<p>I'm a New Jersey resident, and I was accepted to both Rutgers (School of Arts and Sciences, and School of Environmental and Biological Sciences) and UW-Madison. I will be majoring in Biological Sciences. I am almost positive that I will receive no financial aid from Madison, and Rutgers hasn't offered me anything as of yet either. But while Madison is around $35,000 per year (disregarding personal expenses and such), Rutgers will total around $25,000 per year. My parents will be able to pay for $15,000 per year, no matter where I go. The rest is up to me to figure out. I'm wondering if it's worth going to UW-Madison (higher ranking, better bio program) and graduating with a rather large amount of debt, or if I should go to Rutgers, where I would most likely be able to pay off my debt through work/scholarships/etc. Is the degree from UW-Mad really worth the money???? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated- I don't know what to do.</p>
<p>If you want to go to graduate school or medical school I would save the money and it also may be easier to obtain higher GPA to help you get in. If not, I would spend the extra and go for Madison which is just great all around. Fun campus life and great academics. I don’t know Rutgers but it has a very good reputation academically.</p>
<p>I’ve spent significant time on both campuses, and they have very different feels and the logistics of getting around on each are different. D1 sports are a big difference, but Rutgers is good in some sports that are not on ESPN. Bio sciences are good at both, but look deeper, if you want to be more specialized (Molecular Biology, Cell Bio etc.) which has some real value. Rutgers gets a bad and unfair rap in NJ, it’s funny but it has a better reputation when you get further away! SEBS at Rutgers is far removed from the other science campus and the nearby and on campus (but not belonging to Rutgers) medical school. The differences in the 2 schools at Rutgers may be bigger than the best programs at Rutgers and UW in some ways. And, if you plan to go to medical school you may feel the need to save, but if you go graduate school after for a PhD in the sciences at all good schools it will be paid for and you get a stipend too for living expenses.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys, these are really helpful tips. For some clarification, as JerseyProf pointed out, I am most likely not looking to go to medical school. I DO plan on getting my master’s degree in Genetics…I plan on being a Geneticist or (if that is too difficult) a Genetic Counselor. With this in mind, I’m trying to figure out which school has a stronger biology/genetics program. I’ve heard that Rutgers is a really good research facility…is this true? I really want to be able to participate in research as early as I can. </p>
<p>Also, I was admitted to the University of Delaware. I liked that campus a LOT…but I’m wondering if the bio/genetics programs there are good enough to justify spending more there than at Rutgers. Any thoughts on this??? </p>
<p>And @JerseyProf, I REALLY appreciate what you said about Rutgers being given a bad rap in NJ…most of my friends think I’m insane for considering Rutgers, and most people here dismiss it as a safety school. It’s good to know that it’s not seen as such throughout all the states… : )</p>
<p>D2 is a soph in the sciences at UW-Madison and loves it, but D1’s roommate (when they were undergrads at another school) is now pursuing her Master’s degree in Genetics at UW-Madison, and wants to be a genetic counselor. </p>
<p>Tough call, but given the economy, save the $40K (plus all the travel) difference, do your undergrad work at Rutgers, maybe use that $$$ for graduate work at Madison.</p>
<p>You need to post on the respective school boards for more info on those schools- we’re just lucky to have someone with “Jersey” ties to answer some of your questions.</p>
<p>UW probably does twice the life sciences research of Rutgers and RU is no slouch. But UW is pretty much at the top when it comes to bio related research overall and the facilities are generally far superior and all on the main campus. RU is spread all over New Brunswick and Piscataway so that you need to take a bus between campuses for different classes. And most hate the bus system. Most sciences are on Busch but some are clear across town at Cook. RU’s layout basically is a mess. You can get everythting you want at RU but it tends to not be easy or very pleasant. UW is FAR better in this regard as in not even close. Is it worth the extra money? I’d say $5000/year easily, $10,000 maybe. You only go to college as an undergrad once so when you consider the non-academic factors and QOL UW is like going to the Four Seasons and RU more like an older Holiday Inn.</p>
<p>Barrons - love the holiday inn vs. four seasons metaphor.</p>
<p>Hmm, that hotel analogy is a bit exaggerated. Genetics at Rutgers happens to be one of the strongest areas with a new building, a new chairperson and some amazing research resources of national predominance. However, people do change their majors. At a big school looking to the more specialized majors (such as molecular bio, genetics etc) vastly improves anyone’s experience. Make a big place feel “smaller” and you are also more likely to line up a research experience. The bus issue is real, do the tour which hopefully you have. However, that tends to go away pretty fast especially if you end up on Busch for your major. That said, my D is at Wisconsin and lost 15 pounds walking on campus rather than busing it, a really good thing. I (and others) are impressed with the sciences and the research at UW, no doubt. She is a happy badger, but you’ll be happy at either when you decide to own this choice. PS for an MS you MAY well have to pay tuition with no stipend, PhD programs in sciences give full support, typically MS programs do not. Keep your options open.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone, you’ve all been really helpful! I’ll keep all of these things in mind over the next few weeks. I’m definitely going up to Rutgers again to take (another) tour, hopefully a more in-depth one. I’m going to try to get out to Madison, but that’ll be more difficult. Anyway, I really appreciate all of your posts!</p>
<p>Just reread your original post. It may be more worth your while to save your money for grad school and go to your instate school instead of taking out many loans. You can apply to UW’s grad school when the time comes and get the benefits of the higher degree here. Or, you can start at Rutgers and transfer for the major if you still want it and value the UW degree more. Is it worth an extra $10,000 in loans each year to attend a school? Don’t forget there are additional travel costs (offset somewhat by a lower cost of living in Wis??) as well.</p>
<p>JP–RU did not even have Genetics until 1997 while UW had the first department in the US and is now over 100 years old with a long history of excellence in the field. The first quality text book in the field was written by a UW prof based on his lecture notes.</p>