@srk2017 Hi, did you give up a BSMD to go to Vandy. What’s the reason behind lead to this decision?
My daughter is facing the same hard time right now. She got accepted into Vandy, Rice, Emory, Tulane, Boston College, and U Rochester, all with full-ride or full-tuition scholarships. She just received a notification today that she’s admitted into the Pitt GAP program with around $31k/year grants and aid, but we are not local so will end up paying about $18k to attend Pitt UG. We didn’t know what to do as we are not rich.
@hriant88 - yes, my son gave up AMC/RPI and BU BSMDs for Vandy since he got CV scholarship. Pitt GAP is great program except it has 3.75 GPA requirement for each semester. Which schools did she get full-ride? Vandy doesn’t have full rides and I heard U of R also doesn’t give full tuition or ride.
@srk2017 Vandy does, as well BC and Emory. Paul Tulane is full-tuition, as U Rochester (two grants, actually a bit over the tuition & fees). The 3.75 GPA policy is actually by the end of Junior year (clearly stated on our acceptance letter), NOT each semester as the website said. At the interview the Director of the program, Dr. Rao, also confirmed this during our parent meeting.
@hriant88 Congrats. Take time and do a complete analysis before giving up UPitt Gap because of cost. It is a good program and decent scholarship. Even if it is free tuition, it means, only tuition is waived but there are many fees normally school charges and they need to be paid. So prepare a detailed list for each of your UG school and see what is the net from your pocket. Unless one of the school in your list is your home town and she plans to commute from home, it will cost some thing from your pocket for any options. I learned that now. In my D school it comes around $7k / year though she got a full tuition… Also explore if your D can apply for any student loan or any other external scholarship.
DD got accepted into Pitt GAP program . We are going for sure since medical school is her dream . I learned so much from this website . We are traveling for spring break now and will post more details later for future who are interested bs/md .
@hriant88 UPitt Gap is really one to consider if you can manage the fees. Since it’s not an accelerated program you are on the hook for the full 4 years of undergrad at about $75K. Their med school tuition is in line with many others around the country, so the question becomes is your DD fully committed to a career in medicine, if so UPitt is the one to choose. Since you said they are giving her around $31K/year that would cover your tuition. After 1st or 2nd year (depending on school policy) it is not mandatory for students to live on campus, so she could quite possibly live off campus and save a good amount of money in years 3/4 and possibly year 2 as well.
@hriant88 How difficult will it be to get a GPA 3.75 at UPitt GAP ? Not many places give you a full-ride. Full tuition is the best deal most people get now a days. Who would want to go through this process again in nearly 3 years ?
@caballero and @hriant88 congrats. When we went to the UPitt interview, the program director was asked about the 3.75 GPA. She communicated her answer in the most descriptive way. She said they averaged around 10 students in the program for the last ten years. Only 2 did not finish. One was for personal reasons and the other over loaded with honors classes (against the advice of the advisor).
@hriant88 - Is the Vandy aide need based or merit based? As per I know, their top 3 scholarships are full-tuition only. Did she get one of those scholarships or got need based full-ride?. My S thinks he can get into better medical school than BU (like the top medical schools in CA, since we are instate). I am hoping and praying that he will achieve that.
If finances are any issue, I would recommend Vandy or Emory. PM me if you want to discuss more privately.
@srk2017 She got the CS and then an outside one that tops it. Which part of CA you are from? and which interview day you attended at BU? we may meet before…
@grtd2010 She’s 100% committed. It’s just us as we are not rich. And Pitts med is no cheap. At the interview, they told us to budget about $80k a year. Then plus the UG total for $75k that’s a $400k debt she’s looking at at the exit.
MD education is around $250-300+k minimum. Unlike UG, very few Merit scholarships.
Except for Tx, Baylor and Uof Wisconsin (for IS), the cost is very high.
In some states (CA) even the IS fees is very high $35k/year.
Yes, UPitt has some weird structure and understanding with PA state. That is why even IS fees is high in UPitt.
School net Cost is always higher (just to be on the safe side). Only the tuition and academic related fees are actual. Yes, we need to budget for R&B. But this will change depending on how some one plans to live after the 1st year to make any savings. Also schools gives fees for other expenses like books, travel, car, misc etc may be on the higher side, depending on individual / family perspective and how frugal and adept a student is going to be. For example the $75k for UG seems to be on the safer side. That is why you need to prepare your own spreadsheet based on your own situation to arrive at a number which is realistic to your situation.
If you feel your home state fees is very cheap for MD, agree it makes sense. Otherwise it may not make huge difference.
@hriant88 - From NorCal and BU interview was on 01/20. There are very few schools which give merit scholarships for med school and Vandy is one of them. If you want to cheap medical school education go traditional and try out for scholarships or move to TX.