@lghosh
It will boil down to individual decisions when it comes to finances.
One point to note - if you have Zero aid from NU, it means your FAFSA gave an EFC >75k.
Both are great schools. As @OldSchoolMD said it is a good problem to have.
A question to ask yourself is always - how much is a dream worth? Only you can know the answer to that question .
I know of families who have decided to spend the extra 200k and I know of families who have decided that the extra 200k is not worth it. There is no right or wrong answer- it depends on your family situation.
You know your child. Letâs say you explain to her the financial options and she chooses HPME. Will you respect that decision?
If it places a burden to you and family - go with the cheaper option. Both are academically great options. In this case, cheaper does NOT mean lower quality.
Good point. So letâs say if another child in the family is in line and enters the college soon, the EFC will be halved?
So will be qualified for need based assistance from NU? How about during med school?
Also, I donât discount the undergrad experience as others seem to be dismissing it. Where you attend undergrad decides your level of intellectual development. Not only one develops great contacts with the high caliber faculty and their peers in industry and research but also it builds oneâs stamina to succeed for the rest of their lives (unless it is in some extreme schools which can burn one out). People are not spending tonnes of money attending such schools just for the prestige and bragging rights of their parents.
@grtd2010
As per NU office you can afford their tuition.
They offer loans at 4.5% for 10 year term if you want to avail those loans and it requires mandatory payments while you are studying starting within 60 days.
There are good articles on CC for EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) and more than one child in college at a time. The EFC varies on school that expects a CSS profile or not. CSS profile collects more details about family financial situation than FAFSA. So EFC may not be necessarily be halved for 2 children. Also have to remember, at some point elder child is going to flush out from college system and younger one would ended up with bigger EFC. Family would have some significant savings only during overlap years. If CSS profile determines parents assets significant higher, EFC maynât get any dent. e.g. if EFC for a child is 160K based on CSS profile, being a 2nd child in college best case is halved, but still 80K and still higher than highest fees schools. Here is details from few years back and may have changed now. https://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf
I wouldnât count on 2nd child benefit unless they have <=1 year academic year difference.
Believe med school students are considered graduate students and so have independent status and that affects big time too when one child become independent and younger is college bound, younger one donât see any benefits.
@bsmdalien I hear your point. But here is the reason some times folks have to apply though in hindsight later would not have applied. Especially for folks who are in west coast (we are from CA), it is not practical (financially and logistically) to come and visit many of the BS/MD colleges which are on the east coast. The nearest BS/MD program for us is OU which is 1600 miles, half way. (pardon me for not even considering CNU as a medical school, which is an hour drive).
So only during interview my child could get a sense and could form some opinion, right or wrong. For example she did not want to attend Drexel even if they have given an offer. I personally felt she should not attend NEOMED (though I have not shared my feeling to her). Nothing wrong with NEOMED, but I felt there is no life and it is in no manâs land. I wanted her to have a life and balance her life and not just studying alone.
@Mahikesh Only schools are the looser and not your D. As long as your D and your family is happy, enjoy the ride at NJIT/NJMS. It is always wise to cast a wider net. Because it is hard to predict. At least if not got offer after interview, chances are interview did not go well and that happens frequently. Because it is hard to know who is going to interview and how the conversation clicks etc. But she did not even get many interviews with her credentials. Donât try to analyze.
If cost is not an issue (as was in our case), I recommend between PLME and GAP. Both programs are similar in reputation with identical match rates into residencies. I recommend not to fall for the often quoted faulty rankings but by more reputed ones like Times Higher or anything else. If your DS has inclination towards liberal arts or still open to opt out to other careers or fields other than medicine or values the undergrad experience more, PLME will be a better fit.
My D is Junior , Only took ACT , Score 35/10 .Do not want to take SAT.
Would not taking SAT would hurt her in any way if she want to apply to BSMD programs next year.
@SnowDad
Choose between GAP and PLME.
Both are good but I am biased towards GAP in this case.
Ask your DS - where is he more comfortable and choose that.
