But suppose you do? Then what? It is called maximizing your options. Sure, you could make med school work even if you went to Brown, but I agree with the others that $135,000 is placing a hell of a lot of value on the better fit you perceive for Brown over Vandy. Also, I suspect from the information you have given you are low with this number. By the time you are through 4 years it will probably be closer to $150,000. Remember, your CVS covers any tuition increase. Brown doesnât, and the $10K is not guaranteed after freshman year.
Like most parents, yours want you to be happy, so they say they will make Brown work if that is what you want. But I said this to another CC member, and I wonât pull punches here. It sounds to me like you know this will really stretch them financially, as it would most families, and therefore you are being selfish. Vanderbilt is such an excellent school. As someone said, it is a lot like saying you might think the Mercedes is just the perfect car for you, but oh darn I will just have to settle for that Audi that is 2/3 the price, because for me that is what my finances dictate. Not that it matters in your case, but just for perspective there are tons of students that cannot even think about that Audi and have to âsettleâ for a used Chevy.
This also isnât about thumper and the situation of that family. You brought this to CC, so it is fair to ask those questions of you. No other family situation matters.
Look, I get falling for one school really hard, especially when there are unique factors like their open curriculum involved. And of course if the costs were the same or within a few tens of thousands of dollars, like $20-30K over 4 years, everyone would be saying go with your gut. But money is a reality in life, and that fact will hit you much harder a decade from now than it does most 17-18 year old students. And $135-150K is a gigantic reality for most families. My D had the exact same situation, with essentially no aid from several top 12 schools and full tuition to Tulane. Fortunately she loved Tulane when she visited and that made it much easier, but she might have made another choice absent the financial lever.
Tulane was spectacular for her and she had experiences and achievements she didnât dream of before going, and that is continuing for her now at Stanford grad. I say that because I strongly suspect it could and would be the same for you at Vandy, if you go in with the right attitude. And I would be remiss if I didnât add how incredible it is for her to be debt free when she starts her post-academic life. These days that puts her in a pretty small minority I suspect.
If you do end up in med school you wonât be debt free, but it will be less and at least you will be in med school. If you donât, think about how much nicer it is for your family that they can be much more comfortable having saved all that money, and you will still be debt free. Presumably they would be in a position to help with all those annoying initial costs of getting going out of school, like security deposits and all sorts of costs you start to incur. Lots of parents help out with that stuff for the first year, but they couldnât if they spent all that marginal money on Brown.
I strongly urge you to realistically balance that amount of money versus the fact that Vanderbilt is a top school. Especially since your parents are not in the top 1% everyone talks about, but are like most of us, making a good living but not set up to just spend an extra $35K per year without feeling it heavily. Think beyond yourself in making this decision.
I have been accepted by Vanderbilt University as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar, which means tuition is covered, I receive a 6K stipend for research/studying abroad, around 2K as a National Merit Finalist, and automatic admission into the Honors College. I have also been accepted by Brown University, who gave me around 10K.