VT vs. UMiami vs. Pitt

Hi there! I’m trying to decide between a couple different schools, and would love to hear some feedback. I am planning on double majoring in neuroscience and spanish, and hopefully attending medical school after undergrad. Because of COVID, I haven’t been able to tour any of the campuses, but with virtual tours and meetings, I’ve been able to tell which schools I’m leaning towards. Here are the schools I was accepted to:

Pitt: accepted into honors, in-state tuition and scholarship, will cost ~22k/yr, don’t love the campus, want to go OOS for college

UMiami: with a scholarship it will still cost ~48k/yr, love the campus and can totally see myself attending

Virginia Tech: will cost ~48k/yr, i like the campus but not as much as Miami

Penn State: will cost ~31k/yr, I dont love the campus

I know that I should choose the cheapest school, but I can truly not see myself being happy at either of the PA schools. Is it worth the extra money to go OOS? Advice please!!

In general no. Truth is u don’t know where u would be happy. U can go to Miami. Get homesick go to Pitt and meet your BFF. All the picking the right place is best guess not a guarantee

Is it too late to apply to Alabama or Arizona. Big merit

U will end up in grad school with that major

U will regret taking on debt

Love your options and also like Miami best. If money is an issue, all 4 schools are great.

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Will your parents have to take out additional loans for Miami, and/or would it be a financial burden for them? If med school is in your future, you want to minimize undergrad debt.

My parents are willing to pay up to 30k, so the rest would fall on me. Minimizing debt is probably what I should do, I guess I just need to convince myself that it’s for the best

I understand, and I understand wanting to go to college OOS. BUT Pitt is outstanding for premed majors…you can certainly achieve all of your goals from there. Same is true of PSU, but for premeds Pitt>PSU.

Regarding the debt, let’s work some numbers. If your parents pay $30K per year and you choose either of the $48K options your total undergrad debt will be $72K. You can only take out $27K in Federal student loans, the remaining $45K will be on your parents. Then, when it comes time to go to med school, you will likely be borrowing another $200K-$300K, that’s why coming out of undergrad debt free is important.

Make your choice between Pitt and PSU and don’t look back! Good luck.

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