<p>Okay, here’s the situation; I was accepted to several schools and I narrowed my choices to:</p>
<li>Vandy ($0 merit aid +$43k in Financial aid)</li>
<li>Rice ($0 merit aid + $23k in Financial aid)</li>
<li>Northwestern ($0 merit aid + $32k in Financial aid)</li>
<li>U of Tulsa (Full-ride Scholarship)</li>
<li>W&L University (Full-ride Scholarship)</li>
</ol>
<p>My parents can afford $10k/year and I’m kinda in a difficult situation given the opportunities available at Rice, Vandy, and Northwestern compared to the full-ride with limited opportunities at U Tulsa or W&L. Any advice what to do or where to go. Also, I’ll be doing pre-med and hoping to go to Med School, any idea about Med school acceptance rate out of the pre-med students from the schools above.</p>
<p>I’d say given your financial situation and your intended major, I would choose Vanderbilt. It’s got a top-notch med program with a hospital right on campus. Northwestern has a good pre-med program, but their hospital is in downtown chicago and less convenient for volunteer/intern opportunities. I don’t know much about your other choices, though. But if your parents can afford 10k/yr and you got 43k in aid, that should just about cover the cost - anything else you can cover with loans. But of course, by posting this on a vanderbilt thread most of your advice will be pro-vanderbilt :)</p>
<p>if you are going to med school you need to graduate with zero debt.</p>
<p>congrats on your fantastic outcomes…you are something else! </p>
<p>You can’t afford Rice…unless you appeal you award…ditto Northwestern. If you are in love with Rice or NW…you should appeal quickly to see if they will up their awards.</p>
<p>Vandy is a tiny stretch but your summer job alone and your parent contribution will close that gap</p>
<p>so in my opinion, you must choose between small personal excellent LAC in a quiet stunningly beautiful tiny town or choose the medium sized science/ powerhouse Vandy with the med school and hospitals on grounds in a vibrant city…this all becomes about personal fit. (My Dad went to VMI and I know Lexington very well.) </p>
<p>Personal relationships with professors are amazing at Washington and Lee but the social options are over 80% Greek…so that must “suit” you. Teachers at Washington and Lee will get your ready for med school if that is your dream without a doubt…if you are focused…it is a hard school. You don’t have to go to Vandy to get that done.</p>
<p>You will also be giving up Nashville and the world of the hospitals on grounds as a trade off. I personally feel that the presence of the grad schools offers terrific “context” for undergrads for career exploration and dropping into the grad schools to catch world class speakers in medicine and other fields.</p>
<p>Personally, I like Vandy the best for a premed of the two…but many roads lead to Nirvanna. I live among many Wash and Lee grads and they are all amazing people who lead meaningful lives and contribute a great deal of leadership whereever they go…</p>
<p>you can’t go “wrong” so go where your heart lifts a bit…and where you social needs are best met. </p>
<p>go to accepted student days at Vandy…for sure. I assume you were already on campus quite a bit to land a full ride to Wash and Lee so you may have absorbed enough there.</p>
<p>no, it is just an opinion/common sense. There is a thread on this website for only premeds…try posting there and see about what people who have been through this would comment…but med school is ENORMOUSLY expensive and many people must borrow at least part of that…so I would recommend you borrow later for grad school and not at all now if you can avoid it. </p>
<p>my spouse is a Vandy Law grad and it took us a decade of monthly payments, one of us taking public transportation, simple living and living with only one car to pay them back…very tight in beginners years…funding a medical education is complex for most people. was the degree worth that? certainly! but be prepared for serious financing issues in med school that may determine where you go…my son’s friends at Duke are going to med schools all over the country and comparing costs and debt load and offers right now.</p>
<p>you should be very pleased with yourself. your hard work has given you great options. Vandy is a wonderful premed school and you should be able to fully enjoy that offer…or opt for the alternate life in a top LAC and take that route. All good.</p>
<p>S is a law student now and is funding the experience with a combination of scholarship and loans. Since he is a mature 25, I haven’t meddled into the details, but he told me last summer that professional school loans, unlike undergrad, begin to accrue interest immediately. Having zero debt heading into that scenario would certainly be a plus.</p>