I have narrowed my options down to SUNY Buffalo for nearly a full ride (probably 0 personal debt taken out in 4 years) and Dartmouth College (probably between 40k-50k personal debt taken out in 4 years (of that being 27k in federal loans which I believe is the max)).
I’m not sure if Dartmouth is worth 40-50k more than my SUNY state school. I’m not sure if the decision is obvious due to the plethora of advantages of going to an Ivy League School. However, as I do aspire to attend medical school, I’m not sure if prestige matters or if SUNY Buffalo can offer me what Dartmouth could. Please understand I respect both schools, it is just I have little idea as to which would be the correct choice as a premed.
I’m usually pretty conservative about taking on debt, but $40-$50K to attend Dartmouth is a no brainer to me. If you are pre-med, you should easily be able to pay that back. But then you have all the debt for med school…still, Dartmouth is special.
I think @WayOutWestMom knows a lot about med schools. And @mom2collegekids does too. They’ll probably have some great advice for you.
I think what matters for med school is GPA and MCAT score. I don’t think where you go to undergrad or what major you choose matters. You do have to take certain courses as a prospective med school applicant and I think it’s a good idea to pick a major you can support yourself with if med school doesn’t work out. SUNY Buffalo is a great school and it’s nearly free for you. I’d avoid debt for undergrad if you plan to go to med school.
In your scenario, you have another appealing choice available in SUNY–Buffalo, however, and the costs are substantially different, which understandably will make this a challenging decision for you.
One thing about student loans is how much students underestimate them. That 40-50k would probably end-up around 70-80k. That’s assuming your parents would be willing to co-sign private loans. If your parents have to do that, Dartmouth is not affordable for you. Take the scholarship. Medical schools are interested in grades and MCAT scores, and they’re not going to give a rat’s butt where you went.
Also, medicine is a popular dream coming out of high school. Very few of them actually go there, because, as they mature, students discover hidden passions elsewhere. The less debt you take, the more options you’re going to have.
Money is important, and Dartmouth does have an awesome reputation, but also have to ask: have you visited both? These are two very different colleges-e.g. SUNY Buffalo UG is about 21,000 students, Dartmouth is about 5,000. That alone leads to a different college atmosphere-which do you like better?
And regarding money: you have several “abouts” and “betweens” and “nearly” in your calculations. So take a few minutes and figure out as precisely as you can what it’s going to cost to go each school, all inclusive, per year, and how that expense is going to be funded.
Then compare cost and fit. That may help in the final decision.