<p>So I have cut out schools from my decision but I am still struggling between the public/private university cost gap. I am a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada so here are approximate costs for each school:</p>
<p>MIT $50,000/year
UWashington Honors $20,000/year
McGill University $17,000/year</p>
<p>My parents have appropriated $200,000 for schooling for me. I am thinking about going to medical school, which would be pretty expensive. Another option would be to go to graduate school, and since I would go into a medical-related field, I would not have to pay. If I spend all of the money now on undergrad at MIT, I would have to do MD-PhD if I wanted to go to medical school which would be another 3 years of school. If I go to UW/McGill and got into UW med school, I would have enough money for undergrad and med school. And if I decided not to go to med school, I could invest/save any left over money. Any suggestions? Is MIT really worth the money? Why or why not? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>If you want to go to medical school I would definitely not go to MIT. Undergrad prestige is not a major factor in getting into medical school; a high GPA is more important. Don’t squander all your money on undergrad ;p</p>
<p>Well, if you’re paying McGill with U.S. funds, that 17K now is approximately 13K. While exchange rates may change, McGill will be 28K cheaper for four years than UWASH. </p>
<p>So, if you can figure out what your 28K will be getting you at UWASH you can’t get at McGill, go UWASH.</p>
<p>Would MIT be worth it if I decided not to go premed? I think the school helps a lot with landing internships and the like. I would prob major in bioengineering and minor in management.</p>
<p>Do you realize how much money 200K is? McGill is even less costly with the money exchange differential and that would leave you with over 100K for grad/med school.</p>
<p>Part of the question is what kind of environment do you want to be in. Those three schools are going to be very different in the types of students they have, the lifestyle, the courses, etc. You have to decide where you think you’d be happiest as well.</p>
<p>Go to [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org), find the loan calculator, and plug in $210k. Then see what your next 10 years following med school are going to look like. Choosing MIT will affect your career choices as a future physician.</p>
<p>(I’d go to McGill - it’s a great school in a great city.)</p>
<p>Some people talk about the experience of going to MIT though and that it would be silly for me to give up the opportunity. Obviously resources for undergrads and access to profs would be better at MIT. Advising at MIT is supposed to be really good too. And some classes that are available at MIT would not be offered anywhere else (for example a class that focuses on engineering wheelchairs specifically for disable in impoverished countries so that they can be easily produced and repaired). At MIT there would be more opportunities but I would be paying for them. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes. You will learn there are many nice things in the world you can’t afford, or which you might decide to forego for other things. It’s not like McGill is Podunk.</p>
<p>Those people are on the outside looking in. Anyone who has actually been through the college experience (and not a high schooler or underclassmen as many are here) would tell you the rational choice is to go with one of the cheaper options if you have ambitions that will run you into debt if you choose wrongly.</p>