<p>How do you guys feel about UM? It’s very expensive, and I want to know if the education is worth that money. I plan on doing pre-med or biology, so I would obviously want their science programs to be good. Thanks!</p>
<p>ARGGG….is it “worth the money” is a hard question to answer, since it’s very personal. </p>
<p>UM has a fine biology (and marine biology) program. However, these are careers that don’t initially have higher than average salaries. If you’re successful at pre-med, then you’ll need to plan on the additional cost of med school. Keeping your debt low when you earn your BS can be smart if you end up in med school.</p>
<p>If cost is a concern, you may want to think about applying to a few of the state schools, many also have fine biology programs and will likely award you merit scholarships (to go with the low Florida in-state tuition rates). If you have the stats for UM, you’ll get a merit scholarship at any of the Florida public universities, with the possible exceptions of UF and FSU. </p>
<p>IF you can afford UM (perhaps with grants and scholarships), then you may prefer the private university “experience” over a public university. How much debt you’ll willing to take on for the UM experience is a question only you can answer.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Would you be paying full tuition? I assume so, from your question. I can tell you that UM has an excellent pre-med program and it’s very easy to stand out if you work hard. It’s also much easier to form relationships with professors, as opposed to at a state school, which is critical for med school admission. I generally wouldn’t recommend pursuing a biology major, unless you have a passion for it. Job prospect just aren’t that great outside of the medical field. </p>
<p>@dukesilver17 I have no idea what I’ll end up paying as I’m a junior in high school right now. I assume I’ll receive some financial aid and scholarships, but I know it won’t cover the full tuition. I’m glad to hear the pre-med program is good, because that’s most likely what I’ll be going into. I’ve just been uncertain as to whether I would want to leave with substantial debt vs. almost no debt from a state school. Thanks, and awesome username by the way.</p>
<p>@aaajones Haha thanks. Sweet avatar. Bears, beets, battlestar galactica. Words to live by. </p>
<p>And UM usually gives out a lot of merit aid and is pretty generous with financial aid. But if you’re thinking med school then definitely go with whatever option is cheapest</p>
Miami has some very good professional graduate programs that are worth the tuition, and they have a good pre-med/MD program. However, unless UM gives you a large financial package, for regular undergrad you are probably better off going to a state school and saving money for grad school/life.
Even with hefty merit UM is likely to be substantially more expensive than the state schools.
We visited Miami in October and DS and I both really like the school. It is a beautiful campus and has really good academics, and we like the fact that the student body is quite diverse. However I don’t think any school would be worth paying full price, unless a person was so rich that they just didn’t care. But Miami offers some nice merit aid, so if you have high grades, etc. I’d definitely put it on the list! Just make sure you have some other schools on your list too. Good luck!