“Realize that if you have to pay for it you will have to take out loans for it.”
But undergrad students cannot borrow this much on their own. You can’t just go to the money store and get $60,000.
Have your parents said they would help you with medical or law school?
If it were me, I’d choose U of Michigan. $60k is worth it over Central Michigan. If it were Michigan State, then it is a totally different story.
“But undergrad students cannot borrow this much on their own. You can’t just go to the money store and get $60,000.”
@Hanna, I am not entirely aware of the OP’s finances just that he/she will have to take out loans and the associated consequences.
It could be that their parent’s will cosign. Also, some lending institutions may offer a loan with no co-signor, but with a higher interest rate.
Science, please name one lending institution which is prepared to lend an 18 year old with no collateral and no borrowing history 60K with no co-signer???
I found a few examples here:
https://www.studentdebtrelief.us/student-loans/private-student-loans-without-a-cosigner/
You provide no source suggesting that they will lend $60k.
$60K without a cosigner or a credit history. Which was my question.
It will probably more than $60k, if the OP is paying for the last two years. It’s not like COA is going to remain stable for four years.
OP, if you have not had an adult-to-adult conversation with your parents about college funding, the time is NOW. And get your FA info to both schools right now.
Does the merit award at CM cover everything? Just tuition? Do you have to keep a certain GPA to maintain it? If CM doesn’t cover R&B, are you going to have to take out Stafford loans to pay for that, will your parents cover it, or will you need FA? Also keep in mind that FA is what the SCHOOL thinks you and your parents, not what your parents feel they can pay. There is often a significant difference in those two figures!
This parent would not have cosigned $60k in loans for undergrad for either of my sons. The only loans they carry are Staffords.
Hello!! I have a more set idea of finances now. I’d have to take $5000 every year for loan, so I’d graduate with $20,000 debt and my parents will pay the rest. I am more decided on medicine now. Do you think Michigan would give me a better chance into medical school? I was looking at Central Michigan Medical schools 2017 profile and saw that 22 kids from UofM were accepted versus 7 central michigan kids.
Hello!! I have a more set idea of finances now. I’d have to take $5000 every year for loan, so I’d graduate with $20,000 debt and my parents will pay the rest. I am more decided on medicine now. Do you think Michigan would give me a better chance into medical school? I was looking at Central Michigan Medical schools 2017 profile and saw that 22 kids from UofM were accepted versus 7 central michigan students so this worries me.
Hello!
The full ride for central covers tuition and housing, and my parents would cover the meal plan and any other costs which would be pretty minimal. My brother currently goes to Umich and I just received an estimated financial aid statement saying I would have to pay a similar amount ( just around $28,000). The only different with mine and my brothers tuition is that I received a work study ($3000). My parents said that I’d have to take out $5000 every year in loans, meaning I’d have just about $20,000 in debt. Do you think Michigan would look better to medical schools and set me up better or is Central Michigan the better option?
@kumarr checkout this link
https://www.aamc.org/download/493728/data/factstablea2.pdf It shows the number of applicants for US medical schools for 2018-19 from each undergraduate university that supplied at least 50 applicants to med school. 815 Michigan students versus only 64 Central Michigan students applied to med school this year. While Michigan class size is about twice the size (7,000) as Central Michigan (3,500?) yet 8x as many Michigan students as Central Michigan students apply to med school. This shows that Michigan has many more students competing against each other for high gpa which is needed for med school. And the academic credentials (stat-wise) of the students at Michigan are much higher than Central Michigan. Michigan’s ACT 25/75 percentile range is 30-33 whereas Central Michigan is 19-25. It will be much more difficult for you to maintain a high gpa at Michigan than it will at Central Michigan. Med schools are more concerned with high gpa and MCAT scores than they are with the particular undergraduate school you go to. So go to the undergrad school where you have the best chance of being in the top of the class. And best to save your money by choosing Central Michigan. The cost differential over 4 years between these two schools is substantial.
You would be entering Central Michigan as a star student. At U of MI, you would have to compete for the same attention that is likely to be handed you at CMU. Yes, sometimes it can be really nice to be a big fish in a small pond.
Ask your family if they are willing to set aside what they’d have to pay at U MI each year so that you have a cusion in place for when you go to med school.
The quality of education will be very much higher at the University of Michigan. I know faculty at both places. You will have a definitely superior experience at the University of Michigan, assuming that you are willing to work hard enough to make medical school a reality at the end of the line. You should also plan to get to know some of your faculty members well enough that they can write effective letters of recommendation on your behalf.
You are likely to have superior volunteer opportunities in medically related areas at Michigan. The quality of the teaching fellows will be far superior to the quality of teaching fellows at Central Michigan. This is not snobbery, it is just reality. Sorry if it appears to be snobbery. (I don’t even especially like the University of Michigan, but I have to be honest about their strength.)
In my view, this is not a close contest at all, even with the $20,000 in undergrad debt.
If your loan is limited to 5K a year, yes I’d go to Michigan.
It’s not so much that Michigan will help you get into med school - but rather, that Michigan will help you way more if you DON’T get into med school.
Thank you so much for taking your time to give such a thorough response. I am thinking more and more that I plan to go with CMU. This analysis was sooo helpful!!
Assuming that your are a resident of Michigan, then UMichigan at $30,000 per year will always be there for you. Try CMU & enjoy your scholarship & elite status. If it isn’t what you want, then consider transferring after a year or two.
I disagree with people saying you should definitely go to the cheaper school so you can save for medical school. Admission to MD programs in the United States is incredibly difficult. At a standard school, perhaps between 20-40% of students (sometimes even more at some schools) may enter as pre-med. The VAST majority of them will switch because they change their mind or (even more likely) they will be forced to change their mind due to the rigors of the pre-med process with its many weed-outs. Statistically speaking, you will VERY probably not make it. This might sound mean, but it is the truth. You may want to consider hedging your bets. A Central Michigan degree, in most cases, is worth a lot less than a Michigan degree when it comes to contingency jobs/grad school programs that are popular for former pre-med students or pre-med students who will be applying (or re-applying) to med school later on (medical scribe positions, lab tech positions, good MPH programs, etc.). I am not saying choose Michigan, but definitely look past just the prices. This decision will require more nuance than that.
One child went to an expensive college in the Boston area and the other the cheaper less known school. One parent is saddled with debt the other not. Both kids are in the same medical school. The outcome was identical.