If you read my previous post, you will see that I have decided on attending West Virginia Univrsity next year. A major factor in my decision was the merit scholarship that I earned (6,000$ off per year so my total costs go down to around 22,500$). I also plan on attending either dental or medical school after my undergrad. Can anyone tell me if I made the right choice by choosing WVU over Penn State? People at school won’t shut up about how “Wvu is just a bunch of idiots” and that my education will take a blow if I go to there. The way I see it, West Virginia is going to be a place for me to stand out and really show what I can do and I absolutely believe in the school. Is PSU worth the extra 10k a year especially when you factor in the cost of postgrad?
If you are happy, you made the right decision. It is unlikely you will ever see those ‘people at school’ again.
I just met to very nice WV alums the other day. They didn’t seem like idiots to me.
Why are you taking financial and career advice from 17-year-olds? Quit passing your personal business around school.
If you love WVU and it’s affordable, go there. It doesn’t matter what your friends’ plans are. Plans change. Every year there are students whose fall plan to go away to a residential college changes in the spring due to finances. Some go away for a year and transfer back. You have to do what’s best for your family.
@mom2collegekids knows all about med school. She can tell you if your friends assumption that paying an additional $10k/year for Penn State over WVU will help with med school admissions. I think you’re better off saving the $40k for med school.
Thank you I really appreciate the input. I’m not trying to be one of the kids who gets stuck with a huge amount of debt. I also applied for another scholarship from the school of science so that will bring my costs down if I get that. Also, I’m not taking any of their advice, I just posted this to see if there were any significant programs/opportunities that I would miss out on by going to Wvu. Thank you!
Premed or predental classes are tough, take advantage of all academic resources offered at WVU.
I plan on it! Thank you
@schaefer406 I know several recent WVU grads and they are smart, talented people. I think you are wise to minimize your costs for undergrad. Another important question for you - How does WVU differ in costs from your own state Unis? A quick look at WVU’s website shows that room, board, tuition and fees for OOS is listed at $33K (COA which includes books, and travel costs, etc. will be even higher). If you subtract $6K annual merit, that still leaves a cost of $27K. Is the $22,500/year cost that you mention the amount that is left after the $6K in merit and the $5500 in federal loans are subtracted from the Cost of Attendance? Will your parents be helping to cover your remaining costs to attend WVU, either through current earnings, their own loans, or savings, etc.? If they need to pay the remaining costs through loans which they will need you to help repay, then WVU may not make sense for you either. Hopefully that is not the case!
Assuming you will be borrowing your max. in federal loans each year, that will total $27K +interest. It would be a bad idea for you to have any more loans than those yourself, and one could make an argument that even that is too much, given the large loans that would be required for med school. Even though payment of your undergrad loans could be deferred during med school, interest will continue to accrue. If your parents have a plan to cover your remaining costs at WVU, it definitely makes more financial sense than paying an additional $10K per year at PSU.
Could you go cheaper anywhere else? What’s your ACT SAT GPA?
WVU has a 4-year grad rate of 33% and a 5-year rate of 52.5%. Generally, the advice is to avoid schools with a grad rate below 50%, so this one is right on the border.
If you have visited and feel comfortable with the campus environment and academics, it’s an acceptable choice, but not necessarily an outstanding school.
Are you going to be in an honors program where you get any special perks with your merit aid? Honors classes might be a good idea there because a lot of times a low grad rate has to do with underprepared students.