i looked through all six colleges i was accepted into, and only TWO offered both microbiology AND german. technically, there are three colleges involved in this love triangle of torture: VT (accepted), IUP (accepted), and pitt main (waitlisted, and accepted spot on waitlist today). i never thought i would be considering IUP, but here we are haha!! putting pros and cons for both
VIRGINIA TECH
PROS
so many opportunities regarding microbiology and my future profession!
literally my dream school since middle school, little bonk would be so proud
top 10% in the US for bio/microbiology
pretty well known in the stem career industries
tons of opportunities for research, which i am very passionate about
gorgeous campus
idk why, but i feel like the coursework there will actually challenge me and make me think
i feel i would genuinely be so happy here
virginia is a pretty lgbtq+ accepting state legislation wise. i am genderqueer/nonbinary and lesbian, so this is huge. they are also a blue state, so it is likely these laws will continue to protect me throughout my attendance
CONS
so much money i am a PA resident and with max possible financial aid, estimated is about 30k per year. hoping to clarify financial aid package tomorrow
i’ll be five hours away from home, and i currently do not have my license due to my disability (narcolepsy). i would have to get my license before going here (and i don’t have a car either) or take a plane home
i’m a pretty big homebody, so i’m really worried i’ll get homesick
idk anyone attending VT, so i’ll have to start from square one making friends
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
PROS
so dirt cheap it’s scary. i received $5,000 in scholarships and, with maximum financial aid from FAFSA, it is about 8k per year
closer to home so i can visit family more often (only an hour away from home)
i have a lot of friends going here so i’ll know people!!
my german teacher is an iup graduate, and they offered her so many opportunities to go to others schools and abroad to expand on her profession. i would love to study abroad eventually!
if i am able to get suite housing, i will have SO much room. it won’t feel like a shoebox haha
CONS
HUGE party school. i am not a huge partygoer, and i worry this aspect of campus will affect the quality of my education
PA is not as protecting of LGBTQ+ people, but it’s not terrible. however, with the rate at which things are going, i’m worried that may change as PA is a swing state
honestly, i’m not too too into attending iup. i’m not very passionate about going there, let alone even close to the excitement i have for virginia tech
probably not as many professional/academic opportunities for microbiology
idk what else to say lol, it’s just a meh college for me. i wasn’t huge on attending, but it’s suddenly a top 2 and i’m scared lol
i am literally stressing so hard over this!!! i am calling both admissions offices first thing tomorrow, so i can edit any info that i am not sure of yet (dual enrollment transferring, accepting ap scores, etc). ALSO!!! i plan on becoming an infectious disease specialist with a concentration in lab research. i also want to pursue german to potentially expand my career advantages. infectious disease and epidemiology is expected to boom with demand in the next ten years due to covid, so i know this is going to be the best choice for me!
So Pitt is out - you’re on the WL, forget about it. If it comes in, you can then consider.
For a biology degree, costs matter - outcomes aren’t great.
Yes, VT is awesome - but a dream school with significant loans (over the federal limit of $27K) is a nighmare - because you’ll have years of paying back - and what if you go to grad school. As a PA resident, you’be be lucky to get any money - but good luck.
Are there any other schools you can consider that might be more compatible? There are schools still taking apps - I don’t know how you feel about N Carolina - but WCU is $20K all in. Given Va Tech is trip that, I’m guessing that would work. Or you might look at some SUNYs.
In the end, an unaffordable college is not a possibility - so you shouldn’t stress. Va Tech is public and does not meet need - so you shouldn’t expect them to cover costs for a PA resident.
Best of luck to you - but you’ll need money beyond the four years, so right or wrong, it does have to guide you.
PS - you can do research at most any school - just reach out to professors.
i am exclusively deciding between iup and vt currently, but i appreciate the recommendations!
the finances are pretty important, as i plan to also attend grad school and probably med school (whichever goes first is tbd). in addition, the only parent present in my life is my mom who makes about 30k annually; very low income. i will likely maintain a job during college, but i’m going to likely wait for a few months to adjust before applying for a job. i want to make sure i can take on a part-time job with my schedule
Good idea on the part time job and you won’t make enough.
The only other option - if your mom makes $30K, is maybe take a gap year - and apply to meets need schools. Of course many will require the finances of the other parent, even if not involved.
In your case honestly - and you don’t know yet that you’re getting anything from Va Tech, but you simply can’t afford it.
If you’re not open to others and I get it - IUP isn’t as strong - but financially it gives you the opportunity to do the other things you want to do - mainly more schooling.
Call the FA office and clarify your aid to VT. If it is not affordable…forget about it. You will not have the money to attend, so there will be no decision to make.
Your affordable option is IUP. Your other options are to take a gap year and reapply to schools, begin at a CC and transfer, or transfer to Pitt if you do not like IUP (hopefully you will).
You will need an MPH to work as an epidemiologist. You can go where you want for your masters. You might go to med school? Great! Work hard, get good grades etc.
Have you looked at the IUP website? There are many research opportunities, summer research with stipends, a biology club, Pre health/premed tracks with advising, internships, test prep, community service opportunities, etc. in my book there are plenty of opportunities at IUP.
VTech will not be affordable because they do not meet need. That is, if you can afford zero they will still admit you and expect you to pay. If VTech reallyvhas the best research for the specific disease you want to work on, you’have to qualify and get admitted for a PHD there (they’ll pay you).
Note that you do not need an undergraduate degree in microbiology (I understand it’s an academic interest.)
Are you no longer considering Duquesne Honors ?
IUP benefits: next year, it’ll only be $2,000 tuition for PA residents, you got Honors college (good benefits, especially at IUP), smaller classes, lots of clubs.
IUP issues: opioid crisis, students who care so little they don’t even show up to the final, 4-4 teaching load meaning low research (cf. Your other thread).
Really not the best set up if you want to get into a PHD program but low cost/efficient college education if your goal is to join the workforce after college.
In addition, Honors colkege should guarantee opportunities abroad which would be great for your German minor.
If you choose to attend - and it may be your best choice - you’ll have to work twice as hard so your profile helps you get into PHD programs- summer research at a R1 would be absolutely necessary.
i did briefly scan over the website (especially for costs), but i didn’t do solid looking yet. my mom is scheduling a college visit for iup before i decide, especially since it’s so close to home compared to vt. i plan on calling both iup and vt this morning as well 🫶🏻
i was not aware that they did not help with aid! thank you for telling me, that’ll really help with deciding
microbiology degree is primarily for admittance to a medical school and to hopefully help me get into a grad school infectious disease program
unfortunately, duquesne does not offer german at all, so they are out of the question
it’s my most affordable choice at this moment, and unfortunately i do know that a degree from iup won’t carry as much prestige. iup could also go down even more with state based aid, which i will be finishing tomorrow. it’s really hard, because i know that vt will help me prepare for education beyond college and the medical field especially, but it is not very affordable. again, i never expected to be considering them in the top 2, but things happen
Ok on your other thread it sounded like you wanted to do research/join a particular research institute (which would mean PHD or MDPHD).
If MD, then IUP will be great as long as you take the most rigorous option offered.
I would urge you to consider sending an application through CommonApp to the colleges suggested on your other thread (Allegheny, Wooster, Muhlenberg, Juniata) - they should be more rigorous than IUP and they meet need. At best they’ll be affordable and admit you, at worst you wont be worse off.
I agree you’re better off at IUP honors than Seton Hill but it’s still not ideal academically.
Med schools don’t care about prestige. Take as many honors classes as are offered so you have rigor and you’re good.
Phd programs care about general and advanced education + research, prestige to a certain extent.
It may well be too late for the Immunology degree at PSU but still worth a shot (and they, of course have German.)
An option could be to attend IUP for a year and apply as a transfer to meet need colleges in state (so you can benefit from the new scholarship), like Lafayette, Dickinson, etc.
my only worry is that i won’t be able to get a response back in time. i need to decide within the next few weeks, so asap
honestly, financially, i prefer cheaper options but what truly matters is what is best for my future profession. i’ll be making enough to pay it off, so i’m not entirely too worried about that aspect, but it is a large factor
honestly, whichever choice would be best for me to eventually go to med school/grad school is perfect for me. like mentioned before, i would love a college that does a lot of research and has a lot of internship opportunities. whichever of those is best out of the two will likely be my choice
UPDATE: i have college visits scheduled to both colleges in the coming weeks so i am able to fairly decide
Even though Duquesne doesn’t offer German, both Carnegie Mellon and U. of Pittsburgh do (schools’ names should link to their German departments). Thus, you can use the cross-registration benefits to still keep up your German, and I am pretty confident that the host institutions won’t have such high demand for those classes that you’ll be unable to take German.
Every year, a number of schools are underenrolled, so they accept applications into the summer months.
If these are your only two options – and you can’t afford one and dislike the other – bookmark this URL and check it frequently. You’d be surprised at some of the schools that will be accepting applications this spring and summer:
The problem is that VTech is not affordable. You will get a Pell Grant (up to $7,395) and a federal loan for $5,500 (the maximum amount of loans a student can take for freshman year) plus whatever merit money that came with your acceptance letter. You can deduct all that from 59k, which is the full cost of VTech. Whatever amount you see is what your mother has to pay and if she doesn’t have enough money from income&savings, that’s it.
That’s why I rexommended you focus on VTech for grad school when all of that becomes immaterial because PHD students are actually paid to attend.
IUP is affordable at least and you can always try& transfer to a topnotch/meet need college like Lafayette if you get straight As or nearly in your IUP Honors courses.
i am a PA resident and with max possible financial aid, estimated is about 30k per year. hoping to clarify financial aid package tomorrow
