<p>Hi, I have recently been accepted to UCI and Occidental College and I'm having trouble on deciding! I am going for pre-med and was wondering which of these colleges I should attend. UCI would cost me about $28,000 (no scholarships) while Occidental would cost me $35,000 from a $10,000 scholarship and a $10,000 interest free loan. My first choice is Occidental, but i was wondering if the extra cost is really worth it. I still have to consider extra expenses if i get into a medical school afterward....</p>
<p>So please, I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or opinions! Thanks :)</p>
<p>You are talking about roughly 30K over 4 yrs assuming costs do not go up - which they will likely especially at UCI with the increased privatization of the UC System. I think it is close enough to consider which you feel most comfortable at. The interest free loan is actually quite attractive and I might consider Oxy if it stands head and shoulders above UCI for you.</p>
<p>Oxy would cost you 45,000 not 35,000. The fact of the matter is that even if a loan is interest free, you still have to pay back those 10K per year in addition to the 35K.</p>
<p>UCI 28K is a smarter financial choice, unless of course your family is loaded and willing to shell out the 45 or 35K for Oxy each year.</p>
<p>You’re in the exact same situation I was in. I picked UCI (despite my extreme apprehension) and it was one of the better decisions I’ve ever made.</p>
<p>Trust me, Oxy isn’t worth that price, especially for a science major. If you want to do medicine, then getting involved in research is almost a necessity. Opportunities for undergraduate research are abundant at research universities like Irvine, but probably not at liberal arts schools.</p>
<p>Btw, how is Irvine 28K/ year? Shouldn’t it be like 23K at most (and that’s including room and board)?</p>
<p>liek beat me to it… interest-free is not Free. Oxy $45,000 vs. UCI $28,000… however, UCI might take you 4.5 yrs. to graduate depending on the # of AP credits you have, and the difficulty of sequencing classes in proper order for your major… whereas Oxy will 90% of the time only take you exactly four years.</p>
<p>UCI has the medical center. Where or how would you do your pre-med research at Oxy?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your thoughts. </p>
<p>To sndebrosse, it is 28k for the total cost, including living expenses, supplies and such. Also, Occidental College is quite renowned for its highly personalized, well-funded research programs, despite it being a small LAC. Its one of the major reasons i’m considering it for pre-med. Do you (or anyone else) feel that Oxy’s research can compare to UCI, and thus be a powerful option for pre-med? </p>
<p>As for the $10,000 loan, i was hoping to make that up through on-campus jobs or anything like that. Would such jobs really help for this loan?</p>
<p>Medical school is very expensive. Unless you already have plans on how to pay for medical school. You might want to conserve your money now.</p>
<p>$10,000 loan a year over 4 years = $40,000 loan that you must pay back some day. And you might borrow more for medical school. How much debt are you willing to take on by the time you start truly earning?</p>
<p>Unless you have some specialize skills, most student jobs pay $8-$12 an hour. Assuming you can find a job at $10 an hour, you will have to work 1000 hour for the year which is about 25 weeks of full time work. On top of the loan, Occidental is $7,000 more per year so $28,000 over 4 years.</p>
<p>You really need to think if Occidental is worth that much more to you. College is usually the beginning of financial reality for most people.</p>
<p>So I’m getting the general feeling that UCI is the way to go.</p>
<p>45K vs 28K? I misread the post, go to UCI.</p>
<p>For people who aren’t going to med school, it is often worth the cost to have an extra-enjoyable undergrad experience. But for med students, it’s usually better to be more practical, since you have so many years of loans and debts ahead of you. It does sound as if UC Irvine is a better way to go, especially since their prestige iss similar.</p>