<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>There are several issues in play here.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Residency. Texas in-state medical schools weigh Texas residency very heavily in their admission decisions. If you (his custodial parent) plan to remain in Texas until after your son applies for med school, residency doesn’t become a an issue. However, if you’re not staying or unsure if you will still be a Texas resident, then UT is his best choice since he may be able to maintain his residency status. (See: [TMDSAS</a> Medical: Residency Information](<a href=“http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/residency.html]TMDSAS”>http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/residency.html)) Texas has 6 (?) in-state medical schools and one’s in-state medical school is everyone’s best chance when it comes to med school admission. Also, you and your son should know that the fact that your son is not a US citizen will disqualify him for admission to many US medical schools. (Unless he has permanent residency.)</p></li>
<li><p>Cost. Can you, the family, afford the approx $20,000 per YEAR difference in the cost of a college education? Will you and/or your student be taking out loans to make up the costs not covered by FA? If the answer is yes, then UR may not be the best choice. A medical education, even at your in-state public medical school, is expensive. And there is little FA except for loans available. A medical student who is already $80,000 in debt before taking out another $100,000- $250,000 in loans will be paying off his education for the next 30 years.</p></li>
<li><p>Pre-med itself. Medicine is a long and demanding career path and your son is still young. What is the likelihood he will change his mind about medical school? Over half of all college student change their majors at least once after they start college. Approx 1/4-1/3 of UR’s entering freshman identify themselves pre-meds; fewer than 100 end up actually applying at the end of 4 years. This is true, not just at UR, but at most colleges. The attrition rate among pre-med students is huge for variety of reasons.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That said, UR is strong in the biological sciences and offers good pre-med advising. </p>
<p>(I have a “maybe-pre-med” Bio major sophomore at UR. Her experiences there have been excellent; however–and this is heresy here at CC–I think it has more to do with the kid and less to do with the school. She would have thrived at any school she went to. She’s persistent and driven and she makes her own opportunities.)</p>
<p>Texas is a relatively easy state in which to establish residency. My niece did that at UT.</p>
<p>But I think $20k is a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, WayOutWestMom. I have been reading your posts a lot recently, and you are a very knowledgeable and well-thought person. I have forwarded your opinion to my family members and they will be very useful for us to make the final decision. Congratulation to your D, and I am sure she will be doing very well in her endeavor at UR.</p>