<p>I was accepted to Fordham Rose Hill with everything covered by the Dean's Scholarship except for $5,500. However, I would be commuting from my home in Staten Island (an hour drive without traffic). I would have to pay $20 in tolls for a round trip each day. In addition, I would have to pay for gas (16 mpg, I estimate about $20 in gas for a round trip). Thus, assuming that there are 32 weeks of classes per academic year (a rough estimate), and that I would have classes four days of the week, I would spend $5,120 on transportation to and from Fordham per academic year. Therefore, I would be spending $10,620 a year to attend Fordham (minus fees, etc). I would be able to pay this off without any debt. </p>
<p>If I were to attend NYU, I would be paying $20,000 in tuition and $1400 for a two-way express bus trip. The trip would also be one hour long, but I would be able to do work while on the bus. To attend, I would be able to pay off about $10,000 and take a loan for the rest, per year. Thus, I would graduate with approximately $45,000 in owed loans. The benefit of attending NYU is that NYU has a Neuroscience major; I am hoping to become a neurologist.</p>
<p>My last choice is to attend Hunter College for $3,000 a year, after scholarships. I would easily be able to pay this off. However, Hunter is about 1.5 hours away. </p>
<p>I am planning on going the pre-med route. I am well-motivated and will likely succeed in either of the three colleges. It should be noted that I am agnostic and my family has a Jewish heritage.</p>
<p>Which would be the wisest choice? Any input would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m going to Fordham next year with a scholarship & would recommend that certainly over Hunter (based on my visits) & probably over NYU just because lol…to most people. But you’re not most people, are you? Realistically, Fordham is not well known for the pre-med/ neuroscience route. Also, your agnostic ways & Jewish heritage may make you feel weird at Fordham. Additionally, Fordham seems like a great environment for students who plan on dorming ( assuming you’re referring to Rose Hill). As a commuter, I think that Hunter is your best option. There are a lot of them there. You’ll enjoy the bus commute to the city & can take advantage of the time. The price is clearly gonna save you. You can get a great education. My cousin went to Hunter for some classes on audiology & found it to be a good school for her. I don’t know you well enough to give you the best advice, but I would go for Hunter. NYU seems overrated, overpriced, & blah. However, to be fair, NYU does have awesome programs & a very diverse population (lots of agnostic people & definitely lots of Jews). Good luck. I can’t believe I’m not recommending Fordham to someone. But hey, visit them all before you decide.</p>
<p>I would re-visit the schools and consider which is the best choice for you, especially given the finances and your plans for med school. Ask each school how many students (what % of all premeds) they actually send on to med school etc. I would not be particularly concerned about being Jewish/agnostic at Fordham. My S has friends who are Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist etc. and they are all fine. You will have to take 2 religion (the first class seems to vary depending on the prof, the second one is an elective and you can take Old Testament, Religions of the World etc) and two philosophy classes so if you can manage that, Fordham should not be a problem.</p>
<p>First, your estimates for cost of attendance and for commuting time will probably end up being lower than the reality. It’s NYC…it’s just the way it is. Tuition will go up each year but what’s really hard to predict are the other costs involved such as books, food while you’re on campus, spending money, etc. And you can’t REALLY know how much you will be spending on gas for the next four years. As far as the commute goes, you WILL hit traffic. Count on it. And riding the bus doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get your work done. </p>
<p>If you are absolutely set on going to med school, the $45k+ in undergrad debt from NYU will hurt. A lot. You do sound excited about their Neuroscience program because you want to be a Neurologist but you’ll still have study it in med school and I assume that Fordham and Hunter also have programs that interested you or you wouldn’t have applied. Popular thinking is that you should avoid undergrad debt if you plan to attend grad/law/med school. I personally agree with this after spending 14 years paying off $40k for my H’s law school. </p>
<p>I like Fordham out of your choices but I honestly don’t know anything about Hunter. I don’t think you will have trouble fitting in even if you are Jewish/agnostic…Fordham welcomes all. And congratulations on your scholarship! Definitely visit the schools again and see how you feel at each one. You might even go a couple of times at different times of the day so you can really get a feel for what kind of commute you are facing. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Why not start out at either Fordham or Hunter, then tranfer to a school that has a neuroscience program (undergrad) such as Ursinus, in Philly? Also in Pennsylvania is Allegheny, highly considered as one of the best feeder schools for students going on to MD and PhD programs in medical sciences. If you do well there could be solid scholarship money available.</p>
<p>I went to the Fordham accepted students reception a couple of weeks ago, and they said that 88% of the students last year that applied to med school got accepted to at least one, and this is all first year application statistics (no 2nd or 3rd time applicants included), and most of them to well known med schools. Im seriously considering pre-med at Fordham as a result, also because it has a number of great affiliations with hospitals nearby for research and internship opportunities, another reason why im leaning towards Fordham over BC or BU.</p>