<p>So I was accepted into Columbia, my dream school, much to my surprise. To add to this, I was also accepted into their undergraduate scholars program. Words cannot express my happiness. There is one big problem, however - financial aid. I was offered no money from Columbia. My parents filed an appeal, and we were still denied aid. I have worked EXTREMELY hard to get into this school, and I honestly do not know what to do. I have four younger siblings who also need to go to college in the years to come. My backup is the University of Georgia, my father's alma mater. While I would not mind attending, I feel that I have worked so, so, so hard to go to my dream school. I absolutely am in love with Columbia, and I was wondering if I could get any advice on this. My parents gave me two options: attend UGA for undergrad and go to a top-ranked medical school (assuming I am admitted), in which they would pay most, or attend Columbia, have them pay about 80%-90%, and then I would pay for medical school by myself. I am getting into the medical field, so medical school would unquestionably follow undergrad. Because I am getting into the medical field, possibly cardiology or immunology, I feel that I can eventually pay off the loans needed to attend medical school. I am however, not sure. I am so, so torn and don't know what to do. Please offer some advice. I have a week to make my final decision (and apply for housing and dining, if Columbia is the final decision)! Any advice will be appreciated. But man, I want to go to Columbia. Man. $60K a year, though....please help.</p>
<p>… Go to University of Georgia. In this economy, it makes <em>ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE</em> to pay $60k x 4 => $240,000 for a 4-year bachelors degree AND then have to pay a similar amount of medical school.</p>
<p>I had a friend in high school, brilliant guy, who chose to go to a college called Ursinus. All of us were like ??? Well four years and a full-scholarship later, the dude is a first-year at Harvard Medical School and just selected as a RHodes Scholar. </p>
<p>Go to U. Georgia.</p>
<p>You need to PM curmudgeon. His DD was accepted at Yale with no FA, was also pre-med, and made the very smart decision to go to Rhodes[ ever heard of it?] on a free ride scholarship. She is now attending Yale medical school.
You have to think big picture and long term here. Incurring debt to go to Med School is a fools errand and will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over many years, just for the interest payments alone. As hard as it is, just say to yourself, you can go to Columbia for Med school.</p>
<p>Even if our EFC is wellllllll over $250,000? I don’t know. While filling out the FAFSA, I noticed the value of my parents’ adjusted gross income…my God, it was a HUGE number. HUGE. I asked them about it, and they said that it was because they bought a good portion of a street or something. Would that cause an adjusted gross income to skyrocket over half a million dollars? I am just so confused. With this information, does that change any part of your opinions? Thank you SO much for the advice.</p>
<p>Your parents assets are factored into the EFC. Bottom line is having NO loans or debt in YOUR name is FAR better than being saddled with debt for YEARS. A hard working, top student at UG will be able to get into many medical schools. My son, who was accepted at Chicago, Dartmouth, Brown, Wash U, etc, etc , chose to go to USC on a full tuition scholarship. He will be starting his PHD studies at Cal Tech in Sept, with a great stipend for 6 years. He was able to get lots of recognition at USC and do lots of research under the best profs at USC, and that helped him tremendously when it came time to apply to grad schools. He feels great about getting a good enough education at USC, as opposed to having to take out loans in the middle of the recession in order finish his UG years somewhere more “prestigious” . Listen to your parents. Take advantage of all that UG offers you, excel there and have the freeedom to go to the Medical school of your choice. Remember, it’s the LAST U listed on your CV that REALLY MATTERS, not where you went to UG.</p>
<p>I agree; I think UGA is the better option in this case. Don’t get me wrong; I know Columbia is an amazing school and it must be somewhat devastating not to be able to attend your dream school but in all honesty, ~250,000 in debt is NOT worth it, especially if you plan on attending med school in the future. Although it’s not Columbia, UGA also offers an amazing education that’s more affordable. menloparkmom is right. Attend UGA for undergrad and use all the saved money to go to a prestigious med school (like maybe Columbia:))</p>
<p>Go to Columbia! Don’t listen to these voices of reasons – just do it. It’ll be okay; everything works out in the end. Just do it, otherwise you risk finding yourself unhappy @ Georgia and applying to transfer.</p>
<p>I say follow your heart. The money will work out.</p>
<p>^ Agree. Education has incredible transformational power, that is, if you are deeply motivated and will take full advantage of your opportunities. Money issues tend to resolve over time.</p>
<p>I would attend University of Georgia in a heartbeat. It is impractical to assume that “money issues will work out” somehow. Logically speaking, it is certainly possible to attend medical school at a prestigious place down the road, but to take out that much debt while thinking that it’ll all work out is the mindset of a delusional person.</p>
<p>Neither I nor anyone else out here on the Interwebs is in a position to tell you what’s best for you. I’m not surprised, however, that you were denied financial aid if your family’s adjusted gross income is over $500,000. I think most families with that income would consider Columbia affordable, but that’s not really relevant to your unique situation. I make considerably less than that, and my son was denied financial aid at Columbia. I’m happy to pay full freight for him to attend, however. Why? Because I attended both a state flagship and an Ivy League school, and the quality of the student bodies is not comparable. I’m paying for my son to hang with a student body composed of some of the brightest, most motivated and fascinating young folks in the country.</p>
<p>As a mother and a psychologist I’d like to echo bpr - no one can advise you on this one, especially not strangers on the web. You alone should make this decision, which will most likely define your path (and not only career wise).</p>
<p>I’d, however, like to offer you the 5 cents I’d offer my own child or a client: ask yourself if you see yourself happy at UG. If the answer is “no”, I believe you just got yourself the answer to your 1 million dollar question. Some people can find happiness and maintain motivation anywhere, while others cannot. You should know what type of person you are. </p>
<p>I understand your frustration about working so hard to get into your dream school, and now that you made it in you’re not sure which path to take. Some students (my son, a junior at a prestigious magnet school, is amongst them), will not be happy unless the student body in general is more or less at their level. More so, they also find it hard to settle for less the an Ivy school (or an “elite school”) after putting so much effort into their high school work, making it possible for them to be among the “chosen” who attend such schools. Others (some of my son’s peers) will take everything at face value, and do the math: money/debt vs. Ivy league education and atmosphere and be happy with whatever path they take.</p>
<p>The best advice I can offer: Know thy self. Follow the path that will make you happiest - you are about to spend the next four years of your life in college, so make sure you’re happy and can maintain your motivation and enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Maybe this will help:</p>
<p>“After Harvard Business School said no, everything ‘I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better.” Warrren Buffett</p>
<p>[Famous</a> People Who Were Rejected From College | How I Changed Careers](<a href=“http://howichangedcareers.com/2010/04/01/famous-people-who-were-rejected-from-college/]Famous”>http://howichangedcareers.com/2010/04/01/famous-people-who-were-rejected-from-college/)</p>
<p>work your ass off at columbia -> apply to grad school -> get a fellowship/stipend -> don’t pay for grad school. done. don’t pass up the opportunity</p>
<p>Personally, I say go to Columbia. Its not that a school like Columbia has no sympathy on financial aid (it has one of the best aid programs in the country) but it may just that your siblings arent in college yet and they believe that your parents will able able to pay the cost. When your younger siblings go on to college, however, and if they chose to go to a school like Columbia, they will very likely get aid, once the colleges see that your parents had to shoulder the cost of multiple college tuitions. Undergrad experience is also very important (i wont go more in depth than that haha, dont get me started), and while im not saying you wouldnt have a great experience at UGA, hanging out peers of high caliber and exposure to columbia’s diversity and internships will do you a lot of good in the long run.</p>
<p>but then again, ive also heard that if you know for sure that you want to go into the medical field, saving money is really important (im not sure how financial aid in grad schools work, maybe the same ways as undergrads) as well as grad school, but undergrad wont matter as much since you pretty much know ur gonna be a doctor when you come out. Ive known alot of friends who got into schools like Emory and Rice but chose to stay in state (both because of likelihood of a higher GPA and for financial reasons). Theres also a lot of combined programs out there (such as Rice-Baylor, and various other EMSAP’s)</p>
<p>Why were you offered no FA? I am confused. If your EFC is really high, don’t your parents have the money to pay for Columbia? Why would you need a loan?</p>
<p>We had a high EFC and are planning on paying it. Nothing could make me happier than investing in my DD’s brain.</p>
<p>It makes me sad that your parents allowed you to have Columbia as a dream school when it seems like it would never happen. Columbia’s rep is to match the EFC pretty accurately.</p>
<p>… EFC is highly skewed. And upper middle-class families get screwed the worst. A family that makes $200,000 in combined income is ostensibly “well-off”, but Columbia is $50-$60,000 a year in AFTER-TAX dollars. No family should be saddled with that kind of burden for an undergraduate education.</p>
<p>To the OP, go to UGa and do your best. If you can gain admittance into Columbia, you have the discipline and enterprise to be near the top of your class at UGa. You won’t regret it.</p>
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<p>This is easily the best answer to this type of question I’ve seen on CC.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone who says that you should go to where you want most. I mean getting into Columbia is a big deal and I can just imagine how much work you put into it! (By the way, congratulations!!) </p>
<p>After all, you really get one “legit” shot at this so I would go for Columbia. Yes, it’s extremely expensive, but something will work out! As cliche as this sounds, maybe you could try writing them a letter or how ever you can contact them and tell them what this means to you, how there are “no words to express [your] happiness” and that you may have to turn them down and go to your second choice if there is no financial aid. After all, isn’t it better to have students who truly want to be in Columbia and take advantage of what Columbia has to offer instead of just plainly smart people who can afford tuition and maybe extra donations?</p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>OP, I do not really have sympathy for you. There are plenty of students that get into good schools and cannot afford them. You are not in a situation, because your parents CAN afford to pay for Columbia. The cost of attendance is around $50K/year and your parents make five times that…so you can afford it. When your siblings start going to college, the costs of their tuition will be considered and you may get financial aid. For now, though, Columbia has been the correct determination that a family with an AGI of $250K/year can afford to pay $50K/year for tuition.</p>
<p>Whether your family <em>chooses</em> to pay $50K/year for Columbia is a different matter entirely. As truazn and others have argued, it may not be worth it to pay so much for an undergraduate education, even from a top school like Columbia, especially if you’re also going to have to pay for medical school in the future. You clearly can pay for Columbia, but you do not have to, and it may not be in your best interest to do so. Ultimately, it’s your (and your parents’) decision.</p>