<p>I'm having a hard time picking between the three. The cost is important, and I have posted other threads about this...</p>
<p>JHU is 60000$</p>
<p>UMD is 20000$</p>
<p>U Toronto is 9000$</p>
<p>I'm a MD resident, and if I went to JHU I'd be going back (I was there during the fall and left half way for a medical leave. I am using this year as a gap year and taking an EMT course etc... by the way would that look bad to med schools??)</p>
<p>Anyways, my question is - would giving up JHU for UMD or U Toronto be ill advised? Because JHU had an amazing premed advising program, and they were extremely strong in the sciences. I'm not sure whether it was the right fit for me though as far as the students/campus etc go, but perhaps it was my medical condition skewing my perception?</p>
<p>JHU is a great medical school despite the costs, but it really depends on if you’re going undergrad or postgrad. You can always go to UM and save up some money and then head to JHU for graduate work.</p>
<p>If I was the only child (knowing that by asking my parents for 60K a year I am not risking anyone else’s chances for a similar school in my family),
If my parents would not be in any financial risk (I am not talking about skipping vacations here),
If I can handle the academic pressures that comes with a pre-med track</p>
<p>then I would pay for the education at JHU. You would not be paying more that what JHU spends on your education. I think even at full pay, JHU subsidizes undergraduate education.</p>
<p>But that is for me. You will make a decision for your situation, which you can know better than anyone else.</p>
<p>Students who actually live here and know both schools well, may not agree with your analysis. There are many downsides to JHU(ug). I have several friends who made the JHU choice and now regret it. It’s similar to how most people see Brown as an Ivy stepchild, but I’m certain, with your inside knowledge, that you see things differently.</p>
<p>I do not know details of applying to Med. School having foreign UG degree. Besides that, did not you answer your own question when you pointed out that finances are important. We do not know more than what you are telling us. Frankly, I am happy that D. had tuition free UG education because it allowed her to have wider choices for Medical school. But she did not deal with the foreign UG degree, so I do not have an input in regard to that. Other than that, she just went to public state UG and has not regretted it a bit, very very happy with her choice.</p>
<p>I have three younger siblings, so finances are (of course) important. However my parents are willing to pay for the JHU if they think it’s the right choice. </p>
<p>I have also just been accepted to St. Andrews for psychology… and that would be about 15,000$ per year. I just don’t know which school would help me best prepare for medical school without spending a fortune?</p>
<p>UMD is kind of a party school isn’t it? Not that I’d get overly distracted or anything, I would like to make some quality friends that’s all. Without having to weed them out… I feel like I am being anxious/paranoid about stupid things and generalizing way too much which is why I’m resorting to forums :P</p>
<p>“I have three younger siblings, so finances are (of course) important. However my parents are willing to pay for the JHU if they think it’s the right choice.”
-Not sure about the meanning of this statement as it contradict itself. It is saying that finances are important bu they are not so. </p>
<p>Anyway, form my prospective as a parent, siblings or not and whatever income, except the case of unlimited resources, if one is planning to go to Med. School, then financing of UG is extrememly important. Well, if finances are important, the best would to apply to UG that offerring substantial Merit award. Again, this might not be applicable to you as your parents seem to have unlimited resources (based on your comment), but we have to assume something here, one way or another, otherwise, nothing is making sense.</p>
<p>What I mean is, if they think that it will heavily affect my future and provide an outstanding education, they will do everyting neccessary to ensure I go there.</p>
<p>By finances being importnat, I mean that if I DO go there, it will heavily weigh on the rest of my family.</p>
<p>I just want to know if it’s worth all this money, I mean my options are to go to St. Andrews, Toronto, UMD (No I didn’t get accepted, but I have the grades to and I’m instate) and JHU. I have applied to other schools in the US but what other school besides JHU would better prepare me for premed at a significantly lower cost? I did the FAFSA but I don’t think I’ll get a lot of money because, the truth is - yes my parents make a significant amount of money. But they are divorcing and spending their money stupidly on divorce lawyers, my medical expenses, psychologists for all four of us… it’s all so so so badly spent… </p>
<p>I don’t see myself doing anything besides going into a helping profession and I love the sciences. My parents give me barely any guidance and I know that if I don’t make the right decision they won’t really help me…</p>
<p>Unfortunately you’re still speaking in terms that are too relative for most of us to feel confident to know what you mean. For example, my father bemoaned for months about how Obama being elected would financially “crush” him. What he actually means if you dig deeper is that he won’t be able to go on month long vacations once or twice a year with my mother, not that it will affect his daily life in any real way.</p>
<p>For you to say that it will be “a burden” but that they will “do whatever is necessary to get you there” leaves us with a degree of uncertainty that people probably don’t feel comfortable basing advice off of. Would JHU put you in debt? Would JHU put you in >10k of debt? So on and so forth.</p>
<p>Is JHU “worth it”? Probably not. The problem is education is similar to healthcare in that it’s very difficult to assign value to it. This discussion is not the same as going to the super market and asking if it’s “worth it” to buy in bulk where the higher up front cost objectively yields a better value in the long term. There are too many variables to factor in but quite frankly it’s basically a guarantee that JHU is not worth “twice as much” as UMD (and you could start to put any two schools into this discussion. It’s not at all unique to JHU/UMD). The problem is that med school placement is a limited resource so every time someone outperforms you, your chances of getting in go down. Is 30k worth an unquantifiable and unguaranteed boost? How much money is such a boost worth? This is why you need to ask your parents to provide you and themselves with as much objective data as they can. As far as they can foresee, what specific sacrifices will they have to make to send you to a more expensive school? As I alluded to before, are we talking about going on cheaper vacations or are we talking about worrying about paying for the groceries? Are we talking about the difference between graduating debt free vs graduating with some debt? Etc. Are you and they ok with whatever these answers are?</p>
<p>And btw, your medical bills and psychologists for you and your younger siblings as your parents are divorcing is almost certainly not money poorly spent.</p>
<p>I guess you’re right. I have just been feeling like such a huge burden lately. The biggest costs lately have been my medical bills and the cost of my fall JHU tuition.</p>
<p>You make some very valid points though, so I think ultimately I have decided that I will not be going to Johns Hopkins, nor any other school that costs over 40grand because I think that I can make a concerted enough effort to get a high gpa and make the most of my education - enough to get into a medical school, and if that path doesn’t work out - well, I’ll just do something else that I love. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice. I am now wondering whether I should go to St. Andrews or the University of Toronto - and money at this point is not an issue because they are both very cheap. But I should probably create a new thread for this :)</p>
<p>If anyone has any more information please message me, I’d really appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>If you plan to attend medical school in the US, you will probably need to rule out St. Andrews. US medical schools all require that you complete all your pre-reqs and at least 2 years of college at an accredited US or Canadian college or university.</p>
<p>St Andrews is neither US or Canadian and any coursework you take there will not be recognized by AMCAS. (Not on AMCAS’ list of “acceptable foreign institutions”.)</p>
<p>AACOMAS may accept foreign coursework on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by both AACOMAS and by each school you apply to.</p>
<p>One thing for sure, there is NOBODY in a world who can tell what is worth for YOU and what is not. You are the only person who can answer this question.</p>