<p>I am wondering if an Ivy League education is more beneficial than a full ride to my state's college. I want to get into medicine and other than the connections, name, etc of an Ivy, a full ride would mean I don't have to pay for my own med school tuition (parents would). Does a doctor who attended a more prestigious undergrad school make more money in the long run?
Thanks</p>
<p>I’m going into physics, and I haven’t researched much about medical schools in particular, so I’m probably not qualified to answer this, but based on what I’ve read about success after college in general here’s what I would say: I know that all the Ivies meet 100% of student need, meaning they will offer you nice need-based financial aid packages based on your FAFSA. If your family makes under $75,000 per year all together, you will probably only have to pay $10k/year (very rough estimate). Basically the point is, money usually isn’t an issue once you are accepted to an Ivy, meaning you might as well go there since you would receive a top notch pre-med education. However, I would assume that your starting caliber as a doctor depends mostly on where you go to med-school after undergrad, so a top notch med-school is probably much more important than a top notch undergrad school, as far as making money goes. Then again, an Ivy League education would probably help get you into the top med schools and best prepare you for med school. If I were in your situation, I would research how reputable the in-state school’s premed program is. A full ride and no student loans may seem very nice now, but in the long run, I would think that it is probably worth it to get the best premed education you can.</p>
<p>this is exactly the same scenario i’m in, and have one hour to respond to my full ride offer at a lower level school, or attend stanford at full tuition. i’m leaning toward the latter. better connections, education, prestige, etc. etc. it just wouldn’t feel right for me and my parents to save that $300,000 (they’re not super rich, but the money they saved covers the cost of tuition, so we get no aid). in the end, i think it’s very personal; it’s up to you to decide which one will be worth it in the long run, considering your reputation, long-term goals, etc.</p>
<p>my two cents</p>
<p>Note that about half pay full price at ivies and their peers. It’s true that low income families don’t, but those families are only considered low income because a large swath of America makes more. Money is indeed a big issue to most getting into ivies.</p>
<p>curmudgeon has a daughter who faced this decision about eight years ago. She took the full ride. She went from there to an Ivy med school. If you run a search for curmudgeon’s threads, you can get the details.</p>
<p>Not everyone can afford what the Ivies expect them to pay. Some families that can, prefer to save the college fund for grad/med/vet/dent/pt/law school. It really is up to the family to decide this one.</p>
<p>Do know, however, that if you have what it takes to be admitted to HYPSM, you have what it takes to be successful anywhere.</p>
<p>Hippiejack: I don’t think I could apply for financial aid, but thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Smugfiend: Awesome advice, thanks!</p>
<p>Waverly: That’s a good think to think about.</p>
<p>And no, graduating from HYPSM for your bachelor’s does not automatically mean you will make more money in your eventual career. That is subject to many more variables than just the name on your diploma.</p>
<p>You can solicit opinions here, but the decision is yours to make. </p>
<p>I would save your money for medical school. The Ivy League (or Stanford) is lovely, but I also know kids at those schools who are dreadfully unhappy, and not at the top of their class, which is ominous for medical school, law school or graduate school.</p>
<p>Take the full ride, study hard, dont party and finish at the top and go to a great medical school.</p>
<p>Most medical schools could care less about the Ivy League…meaning, they accept students from all over and from very diverse backgrounds and income levels.</p>
<p>You can get into great medical schools at Tier 2 schools. Seen it done so many times its like rotework. </p>
<p>The bottom line is go where you will be happiest as an undergrad, get a great education, have fun and excel. SAVE YOUR MONEY.</p>
<p>What state U are we talking about? That makes a HUGE difference</p>
<p>I’m alwYs a bit surprised by the hue and cry to sve your money. Maybe the family has plenty of money. There is certainly value in getting the best possible education with the best possible peer group. I decided to spend my money on an ivy education for med school headed DS. We could afford it and I saw great value in his opportunities at an ivy.</p>
<p>While you can get into good med schools from anywhere, it’s silly to deny the top ones favor top school grads. And top med school students have greeter access to in demand (read high paying) specialties.</p>
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<p>However, it looks from the OP’s post that the parents would apply the money saved on undergraduate to medical school, substantially reducing the debt level after medical school. Of course, if the OP does not get into medical school, or decides not to go, then the value comparison could differ from the medical school scenario.</p>
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<p>Is it because of school-favoritism, or simply that the graduates of the most selective schools have already been pre-selected at the freshman admissions level to include those who would be most successful at school work (with more grade inflation matching the higher selectivity of the school) and taking standardized tests?</p>
<p>Of course, the value equation also depends a lot on which specific schools are involved, what the OP’s intended major is, and what the actual net cost difference is.</p>
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<p>There seems to be a consensus among informed posters on this board that what matters most is your GPA and MCAT scores, not where you went to college. Med school admission committees surely do interpret your GPA in light of how you’re getting it. But where is the data showing which med schools adjust whose GPAs by how much and in which direction? They may well assign more weight to a tough engineering program at an average state university than to the same GPA in environmental science at an Ivy.</p>
<p>I have basically the same decision to make; technically no ivies but I’m pretty sure I’m turning down Georgetown and Swarthmore to go to UMaryland for a full ride; I understand why people make the other decision and want to invest in the experience, but I personally can’t justify paying so much money for college when I could go to a perfectly good college (in my ideal location) for free and save money for grad school.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider about a full ride is how much flexibility it gives you during those 4 years. Instead of working during the summers to help pay the student contribution, you can take some of the money you’re saving on tuition and volunteer somewhere or study abroad. If you take the full ride you can get an on campus job and save more money for grad school, and you’ll be in a much better financial situation than the vast majority of students when you apply to grad school 4 years from now.</p>
<p>Hope that helps a bit! :)</p>
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<p>This is true. </p>
<p>But, that’s not the same as saying that the school you attend does not matter at all. I do feel that top med schools favor students from top colleges, even when you control for other application factors. There’s no data to support the assertion either way since med schools aren’t going to come out and say so. The only thing we know is that 70% of students at top Northeast med schools (like Yale or Harvard or Columbia) attended top 20 colleges and 30% come from the thousands of other colleges combined.</p>
<p>That said, med school is tremendously expensive. The decision to attend a state school on a full ride vs. a top college will depend on the price difference and the quality of the state school.</p>
<p>Medical schools costs a bundle - instate tuition and living expenses is often around $200k and privates can cost around $300k. There are very few scholarships, especially if you are not a URM or willing to live and provide care in an underserved area (Public Health Service). </p>
<p>If you are in debt as an undergrad, and deeply in debt as a med student, your life choices start to get defined for you - what specialties you can do, where you live, whether your partner has to be earning and for how long, before you can afford to buy a house or start a family…my point is that these financial decisions have a long tail on them. </p>
<p>Note too that the ‘top’ medical schools, as defined by norcalguy, are top because of their research and commitment to academic medicine. If you are hoping to be a practitioner, the list of top medical schools is quite different. I don’t love USNWR rankings, but this gives you a feel for the difference: [Best</a> Medical Schools | Research Rankings | Top Medical Schools for Research | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings) vs. [Best</a> Medical Schools | Primary Care Rankings | Top Medical Schools for Primary Care | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/primary-care-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/primary-care-rankings)</p>
<p>To go deeply into debt for a small amount of incremental prestige is not worth it when medical school is the goal. If the amount of debt is small and/or manageable for your family, then it’s a different matter.</p>
<p>Does a doctor who attended a more prestigious undergrad school make more money in the long run?</p>
<p>No. Your salary will be almost entirely determined by your location, your specialty, and the type of practice you go into (community health clinic vs. joining a group practice vs. starting your own practice vs. something else entirely). It will be partially determined by your medical school, but I would wager that the vast majority of patients do not know where their doctors were educated.</p>
<p>I think it’s far more important to minimize student debt on the undergrad level when one plans a medical career. In addition, I serve as a TA and I work in residential programs at an Ivy League uni, and I must say that in my opinion, the teaching was far better at my lower-ranked liberal arts college than it is here. Having been here, I am not convinced that this is the “best possible education with the best possible peer group.” I have met some astoundingly accomplished and intelligent students here, just like I have at my undergrad college. On the other hand, student writing here is not good, and I have met a lot of students who couldn’t critically think their way out of a box. The undergrad students at my Ivy are also super stressed out on average.</p>
<p>I also do not necessarily think the pre-med education is better here than it is anywhere else just on the fact that it’s an Ivy - the students from my undergrad college were quite successful in medical school admissions, too. Basically, I think you can get into a medical school from anywhere, given that you work hard. (And for an additional data point, I went to a small LAC on a full ride and am now doing my PhD at an Ivy, so there’s that.)</p>
<p>i’d say save the money and consider an ivy for med school. If you are sure you will attend med school, it does not matter what college you attend. When searching for a job, your graduate education will be most important above all. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, it is your decision.</p>