Need Help with college choice

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello all, thanks for helping me with my college choice. I'm down to the following list of colleges:</p>

<p>UPenn (with Vagelos Scholars Program) Full pay
Pros: Ivy, Philly, Special Program, Research Opportunities, Would join a Frat, Club sports
Cons: Expensive, Harder coursework?, weather</p>

<p>Vanderbilt possible 5k a year (NMF)
Pros: Beautiful campus, name recognition, great sports, Frats, Nashville
Cons: Expensive (and not really giving good FA this year)</p>

<p>UVA (Echols) Full pay
Pros: Cheaper than others, Echols is amazing, great sports, Charlottesville, club sports
Cons: No merit scholarship options, still too expensive</p>

<p>UNC-CH (Honors Program) Possible 1k a year (NMF)
Pros: Fantastic sports, club and varsity, Chapel Hill, cheapest full pay option, research
Cons: Too many in-state?, still on the expensive side.</p>

<p>Tulane (Honors Program) with 29.5k a year
Pros: NOLA, Honors Program, weather, graduate with no debt, Pre-med program
Cons: Don't have club sport I want, Great school but not as prestigious as others</p>

<p>Financially, my father is willing to pay about 30k a year for my schools. Unfortunately, he is businessman, and consequentially, our FAFSA's EFC is a lot higher than it should be...We're going to talk to all the schools. Do you think any of the schools would take another look at my family's personal financial situation (Debt-business, not consumer)?</p>

<p>Also, I am looking to go pre-med and want to graduate with as little debt as possible. Can anyone comment on the pre-med opportunities at each of the schools above? Thank you!</p>

2

<p>It is EXTREMELY doubtful you will get any additional aid on the basis of business debt. I have no idea why UNC is not your top choice with the price involved. It’s a great school.</p>

3

<p>Barring any additional, it would cost (everything) about 58k for Penn, 53k for Vandy, 42k for UNC, 49k for UVA, and 30k for Tulane
Right now, I’d probably be happy with all 5 schools mentioned, I know UNC is great</p>

4

<p>I presume, then, that you’re not IS for either UNC or UVA? If not, you must factor in travel expenses as well.</p>

5

<p>Dude give me ur acceptance to vandy. then your choices will narrow down some more.</p>

6

<p>Looks like you have only one financially realistic choice out of that list since your cost limit is $30,000 per year and one school meets that.</p>

7

<p>I understand, but if I were to get say, 15k a year to Penn, would it be worth it to take the loans to go there?</p>

8

<p>Since you mention pre-med, keeping cost and debt down is a very important consideration. Medical school is expensive, so undergraduate debt is not something you want to drag along through medical school. (And that applies even more if you want to major in something with poor job and career prospects at the bachelor’s level, such as biology.)</p>

9

<p>How are you going to “get” 15K for Penn when you are full pay?? The only school that meets your cost constraints is Tulane. Go there, get good grades and a good MCAT, go to Med school…</p>

10

<p>Sit down with your parents, and run your numbers here so that you can compare them side by side: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) Right now Tulane appears to be the clear winner unless you have a home-state public U that you have not listed here.</p>

11

<p>@Erin’s Dad, the Fafsa largely misrepresents our family income because my father is a small business owner. All company assets are counted as his while in reality they are in no way ours.</p>

<p>@Happymomof1 There’s no way I’d choose my state U over Tulane. The cost would be the same and Tulane is a fantastic school.</p>

12

<p>What is your home state university?</p>

13

<p>University of Rhode Island</p>

14

<p>Then it looks like Tulane it is. Go there. Do well. Don’t look back.</p>

15

<p>What in the heck is wrong with URI?? A close friend of mine graduated from there.</p>

16

<p>Nothing’s “wrong” with URI, its just that going to a state school from the smallest state is basically like high school all over again. They also offer no real scholarships. I just want to leave New England…</p>

17

<p>If your family is happy paying $30K+ then that’s great. Good luck</p>

18

<p>I’m not sure what you’re saying…Pay 25K for the state school and already know everyone or Pay 30K for a private research university that’s the most highly regarded school on the Gulf Coast and will have much more cultural diversity. This doesn’t really seem like a question.</p>

19

<p>Cavalier16,</p>

<p>You say your father will pay approximately $30K per year and you want to minimize debt. You have a school on your list that will cost you about $30K per year. You can ask other schools to “take another look” at your family’s financial situation but it is unlikely to yield anything. You may think FAFSA misrepresents your income, but it’s likely that it represents it just the way the fed thinks it should be represented and that the CSS Profile form does the same (assuming at least some of these schools that call you full pay require both FAFSA and CSS).</p>