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<p>First of all md2b2012, how appropriate that you would be an ******* (aka the kind of people I’m trying to avoid by staying in-state).</p>
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<p>The $500,000 number is from a cursory skim through what other people have said in this thread. It’s fuzzy math to me, because I can’t even imagine owing $500,000 for something you can’t live in, let alone $281,968 (and I’m glad you think that medical school will cost the same by the time that the OP is actually paying for it). I guess you’re also calling the OP stupid, because your figures also contradict his. In fact you come off as a person on a vendetta to call the entire world stupid, but that’s just me.</p>
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<p>I think it’s a fallacy to assume that everyone’s parents are going to pay up for a kid’s medical school. Some people who are middle class find their investments disappearing right now and are now less likely than ever to pay up for such an opulent luxury. With my parents I was on my own after I left the house! I could have stayed home and gone to the University of North Texas on my parents’ dime, but I chose to go out and actually experience college life, not to mention a better school than UNT. </p>
<p>To sum up what I’m saying here in particular, you have to work for a college finaid office in order to actually believe a parents expected contribution (which includes any money going into a retirement account) is going to match what the parents do contribute. I can tell you right now very few parents are going to put their child’s higher education above their own retirement.</p>
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<p>If you want to assume I’d consider UPenn elitist, go ahead and flatter yourself…lol. But if you go to UPenn and actually know about UMKC then obviously UMKC must not be that bad. </p>
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<p>But we’re not talking about a community college here, dude. We’re talking about a university with a decent OOS reputation. I’d define a decent OOS reputation as being a school that people have heard of beyond a 50-mile radius. There are some Ivies that a lot of people haven’t heard of…for instance I’ll bet that only 20% of the population can tell you where Brown and Cornell are located (Providence and Upstate NY, just so you don’t confuse me with the 80%). Yeah it’s sad, but yeah it’s also reality…something you are very disconnected from. </p>
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<p>The truth is that people that are so disconnected from reality have trouble being successful, from the other people’s experience I’ve been able to learn from. Elitists don’t get far in life. Turns out you actually need to have people skills. Who’da thunk? </p>
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<p>That’s a fallacy though…because state schools also have this thing called grad school, and it turns out, larger universities usually have more money and more research opportunities. Not mention more people to work with in the graduate program of your choice. Also it’s not true that you have to be completely perfect at a state school in order to get into grad school, same as it’s not true that you can just float your way through an Ivy League school and get into grad school no matter what your grades are.</p>
<p>First of all, nobody just floats their way through an Ivy League school. That’s insane…Ivy League schools are a lot of work, even if you aren’t making very good grades…just means you’re struggling. Second of all, it’s probably true that a Harvard applicant with a 3.0 would get into a grad school before a Pittsburgh applicant with a 3.0 … but I would assume that a Pittsburgh applicant wouldn’t have to have too much higher of a GPA in order to be equal; 3.5 at the worst.</p>
<p>By the way…I hope that you realize some public schools really are as good if not better than most elite private schools. Most if not all Big 10, Big 12, and PAC 10 schools aren’t too shabby. Hardly the community colleges that you seem to think they are. Your problem is that if you scoff at too many non-Ivy-League-folks you aren’t going to be very well liked, no matter whether you graduate from UPenn or Penn State-Altoona (as an example of a school I’d probably not wanna go to).</p>