Stressing over financial aid situation please help!!!

Paying for College
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You seem to be looking for ways to justify going to Brown. Discuss it with your parents it is their money, not ours.

I do not think you would be disadvantaged coming from Vandy or Brown. If you are concerned speak to both recruiting offices and see what they say in terms of employment statistics. Undergrad business is a fairly new concept for most top tier schools. Most wall street firms these days seem to want quants. So as a math major with perhaps an econ minor you would be fine coming from either school.

With all due respect, neither school is a HYPSM. Before anyone attacks I know there are many schools that will better prepare you, will be a better fit and so forth, what I mean is if you want that name recognition, that perceived entry into Wall Street, the two schools are fairly equal.

While I would have loved the idea of Brown for my older kid (was not accepted), because there are a number of small advantages that will bolster GPA, like the long add/drop period, which when you inevitably take that class that you either lose interest in or is too hard for a Freshman and you can still get out of dodge without ruining your GPA. I do not know that much about either school but that is something I like about Brown however, my kid is not going there and kid will manage where kid is going and that small thing is not worth $135k to me. However, if there are other small advantages to Brown, you and your parents need to explore them.

Learn absolutely everything you can about both schools, understand their rules, ask questions on their forums, visit again this week if you have to. Then make a decision with your parents.

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@bbman888 It seems that you feel that Brown will be an asset regardless of what path you take, medical or business. In your opinion the “prestige” of Brown’s ivy league status will help you.

What I don’t understand is why couldn’t you say it from the beginning?

It took pretty much the last page of this thread for you to come clear as to the real underlying issue here, the value of Brown degree v. Vandy degree.

Want my opinion? If you’re parents are willing, and think it is a sound financial decision, and all of you consider that the value of a Brown degree is MORE THAN THE DOUBLE of a Vandy degree, 88K v. 233K (22x4 = 88K v. 135+88=233K), GO AHEAD ! ! ! !

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Regarding value for the Vandy degree vs the Brown degree, here’s the calculation I suggest. Put the 135K into an online ira calculator. Plug in 7% annual ROI as an estimate. Run the calculator for 40 years (retirement age of 65). See what number pops up. (it’s over $2,000,000).

This is a rough estimate (other factors like maximum yearly contributions and gifting aren’t considered), but I think this analysis represents the cost difference between Vandy and Brown in real terms.

Who knows if Brown will net you a more lucrative job. It might. Will that job be worth $2,000,000 more?

Of course, none of this takes into account the emotions of “settling” for Vandy.

Just my opinion; YMMV.

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Op- Brown alum here, and a reasonably active one.

Take the “open curriculum” off the table as a factor. Trust me on this. It is completely irrelevant based on your interests and career goals. It’s a fantastic option for someone who wants to craft a major in museum management/curatorial studies (I had a friend who did this- pulled together her own major in art history, accounting, chemistry/archival preservation, literature) and a superb option for someone interested in a career with the diplomatic corps/state department (had an acquaintance who created his own world studies curriculum- this was back in the day when the Soviet Union was a threat so he became fluent in Russian via Brown’s small but superb Slavic Studies department and then got a thorough grounding in world history, geography, political science and global econ).

If you have an “off the beaten track” interest and find out that a traditional college is going to make it hard to create something interdepartmental/synergistic- then Brown is for you. You can find a faculty member with similar interests, the two of you map out your own major, and voila- you’ve created your own department of one with full faculty support across a number of disciplines with no required courses holding you back.

Everyone else? This option is irrelevant. I majored in Classics so had to follow the required sequence of one Ancient Language (choose Greek or Latin) plus all the distribution requirements in literature, art and architecture, ancient history, etc. My pre-med roommate who majored in poli sci did bio and organic chemistry and all that with her non-poli sci required courses.

HS kids look at the Open Curriculum and think they’re going to be able to stuff themselves with dessert like at a fancy banquet. In reality- virtually all Brown undergrads end up with a schedule that looks like every other college kids. Engineering majors end up taking a literature course- because their roommates rave about a certain professor. English majors end up taking a geology class or anthropology because the field work is so interesting and so much fun.

If you double major in Econ and Applied Math at Brown… and try to squeeze in all the pre med courses as well, you’ve got about 4 “open” electives left. I.e. just like any other college kid. So if Freshman year you take a philosophy seminar or similar- what’s really left that’s open???

I have no clue what you should study or where you should go. And I’m a big fan of Brown. But the curriculum should not be a factor at all for you given what you’ve told us.

I think what’s relevant is what you HAVEN’T told us. How old are your parents. Are you in a two income household, or do you have a SAH parent who can go back into the workforce next year? Are they in good health?

Etc. If you’ve got a stable financial picture at home- with two incomes, and two parents with health insurance and life insurance and all that… then if your parents are willing to pay for Brown, that’s a pretty solid option. If you’ve got some shaky elements at home and you sense that they are willing to risk the dice that everyone stays healthy, nobody loses a job, that if the roof needs repairs next year it’s not going to be cataclysmic financially… then Vandy is clearly the prudent choice.

HTH.

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@bbman888

Hi there…just need to chime in here…you are incredibly lucky and obviously quite a catch for either school! That said, I must say that the real question to me is ‘do you want to be a doctor?’ the life of a med student is excruciating…long hours, no life. Cutting into a human being with a scalpel is not a pleasant experience AT ALL…nothing like the TV shows might portray. Internship, residency, any fellowships, etc. and or maybe Ph.D on top of that?? You must pick a team and be totally committed if that is your path.

So many kids get washed out because they simply haven’t researched what life is like a doctor. It’s actually quite boring for most of them unless they are surgeons or in the ER. VUMC is one of the premiere learning hospitals in the country, and you would have direct access coming from Vandy. Nashville is incredibly easy to live in and love as well. My advice is to shadow a doctor for the day. See the amazingly boring things the typical doctor has to do and how humbling it is to be cleaning up someone’s trach tube or the 20th time you have tried to start an IV and can’t get it.

I worked the Neuro-care unit for a long time when I was hoping to get into med school. It was harrowing to say the least. Spinal fluid is a scent that I never want to smell again for as long as I live. It is really gritty in that life. I quit after a year and never looked back.

Go to Brown if you could easily pay off the loans with a job in high finance/law - the only way to pay off 150K quickly probably. Share the cost with your parents…you will be proud of yourself, and your degree will mean more than if they paid for all of it. Excellent place to learn and valuable connections will be made there.

Go to Vandy if you hear the distant call of the white coats who save lives and don’t get squeamish at the site of blood and guts (you’ll see plenty), especially if you get to go on scholarship…you will be a rock star on that campus! You can’t lose…follow your gut.

PS - please don’t take any of the comments mentioned already to heart…we all wish we had your predicament! You are just living the choice all of us seem to be having to make right now. Perceived value + Debt vs Less Perceived Value + No Debt…

Good luck!

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I advise my kids to stay debt free from undergrad (which it sounds like you can do either way) and ALSO to save the “Bank of Mom and Dad” money for med/grad/professional school if they are going that route. I’d say if your parents can swing the extra 135k for Brown, then maybe they’d consider giving you some help with med school if you choose Vanderbilt. That’s essentially the deal we have with our kids – we have $XXX,XXX budgeted for each of you for college . . . If you can get through undergrad without using it all up, we will help towards grad school . . .