I am thinking of attending the Syracuse College of Arts and Sciences next year. I have been given many mixed reviews about the CAS at Cuse. Some say it is ranked nationally in research, some say that CAS is the worst school at Syracuse.
The thing is, I did not receive any Financial Aid or scholarships to attend Syracyse. Is it worth $200,000 to go on the pre med track at Cuse, or should I stick to a small mediocre state school to which I received a substantial amount of scholarships?
I have also heard that Syracuse is right in the ghetto and it gets boring sometimes because many people can’t leave the campus. Im interested in school spirit and the party scene, and just exploring around the university in my spare time.
So, should I shell out a quarter of a mill for cuse?
p.s. I know med school is expensive, I’m not worried about med school expenses, thats covered. Im just concerned about undergrad.
Stick with the public university (which is probably quite fine, even if it is small). It’s not worth it to go into that much debt for Syracuse. That has nothing to do with Syracuse’s quality - it’s an excellent university - it just has to do with return on investment and what you can afford to repay after graduating.
Not worth going into debt. No school is worth going 200,000 dollars in debts unless you know that when you graduate you are going to being making enough to be able cover that cost.
Honestly, $200k total debt for a doctor isn’t unheard of, if all of your medical school expenses are really covered and would not add any additional debt. However, much of that debt does usually come from medical school, not undergrad. My concern would be that many pre-med students change paths and there is no guarantee that you will actually want to attend (or be accepted to) medical school 4 years from now. And even if you do, if med school expenses are covered and you can attend a more affordable undergrad institution, imagine the quality of life you’d have with little or no debt upon graduating.
Ultimately it’s your decision, but if it were me I would opt for a less expensive undergrad and think about the qualify of life after med school. Syracuse might offer a good experience, but so can many other institutions. The “worth it” factor can’t really be determined because you don’t know what your life at SU vs. another institution will really be like.
@EastCo Syracuse is situated on a hill and has several hospitals nearby. Marshall Street has a numbers of bars and student-friendly restaurants. The surrounding neighborhood has lots of student housing, as well as professors and other professionals. It’s a city, one that is slowly showing signs of life again.
As for whether it’s worth it, that’s ultimately up to you. But I have seen better schools vilified on CC for being too expensive, for what it’s worth. The more affordable school will leave you on better footing when you face the eventual debt of med school.