<p>Is that University of San Diego or South Dakota? Anyway, whichever it is, if he’s premed he (and/or you) will have to go heavily into debt for med school, so I would choose the inexpensive undergrad option. Plus it will likely be easier to get the stellar grades needed for med school.</p>
<p>That’s a tough one. My friend went to UMich instead of Harvard because he had a full ride there (in state) and went on to UMich medical school. He had a nice jump on classmates who were up to their necks in debt since he wasn’t. Michigan was his home state so it was all affordable. He was ahead of the game in his portfolio, finances and his parents who were not wealthy and would have had to have stretched and maybe borrowed to pay for Harvard were kept in good shape given the route he took. </p>
<p>But when it came to his nephew with a similar choice, actually the young man was accepted to a BA/MD program vs Harvard, he recommended going to Harvard. The reason being that a lot of premeds change their minds and a Harvard (and Yale fits as well) education is something precious and an outward sign of success that transcends a lot, and getting into a med school from Harvard is not a risk factor. </p>
<p>It comes down to how important and how highly you personally, and more importantly, your son feels about going to Yale. Is it worth a quarter million dollars to the family to have a kid go to Yale? How hard will it hit other family members to make the financial sacrifice for this student to go there? I would pick Yale in an instant UNLESS it meant true hardship to loved ones. I would not go if it meant my mother had to take on a physical job or my dad had to take on a second job to pay for it. Not worth it. Love 'em too much. No saintly type of sacrifices are worth it, in my book, but if it can be worked out short of that, I would.</p>
<p>If he’s definitely pre-med , and could use the money for med school, then USD (and if he is a top student, he’ll get GREAT internships, mentoring, and guidance that will get him into med school.) But if there’s any doubt about the med-school thing, and you can afford it, Yale.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget that gaining the pre-requisites for medical school is only one aspect of what he would do at Yale. He would also spend four years elevating his goals, aspirations, and sense of efficacy to a world-class level. It would be like the difference between interning with your local city or county government as opposed to interning in the U.S. Congress.</p>
<p>If the financial concerns will pose a major impediment to med school, then USD is certainly a fine launching pad for med school and the savings will be important. But it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity foregone. Medical school at a top school is not the same thing as coming of age among the world’s best and brightest.</p>
<p>Search out threads by curmudgeon. His daughter was in the same situation: admitted to Yale at a significant price, got a full ride from a small southern LAC. She was definitely pre-med. In the end, daughter took the full ride at the LAC, excelled there, graduated with no debt, and is now in med school. At Yale :)</p>
<p>^ That is true and Curmudgeon’s daughter did exceedingly well. However, a lot of students pass up Yale or similar institutions thinking that it’s a given that they’ll attend that same school for grad/med/law school. (Curm’s daughter, to the best of my knowledge) made no such assumption.) Getting into the same grad school that one got into undergrad (regardless of whether one attends undergrad or not) is not a given. At all.</p>
<p>*My son is admitted to YALE, and will pay a substantial amout of money (~~$30000 per year), He also has a full ride to USD. </p>
<p>All other college admissions are pretty much also around the same amount(USC, Pepperdine, Chapman, Berkeley)</p>
<p>We will need to get a loan + what we can afford to pay for YALE.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I think we need more info.</p>
<p>Do you have any younger kids to put thru college? If so, how will paying back these yearly loans impact your cash flow and financial situation for them?</p>
<p>How much will you realistically have to borrow each year? Be conservative in your guestimation because it’s likely that at some point in the 4 years you’ll have to borrow more than you think you might…just because it’s likely that over that 4 years there will be some unforeseen major expense that you’ll also have to fund (replacing a car/major appliance/etc).</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re a Calif resident. Therefore your travel costs will be much lower. It’s much easier/cheaper to move a student in and out of dorms and getting them home for holidays when they don’t have to travel across the country.</p>
<p>Since you’ll have to borrow to fund undergrad, then I imagine that you won’t be able to help with med school costs.</p>
<p>I understand your predicament. I have a pre-med son who chose nearly a full-ride over much higher ranked schools. However, he will graduate debt free and we’ll be able to help him with med school costs. Personally, I think USD will be fine for pre-med.</p>
<p>I agree with Gadad too. Those are 4 years of your life that you will never get to replicate again (not even in grad school), and OP’s son got the golden ticket.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your input, it seems split down the middle as I expected.</p>
<p>USD is actually University of San Diego, I am not yet too sure about the quality of their Pre-Med program. If anyone has more insight please do educate me.</p>
<p>Also, out of the YALE $30000 EFC we will be able to pay about $16000 yearly. leaving a need for loans totalling $14000 a year.</p>
<p>Is that a resonable amount of debt to incur for undergrd at YALE?</p>
<p>I agree with Gadad. And, for what it’s worth, DD turned down a full-tuition scholarship at a top UC for Yale, which cost us considerably more. We think it was worth it (and we did have a kid who went to that UC so we do know the difference).</p>
<p>I would say yes. You could split the debt with your son, or take on all of it. $56K is about the cost of a nice car, and you will be able to finance it over a longer term than a car loan. Wouldn’t you give up a nice car so your son can go to Yale? I would.</p>
<p>D2 just visited Yale this week. She has visited many schools, but realized Yale is just completely in a different league, she felt the instensity. She went to a school dance club performance, and she thought it was as good as some of professional performances. She is thinking maybe Yale is out of her league, and not sure if she wants that intensity. I would say the education your son would get at Yale would be very different than what he would get at USD. For $56K loan, he will be happy to have that opportunity.</p>
<p>OP, if your son opts for Yale encourage him to apply for whatever local scholarships he can to offset his student earnings portion of the package. That way he can work/borrow towards the $14,000/year.</p>
The real cost isn’t $56K, that’s just loans, the real cost is $120K so that’s the figure that should be discussed and in mind when weighing whether Yale for $120K is worth it vs. USD for $0. </p>
<p>It’s too personal of a decision since you have to look at the whole picture -
How this would impact your savings.
How this would impact your retirement plans.
How med school or grad school would be covered if it ends up that way (and it might not).
How readily you can ‘replace’ this money over your expected remaining earning years.
What other expenses you have including possibly the education of younger siblings.
Any ‘windfalls’ or expense reductions you might have in store that add to the ‘positive’ side of the cash flow - like the mortgage being paid off.</p>
<p>It’s like cars - some people buy at the inexpensive end and some buy at the high end. All of the cars get them to where they want to go but people are still willing to pay more for the experience of the more expensive car.</p>
<p>Yale and USD aren’t in the same league but if your S goes through med school what’ll stand out the most is which med school he went to - not which UG school he went to.</p>
<p>The point about the potential change of post grad plans is a good one as well - if he decides to not go to med school maybe the degree he gets from Yale will afford him other opportunities (or not).</p>
<p>Good luck with the decision. Regardless of the choice your S will no doubt continue to do well and be successful.</p>
<p>I’m glad we’re split down the middle on this. It is not a clear decision to make and will depend on so many things.</p>
<p>One of my college roommates transferred from USD to my school. USD is a Catholic school, is it not? If it is like any number of the Catholic colleges I know well, it probably has a nurturing premed program and your son could shine there. The chances of getting into med school are probably good from there. Yale is a whole different experience. The competition to do well in premed courses could be steep and there will a lot of adjustments to make, going to a school like that. </p>
<p>I would vote Yale, but I see benefits to USD. Let us know what you end up deciding.</p>