I’m feel lucky to be able to make this decision but I also feel like a month isn’t enough…
I’m from the southwestern PA area and I have two main options I’m looking at now: pitt or university of Pennsylvania.
Both campuses are urban, diverse, and strong in the health sciences, which I of course love.
The problem comes down to the never ending debate of prestige v price tag.
At Pitt, I was lucky enough to receive a full tuition scholarship and admittance to the honors college. This leaves COA at around 18k a year. However, UPenn would be around full pay for my family- putting it at a whopping 75k a year. Now my parents may be able to pay this on paper according to the stats used to calculate EFC, but in reality it would be a stress for my family (have to take at least 80k total in loans if not wayyy more, as over four years Penn would cost around 320k; also family salary right now is uncertain, and currently paying for grandparents’ health expenses overseas, which the outrageously high EFC does not seem to take into account).
I feel like I made this really obvious - being saddled with thousands in debt BEFORE med school seems incredibly unwise - but is the difference between Pitt and Penn worth it? The education, prestige? Also considering the fact that I’d like to go into medical policy later on, and getting into selective med schools seem to depend more and more now on the “brand name” of the undergrad?
Thanks for reading this, I’ve been asking literally everyone I know for advice and it’s been a mixed bag so far. It’s gonna be a rough month…
I would say Pitt just because your goal is med school and your undergrad school doesn’t matter all too much with your future. BUT if you ever don’t want premed anymore at Pitt, you are screwed since they are not great at anything other than medical stuffs, whereas Penn is more well-rounded (atleast that is what everyone is telling me)
That’s what I’m worried about. And I’m not the kind of person that’s 100% set on medicine. I’m like 90% sure. So I don’t know…I don’t want to put undue financial burden on my parents either tho
@collage99 Meds school do not care about “brand name” of undergrad. And every US medical school is extremely selective. Med schools care about overall gpa and gpa in premed requisites courses, MCAT score, community service, medical experience (shadowing doctor or exposure to hospital and patients) and research. Pitt has The UPiitMedicalCenter on campus which should provide opportunities for internship. Also they are one of the premier research universities so you will also get opportunities for research. Pitt’s strength is in the sciences and if you do well there and take advantage of all the opportunities offered you will be in just as good a place if not better than if you attended Penn. With free tuition you have an exceptional opportunity and are very fortunate. Money saved can help you get a good debt free start on life after med school. It will be a long time before you start earning money as a doctor. I really think this is not too difficult of a choice. But best of luck with whatever you decide!
Update edit: You don’t say what your other fallback interest is but if it’s business Pitt has a very good business school, and it will be much easier to do an infra-school transfer there than into Wharton at Penn.
@trackmbe3 thank you!! that’s what I’ve been hearing from most everyone. I really do think I’d be able to take advantage of Pitt’s proximity to the UPMC medical centers. And I’m still torn on passing up an Ivy…but I know at the end of the day I’ll be happy at either place 
@trackmbe3 and my fallback would be either pure research science, public health/health policy or genetic counseling…None of which are “medicine” per se, but all fields in which pitt is still a top school for so
Pitt isn’t just good at “medical stuff”. Their business school is strong as are other areas of study in addition to the sciences. As someone who has been saddled with law school debt I advise not to borrow anymore than absolutely necessary. It will impact your career & life decisions for years to come.
@Cookies510 thank you so much. I think it’s really necessary to get advice from people that have good experience with how debt affects later prospect. I am also thinking the amount difference is definitely not worth it… thanks again for your advice!
@collage99 if you only had to borrow a few thousand more a year to make it work it might be worth it but the monthly payments on $80K in debt is the equivalent of a mortgage payment. Best of luck in whatever choice you make!
@trackmbe3 “Meds school do not care about “brand name” of undergrad.”
That’s not always true, my counselor told me that being in an ivies help if you can get the same gpa as the other colleges
@Angelababy30 along the same line, I’ve heard that the more top tier a med school is, the way more name brand matters. So for the majority of med schools in the US it might not matter, but for top 10/top 20 - all other things equal - name brand would matter more…
But I don’t know if it’s worth hundreds of thousands of dollars more. That’s my main dilemma. Hopefully I can build a strong enough CV in undergrad it’ll make up for the lower “prestige”. Because my goal is to go to a top medical school…
University of Pittsburgh honors with full scholarship.
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@Angelababy30 Meds schools look at more than gpa --they look at MCAT score, demonstrated interest and passion for becoming a doctor (evidenced through medical related internships, medical related community service, medical-related work experience), research, strength of interview, and committee letter and/or letters of recommendation. Assuming that everything is equal then I suppose that the perceived brand of Ivy League could sway an admissons officer and tip the balance in favor of the Ivy applicant versus a non-Ivy league applicant. But medical students come from all undergrad schools --it’s not worth it for OP to spend $280K over 4 years when OP has free tuition offer at perfectly fine other national university. If you look at the tables put out by the Associafion of American Medical Colleges for 2017-18, Pitt supplied 305 applicants to US medical schools whereas Penn supplied 296. Granted, Penn has less overall students (10,000 vs. 19,000) but the chart is useful to see the wide range of undergrad institutions which supply medical schools with applicants. Checkout the tables in https://www.aamc.org/download/321458/data/factstablea2-7.pdf IMO it’s the student more than the name of the school he/she attends that is more determinative in whether the applicant gets admitted to medical school.
@trackmbe3 also ivies have more opportunities if OP doesnt want to do premed anymore. Pluse that they have generally better research opportunities with one of the very best hospital on campus (I know that Upitt have a great hospital too)
@trackmbe3 thank you for linking that data! Also I am visiting Pitt on the 14th; definitely going to ask about pre med advising and also speak with someone from the HC. Also at Pitt with my AP credits I plan on trying for a double major in Neuroscience and International Studies in Politics/Economy, which may be harder to do at Penn from what I’ve heard.
Obviously there’s a difference between Pitt and Penn but for me, right now, it doesn’t seem like a $200k+ difference
@collage99 Btw Penn doesn’t take AP credits unless you have a five (most subject areas). I would recommend Pitt for its lower cost but from what I know and told that a lot of premed students end up leaving their track so I would say Penn is better just for their better opportunities at other area as well. But try to contact the financial aid office since they might be willing to negotiate your package and situation.
@Angelababy30 ah, I see. thanks for your advice!!
@collage99 I thought I would jump in with my perspective to try my best to help you out. I am a current Pitt student, so I’m a little biased, but I applied to an Ivy and other prestigious schools just like you, so I understand the struggle you’re going through. I have a full tuition scholarship to Pitt, and I am grateful every day that I did not pass it up. It really helped my family out. Although I am not pre-med, most of my best friends are planning on becoming doctors, so I have a little insight into the undergraduate pre-med world. Pitt is a fantastic school for pre-med students. It is right next to UPMC hospitals, as you mentioned, and it has numerous opportunities for pre-med students to get involved and improve their list of accomplishments to get into med school. I also want to note that Pitt is not just a school for the sciences - it is extremely well-rounded. It has top philosophy philosophy, business, and social work programs (to name a few), and I absolutely adore the mathematics department. I want to make it clear – I’m not at all trying to sway you to choose Pitt! I cannot speak for Upenn, though I know it is a top school, and I’m sure you would be extremely happy there. I just wanted to share my experience and observations with you to give you a little insider info on Pitt. It’s a great place to go to school (with abundant opportunities). Feel free to ask any more questions, if you want! I can ask my pre-med friends if I don’t know the answers.
@theBravenclaw thank you so much for the details!! Yeah I also love Pitt’s philosophy, writing, and international studies departments. I also don’t want to burden my parents financially, I’m like 90% sure I’m headed to pitt!
Many med school aspirants do not end up in med school. If you became one of them and you did not have other grad school aspirations – if you only wanted the Bachelor’s degree – Penn’s prestige and quality might make the price difference worth it if your family can afford it. Right out of school, the vast majority of Penn grads are seriously hooked up with great jobs. Penn’s career services department is probably second to none.
If you would have other grad aspirations even if med school didn’t work out, Pitt is the better choice due to the ~$200k savings.