<p>Hello, everyone! I've been accepted to UT Plan II/Biology (no scholarship $), Rice (with 15,800/year), and Tulane (full tuition, 39,000/year). Just for some background info, I was also accepted to WUSTL, Dartmouth, Columbia, Northwestern, Texas A&M (got some aid), & Vanderbilt also, but have already turned those down due to no financial or merit aid or a lack of interest in the school. Money is for sure an issue for my family and we won't be getting any $ according to the FAFSA (our EFC was like 100k/year, which is ridiculous). I'm really leaning towards Rice as I am pre-med and feel like it offers a lot of opportunities given its location around multiple medical facilities. If I attend Rice, however, I will probably be forced to take out about 5k/year in loans and work maybe 10-15 hrs a week during the school year. Is it worth it, or should I stick with Texas or Tulane? Any help would be appreciated!!!</p>
<p>I am not sure how much help this is, but my D was in a very similar situation except for the med school part. She is double majoring in two humanities subjects, no interest in med school. But she also got the DHS, and had similar acceptances but with no scholarships. She is at Tulane and very happy. Tulane also has access to medical facilites, although certainly nothing on the scale of Houston. But as an undergrad, does that really matter? If so I am not sure how, maybe I can see how it slightly could matter. As an undergrad, you will be mostly focused on your courses and having some social life. Sure, you might get involved in research as an undergrad, but either school can offer you that. There may be more choices in Houston, but you can only do so much as an undergrad. Either environment can fulfill your need with regard to that. Assuming you do as well at university work as you have so far in high school, you would come out of Tulane with a virtually guaranteed med school slot there, and a highly likely probability of getting into a top 10 or 20 school, which would also be true of Rice of course.</p>
<p>Rice is clearly viable for you. 5K per year in loans is not bad at all, although keep in mind prices do rise and so that amount may increase each year, while your DHS value goes up with tuition. Also keep in mind you might incur a great deal of debt going to med school afterwards, so that’s just another $25k or so that would pile onto it. The 10-15 hours working per week is harder to comment on. Work never hurt anyone, but obviously you want to focus on your studies while having at least some time for a social life. That is an assessment only you can make.</p>
<p>Given your goals, either Rice or Tulane can get you there. UT also, but clearly that is a very different atmosphere and you should be able to make a decision between that school and the other two based on those differences. They (Rice and Tulane) are both great schools, so I don’t think you can go wrong.</p>
<p>I think sometimes incoming undergraduate students put too much emphasis on what a school or city has “available”. An analogy would be going to school in NYC vs. New Orleans. Sure NYC has far more restaurants than NOLA, but an undergrad couldn’t possibly try them all, and in most cases wouldn’t have the resources to be able to avail themselves of it anyway. The schools in both cities would provide more than adequate meals, and there is enough in both places that the typical undergrad will have everything they need to get valuable experiences outside of the typical school fare. Rice and Tulane both would provide you all the resources you need to be successful in moving on to med school, if you have what it takes. In your case, that seems most likely.</p>
<p>I don’t think you could go wrong with either Tulane or Rice. Both have very good med school placement rates. A close friend’s D turned down Dartmouth for Rice and never regretted it. She loved it there and will be a med student this fall. Tulane is larger than Rice and it has New Orleans, but Houston can be fun (I lived there for nearly 3 years). Tulane also has very strong pre-med opportunities as well, as it began as a medical school and has some interesting programs allowing students to enter directly into Tulane’s med school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I really feel like I would be happy at all 3 schools, now it just comes down to finding which is “right” for me. I should also mention that my ultimate goal is Baylor Med or one of the UT Med Schools, and I think that coming from a Texas school might improve my chances of admission. I love UT, but like you pointed out, it is HUGE. I LOVED my visit to Tulane and think that New Orleans really has alot to offer. The honors program seems great, also. </p>
<p>I just want to make sure I’m not being ridiculous considering 5k/year in loans to go to Rice. Would you encourage yourself (or your D/S) to go to Tulane over Rice in my situation?</p>
<p>Nope, even though I was glad he chose Tulane, I did not interfere with his decision. He was deciding between several great schools as are you. He was looking for schools where he thought he had a chance of gaining entrance into a top law school. He felt Tulane offered that opportunity as much or more than the others, and he liked the school, its size and location better than the others. Although the cost (including the eventual cost of medical or law school) must be considered, it must ultimately come down to where you feel you would most like to spend the next four years and where you are most likely will achieve your goals.</p>
<p>Muffinlover - I am usually very reluctant to do much more than point out the things I think make Tulane a great choice, and to counsel against taking on a lot of debt. In this case I am not really changing that “rule”, but I am going to go a tad further, and also point out something you might find very interesting.</p>
<p>You sound like your heart and at least a lot of your head is telling you Tulane. I think it is very important to listen to that inner voice. Also, even though $20-25K in debt is manageable, why take it on when you don’t have to? The DHS is a wonderful honor, and what a deal! Tulane will provide you with a great education, and if you do as well as I suspect you will in school, you will have as good a chance at Baylor as you would going to a Texas school.</p>
<p>Which brings me to the interesting fact. When Tulane was out a semester because of Katrina and everyone had to scatter, the med school stayed together and migrated en masse to…Baylor! Baylot hosted the Tulane medical school faculty and students while Tulane got things ready to start up again. Do you think, just maybe, Tulane has some strong ties at Baylor? <a href=“http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6751[/url]”>http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6751</a> I think that can only be in your favor at least as much as going to a Texas school, maybe even more so.</p>
<p>So I am not really changing my philosophy of advice giving, but instead just observing what I “hear” you saying in your posts, plus providing a little more info. That is such a great feature of this site. By keeping the conversation going, you brought up Baylor and DING DING DING DING DING, an important new fact emerged. Fun stuff.</p>
<p>None-the-less, in the end you have to make the decision you feel most comfortable with. It just seems like both your preferences and the money are pointing towards Tulane, and the Baylor connection is lagniappe. If you already know what the means, then you definitely have to go to Tulane. If not, then you have to go so you can find out.</p>
<p>Great word FC and I’d never heard it before. Thanks, as always!
la·gniappe [lan-yap, lan-yap] Show IPA
–noun
1.
Chiefly Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas. a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure; bonus.
2.
a gratuity or tip.
3.
an unexpected or indirect benefit.</p>
<p>muffinlover,
I have one s who is a Rice grad, and one who is a Tulane soph with the same scholarship you won. I understand your dilemna. Havew you looked into the new undergrad/med school option at Tulane? IT might be a great option for you. You essentially complete 2 yrs at Tulane, do a yr of community service and then go right into Tulane med school. YOu will get an undergrad degree from TU (biomed degree, I think) and your DHS will pay for the first 2 yrs of med school. Its a great option for the right kids.</p>
<p>That said, I love Rice- it is a wonderful place. I was disappointed that the merger with Baylor med fell through, but you are correct- lots of great opportunities with the massive Houston MC across the street. My s broke his leg his soph yr, and spent a lot of time over there at the orthopedists and at physical therapy. </p>
<p>UT is sooo huge. One of the freshman dorms can hold the entire undergrad population of Rice!! That just overwhelms me.</p>
<p>Good luck with this very tough decision!!</p>
<p>jym226- thanks for your response! i don’t think that program is right for me as i would be interested in studying neuroscience at tulane. i also feel like i would be missing out on doing research, having a social life, etc. by taking that kind of “fast track.” while i am pretty set on pre-med, i’m not 110% sure, and can also see myself in a career involving research. i’d like to keep my options open!!</p>
<p>i am also dissapointed that the merger fell through!!</p>
<p>UT is huge, but i would be in an honors program which means special dorms and smaller classes :)</p>