Hi guys! I recently got my financial aid notification in the mail, and I was really hoping for some aid, but I ended up getting nothing. I’m so disappointed as ND has been my dream school for the longest time, and now my family is rushing to see what we can do to contact the financial aid office and discuss with someone. I need some input since Notre Dame has been the only school I have ever wanted, and it truly is a perfect home. I have a half ride waiting at Fordham, 2/3rd scholarship at Gonzaga (honors program), 15K at Villanova (waiting to hear back from a few others). I will be in debt roughly about 40 grand if I go to ND, which is honestly not huge compared to some other posters I’ve seen talking about 100 grand in debt. I’m so conflicted. Each day one person says to take the debt and go, and other days people warn me about going into debt and saving money for Med-School. My reasoning (very idealistic and probably not the most logical) is that I am set on Med school, no I will not change my career choice, yes I am more than 110% certain about this, and this by no means is meant to be prideful neither is it my reason to go into medicine, but I am planning to enter into a medical area that pays quite well (400-700K). I’m not one to make decisions based on money, but ND is getting to the point where I have to be thinking about finances. I believe there are things that are worth the debt, and I am more than willing to sacrifice for this school, but how much is too much. My parents were not raised here, and have no experience with the college financial aid situation and getting into debt. I’m looking for advice from people that might be in a similar situation and what they chose to do or any other advice.
Your first mistake was becoming emotionally attached to a school as perfect and dream school before receiving all financial aid offers. Emotions cloud our ability to reason clearly and make the best decision, and set us up for deep disappointment when things like financial aid packages don’t go as planned. Any of those schools you mentioned is a fine fine school for preparing you for medical school and will become “perfect” and “a dream” as you make friends and enjoy the college atmosphere and your classes. Maybe they’re not interchangeable schools, but as long as they prepare you to be accepted to a med school, then that “checks the box”.
My daughter had her heart set on a school but the financial aid wasn’t as good as ND so it crushed her that her perfect/dream school #1 would incur more debt than ND, and went to ND. Now she’s loving her #2 school (ND). Lots of students are happy at their #2 or #3 schools.
In another post somewhere about debt, someone said “debt is slavery” which has stuck with me – for example, what if you become one of the many doctors who becomes burned out in the profession (it happens A LOT) and wants to switch careers or positions – with so much debt you don’t have the freedom to work fewer hours or take a position that pays less.
Best of luck deciding what is best for you. It would be helpful to this community if you posted your decision here after you make it since there is no right answer, only assumptions to consider in answering the question.
Thank you for your response @CornyDad I appreciate it! I know that each school will adequately prepare me for medical school, and I’m not necessarily deciding based on how academically successful I will potentially become or the prestige of the school. I agree emotions can cloud our judgement but so can money, and I believe both are equally dangerous. It’ll be based on whether that money is worth the sacrifice and just how much of a sacrifice will be required. I will definitely post my decision in the coming weeks. Best of luck to anyone else in a similar dilemma.
What are your thoughts about the Honors Program at Gonzaga ?
Notre Dame is a special school to many.
I wonder how many CCers would pay full price for Princeton, Harvard, Stanford or MIT if it meant going into debt for a total of $40,000 ($10,000 per year in debt if I read your post correctly) ?
@Publisher sorry for the delayed response; i’ve been quite busy. As to the Gonzaga Honors Program, one of their current students reached out to me, and I asked what exactly made him choose that program and what were its unique benefits. Nothing wrong with his answers, and they were all valid; it just wasn’t really a selling point for me. Some of the main benefits include retreats, access to an honors-specific “hang-out” house, a strong community, and the ability to go over 19 credits with no fee. The house is a nice touch, but the ability to extend past the maximum amount of credits is already free at ND for all students, not just honors ones (from what I’ve researched for the College of Arts and Letters) and the community aspect is already a forefront at ND. But I could tell he really loved it there!
Most of the people I go to school with do take the risky path with significant death, but there are also many who go to the school which gives them the most money. ND is truly special, and although you will be happy wherever you end up, there’s no denying that ND definitely has something else.
So you got no aid, but will only be in debt for a total of 40k? Meaning your parents are willing to pay 50K per year for ND and get a loan for 10K per year?
ND costs $240K for 4 years. Who is paying the 200K?
If I had $200k available for university, and if I knew for sure that I wanted to go on to medical school, then I would plan on saving some of the $200k for medical school and I would avoid any debt for undergrad.
It sounds like your dream should be medical school itself.
Just FYI, tuition is increasing again next year. Tuition and board will be $68.8K starting in September 2018, not including fees and books. So think of it as $70K per year and $280K for 4 years.
https://ndsmcobserver.com/2018/02/university-announces-tuition-increase/
@matt46578901234 : The fact that you applied for financial aid at Notre Dame suggests a clear course of action to me.
Forego Notre Dame & save the $250,000 tuition for medical school.
As a Catholic, I understand the lure of Notre Dame. Nevertheless financial reality mandates that you plan ahead for the rest of your life and not just for the next four years.
I’m going to go against the theme here and say, go to Notre Dame. You can never get your college years back, and as your “dream school”, you will have that experience for the rest of your life. 40,000 debt is not much~think of it as one new car…buy a used car and there you go.
Many on these boards are very anti-student debt, and while I understand it, you shouldn’t be afraid of it either. My daughter had a small amount of debt from ND and then went to medical school with a lot more. She is not a slave to her debt, has a clear path to paying it all off quickly and has the ND experience, that is already amazing to her, for a lifetime. Go to ND-
By the way, as a note, keep asking financial aid for help each year. My daughter got nothing her first year at ND, but got a little more each year after. She was a double major, and very involved, but they made it happen after the first year. By her senior year, she almost had a full ride. PM me if you have questions.
Go to ND…
@Irishcali I’m leaning much towards ND. I’m visiting WashU, Fordham, Gonzaga, and ND, and I’ll solidify my choice after I get back from those visits. I’ve been on the ND campus many times (NDLS), but just to make sure everything is still in place in my mind. I’ll keep an open mind. A tuition increase of 2 grand is honestly nothing compared to the 71 grand price tag. Luckily WashU and Fordham covered the flight expenses so it won’t be too much flight money. I’m very interested in your daughter’s financial aid. If the aid increased over the next few years, ND is much more feasible for us. For some reason I can’t find the PM button (maybe I’m just missing it or something), but could you do me a favor and start a message with me. I’d love to talk with you more about ND!
@suzyQ7 I’m very fortunate that my parents are willing to pay that 200K for my education. I’m not sure where you thought that other 200K would come from. No one would ever grant a student 200K in loans.
@DadTwoGirls Agreed! Med school is my dream, but so is ND. I’m planning on joining the VA program which helps Med school tuition, but that is only just a plan. If that sacrifice for ND allows us to stay in a stable place while we sacrifice a little, then I believe med school will still be quite feasible.
Since you mentioned VA you might want to look into the ND ROTC programs. They have Army, Air Force and Navy. Each one has different commitments. Navy is active duty…I’m not certain but the others might have reservist options so you can go to med school. They have a college program for nonscholarship participants and depending you could have opportunity for scholarship. My son graduated from ND in May with a 4 year NROTC scholarship…it covered tuition and books…I paid room and board…he graduated with no debt and a civil engineering degree…he is active duty because of navy commitment requirement and he’s becoming a pilot. I have another son at ND now also on 4 year Navy scholarship.
After really reviewing my options and what my family could afford, I’ve decided on Notre Dame! There are things in life that are worth it to take calculated risks for, and I am confident things such as this are worth it. Our amount of debt will not be that significant in the long run, and it will be doable. A piece of advice to anyone who reads this in the future: if you are stuck between two different schools, and it’s based on finances, truly ask yourself where your heart lies. It takes time, but you’ll find out whether that “expensive” school is worth that extra struggle. Take the risk, but make sure it’s a calculated risk and not just some whim. The burden of money is a harsh reality, but there’s a difference between throwing yourself into a hole of debt or just sacrificing more than you have been comfortable in prior to college. For med school, I’m planning to stay in state (California) for the tuition, but there are so many options, and I know it will all work out. On a side note, I did ask for a reevaluation of my financial aid at ND and got a tiny tiny package (about 5 grand), but a package nonetheless. Best of luck to you all. I came to the conclusion that Notre Dame was worth much, much more than the tough journey my family and I were about to embark on based on finances. It is a journey of self-reflection and focusing on the real things in life, not just money. There’s no right answer. Thank you so much for your help and responses; they helped me realize what mattered to me. Best of luck!!
Congratulations!
matt46578901234
Congratulations !
I wish I live in California so my kids can go to the UCs , especially Berkeley and UCLA with in- state tuition.
I have a friend , her daughter went to UCLA for undergrad , Med school , then now doing her recidency there too. She is truly a triple Bruins !