</p>
<p>Ohio State definitely. If you are going on to med school you will need to take on debt then. Why take it on unnecessarily now? Ohio State is a great school! Congratulations!!!</p>