<p>So basically, my choices are down to
UVA (University of Virginia)- Full scholarship
BC (Boston College)- 5000 Loans/ 2400 Work-Study/ 2500 Cash
USC (University of Southern California)- 5500 Loans/ 2500 Work-Study/ 2500 Cash</p>
<p>Money is a big issue, but if it is worth it I want to try my best to get to BC and USC.
I was wondering what school would be best for my situation.</p>
<p>I am looking for a place with
-good pre-med advisor/clubs/programs
-competitive student, but not too intense that it turns manipulative
-a personal teacher to student relationship (Of course I will put myself out there, but are the professors willing to help?)
-Pretty good support system in general
-Don't really care about drinking/partying (Priority is academics now to get to medical school)
-reasonable grading system...Some schools set marks one how many A's B's...to give out? I know all three schools are rigorous, but I am willing to go HARD.
-a campus and dorms that are easily within distance to get to classes </p>
<p>I know UVA gave me a lot of money and the financial factor is leaning me towards UVA, but if USC and BC are worth it, I really would like to know about it. I feel like private schools are more supportive of the students in general...and UVA is a big campus, so it may be hard to go from one class to another to dorms etc...</p>
<p>PLEASE LET ME KNOW I have less than a week to commit!
Thank you very much!</p>
<p>If I were advising my own child, I’d tell her to choose UVA. Neither BC nor USC is a small school, and as public flagships go, Virginia isn’t that large. Academically UVA is every bit as good (if not better) than the others. I don’t think you can assume that private schools are more supportive of students in general, either. I can’t think of a good reason to pay the large cost differential to attend BC or USC. I’ve lived in Charlottesville, and it’s a nice place to spend a few years.</p>
<p>Thank you, but does UVA have a sense of community/family? I heard it has a huge campus, in which you may have to take a bus to go to your classes… That’s kind of iffy to me.</p>
<p>I didn’t go to UVA undergrad; I went to the law school and lived on the law school campus, which was somewhat removed from the main campus. There was a bus that went from there to the main campus. The undergrad areas were much closer. FWIW, if you’re on the Newton campus at BC (some of the freshman dorms are there) you have to take a bus to get to the main campus, and you also have a good walk from some of the dorms on the Chestnut Hill campus. Have you visited any of these schools? As for sense of community, I certainly felt one, and there was much more cooperation than competition.</p>
<p>Are you seriously thinking of starting med school $20,000 - $22,000 in debt??? And where is that additional $2,500 per year “cash” going to come from - will you have to borrow that also? It’s going to be years before you’ll be able to start paying those loans back, at which point you’ll have all the additional debt from med school . . . that just seems like a bad idea to me.</p>
<p>And it’s going to be up to you to find your “family” no matter which of these schools you attend . . .</p>
<p>So it will definitely be a new experience…are there significant differences about private and public colleges that will help/support me more??? Thank guys for all the help! I’m starting to lean towards UVA hahaha</p>
<p>UVA is an amazing school, great campus, nice student involvement - Go there. Thats about it. When you have a chance to go to a top 30 school in the country for free, take it.</p>
<p>I don’t think there are inherent differences between public and private schools - it’s more about size, resources, and reputation. If we were talking about the difference between, let’s say, VCU and Harvard - that’s a different story. But UVa. is a top public flagship with lots of resources and opportunities there.</p>
<p>There are 15,000 undergrads, but the student to faculty ratio is 16:1. BC is slightly smaller (about 9,000 undergrads) but the student to faculty ration is similar (14:1). USC has even more students (17,000), so if you are worried about community at UVa. why wouldn’t you be worried about it at USC, too?</p>
<p>Personally, I would advise you to take the money at UVa and run. It’s a top, well recognized university and you’ll get a great education there.</p>
<p>As a UVA grad and mother of USC freshman, I advise you to go to UVA. It is a great school and not that large a campus. You really can walk anywhere! Buses are available but I rarely took them!</p>