<p>You probably do not want to hear this, but I have the resources to help my son through grad school as well (as long as he takes his undergrad seriously). For those who do not have the resources (or merit aid offers) to make fully discretionary decisions, I can understand the trade offs that must be made…but honestly, you sound ridiculous. I have the resources to help my son pick the school that fits his needs the best, and he is choosing Miami.</p>
<p>I sincerely wish your child well in school.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, that’s great and I have no issue with it. I too could actually afford it, and perhaps if my daughter were more motivated, given her SATs, I would have selected a private school for her also . . outside the State of Florida… But the point of my post is simple: Too many people are taking too many non-dischargeable loans to put their kids through an educational process when the education of their children is causing them significant sacrifice. There is no reason to spend 250 K for an education at a school that offers no advantages over the State flagships or under. These none elite schools, to sell themselves to the public, need to market themselves as if they are offering something special. But these schools are nothing special. Only super expensive. My opinion, take it for what its worth, and I am done with this thread.</p>
<p>davidg- I am not sure why you are posting on this site. Sounds like your daughter applied and did not get into Miami and you are trying to make yourself feel better. Without knowing the individual circumstances of our kids, you have no right to criticize our decision. No one is asking for your opinion or for you to contribute our child’s education. If I want to spend $100,000 a year to send my son to college, that is my business.</p>
<p>I am not going around posting on public university message boards putting down parents for not wanting to send their kids to private universities.</p>
<p>Davidg, No one is claiming UM is some uber-elite ivie-caliber school. UM is, however, a nationally respected, academically strong university that is on the rise. For many a school like UM will offer significant advantages over a flagship state school. Some people learn better in smaller classes, some people thrive in more diverse environments, and some people will prosper around academically strong students. All these things are examples of things that UM offers which many flagship state schools simply cannot. </p>
<p>I know there are many parents in the same boat as you. That is, they cannot or do not want to justify paying significantly more for a private school. This is perfectly reasonable and makes sense for a lot of students. But there is also nothing wrong with opting to pay more to attend a private school either. Quality is subjective and personal, and what is good for some may not be good for others. To each his own.</p>
<p>Wow are some of you serious? resorting to ad hominem attacks to counter what is, in fact, a very justifiable critique of the American Higher Education system? I’ll defend the quality of the education that the University of Miami provides, both in the classroom and on campus, any day of the week. Yes, you can learn history and math at state schools, or online. However the intended benefits of well-rounded, liberal arts education are magnified when taught in more personal environs, where by and large private schools hold advantage over cavernous state u’s lecture halls.
But the fact remains that it is a very expensive school. In an competitive career field where graduate school is a necessity, it is truly fair to ask whether the burdens of an undergraduate tuition are worth it. One of the things that I’m proudest of about UM is that the school is one of the most generous with financial aid in the country, including quite sizable merit aid (which beats a lot of the token change provided by most good private schools). In our country, the size of student debt is truly unsustainable (can anyone else see the big economic bubble of the 2010s?) and egregious consciously. When high schoolers ask me for advice about their decisions, the first thing I ask them to look at their finances and ability to pay off debt. The students that are creative and want to succeed will find their way, even if they have to work their way through hordes of gators or seminoles. If the issue of tuition isn’t a problem (full disclosure: if UM didn’t give me a full tuition merit scholarship, I’d be talking up the benefits of a UF education), then I ask the kids to discuss which environment would give them the most tools, one of which is quality of undergrad life, to be successful and happy in their futures. Of course the quality of a top 50 school will be impressive and mentally stimulating. But at the end of the day, money will be the more important factor for a lot of kids out there.</p>
<p>I got accepted into University of Miami for Class of 2017 for pre-med. I really want to go there, but it’s too expensive. What should make me still want to do my pre-med at UM? Are there any perks of doing it at UM over any other in-state university, for example Florida State University?</p>
<p>For pre-med, I would go to the school that is the most affordable (graduate debt free if possible). Don’t rack up the loans for the undergrad degree because you are going to rack up those loans for med school. And I would say the same thing if you were considering an Ivy versus Miami.</p>
<p>But don’t I also need to have a strong research background? How would the research opportunities be at other not-so-good universities? Miami is known for its research…
And does the ranking of the university decide how difficult the courses are? Miami is ranked 42nd, which isn’t that high. But I’ve read on other blogs and on ratemyprofessor.com that the some of the pre-health classes are really tough.</p>
<p>Also, I didn’t get any scholarships. So does that mean I would be able to handle these “tough” classes equally well as others who did get a scholarship?</p>
<p>My competition in the pre-health subjects I take will be with students from the HPME program or the PRISM program. So logically speaking, it would become tougher for me to me to score high… correct?</p>
<p>I’m just really confused. I really want to go Miami, but not if I won’t be able to stand out. Thanks</p>