<p>So I am trying to decide between UNC and UPitt as of now. I have recently received a 10K per year scholarship to the school bringing the costs down to about 7-8K more expensive than UNC. Now I know that people are going to say go to the school with the cheaper cost but I want to you guys to ignore that for now. Of the two schools, which would better prepare me for admissions to medical school?
I have gotten into the Honors program at Pitt but not at Carolina. But Carolina has the major I want to pursue (Public Health). I am torn between the schools and I really need some help. Side note: I am in-state for UNC. </p>
<p>Premeds should go to the school where they’ll be able to maximize grades and minimize debt.
In your case, it’d depend, since I think Pitt Honors is likely to be better for premed GPA’s but UNC is stronger overall so if you change your mind (like half “premed” freshmen) or don’t get into med school (like half students who made it through the premed curriculum) so you’d have more options if your plans don’t pan out.
Would the 7-8k be covered by your Federal Loans, or, when you state the difference do you include the loans already and the 7-8k would be additional? </p>
<p>The 7-8K difference is just between the total costs of Pitt after scholarship money and UNC total costs (did not receive a scholarship there so I would be paying full costs)</p>
<p>I assume that you know that the UNC school of public health requires a separate application during the sophomore year. You would be eligible to apply, but admission is not guaranteed.
There is no school that can prepare you better for medical school admission than you can prepare yourself. The program you attend will matter much less than your performance there. The standard pre med required courses are difficult at most colleges. If you attend UNC, be prepared to work very hard, and expect the same at any other of the colleges you attend.
Pre-medical requirements are very basic and consistent no matter where you attend. .You can get experience volunteering in a hospital and every one of the colleges on your list can provide you with more than adequate research opportunities.
Basically all your choices are equivalent as far as their potential to provide a pre-medical education, so the decision can be made on other factors. If not cost, then consider other things such as how the school might enhance your education, fit, and other factors that are important to you.
Looking at UPitt honors colleges, there are some programs that may be more appealing to you. According to the class schedule, there are honors classes in introduction to biology, chemistry, physics, organic chemistry. There are also some honors classes in neuroscience and psychology. The honors program offers supplemental advising for pre-health students and undergraduate research programs. These are key differences. Why? While UNC can also offer these, you will be competing with all the other students there. You will be doing this at Pitt as well, but as an honors student, you may have better access to them. If honors classes are smaller, they will still be rigorous, but possibly less focused on “weeding out” (or not- this is something to look into). With smaller classes, you may get to know your professors better. Note that I am not focusing on the “honors” label. Not all honors programs are the same. I am focusing on how this honors program may benefit a pre-med student.
If cost is not limiting you, then the distinction and the specific programs at U Pitt honors college might enhance your success as an undergrad, and by doing so, may enhance your candidacy as a pre-med student. I think it is worth looking into further. It may just be worth that extra cost, if you get something for your investment.</p>
<p>^I second Pennylane. If the difference is without loans, it makes both options worth investigating - Pitt’s Honors program is very good and the costs can be covered with a subsidized loan and a work-study job (or a job on campus) plus perhaps some help from your parents.
Can you give us the exact total costs at each (tuition, room&board, fees)?
I assume it means $8,000/year at UNC CH and $16,000 at Pitt, plus room&board at both.
(You get a “de facto” scholarship at UNC CH since you’re in state and get the resident tuition price. But will you get need-based grants/work study, or is your EFC higher than COA, since UNC CH is one of the few schools that meets need?)</p>
<p>Thank you for the information Pennylane2011!
UNC direct costs (room, board, tuition, and fees) are $19,057 for the 2014-2015 school year.
Pitt direct costs (room, board, tuition, and fees) are 37K before scholarships and 27K after scholarships.
My EFC is higher than COA so I don’t think I would get any need-based grants/work study options. It would all have to be out of pocket in my situation.</p>
<p>So, essentially, 19 vs. 27.
Can your parents afford to pay 19k, and you’d take $5,500 in loans and work about 10-12 hours per week to cover the rest? </p>
<p>I think they told me that they could afford to pay a bit more than 19K but yeah financially it would not be too much of a haslte. </p>
<p>So, you can have better quality advising, potentially higher grades with fewer weedout classes, a more personalized program with perks, and pay a little more, or, you can go to a great university that’s cheaper but doesn’t have the above advantages.
It’s win-win and really depends on what you want.
If you applied to Pitt, I assume it means you’d like to move away from NC, so perhaps you’re leaning toward Pittsburgh. Is that correct?
What do your parents think?</p>
<p>So it’s not a $8K total difference, but $8K per year? Work-study (or casual student work) doesn’t cover direct costs. Those are due at the beginning of every semester and you get paid biweekly with work-study, so you shouldn’t expect to be able to cover direct costs with work-study. That typically cover indirect costs (travel, books, fun). So your parents would need to be able to pay $22,000 after you take out the $5500 loan. Less in your later years.</p>
<p>The difference won’t be much in debt to you (the limit is the same no matter where you go) but in out-of-pocket costs to your parents - $14,000 per year at UNC vs. $22,000 per year at Pitt, which is a total difference of about $32,000. That depends on your parents.</p>
<p>As for the major, Pittsburgh has a major in Health Services, which is honestly VERY similar to the BSPH in public health at UNC. You take epidemiology and social issues in public health there, too; you can choose to specialize in management or community health assessment. Pittsburgh has a graduate school of public health, and you could likely take some classes there in your junior and senior years. If you wanted the BSPH in biostatistics you could major in statistics and get the certificate in community health assessment, or double-major in stats and health services; or the BSPH in environmental health could be met with an environmental studies degree at Pitt. Pitt also has a health information management major as well as a bioinformatics major.</p>
<p>As was pointed out, you have to apply for the BSPH at UNC. Regular students at Pitt have to do this, too, into the school that offers the Health Services major. However, the honors college majors are listed separately, so I don’t know if that requirement is waived for them - you need to check.</p>
<p>So basically, neither is really better - both are excellent public universities that would give you an excellent education and a good foundation for pre-med. Your decision will really just be whether the honors program at Pitt is worth the additional $32,000 over the four years, and whether it’s more important for you to major in public health specifically rather than health services, which is similar.</p>