@JustGraduate Yes they have agreed to consign on the loans and I will be responsible for repaying them after the completion of my studies. However they advise against it. I’m just trying to determine if such debt is worth the price? I realize student loans and paying off debt is a hardship well worth avoiding I’m just trying to find the best education for getting me into medical school and if it comes to it providing a reputable degree if I can’t get in. I’m just trying to determine if paying more for a school with strong undergraduate studies AND a medical school is worth it. Or should I just pay less for a school with one of the two and hope for the best?
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I'm just not so sure why you associate UAH WITH UAB's regional medical school. <<
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i don’t, necessarily – but you did post: “I know its a great engineering/nursing school with ties to UAB Huntsville Medical Center,” that led me to believe there might be some sort of connection that might give you an advantage if you go to UAH.
in my long post in #18 all I said was: “and you even have a local medical school.”
that’s all. i didn’t say they were associated. i just said it’s there. as in, “if you get accepted there and need to save money, you might be able to live at home while attending med school.”
it’s kind of odd that in such a long post, you would focus on “and you even have a local medical school” and comment exclusively on whether there is an association between UAH and UAB-Med Huntsville. that was not even remotely the point of the post.
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I see no reason why UAH is a "great situation in my own backyard". <<
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because you can easily commute to a good school that offers you a full-tuition 4-year scholarship, saving you and your parents tens of thousands of dollars in undergrad expenses that can be used for medical school. you can graduate with absolutely no debt, vs having your parents pay, what, $60K for Kentucky, plus you will have to borrow another $60K? sinking $120K+ into a undergrad degree from Kentucky makes no sense when you can graduation from UAH with NO DEBT!
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If anything it less likely to get me into medical school than south as it has no medical program to speak of. <<
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but i already said South Alabama early acceptance was your best option and i hope they will accept you. but if they do not, and you still want to shoot for medical school, then you want to minimize your undergrad debt as much as possible – not pass up full-tuition scholarships so you can drain over $120,000 of you and your family’s current and future resources to go to Kentucky.
@Wien2NC odd that I would focus on the main reason I would attend a school? Whether or not it has a pathway to medical school as well as a good education? What I meant by the South comment was that I might as well attend undergraduate school there because it would give me a better chance of getting into medical school than UAH, be free, and have the new undergraduate experience. As far as your remarks about wasting money I’m trying to determine if it is worth paying to go to a more expensive school that would have a full package of medical school and great education as well as the ties of a large university which you clearly don’t think it is. But may I ask why? You haven’t given any reasons why Kentucky or any of the others are such abhorrent cases of “wasting money”. Yes they cost more but they offer more opportunities. I’m just trying to determine if it’s worth those perks or should I just try a small school and lose some of those benefits and limit my chances
Wait to see if you get into the early medical acceptance program at SA. If you do, grab it. It sounds perfect for your career plans.
Otherwise, I probably would choose Auburn (or SA if you really like it better). The other schools are fine and a couple of them (Florida, Georgia) are a little higher in some rankings, but they are not that different and not worth a huge amount of debt when you have a similar reputable option in Auburn. Medical school is hugely expensive. You don’t want to go into that already deep in debt. Also remember that you may change your mind and decide not to go into medicine at all. A small amount of debt is worth it for a good fit. 3,000 a year for Auburn makes sense.
A larger amount of debt may be worth it if the quality difference between the schools is truly significant, but this is not such a situation. You are deciding between Auburn/SA or Florida/Georgia/Baylor/Cincinnati. Now if you were deciding between Auburn/SA or Harvard/Amherst/Duke/UChicago, my advice might be different.
First, find out from Auburn how they do with placing grads into Med school despite not being near a big city. My guess is that people do go to med school from there. Second, you may not need loans for Auburn if you get a job on campus and work summers. $3000 is not that much money. Third, you may decide not to go to med school so pick the school that has the best overall rep, and that would be Auburn. Just my opinion
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What I meant by the South comment was that I might as well attend undergraduate school there because it would give me a better chance of getting into medical school than UAH, be free, and have the new undergraduate experience. <<
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agreed. SA with their early acceptance program is your best option.
Kentucky does not guarantee acceptance into their medical school, right? so you can apply to medical schools with a BS/BA and high GPA from UAH, just as easily as you can from Kentucky, and save $120K+ in the process.
i just don’t think you have a concept of how much debt $100K-$200K – for undergrad alone, mind you – actually is, and how long it would take to pay off.
a BS or BA from Kentucky is just NOT worth $120K more than a BS or BA from UAH.
at this point i hope @mom2collegekids can weigh in as she has far more experience and insight into sound strategies on forging a path from undergrad to med school
Med school is all about avoiding debt. You need to exit UG with no debt. I vote for South.
Biology is a very useful major in the medical field. You can do other things than a Dr.
Best of luck.