<p>I need some advice about choosing between the University of Maryland (College Park) and the University of Virginia. My child plans to study biomedical engineering and then go to medical school. U Va has a great biomedical engineering program (although Maryland has a stronger overall engineering program) and, of course, U Va is a more prestigious college than Maryland. However, we are Maryland residents, and the price differential is huge - about 15,000 a year for Maryland and about 40,000 a year for U Va. Due to various financial issues, my husband and I can only afford to contribute about 20,000 a year. Because of this, my child would need to borrow about 20,000 a year to go to U Va. My husband does not think that we should even allow him to do this, even if he wants to, especially as medical school will also involve taking out huge loans. (Also, as soon as our first child graduates, our second child will start college. )</p>
<p>Of course, our child really would prefer to go to U Va, as it is a better college, nicer campus, has a better biomedical engineering program,etc. </p>
<p>This situation is very upsetting to my husband and me. (As an aside, our child was recruited by a few Ivy league schools for sports, but we had to say no, as we don't qualify for financial aid and they don't give any scholarships.) It makes me very sad that we had to do this, and I feel that he deserves the opportunity to go to a prestigious college like U Va. However, I don't want him to be overwhelmed by student loans after medical school. (He plans to be an orthopedist.) My husband thinks U Maryland will also give him a great education (he was admitted to the Honors Program) , although maybe not as good as U Va, and that he should just go there. I would appreciate any advice, as I am really struggling with this decision. Thanks!</p>
<p>$80,000 is too much debt for undergrad. I went to UVa for law school; it's a great school with a beautiful campus, and undergrad there looks like a fun time. I went to an undergraduate school that's not particularly selective and that few have heard of, and I can tell you that I had an undergraduate education that was on par with or better than that of many of my law school classmates who went to UVa undergrad. This is not to say that you don't get a great education at UVa, just that reputation isn't everything and you can get a great education elsewhere, also. If he's set on UVa, UVa has a great med school he can apply to. I'd start coming up with a big long list of the positives of Maryland and get him excited about going there.</p>
<p>Taking on 80K in student loans before starting medical school is, well, nuts. If my kid needed my signature to do that, he would not get it. And while I understand wishing we could afford to send our children to the best college they can get into, the fact is that parents fully paying for a child to attend a Tier One University is a privledge that most American children do not have. This is a gift and it's a wonderful one. </p>
<p>We've been talking frankly about money all along in the process but one thing that really seems to have caught my S's attention lately is our promise to pay for "extras" if he goes to a school that is under our budget. For instance, if he goes to a honors college at the flagship state school, we've committed to paying the extra fees and expenses for him to spend his junior year abroad (dependent on his gpa, of course.)</p>
<p>The brochures, websites and the reputations of the colleges can be very seductive and it is nice that UVA has it's own medical school. However, graduating with excellent grades from the honors program of a Tier One university also makes a student a good canidate to be admitted to medical school.</p>
<p>The choices appear to be graduating debt-free from a university with a very fine engineering school and rep to match versus graduating with $80K in debt from another very fine school and rep. Am I reading this right? </p>
<p>IMHO, your kid would have to be crazy to go to UVa in this situation, and you'd have to be crazy to let him!</p>
<p>It's great that you can cover his whole tab at MD, and wow, what a great present for him, to graduate debt-free! Would you consider putting aside $1-2K each year, since MD is less than what you are willing to pay, and give him those funds when he graduates?</p>
<p>I agree with the others - UMd is the best choice. UMd is getting more and more competitive academically every year. UVA is not so superior to it to justify that amount of debt.</p>
<p>I work daily with many residents still completing their training after medical school. Even though many of them are married, most if not all of them are in debt up to their ears, have just borrowed tons of money AFTER still having school debt to afford a small house, start a family. They all end up having to moonlight for additonal income to make ends meet which takes away both quality time from their young children and study time to pass their boards. Even in a specialty like mine which is in short supply, some of our residents who are ready to get a real job to pay off the crushing debt are now postponing doing this to get even more subspecialty fellowship training when they dont really want to as jobs are drying up in private practice due to the economy.
No, do not get into debt for your undergraduate education. It is never worth it.</p>
<p>My S went to a MD HS well known for producing lots of engineering/pre-med types. None went to UVA. Those who didn't go to JHU, MIT or Ivy went to UMD, took the merit $$ and stayed out of debt. They all seem very happy about it, too.</p>
<p>MDcollegemom, as a fellow Marylander, I understand your dilemma. College Park may be gaining a good rep OOS, but to the locals the grass looks greener elsewhere. Rationally we know it's a fine school, but emotionally...eww. </p>
<p>In spite of this, I have to agree with the majority. Maryland.</p>
<p>I can't help but agree with everyone else. 80K undergrad debt is way too high and that doesn't even account for the rises in tuition that are bound to happen over the next 4 years. I won't even let my d take out half that when she has a great in-state choice. Another point of view is that college is not carved in stone. If he is miserably unhappy after 2 years (which he won't be) he could transfer.</p>
<p>I grew up in Virginia so maybe that is why UVA is not such a big deal in my eyes - except for the fact that everyone I knew who went there got incredible grades in the grade inflation heyday. Those of us in other Virginia schools were jealous. I know all bets are off in engineering though.</p>
<p>UMD sciences and engineering are particularly strong. Did I mention that in addition to the merit awards given through admissions, the engineering dept. also gives out scholarship $$$? :)</p>
<p>As a UVA engineering alum it pains me to say so, but I must agree that Maryland and no debt is the wiser choice. Charlottesville is a wonderful place to spend four years, but not at the cost of a huge debt before even starting grad school.</p>
<p>The first year curriculum is much the same for engineers at both schools - lots of calculus, sciences, a writing course, a generic engineering class that everyone takes, maybe an elective or two, but nothing at all in the major field. At least at UVA, majors within engineering could not even be declared until the second year. Starting off at Maryland would immediately cut the eventual debt by $20K for a year in which the difference between courses in the major department is a moot point.</p>
<p>If you're instate, I suspect he has a lot of friends that would attend. That might encourage him. Also, some years back, I seem to remember reading about a comparison between both schools. UVA is considerably smaller than UMD (about half the size) and I remember reading that if you were to take the top half of UMd's undergrads, they are really quite similar to the kids at UVA. I don't know how true this still is but I wouldn't be surprised at all. UMd has a lot of bright kids.</p>
<p>My son went to the University of Maryland and had a very good experience there. But he was not a top student in high school.</p>
<p>My daughter, who definitely was a top student in high school, is at another college. However, she has several friends at the University of Maryland who were as qualified as she was and could have gone to more selective colleges. These students chose Maryland because it was inexpensive (in some instances, free, thanks to Banneker-Key scholarships). Although these kids had sound financial reasons for attending Maryland, some are a bit disappointed in the caliber of the students around them. It seems to be hard for a truly top student (and by "top" I mean "the kind that Maryland offers free rides to in order to induce them to attend") to find sufficient peers, despite the existence of an interesting honors program.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that your son should not choose Maryland, just that you should be prepared for the possibility that he may be a bit disappointed there. </p>
<p>One thing that might ease the disappointment a bit is if you and your spouse could set aside the difference between what Maryland costs and what you could have afforded to pay and allow your son to use that money toward further education (medical school or, if he decides that he really prefers the engineering side of things, graduate school). $20,000 is not an insignificant contribution toward medical school.</p>
<p>One thing that we 50-somethings have to understand is that we look at UMCP in the "old way"--That is, the college that just about anyone could get into back in the 70s.</p>
<p>All of that is changed--I can't believe the stats that Maryland is posting these days.</p>
<p>In some circles in the Baltimore area, it is quite popular to "go south" (unless you're Ivy-bound). That sends a lot of the affluent to UVA--Is your child experiencing this influence?</p>
<p>I would contact the financial aid office at UVa. When we visited they talked a lot about their loans and how no student leaves owing more than $22,000. They have the need-based kids getting aid, then it goes to grants and loans for those that apply. Once they reach the cap on loans they roll over into aid. I might have this totally wrong, but worth looking into . We may be in your shoes after our daughter graduates in 2010. She loves UVa, has Maryland on her list along with Carnegie Mellon all for Architecture which will also involve graduate school. We will have 4 children all in college at the same time:(.</p>