Please help...I'm going crazy!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Hi, I know I've posted this everywhere, but I'm desperately seeking advice, and I'd like to get as many opinions as possible.</p>

<p>Ok, so, here goes...</p>

<p>I know the deadline has passed for informing schools of decisions, however, Columbia just sent me an email today saying that if I still wanted to attend, I could reply by Thursday, May 12th. I already sent in my enrollment fee to the University of Miami, where I was accepted into the 7 year guaranteed med program, and I was pretty much dead set on it. Columbia was always my dream, I never figured I'd get in, and when I did, it was even more disappointing because of the price tag. After Columbia, I'd be in about 200K of debt. Miami, with its guarantee and scholarship aid, seemed more practical, so I chose it.</p>

<p>However, I'm having second thoughts, mostly because I don't think I'll be happy at Miami. I go to a public school, and honestly, I'm sick of the general apathy students have towards academics here. I've spoken to many students at Miami, namely those in the program and a few regular students, and they have all said that the general atmosphere of Miami, though pretty laid-back, is much like a public school. I'm more of an "intellectual" type of student, and I feel I won't fit in at Miami. The thing that attracted me to it was the guarantee, the scholarship, and how I'd be pretty relaxed with not having to apply to med school again.</p>

<p>Now that I think about it, though, I feel like I'm sacrificing the great educational and social/extracurricular experience of Columbia for a med program that might not be so great after all. I know I want to become a doctor, but I also want to have the best college experience as possible, academically and otherwise, which I think Columbia will offer to a greater extent than Miami. I'm willing to work hard to get into med school again, even though I know I will be more stressed, but I keep thinking Columbia will be worth it.</p>

<p>So, do you think its best that I stick with the "safe" option and go with Miami, or sort of fulfill my "dream" and go to Columbia?</p>

<p>I'm sorry this post was so long, but any advice/comments would be greatly appreciated. This whole ordeal is driving my parents and me crazy!</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>$200,000 in debt? How do you figure that? Can't you apply for some kind of need-based financial aid? Scholarships? Etc?</p>

<p>If money is a big consideration and you either don't qualify for aid or don't get enough, then it may not make sense to come here. However, if you're an intellectual student and you were offered admission, I think the choice is pretty clear.</p>

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<p>If Miami isn't a place where you think you'll be happy, are you sure you want to spend 7 whole years there?</p>

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<p>Although I have to admit that Columbia is very tempting, but looking at the pricetag I don't think it is worth it at all. Do you want to be in 200K debt? It is a lot of money. I don't think that going to columbia will necessary make you a good doctor neither will Miami. It depends on yourself. I am currently at a college where a lot of people are uninspired, but that does not affect how hard I work. You can be a good doctor at Miami if you want to and it is cheaper also.
I hope that you make the right decision.</p>

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<p>I factored in more costs than just tuition...I figured it'd be about ~$50,000 per year with transportation from home to school, NYC living costs, etc so that's how I got 200K. I don't qualify for aid, and my parents are willing to take loans. I guess money isn't the main issue here, more so if I want to give up a med school "guarantee" versus an ivy league education. I guess I still have a day or two to think about it...I just keep thinking that whatever I choose, I'll regret it.</p>

<p>Edit:</p>

<p>Thank you all for replying. I really appreciate your comments. I'm sure I'll like Miami, but I think I'll like NYC more...right now, I'm leaning towards Columbia.</p>

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<p>I hope you love Columbia next year (wink).</p>

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<p>Dont worry about a med school guarantee...many people come to college as premed only to discover they don't want to study/practice medicine. Besides, Columbia is ranked at/near the top for med school placement, along with Harvard, Yale, and Hopkins. (source: <a href="http://www.studlife.com/media/paper337/news/2003/10/10/News/Wu.Fails.To.Place.Grads.In.Top.Schools.Study.Says-525349.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studlife.com/media/paper337/news/2003/10/10/News/Wu.Fails.To.Place.Grads.In.Top.Schools.Study.Says-525349.shtml&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>Also, $50k for transportation? Unless you're planning on having a royal entourage accompany you as you make the journey I don't see how you could have reached that figure.</p>

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<p>go with your gut. if you're going to be a doctor, more likely than not you'll make oodles of money...so do you really want to sacrifice your "dream" college experience for a couple of thousand dollars? okay, it IS a lot of money but if your gut says columbia, you might regret going somewhere else.</p>

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<p>Achilleus, he figured on 50,000 per year all included, not just transportation.</p>

<p>I know, college isn't such an amazing bargain if you don't qualify for aid. People getting huge grants are getting a really good deal. Sometimes the less expensive things are just fine, but sometimes they're a disappointment.</p>

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<p>Ah. I've been studying for finals for the past 6 hours and I had two finals earlier. I'm not a math guy, anyway :)</p>

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<p>No big deal. Good luck with your finals. Goodnight. I've been working on an English essay. ToBeContinued. . . . after I get some sleep.</p>

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<p>I've always been a big believer in education being worth almost any price. If money isn't a consideration, I think you'd be crazy to give up Columbia. Even if it is, I think the experience is worth the $200,000, and you'll probably end up in a better med school than Miami's anyway.</p>

<p>You sound like the sort of person that would want to go to Columbia, and your reasoning in your post is almost the exact same thing I would say to try to convince you:</p>

<p>...I feel like [you're] sacrificing the great educational and social/extracurricular experience of Columbia for a med program that might not be so great after all. [You] know [you] want to become a doctor, but [you] also want to have the best college experience as possible, academically and otherwise, which I think Columbia will offer to a greater extent than Miami. [You're] willing to work hard to get into med school again, even though [you] know [you] will be more stressed [...] I keep thinking Columbia will be worth it.</p>

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<p>Columbia is a great school..</p>

<p>But I think you'd be crazy to not go to Miami. Guaranteed med school along with a scholarship.. Along with just being in Miami, that would be too good of a deal to pass up for me.</p>

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<p>I disagree acerockolla. Just being in Miami? For me, that would be like being a fish out of water.</p>

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<p>I live in Miami and my brother is in the six year medical program. He says its kind of slack. One of his professors though is an idiot because he makes his tests so hard and on topics that he has never taught! As a result, many of the medical students complain to the administration staff and dean of academics. Besides this, my brother doesn't even go to the lectures. He stays at home and watches the lectures online. However, he is getting sick of Miami and has even been rear-ended by some drug dealer on the way to UM's medical school campus. The UM medical school is in a very poor area and its environment is totally different from South Beach or UM's undergraduate campus in Coral Gables. Now my brother is considering doing his residency in NY at the NY Eye and Ear Infirmary. Maybe this info. will help you decide.</p>

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<p>Willy, I am going to attend Columbia next year and I was in a similar situation as you are in right now. </p>

<p>I was accepted to Columbia eng where I'd have to pay everything, no scholarships, nothing. I was also accepted at NYU where I would pretty much get a free ride. So how did I decide? Well I thought that since I already live in NYC and know NYU so well, a change of location within the same vicinity would be good. Next, NYU is just not as challenging as COlumbia and from what sickoffflorida has said it looks like the curriculum at UM is just not tough enough. Finally, brand name counts soo much for getting into a good grad/med school. COlumbia brand name > UM's. ALso, there are probably more opportunities for internships available in NY, more connections, etc. </p>

<p>So basically the money was a big issue but so were other factors and I thought that the VALUE of education would be worth the 200,000. So, hope this helps and I hope you make the right choice.</p>

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<p>If he/she wants to become a doctor and was able to get into Columbia, and a 7 year med program, then I'd say it's pretty safe to say that she will get into a med school. While she does enjoy the benefits of a free ride at Miami, she will have to pay 200,000 for Columbia undergrad, and then an additional 200k (I think that's how much they cost approx), he/she will leave school with about 400k in debt plus interest if loans are involved. While 400k does seem like alot, s/he would be able to pay that be pretty quickly just being a physician, and even quicker being a surgeon or w/e. So I'd say to go to the school that you want the most and excel academically at which seems to be Columbia. BTW, I give you this advice even though I am on the waitlist and this hurts my chances even more.</p>

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<p>He won't have the whole amount in debt. He will be paying some of it as he goes along. His parents will be handling some of it.</p>

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<p>You people underestimate how much debt $200k, much less 400k is. A very very large portion of your paycheck for a very long time will be going to pay off your loans. If your EFC is 0, then I'm assuming that your parents aren't willing to shell out any of it for you?</p>

<p>I mean holy crap thats a lot of money. If you're going to be a doctor, then it doesn't really matter where you go to school. Get a good GPA, take the MCAT in your undergrad, and apply to other med schools and leave Miami by time you graduate if you have the motivation to go to a better med school.</p>

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<ol>
<li> How sure are you that you want to be a doctor? Are you one of these people who has known most of your life that this is what you want to do?</li>
<li> If the answer is yes, then I would say Miami is an opportunity worth trying. First, $200,000 in debt before you even get to med school? You will not even begin to be able to start paying that back until you have completed your residency. Physician salaries are not what they used to be. Doctors are actually leaving medicine in our area because it is more and more difficult to make money at it. Which also means that the debt hanging over you might very well influence what kind of medicine you go into. Maybe you have your heart set on pediatrics, or working in an inner city community. Would you be able to? Or would the debt condemn you to life as a cosmetic surgeon ( :) )</li>
<li> Beyond money, think about what having a guaranteed med school entrance will mean for your undergrad experience. You don't HAVE to go to Miami med school, right? You could apply to Columbia or anywhere else. But if you do pre-med at Columbia you'll be competing like crazy for grades, attention from profs, research opportunities, with MCATs hanging over your head. And, there's always the chance you wouldn't get into med school, though I suspect given what got you so far so far would get you in somewhere.</li>
<li> There will be other students in this program, right? So, whatever the general tone on campus, you know there will be at least some who are like you -- high achievers. Miami is also on the upswing, academically.</li>
<li> If you dislike Miami as much as you anticipate, you can transfer.</li>
<li> I say all this as a Columbia fan. I'd probably advise you differently if you hadn't earned yourself such a great opportunity at Miami, or if medicine was just one possibility in your future. For example, if you were thinking about going on for a PhD in molecular biology, in which case your grad school would probably not add to your debt.</li>
</ol>

<p>I hope this helps your thinking, and that you are talking to your parents, as well as to people you know in medicine. Once you make your decision, relax. Nothing is writ in stone.</p>