<p>I have a dilemma, I was accepted to both the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College and Tulane University.
I liked both Universities but I LOVED Tulane. However, for Tulane I would likely have to take out student loans, and would have no extra money while in college. Umass my parents could afford and I would have some extra money on the side. I do have a job now, so I will have some of my own spending money if I go to Tulane but not enough to do things such as study abroad. I would like to major in public health and plan to go to medical school one day. I also live in Chicago so there are travel expenses to take into account. Finally, my mom went to Umass way back when and would love if I went there, but both of my parents are okay with either choice and would support me the best they can :) I'm just looking for any input that anyone has/similar experiences! Thanks a million! </p>
<p>Warm weather or cold weather? 14,000 at Tulane, 24,000 at UMA but small honors college with honors dorms. UMA has the 5 school consortium, does Tulane have anything like that? Tulane would be much easier to get to from the airport, UMA is a 2-hour bus ride away. How badly do you want to study abroad? Personally, I think its a great thing to be able to do but maybe its not that important to you. Make a list of pros and cons of each school, tally it up, and voila! you will have your answer. Nice choice to be able to make, congratulations!</p>
<p>@NEPatsGirl Thank you! and I would choose Tulane except I’m not sure if it is worth it to take loans out!</p>
<p>How much in loans? If it is student loans with a max of $28K over the four years then its at least prudent to check out the pay-off calculations so you know precisely what you’ll owe in the end and how it can be paid back. If you intend to go to medical school, will Mom and Dad bankroll that as well? Or will you be completely on your own for grad school? I wouldn’t want my child to take the $28K if they were going to have to take significant additional loans for grad school on top of that. My D will soon be in your same spot, once all the regular decisions come out. She has been accepted at Commonwealth Honors and will not have to take any loans. If she picks another school with a higher price tag, she will and she will have to sacrifice in other ways as well. Good luck with your choice. I’m not familiar with Tulane but UMA is a very good school.</p>
<p>OP, did Tulane not give you any scholarships? I find that curious as my D got 93K from them however was not invited to the CHC. Apply for aid at both schools and see what comes back…</p>
<p>If you want to go to medical school, then saving money on undergraduate so that you end up with less debt at the end of medical school may be something to consider.</p>
<p>I did get 23 k/yr at tulane and 12k/ yr at umass but umass would still be cheaper for tulane i would have to take out 5-10k per year most likely and we are banking on not getting finincial aid @redpoodles </p>
<p>You know, why not your own state flagship? UMass isn’t any better or more recognizable or have better programs–it’s just farther. I don’t see any advantage for you and in fact it’s a disadvantage to pay OOS tuition for a state school. At least with Tulane, you get warm, a great city, and name recognition. What do you want to study?</p>
<p>I’m a Tulane grad - public health - and can’t say enough good about Tulane. But the weather? Yes, it’s warm. It actually is oppressively hot and humid from April until October. We lived in NOLA for 17 years and I don’t miss the weather at all. I do miss the people and the food and the music. My older son attends Hampshire College, which is one of the consortium schools along with UMass, Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges. Amherst is a wonderful college town and there are lots of opportunities there as well. CHC is top notch. Plus there’s the advantage of the consortium, where you can take classes at any of the other four colleges in addition to UMass. Given you hope to attend medical school, my advice would be to save your money and attend UMass. But that’s just me. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>@redpoodles actually u of i is pretty expensive i state its actually cheaper for me to attended umass and also i really want to get out of the midwest!
@BTMell i will thanks for the insight!</p>
<p>NEPatsGirl, ucbalumnus, and BTMell have all offered good advice: don’t saddle yourself or your parents with debts that will take years – if not decades – to pay off. Go for the Honors College and the lower cost, then spend your (or your parents’) resources on medical school. Good luck with everything. </p>