Tulane vs. Vanderbilt vs. Rice

<p>Hi, I'm a HS senior. I'm really interested in Tulane because of various reasons -- I just visited and absolutely adore the campus, especially the size, the rec activities, and social life, which is one of my main factors in deciding a school. I want a school that has difficult and respectable academics, but also a social life (it's not everyone just sitting in the library 24/7, I want to have fun too. But I also want a good education.) It's also 2 hours from home, which is pretty convenient. The social scene is unbeatable. I am also extremely competitive for Dean's Honor Scholarship, with a 35 ACT, 4.4 GPA (3.99 something UW, only b in high school was AP Euro, hard teacher but got a 5), hardest curriculum you can take at my school with 7 AP's and all else honors, president of 3 clubs and leadership committee member on 3, 4.0 college GPA for 2 classes taken at Brown, 2 varsity sports, concertmaster of youth orchestra, 12 years piano (numerous awards), 100+ hours community service, et cetera, et cetera. And a very good idea for DHS project. Anyways. I am very very competitive for DHS full tuition (or Paul Tulane, either way). This is helpful because my family will get essentially 0 financial aid (my dad is a doctor, $200-$250k salary, etc.) but my parents also have 3 other children all in private, $15k a year school, mom is a small business owner so money is going to that, dad still paying med school loans, we just built a house, etc. and so it would be impossible for them to spend $60k per year for 4 years on an education. That's why I like DHS and amazing merit aid Tulane offers, as well as how much I adore the school, and even more after visiting. However, my mom doesn't consider it "worthwhile to spend [her/my dad's] money on Tulane." Which is why I like that I'll get at least a handy scholarship even if not DHS. She thinks that Vandy and Rice are extremely better schools, worlds above Tulane, and will only "pay" for them. However, I know they can't pay the $60k a year. So I will have to take out loans I am sure. Also I will for Tulane as there will be ~$20k left over from DHS. Is paying in full for Vandy or Rice worth it? Do you have any input on the differences/pros/cons as far as the schools relate to each other? And if it's not worth it to pay full for them vs ~$20k for Tulane, how can I convince my parents to let me to go Tulane and pay the $20k per year? Because that, they can manage, I know. We have discussed it.
I am also interested in pre-med which is a good thing with tulane's early acceptance to med school program, and preference to Tulane undergrads. Is it better to skip it altogether and go to state school for free? I am also interested in other fields(pre-med is just one option.)</p>

<p>Are you certain that you will not qualify for any financial aid from Rice or Vandy? Run their EFC. Although your parents make a high salary they are also paying for private school tuition for your siblings and your Dad is still paying off his med school loans. They take that all into consideration. You might be surprised. Worth checking out.</p>