Is Penn worth 20K in debt?

WOW. that is a great package from UPENN. You should absolutely take it.

@ZBlue17, what you were saying is understandable and indeed real. Based upon your fat FA, you (of course your parents for sure) should be very proud of your hard work and the accomplishments under your current family financial situation. I believe you are a gifted young man/woman who is highly interested in medicine. If you continue to study in college in the way in your high school, you will be getting in medical schools from either Penn or IU. However, the difference is the chance you will be admitted to a top medical school will be much higher from Penn than from IU. Importantly, the total distinct college life in the coming 4 yrs as a young man/woman in your beautiful time period of life will be seriously considered. I believe in your rational decisions by May 1. Are you going to Quakers days this week? This is a golden moment for you. GL.

I am at Quaker days right now, and Penn is even better than I imagined!! I’m almost positive I will be committing here.

Yay! Make the most of your amazing opportunity.

Medical School Admission are dependent on GPA ( >3.7) and MCAT score. Make your choice where can you get a high GPA not 20k debt if you really want to be a doctor. Is there grade deflation or inflation at Penn ?

You don’t mention what you plan to study. That would have a bearing on the debt you plan to take on.

Please go to Penn

OP plans to go to Medical School and will be a Pre-med ( if there is a such major) .

It’s as if the idea is thus: it’s relatively easy to get into IU so there has to be a method to separate the chaff from the wheat. At Penn the system is different : you proved your worth by getting in, now they’ll do their utmost to make sure you succeed.

Quaker Days is over today, and I have decided I am definitely committing to Penn. @grtd2010 Penn is known for having grade inflation. I’m also not making the decision solely based on being pre-med because a lot of people enter college as pre-med, so I’m open to changing if I find another path that is a better fit.

Congratulations!

Thank you all for the help and insight provided! It definitely makes me more sure of my decision.

Don’t count on grade inflation at Penn in many of your courses. The curve is still alive and well especially at SEAS, often centered around a B- or C+. http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/04/average-gpa-differs-slightly-by-school Chemistry seems to be the weed out course for engineering and pre-med, pushing students to find other majors.

@KLSD While Penn definitely does not have grade inflation the insane b-/c+ curves only occur in intro science classes. especially Chem and Bio (for math, physics it is better). But after these into course it get better. That said one always has to work hard for that A.

Go to Penn 1000%

$20k for 4 years at Penn is like winning the lottery! Enjoy!

Ugh I was soooooo sure I’d be committing to Penn, but then I started to over think (with doing more research). I came across this video my Malcolm Gladwell https://youtu.be/3UEwbRWFZVc

It basically says you should never go to the best school you get into, but instead go to the school where you’d be at the top of your class. I watched the whole video and started to think again about how it might be “easier” to succeed at my state school where I’d be more likely to be at the top of my class than at Penn. I really think I’ve just started to over think, and this decision is just really stressing me out. Especially since I was so sure before!

Think of this way.

If Penn give you so much money that means they think you are a top student they will invest in you. If you can perform as well as Penn think you can, you should have a brighter future than get a degree from IU. Not that IU is a bad school, but Penn is a school you will be more proud of.

In addition, if you during the 4 years change your mind on pre-med, a Diploma from Penn will give you a better future than IU. And the people you met at Penn is on a different level than IU. With such a strong alumni support I can’t see you turn around to accept IU for $20K different.

Also, that book was very light on statistics and facts, and heavy on anecdotes.
In addition, serious, thorough research ( that no one has been able to challenge) that for lower income or first generation it matters tremendously to accept the most prestigious school at best value because your elite school creates the network and reach (influence) that your family can’t provide.

@ZBlue17, It also may help you to know that federal loans now offer many flexible repayment plans. These include income adjusted repayment and pay-as-you-earn. They are tied to your income and basic expenses after graduation, and monthly payment can actually be as little as 0; they are certified each year. Depending on the loan type, they then can be forgiven after 20-25 years of reliable payment, although you then have to pay tax on the forgiven amount. It is a very good deal for those who are lower income and worried about a low salary on graduation.

$20K debt is not horrible–I look at it as the price of a car, although a far better investment to my mind!

My own kids are financially in your boat, and if you were my kid, I’d advise Penn. The opportunities are incredible. The argument about being a big fish in a small pond has some merit, but only for some people in some circumstances; it’s also very hard to compare since there’s no control (you can’t take the same person and put them in a big fish situation and a small fish situation). I agree that statistically though, it’s clear that going to Penn opens up more doors and opportunities, particularly to a lower income person.

The final thing is that if you take hard-science pre-med classes at a state university, it’s not like they’re going to be incredibly easier than at Penn; they may in fact be harder to get that A, who knows. Often the hard-science pre-meds are very reliant on the particular professor - the way they teach the class, the curve they use - as opposed to the university.

Bottom line is you just can’t beat opportunities plus the calibre of the student body and faculty at Penn (or a similar institution). Obviously, you can go to a good state university and get a terrific education–of course. But your question is whether Penn is worth the $20K and if you should go–I would say a strong yes.