<p>I want to study Neuroscience/Neurobiology and do pre-medicine to go to medical school. I'm very positive I want to be a physician.</p>
<p>Household income: $200,000+/yr
Duke expense: $61,000/yr
UC Berkeley expense: $13,000/yr</p>
<p>^This is my total cost per year.
The problem is the pre-med situation. At UCB, I hear from several sources that the pre-med there is incredibly cutthroat and it's tough getting to know the profs (to get letters of rec for med school). However, at Duke I hear from several sources as well that the pre-med is much more collaborative, you get much more attention, and get to know profs really well. </p>
<p>I'm also doing MCB at UCB, which is apparently the hardest major available there. I'm scared I will die with the competition at Berkeley. But it's so much cheaper! Is the cost for Duke worth it? </p>
<p>I really wanna go to Duke. I'm not taking any loans for Duke; my parents would pay full every year. BUT I've vowed to pay my parents back, WHEN I will become a physician. Yes, I will fulfill my goal; I'll work hard and earn it, no slacking off in college.</p>
<p>So, what do you guys think I should do? This is a huge decision for me, by the way.</p>
<p>I never base important decisions on rumors and hearsay. The reality of the situation is that a Duke education is not worthy anywhere near 50K more per year than Cal. 2-3K maybe if you want a smaller campus, but not a dime more. Go to Cal.</p>
<p>You’re obviously a smart kid getting into Duke and Berkeley. Don’t let the myths scare ya. Yes, classes are tough and pre-med advising may not be as great as you’d find at Duke. However, a self-starter who seeks out opportunities and advice will do great. Save the ~$200k for medical school.</p>
<p>And, if this means something to the OP: there actually are more Berkeley grads at Harvard Med, JHU Med, Stanford Med, UCSF Med, UCLA Med than there are Duke grads.</p>
<p>^ That’s true. But there are about the same amount of Berkeley and Duke applicants to those schools every year, I guess. My point was, going to Berkeley for premed won’t be a disadvantageous.</p>
<p>If your post had said: “I prefer Duke because it’s so important to me to have a residential college experience, I want to feel tight cohesion with my classmates, I really hate the idea of living off campus…” then this would be a closer question. But as things stand, I agree with posters above. Concern about pre-med competition at Berkeley isn’t a good reason to pay $200,000 more. If you have the chops for medical school, there’s every reason to think that you will make it whether you go to Duke or UCB. Have a great time at Berkeley!</p>
Here’s the key statement you’re all missing. His parents have the money to pay for Duke as well as medical school. It doesn’t matter whether Duke is worth $200K more over Berkeley if the OP prefers Duke and his parents can comfortably pay for it. He also has vowed to pay his parents the money back, which honestly by looking at context clues is probably something his parents don’t really care about as long as the OP becomes a successful physician, but he is saying that since he wants to reward his parents down the line for their affection and love.</p>
<p>I think CC posters get too defensive since they assume that someone who spends a lot more money on one school over another is implicitly stating that X school is that much better than Y school. It doesn’t matter whether if Berkeley is better than Duke or vice versa if the applicant has a clear preference one way or another and can afford to pay for it without breaking a sweat.</p>
<p>To the OP, would your family have to incur any sort of hardship whatsoever to send you to Duke? If there’s any hesitation on that point, then go to UCB without a doubt. If the answer is no and they’re comfortable billing your tuition for wherever you’d like to go, then go to Duke and never look back. You"ll be wondering “what if” for the rest of your life otherwise.</p>
I’ve seen the figures at JHU Med and I think there are 3 more Berkeley alums there but I dispute the rest of your assertions besides UCLA Med. Please provide proof that there more UCB graduates at Harvard and Stanford Med than Duke grads. I think its the other way around actually and this is not taking into account the massive size difference and med school interest between the two schools.</p>
<p>That much debt, even if informal to parents, can still limit the OP’s choices. For example, suppose the OP is most interested in a relatively lower paid specialty of medicine, but needs to go into a higher paid specialty of medicine in order to be able to repay the parents?</p>
<p>If $192,000 is pocket money to you and your parents, that is one thing. But that does not seem like the case for the OP.</p>
<p>Also, the scenario where the OP does not get into medical school needs to be considered. Biology majors do not have especially highly paid career prospects.</p>
<p>@goldenboy8784: No, my family WOULD NOT have to incur any sort of hardship whatsoever to send me to Duke. Everyone, I just discussed this situation again with my parents, and they said there is “no problem” paying for Duke. There will be no significant financial burden on my family. Also, I REALLY want to do neurology (I love the brain!), and it is a well-paid job as well.</p>
<p>@Hanna: I do prefer Duke because I like the residential college experience, I want to feel tight cohesion with my classmates, and I actually do not like the idea of living off campus. Sorry, posters, for not telling you all that.</p>
<p>My Decision: I will be attending Duke. I think assumptions here are that $200,000 is a huge burden on my family, but my financial situation is a lot better than what most seem to be presuming here.</p>
<p>You"ll be wondering “what if” for the rest of your life otherwise.</p>
<p>People always say this, but I have seen little evidence that it actually happens. I’m four years post college, for example, and I rarely wonder “what if I had gone to a far more expensive college instead of taking the full ride I had at my perfectly good LAC?” When I do, it’s an idle wonder, not a life full of regret, and it usually ends in “I would’ve been swimming in debt!” In fact, my friends and I rarely talk about undergrad. Other things have become far more important.</p>
<p>Good luck, djking. Would your parents give you the extra $200k anyway if you went to Berkeley? That could be a hefty down payment on a home or cover most medical school expenses…but hey it’s your/parents call.</p>
<p>
Heh! I watched the Exorcist recently and it got me thinking that neurology would be a cool field. Thank goodness technology has advanced well past the early 1970s. :)</p>
<p>I think most of the posters here would agree that Duke isn’t worth 200k over Berkeley. However, it seems you’ve already made your decision, so have fun at Duke :)</p>
<p>yet another discussion of is there a difference. It’s funny how in all other areas of life public school grads will argue that there’s a quality difference directly connected to price. Yet when it comes to higher education all of sudden that logic is no longer logical. </p>
<p>Duke is a much better educational experience, has a much higher student body IQ, and matriculates far more successful people than Cal per capita. Comparing Cal undergrad to at top private undergrad is a waste of time, Cal’s 26,000 undergrad educational, social, network experience is no where near the quality at a school such as Duke.</p>