<p>S has been admitted for both excellent schools. Rochester offers him $15,000/year merit based scholarship. UT offers nothing and he didn't get into the honor program he wanted. He will be doing bio/pre-med and may go for medical school afterwards. S is a Canadian citizen and currently living in Texas, so we can pay in-state tuition if he goes UT Austin. Rochester will need $40K/year after scholarship, but UT will only be ~22K/year. There is ~18-20K difference per year for two schools. Please offer your comments which schools we should choose. Thanks.</p>
<p>Financial, UT is probably a better option, but I know Rochester is well-known for both it’s science programs and its pre-med advising. Moreover, Rochester students have access to both the university hospital as well the famous cancer research center nearby. I might be partially biased to Rochester as I applied there, and I don’t know much about UT except that it has a good engineering program.</p>
<p>If he is considering med school, many would prefer to come out of undergraduate with minimum debt so that medical school finances will be easier to manage.</p>
<p>Hope that helped!</p>
<p>Rochester is a fine school, but UT is definitely more highly-regarded in the sciences. There are likely more opportunities to get involved in research at UT, and while there is no teaching hospital in Austin, there are (among other things) excellent summer fellowship programs at some of the UT medical schools for pre-med students (with Texas residency), and of course many local volunteering options.</p>
<p>That said, pre-med and biology classes at UT are huge. Biology is the most popular major at the university and even senior-level classes can have over 50 students. Your son will definitely have to go out of his way to get to know professors for those all-important recommendation letters. Pre-med advising is hit-or-miss. </p>
<p>If the much smaller size and the personal attention your son will likely get at Rochester is worth the price difference, go with Rochester. Otherwise, UT is the way to go.</p>
<p>It’s not that U of Texas is more highly regarded by academics and professionals. Both universities science deparments are excellent. The point is that UT has MORE execellent facilities and personnel that UR because of its size [and endowment].</p>
<p>UT is the obvious choice, there is no way UR is worth the extra money - NO WAY</p>