<p>Hey guys, I realllllly need some input on this one and stat, as the deposit to uva has to be postmarked by tomorrow.</p>
<p>I'm currently a student at Duke and applied for a transfer to UVA on the urging of my mother, who's worried about the cost of duke and since I'm in-state, uva would be substantially less expensive. </p>
<p>I'm also a pre-med student and duke has a much higher rate of getting its students into med school than uva does. This worries me as I'm afraid that if i go to uva and don't get into med school, i'll have regrets and always wonder, "what if" and wish that i stayed at duke. </p>
<p>Moreover, i dont even really like uva and i've visited 3 times in the past year and I'm in love with duke and love everything about it (except my GPA). But, the cost would be much much less and one less thing to worry about.</p>
<p>First of all, correlation is not causation. You getting into med school is based more on your grades and MCAT scores than where you went undergrad. I have friends who went to no-name schools who got into med school. Besides, I think the UVA students med school acceptance rate is between 60-70%. That's pretty good.</p>
<p>Regarding your situation, wow, that's tough. I usually say go to the school that you love, but I realize that money is a big factor with the cost of attending college being so high. Are there no financial aid opportunities at Duke that you could apply for?</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with Mini. If money is truly a big issue for you, you're already spending around $40K now. That's $160k for undergrad + med school = a lot of debt. </p>
<p>Whatever decision you make, just go with it all the way. It's either you fight to stay at Duke and pay for it w/ scholarships, grants, work study and/or a part-time job or transfer to UVa with an open mind. If you do go to UVa, definitely have an open mind. No regrets. No looking back.</p>
<p>after a tearful discussion with my parents...i think i'm going to go to uva. they're also throwing in a new car so i'll be able to visit my friends at duke sometimes...</p>
<p>my rationale is that since i'm definitely plannign on going to med school and it doesn't really matter what med school, going to duke doesn't mean that i'll have higher earning power than if i went to uva but i'd also have about $75k in loans along with paying for med school. </p>
<p>Duke's placement into medical school is not better than UVa. You folks should compare apples to apples. Students with equal GPAs and MCATs should have roughly equal admission rates into similar medical programs. </p>
<p>if your parents are "throwing in a car" money is not an object. The real question you need to ask is whether you can earn a higher gpa at UVa than at Duke. (Just remember, your current gpa will be included for med school apps.) A non-hooked app needs a 3.6+ to be competitive; otherwise, med school is a real stretch.</p>
<p>Since the folks have cash to burn, I'd stay at Duke for the private school experience.</p>
<p>What's a "private school experience" exactly? I attended a public university and a private university and did not notice a difference in environment or quality.</p>
<p>Dude,
Sorry to be the rude one here, but if your parents are actually paying for school and want you to transfer from Duke to UVA (peer institutions), stop being selfish and go. Don't take advantage of your parents like that.</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that you and your parents did not sort this out before you ended up going to Duke. As an instate student in Virginia, schools like UVa and William and Mary would have been a better financial option for you if finances were at all a concern (and you could not get good aid from Duke).I'm sure it is difficult to think about having to leave Duke if you enjoy it there and have made friends. Hope everything works out for you. If you go to UVa, hope you will love it as much as my son does.</p>
<p>I'm sure this has been a tough decision, but I think that you will find that it will work out. You will be saving a great deal of money that you will need for future education. And, once you are there and get acclimated, you will find that UVa can offer all the opportunities you feel you are leaving behind. You will be surprised by how quickly and completely you will become a part of the UVa community. In my college days, by the time I graduated, my three closest friends -- junior year roommate, senior year roommate, and my future (and still) wife --were all transfers. </p>
<p>I agree that the concern about acceptance rates at medical school is unfounded - getting into med school is based on you and not on the name of the school.</p>
<p>I also don't think any of the posters here should jump to the conclusion that providing you a car indicates that money is not a concern. An older, used car, or better yet, one that the family already has, is not that significant an expense.</p>
<p>Good luck! It will work out and in the future you will be able to say that you had the good fortune to go to two of the best schools in the country.</p>
<p>Your application to UVA was accepted, so I assume your GPA at Duke is above at least 3.4. Regardless, the only important issue is whether you think your gpa at UVA will be comparable to, or better, than your gpa would have been staying at Duke. This is a non-issue. Agree with the poster who asked you to not confuse causation with correlation. The <em>same</em> student applying to med schools from UVA and Duke would have a similar accepance experience. Colleges do VERY LITTLE to change a person's in-born ability to achieve.</p>
<p>To those who think OP's parents must have the money because they're throwing in a car -- get real! Leasing for example, a Honda Civic costs less than $3,000 per year, and with insurance under $4,000. That's a whole lot different than a $20,000 or more differrence in cost per year between the two schools.</p>
<p>I don't think the parents are throwing in a BMW. I am sure the OP would have said "I don't want the BMW...". Hmmm..is that what many CCers think of when it comes to cars? ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Leasing for example, a Honda Civic costs less than $3,000 per year, and with insurance under $4,000. That's a whole lot different than a $20,000 or more differrence in cost per year between the two schools.
[/quote]
Leasing would be by FAR the worst financial decision in this case...;)</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP's parents had a drastic change in income...if that's the case, did you talk to Duke's financial aid office? Probably water under the bridge at this point though...</p>