<p>My D has got into Pitt Guaranteed Admission program (Medical school) as well as Duke (pre-med). Her ultimate goal is medicine, but Duke is too good to loose. It is a great school, nice undergrad experience, beautiful campus, nice student body (we just visited Duke) but it is very expensive (35K EFC). Pitt is excellent med school, but UG is not as great as Duke. They also gave us full tution for 4 yrs. It is very hard for her as well as for us to decide. She also got into Boston university for 7 yr medical program with 35k EFC. We are not considering BU though. Any thoughts are appreciated regarding whether to choose Duke VS Pitt.</p>
<p>wow, first of all, congrats!! that’s amazing. </p>
<p>personally though, i wouldn’t be considering duke at all…unless i hated it at pitt or bu. honestly, i think both of those are amazing programs. pitt’s med school is ridiculously good, and BU’s is pretty top notch too. if she reallyyyyy knows med school is for her, which it seems likes she does, seeing as she got into thse med programs, i’d say go to pitt or BU…</p>
<p>It comes down to money and security versus a preferable undergraduate environment and experience. Congrats to your D for such great choices. </p>
<p>In my opinion, based on what my doctor friends are saying, it is not wise to take on a huge loan burden in medicine which is something doctors have been doing for years. The payback in medicine has not been what it used to be especially factoring in the cost and with universal care looming in the horizon, who knows what will happen next? Though medicine is an excellent paying field, look at the numbers as to what a doctor can expect to make and what the loan amounts will be if she goes to each option. Or if you are paying for the whole thing, is this something you can comfortably do? That is an important factor in making the decision.</p>
<p>Good friends of ours were in the same situation with Harvard being the UG choice. Their son ended up going there, and went to a private med school as well. Their daughter did the same thing. The family is now very much in debt and in a tough situation financially. Do they regret their choice? I don’t think so, but it does put them in a rough spot.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse & cricketman1991,</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the insight… you are right… it is the question of choosing something over the other… very hard choice to make for us…</p>