<p>I am majoring in Biochem and want to go on to med school.
Ok first University of Rochester has been my dream institute for a long time. I got in yesterday and have been torn because while I got a lot of aid (35,000), it's still not enough. I would have to take about $17,000 in loans every year to attend there. I will stay in an apartment after two years so that price will go down a little but it's still substantial. </p>
<p>Now it's either UR or Florida State University. I loved FSU when I visited it and I will be an honor student there. I really really want to go to UR but I don't know if I should be saving my loan money for med school. I was researching around and apparently $17,000-$20,000 a year is average for some people so I really don't know if I should go through with this. I feel like I would be missing a great opportunity if I don't go to UR but then again I should consider the financial problems our family faces.</p>
<p>Would it be hard finding a loan for med school if I take this much?</p>
<p>I am no specialist, but simply reading this forum one can see that a loan of 100l/year is a LOT, and somewhat unreasonable, especially bearing in mind the fact that you want to go to a med school after that. So my answer is NO, dont take that much money. Advice:
- How much are your parents willing to pay?
- Is this merit-based aid, need-based?
You can always ask them to take another look at your application, etc, but in order for us to be helpful, we need more info.</p>
<p>pardon 100k for 4 years</p>
<p>Funadamental rule #1: If you want to go to med school, what matters most is high grades in premed classes, a high MCAT score, and strong recommendations - where you went to undergraduate school does not particularly enter into the mix unless you’re trying for one of the research MD/PhD med school slots, where it might be helpful. (U Rochester is probably not in the group of schools that give you that boost, however.) Some friends met in med school – one went to an Ivy League for undergrad, the other to a college none of us have likely ever heard of – both ended up at the same med school, and the one who went to the tiny unknown college is the one in the much more lucrative specialty.</p>
<p>Fundamental Rule # 2: Med school is very, very expensive. Students should do everything possible to graduate without debt or with absolutely minimal debt, because they’ll most likely need to borrow a lot for medical school and those debts grow quickly. Also, there is a cap on the overall debt amount allowed under the federal programs, and med school will absorb most of that. (And, while some state med schools have more modest costs for in-state residents, competition to get into them is fierce – you need to plan on paying private or OOS med school costs.)</p>
<p>Med school is very expensive - running between $200k - 260k (at today’s prices…it would be higher when YOU go).</p>
<p>If you borrow for undergrad, you will have a harder time getting loans for med school.</p>
<p>The max Stafford for med school and undergrad (combined) is $224k. So, if you’ll need over $200k for med school, that means you shouldn’t borrow for undergrad. </p>
<p>*And, while some state med schools have more modest costs for in-state residents, competition to get into them is fierce *</p>
<p>While it’s true that in-state med schools are usually cheaper than private, they still have COAs in the $45k+ range. </p>
<p>And, yes, the competition to get in them is fierce! We are hoping our son gets into the better state med school in our state (which will costs about $200k), but if he doesn’t, we have to prepare for more expensive options.</p>
<p>I don’t really know what kind of aid I am getting. They’re giving me 22,000 in grants and 10,000 for the IB scholarship</p>
<p>I think that what we’re trying to tell you is that significant debt for undergraduate school (and $17K a year in debt is really, really significant) is an incredible problem when you then face med school and its costs. </p>
<p>If FSU is enormously less out-of-pocket (and it sounds like it is, though you didn’t provide numbers), I think most parents here would strongly advise you to take that option.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>Any student who borrows $17k per year (and the amounts would likely rise and school costs rise), will end up borrowing about $75k. That’s too much even if you weren’t going to go to med school.</p>
<p>But, since med school is in your plans, the thought of having $75k in debt just for undergrad is ridiculous. Do you know how much that will grow to while it’s being deferred while in med school? </p>
<p>Are you getting co-signers for these loans?</p>