To cut to the chase, this is what it boils down to for me:
Option 1: State school (UMichigan) with a full merit ride and 2 summers of guaranteed paid research (includes a 4.5k stipend for both summers)
Option 2: Stanford, Yale, or Harvard (in that order, of preference) but at full cost.
My family is relatively wealthy and I did not get financial aid. With that being said, I would still have to pay about 30% of my total tuition fund not counting rent in the later 2 years, meaning I would have to commit somewhere in the realm of $80,000 +/- some nuance depending on the school.
Now the thing is, I know premed isn’t really something that matters where you go to school. Additionally, I feel like not having to work a job/literally getting paid to go to a very damn good college at UMich is way better for my mental health/financials down the line than shelling out almost 100k out of my own pocket, not to mention my parents, for some small prestige boost.
Would the $80,000 to $100,000 have to be borrowed? That much would require a cosigner… and would not be a good idea in any scenario.
Also, take a look at how expensive medical school is. It is unlikely that you want to bring a large amount of undergraduate debt along into medical school. Large debt may force some career and life choices that you may not otherwise choose. If the $80,000 to $100,000 is in a college fund, then keeping to pay for medical school may allow for completing medical school with less debt at the end.
However, most frosh pre-meds do not eventually apply to medical school (change interests, or weeded out by GPA or MCAT too low to have a realistic chance of admission). Of those who do, only about 40% get into a medical school (most who do get into only one, so they have no choice about choosing a less expensive one). So you definitely do want to consider which school you would like to attend and graduate from in the non-medical-school scenario.
In any circumstances other than if ~$320,000 is pocket change to you and your family, it is pretty hard to pass up a full ride at Michigan when compared to ~$320,000 cost at the other schools – especially if you will be a biology major, where major-related job and career prospects are relatively low paid.
You had me sold here - elite public institution with a with a full merit ride and 2 summers of guaranteed paid research (includes a 4.5k stipend for both summers) vs. spending $320K.
Honestly, it’s not really a legitimate question. Take the money and don’t look back. Michigan is a tinge lower than Stanford/Yale…so all your hard work saved your family $320K.
Even if you can afford it doesn’t mean you need to.
Medicine is still a great career but no longer one that you can guarantee a long career of high income. If your family can afford to pay the full ride I would absolutely go to Michigan and have them put that money in an investment fund for you as a nest egg. Good luck and congrats! Amazing!
No brainer…Michigan. Medical schools don’t care where you go. Ask your parents if they’d contribute what you saved them towards your medical school. Congrats!
I think young people have no concept of how much money $80,000 (or any amount) really is. That’s sooooo much money. You will be doing well to get a job that pays $80k a year right out of college. Paying back those loans, with interest, which will have to be co-signed for, will possibly take decades.
Consider that you’ll pay rent, bills, groceries, maybe want to buy new clothes or a car, a bike, take a vacation, go out with friends, buy a concert ticket, etc… Maybe you’ll want to buy a house and start a family. To be stuck paying back that kind of money as an undergrad is just not tenable.
You should choose Michigan and be very proud of yourself. Best of luck.
If someone came along to you and said, “Go to the University of Michigan and I will give you the money to pay for med school so your total to pay is $320,000”, or “Go to Stanford, Yale, or Harvard and you will be paying $640,000 for undergraduate and med school”, which one would you take? That’s essentially what you have.
Med schools look at GPA and MCATs, not the US News ranking or prestige. Even if they did, do you think they would penalize you for attending the UMich?
Go to U Michigan. You will need your college fund for med school, unless you wind up going the MD-PhD route, in which case you can just invest your college fund in the stock market, and it will pay for ALL your children to go to college.
People have been talking about the financial advantages of Michigan, which are huge. There is something else in the original post that caught my attention.
I think that this is a big deal also. Being paid is nice. Getting to spend the summer working on research is however more valuable.
I do not understand what this means. Does this mean that you would be borrowing that much? You cannot borrow that much unless a parent cosigns the loan. Do you have your own money to spend at this level?
Regardless, when your alternative is Michigan with no debt and with guaranteed research opportunities, that is a really great alternative. Congratulations on earning this.
I don’t see how this is even a consideration. I mean, aside from tens of thousands of dollars saved, UMich provides summer research, and it’s paid.
I don’t even see why you have to ask, the answer is so obvious.
Hell, even students at USO would tell you that you should attend Michigan.
BTW, calling UMich a state school is like calling Cornell a land-grant uni. They’re both true, but by alumni achievements, UMich is a near-Ivy (on par with ND/USC/NYU).
I also agree that UMich for free with those opportunities is a no-brainer.
