<p>So I got into Columbia, but got no financial aid. I have talked to my aid officer and I am not going to get any. I have received a 24k/year merit scholarship at Tulane University. Columbia has always been my dream school, but financially it does not seem like a good option. I also think it could ruin my dream of becoming a Naturopathic Doctor. I would have to take out like 80k in loans to pay for under grad then at least like 150k for my med school education. Also as a Doctor of Natural medicine it’s not like you make as much as someone practicing conventional medicine. There is also the chance that my vocational dream changes, but I wouldn’t say this is likely.</p>
<p>So, should I go for Columbia, where I will accumulate this huge debt, but will be getting the undergraduate experience of my dreams in my favorite city, and would also possibly be more prepared for a future if I decided not to go with naturopathy? At Columbia I would feel obligated to double concentrate, because originally I just wanted to major in philosophy while completing premed requirements. I think this would be too risky considering the amount of debt I would accumulate, and the lack of substance in that a philosophy major provides.</p>
<p>So do I choose my undergraduate education dream, or my vocational dreams?</p>
<p>If you do plan to pursue medicine, Tulane might be a better choice. There will be a significantly lower level of compitition for the grades at Tulane than Columbia. Med schools main evaluation is based off of Science GPA and MCAT scores. Tulane will provide you with a higher GPA. That being said, I plan on going to med school and I would still chose Columbia. No logical reason besides the fact that it is a great school.</p>
<p>Tulane is a good enough preparation for med school that money is a reasonable thing to consider - given that, once you get out of med school, no one will ever care where you went to undergrad.</p>
<p>Can you give us some specifics on why columbia isn’t meeting your financial needs? They announced a very generous policy for aid this year, so I assume your parents make quite a lot of money as it currently stands.</p>
<p>Basically I am close to qualifying, but do not qualify. My parents think that they can muster up 20 or 30k max per year for me to attend. Now maybe by Columbia’s standards they could contribute more, but they have already put 4 kids through school (all that have graduated so it doesn’t show up on the CSS), and at least my dad would really like to retire relatively soon. He doesn’t want to use all of his savings to put me through college. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far though; It is going to be a really hard decision. I just don’t know if Columbia will be financially possible (or at least practical) considering what my parents are willing to give.</p>
<p>Yes, Columbia announced an improved financial aid policy this year that will help quite a few more people than it did previously. Unfortunately, this improved plan still leaves out a lot of families whose assets might put them in the “upper middle class” (whatever that means anymore) but for whom the $51K pricetag is still an immense burden. The new aid policy is absolutely a step in the right direction, but it should not be confused with a policy on the scale of Yale’s or Harvard’s. To be ignored by Columbia’s aid department, sadly, still doesn’t necessarily mean you’re raking in money.</p>
<p>Well, summer jobs can net you $10k, and some work-study can easily match that during the school year if you’re resourceful and diligent. Another option is to defer for a year, get a job, and save up a chunk of money.</p>
<p>it doesn’t require superhuman powers to pay for school - it’s within the reach of everyone who really wants it. On the other hand, with the time you’d spend making money for college, you could just as easily take Tulane’s scholarship and be rolling in hot southern women.</p>
<p>Depends on your priorities and commitment level.</p>
<p>I would suggest you make this decision regardless of what you think you’ll do after college. People as determined as you are about their future, change their minds several times during college. Especially when it comes to med school.</p>
<p>I’ll just say that having 80k worth of student loans severely limits your options after graduation. With that amount, you’ll have to come up with an extra 1k / month once you enter repayment (6 months after grad).</p>