Hello,
I’ve recently been accepted to both Stony Brook and UNC, and plan on majoring in biology, in the hopes of moving on to grad school for biomedical research or a MD.
I don’t know which is better though, can anyone offer insight?
Thanks!
bump
UNC is the better school but can you afford it? How much will both schools cost?
I don’t know yet
Well, how much can your family afford? Surely you’ve talked to your parent/s about loans, money, possible debt or savings etc. Can you pay 35K+ for one year or will it be a lot of loans on your/the family’s part?
Costs are paramount here. Both programs should be quite strong in terms of bio-sciences; UNC has more strengths overall in the other disciplines. UNC is typically lower tuition than some other OOS flagships, though this varies. Where are you coming from? Also consider that you must perform well in undergraduate for medical school admissions.
Im in NY and just got my fin aid package from Chapel Hill today. It looks like tuition will cost me $8000. I don’t believe that includes housing though =/
Edit* Oh wait, that does it include housing! That’s pretty good then right? I’m still waiting on stony brook.
Tuition plus housing for $8,000 is indeed excellent. SUNY may not even be able to match that; wait and see. Even if it is close, for that amount, you may want to choose UNC. Stony Brook is strong in the sciences, but UNC may offer you some other benefits as well.
You sound a little unsure about your package – maybe have somebody you trust confirm it?
I received Stony Brook’s offer today, they aren’t giving me any grants so the cost would be about the same to me, $8000.
UNC hands down then? Is there any advantage (academically/transcript wise) that Stony Brook would offer?
Its not going to be the college that makes the difference, its what you do in college. Do you study enough to get good grades, get to know some profs so that you get good recs, take part in research? Do these and you will have a promising future from any decent college; don’t and the name on the diploma isn’t going to rescue you.
When making your decision, think about what it would be like to be a student at each school. Look at the advising system (eg. do you get a faculty advisor?), class size, can you change your major, are students guaranteed housing, is the greek system strong if that’s something you’re interested in, can you study abroad and finish in 4 years, and so on for factors that matter to you.
Mikemac offers very good advice. You could try making a list of pros / cons for each institution after doing the research. Bio-sciences will be strong at Stony Brook, but if I were making a decision in your shoes, I may lean towards UNC for the other benefits it offers, in addition to a strong undergrad education for you – overall reputation across many disciplines, location, alumni network, etc. – that Stony Brook, while quite strong in the natural sciences, doesn’t really match. Also, UNC will feel more of a traditional, residential campus life than Stony Brook.
But I’d also caution you: just because SB is about the same costs on paper does not mean it will actually cost you the same in real life, if SB is in-state and UNC is OOS. Consider travel / living / additional costs involved. If it feels that UNC is still reasonable for you for four years, then great. If not, you will still do very well in bio-sciences at SB if you put in the requisite effort. Congratulations on your packages-