<p>Ok, so I was accepted to many great colleges, but I've narrowed it down to Vanderbilt, Emory, and U Alabama. I'm going to be a pre-med student who in addition to science is interested in history and politics as well. Both Vanderbilt and Emory will be very expensive and while my family is at an income level where we would normally be able to pay for this we have huge medical costs that Vanderbilt will only partially account for, whereas my family can easily pay for Alabama.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt
- Double major program
- Seems like a great pre-med program with awesome research opportunities
- 9k financial aid, appealed to 18 plus 1.5k work study program
- Many student organizations I'm interested in
- Saw a great campus and students</p>
<p>Emory
- Accepted into Scholars program, 1/3 tuition (my early decision school)
- no financial aid, only offering loans
- great pre-med as well</p>
<p>Alabama
- In honors school, Got presidential scholarship plus free housing and other costs, almost a free ride
- Start as a sophomore from AP Credits
- Definitely known for a fun campus
- Did a lot of research has what seems like a really good pre-med program as well, especially for a State U. Has research opportunities starting freshman year.
- Probably less competition than at Vandy or Emory for top percentiles but I'm concerned about the prestige and opportunities of the school compared to Vandy when applying to med school</p>
<p>I'm really thinking it's between Vandy and Alabama, but myself and my family would have to incur 50-60k loans to be at Vandy 4 yrs which I'm worried about concerning my family situation. Any thoughts on where I should go, especially when I have a dream of going to a great med school like Vandy or Duke? Thanks!!</p>
<p>I have a friend graduating from Alabama this year who chose to attend because he got a full ride. He ended up hating all four years he spent there, even though he got a 4.0. The party scene is great, but he found most of the students to not be very intelligent or interested in learning, which made for a poor college experience. Your experience may be different, but I think that your opportunities will be better at Vanderbilt and you will enjoy it more, although you will have to work harder. $60k is not a high price to pay in the long run, especially if you get into med school.</p>
<p>I could have gone to Alabama or Auburn with a free ride. However, I chose to attend Vanderbilt. I know for certain I made the right decision. If I would have gone to Alabama I would have continued to hang out with all my high school buddies. Vanderbilt forced me to meet people from all over the world. Now I have great friends from Houston, England, St. Louis, and many other places. Most of my high school friends, even the intelligent ones, who went to Alabama still live at or near home. Since graduation I’ve lived in Houston, West Virginia, and now New Orleans.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Alabama is a bad school. It is a very good school especially when you consider the state of Alabama as a whole is not known for it’s education system. What I am saying is that I feel like you have more opportunities both culturally and professionally if you attend a school like Vanderbilt. Emory is probably similar but I’m not very familiar with it.</p>
<p>Your parents and you need to have a major Pow Wow on financial resources. One game plan would be if you agreed to go to the best bargain offer you got in medical school, which would include the Med school in the Alabama system. Price it out, keeping in mind that if you stay the course at Vanderbilt, it is possible tuition discounts might be offered. Another thing to consider is a request for a chat with the Medical advisor at Vanderbilt via Skype regarding range of costs of med school admissions from the class four years ahead. Every year in the Premed Dore for a Day meeting (I sat in four years ago) he talks to parents who have Georgia Honors and Alabama Honors and UVA admissions and other flagship honors admissions who are struggling with “Letting Go” of their son or daughter’s admission to much more expensive Vanderbilt. Consider posting on this board on the med school threads with your all too common question re State Honors Flagship vs expensive private when you have med school to fund ahead of you. It might be that there are experienced parents over there on the med school threads who would recommend Vandy for undergrad and flagship for med school. Make sure to look up say Vandy Med and Alabama Med and see how old you have to be before they quit docking your parents income in the equation via the FAFSA. Many med schools consider themselves to be a “family” obligation and you are not deemed independent till age 28 or so. congrats and best of luck</p>
<p>I lack insight but congratulations! 3 fantastic schools. Alabama is so underrated, has as beautiful a campus as I’ve seen.
Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Incurring 50-60k of loans as an undergrad is going to leave you with close to 300k in debt after medical school. If you truly desire to attend a top medical school it is financially sensible and in your best interest to attend Alabama</p>
<p>First you can get a quality education at many U’s, finances need to be discussed with your family, debt is bad, you can be a great doc coming from any med school, and what if you change your major.
At UA you will be the smartest kid in all your classes and have little risk of being weeded out. Since only 38% of freshman graduate in 4 years if you graduate in 4 years you are in the top of your class.
At Vandy everyone in all your classes is an overachiever and as smart as you. There is risk of being weeded out. At VU 68% of graduates heading to grad school get into their first choice grad school. At VU you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to live 4 years in an academic community full of brilliant individuals going into different fields.
What state are you from? If you live in Alabama, UA is well known so you should have no problem getting into their med schools. If you are from CA, NY, NJ, how will their med schools look at an UA applicant to their med school? Will they take an UA grad. over graduates from their state universities with the same GPA? If you want to go to a top med school you are better off at Vandy.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with bud123 that you can go to Alabama and automatically be the smartest kid in the class. The top, I don’t know, 10-15% of students at Alabama are Vanderbilt calibre. A lot of smart in-state and out-of-state students are opting for the big money scholarships at Alabama, so there will be ample competition in competitive programs like the pre-med curriculum.</p>
<p>That being said, almost all full-pay Vandy admits would qualify for the Presidential Scholarship at Alabama or similar scholarships at other schools - their stats are good enough. So the OP is not alone, and it’s a hard choice. If you are concerned about future med school finances, it’s hard to recommend Vandy for the full price. There is no question in my mind that the Vanderbilt student body is stronger top to bottom and that the name of the school will get you a second look in some quarters - but is it worth it?</p>
<p>One thing about Alabama - there are a lot of distractions. If you go, and med school is your goal, you better be able to stay focused.</p>
<p>Lots of smart kids choose Alabama because of financial considerations. Imagine getting your degree with little to no loan to pay off…that would leave your borrowing power for graduate school or whatever. Something to consider. Alabama is huge and there are students like you there, for sure. The only thing that matters is the last thing you did. For the first job, it’s college; for the second job, it’s the first job; and so on…I have 2 kids who went to Vanderbilt and they loved it. It was an amazing opportunity, but I’m not sure ANY school is worth the debt or financial stress.</p>