<p>I'm in a very troubling situation. My extended family wants me to go to Pitt while I want to take the merit at Temple. I will be majoring in Biology at both schools and plan to stay on the pre-med track. I will be undertaking at least 64k in debt while only 5k if i don't pay a penny while at Temple. I love both schools and would have committed to Temple if it were not for the Temple horrible bio reputation and my family. Can you negotiate aid in a sense and/or is Pitt worth it. I like the idea of less debt because if I do not get into med school then I will probably be paying 1k a month and not making much annual income in general. My parents' do not have the financial resources to afford it even with taking plus loans because my efc is close to 0</p>
<p>No brainer. Temple with $5k debt.</p>
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<p>Like kelsmom said, no-brainer. You’ll incur a lot of debt in medical school.</p>
<p>Is your extended family who is pressuring you willing to pay for Pitt? Your parents can’t pay, you can’t get the loans yourself to cover the 64K without a co-signer. It doesn’t sound like your parents would be qualified as co-signers. And even if you could get it, it is too much debt. Tell whoever is pressuring you that unless they are willing to pay for it - that you just can’t do it.</p>
<p>First off, grab your merit at Temple and run away with it. I myself will be attending Penn (also in Philly). I live here in Philly. The Temple Honors Program is pretty decent, and Temple is gaining reputation in Philly. They will have plenty of research opportunities.</p>
<p>As a doctor, your med school matters more. I know someone who got into Penn but went to Temple full tuition. He is having a great time and getting a good education. I have no doubt he will become a doctor. Go to temple and save yourself the debt.</p>
<p>Ask the ones who want you to go to Pitt if they will pony up the $64K. </p>
<p>Otherwise - as others have said - you need to enter med school with as little debt as possible.</p>
<p>Med school admission is difficult - you also need a plan B if that doesn’t work out. Again, more possibilities for someone with little or no debt.</p>
<p>I am 100% with BobWallace. Temple is a fine school. I’d have no qualms about sending a child of mine there. If someone has the money to pay for another choice that is a whole other issue, but right now Temple is the only one offering you any money. The rest is all talk. Easy to tell others what to do with their money, and you are the one who will be stuck with the loans. Most premeds do not end up in medical school, by the way, so if you change your mind or your grades do, then you would be in debt without the med school card in hand. You’ll do just fine in med school admissions at Temple. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about any horrible bio rep of Temples. I know a number of Temple U med school grads, quite a few of them. </p>
<p>Congratulations on getting a very nice package from Temple U and a Pitt acceptance.</p>
<p>Yea, I have heard that the bio department is really focused on weeding kids out and do not really care about getting the topics across especially in the intro bio courses.</p>
<p>futuredoctor–all big universities focus on weeding kids out in pre-med, not just Temple. (In fact smaller schools have weeder classes for pre meds too. Just the nature of the beast.)</p>
<p>And pre med only requires 1 (2 semester) bio course. All the other required pre-reqs are in the chem, math, physics and social science depts.</p>
<p>BTW, the educational paradigm changes when students get to college. The onus is on the student to make sure the student understands the material–not the professor.</p>
<p>I don’t think Pitt is any less of a premed gauntlet than Temple. If anything, you might do better at Temple as the competition may not be as intense.</p>
<p>Temple…ignore those who won’t put lots of money where their mouths are. They will be nowhere to be found if you ever had a hard time paying back that debt.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t even consider Pitt in this situation. I also don’t understand why family members of yours would be pressuring you to make a huge financial mistake.</p>
<p>Yea, I really am thinking about going to temple at least for an year then trying to transfer to a college that meets 100% need. This way if I don’t do to well as a pre-med in the long run, I can get an excellent education and at even better school without worrying about loans.</p>
<p>I’m telling your straight out that Temple is a perfectly fine school. </p>
<p>But if you really have transfer as a goal, make sure you ask any schools to which you apply if they meet 100% of need for transfers A lot of schools do not. Though they say the do meet 100% of need, many make the exceptions for international students, wait listed students, those who did not apply for aid when they first applied,…and yes, transfer students.</p>
<p>I’m also warning you that there are ivy grads in my neighborhood still looking for living wage jobs several years after graduation. My son’s close friend who graduated from Harvard last year has yet to make a dime–all volunteer type work so far. Great internships, great opportunities, wonderful experiences, but his parents are still paying for him to have them. It’s a big jump from paying for experiences to having them pay YOU.</p>
<p>If you think you might transfer, you do have to be concerned about aid. Do NOT cut ties with Temple until you’ve seen the aid packages. IF the aid packages have Plus loans in therm, then those won’t work since your parents can’t afford those. </p>
<p>Temple is absolutely fine for premed or many other careers.</p>
<p>Many people who start out in pre-med don’t end up going to med school. In any case, minimizing your debt at Temple will leave plenty of options for affording any type of grad school (which could be at Pitt). </p>
<p>At many universities, grad tuition for the arts and sciences is lower than for undergrads. </p>
<p>It is more important to minimize your high interest rate debt than it is to minimize your total debt. With 64K in debt, a great deal would need to be high interest rate private loans.</p>
<p>Also, I’d take a good look at physicians assistant programs, which you can complete with much less debt, and which offer less stressful working conditions.</p>
<p>I committed on Temple. Hopefully I can be in Pitt for Med school!</p>
<p>Congratulations! Best wishes for a great college experience.</p>