I want it badly. I haven’t ever really wanted to be anything else. I’m an EMT, and work in a clinic, so I have a fair amount of experience for someone my age.
I bring up the question of “what if you don’t end up going to medical school?” not because I’m on the fence but because I get asked that over and over so I want to preempt it. And because I’m not so naive that I don’t know that something unforeseen could prevent me from my dream. But if that happens, I would definitely choose School A. The only reason I’m considering School B is because it would save money for medical school. I can go to School A without debt, and with enough money left to pay for almost any other graduate degree.
I’ve spent time talking to female doctors at work, and outside of work. Male doctors too.
Because I don’t have any instate options, most medical schools would cost me $100K or more a year, so while I think I could graduate debt free from School B, and medical school, there likely wouldn’t be much left.
But the answer to your is no anyway, for two reasons. My parents say they’ve saved this money for education. It’s not for other purposes. If I don’t use it for education, then they’ll offer it to my younger brother. The opposite is true, which is why I say I’ll have at least $400K. I asked what happens if we don’t spend it all, and they said they’d keep it in 529s, let it continue to grow, and then divide it equally between any grandchildren.
The other reason is that my parents feel pretty strongly that School A is the right choice. They both really loved their undergraduate experience, and they think being at a school I think I’ll love is important. They also agree with my thinking around having children. And there are other factors I won’t go into. So, they aren’t going to offer me a financial incentive to pick School B.
Of course anything could happen. But I wouldn’t intentionally have children if we weren’t in a position to support them.
I just want to say that we see many students posting about possible decisions, and you seem to be one of the most mature I’ve seen, and you seem to have really considered all outcomes and possibilities. Your responses have been thoughtful and well considered, and I’m also encouraged by your real experience in the field.
(FWIW, after this discussion I think school A sounds like the one.)
I hope the 529 is protected - meaning they moved it to fixed. The market has taken a lot of gyrations and if in equities, what was x a few months ago likely is x minus a high single or even double digit number, depending on investment choices.
Having read all this, I think School A makes sense. Greater certainty of desired outcome, happier (important) 4 years of life.
No debt is great - it gives you more options and freedom – and it’s a privilege to have the choice you do. But you are essentially contemplating paying yourself to give up the experience you want and to risk the outcome. Life is full of sacrifices and compromises, often not by choice. Here, where you have the choice, it doesn’t seem worth it.
I trust my parents. They made a lot of good decisions to get to the point where they are able to give my brother and me this gift. I am confident they will continue to make wise choices.
$460k for school A + medical school at school A → $60k debt
$540k for school A + medical school elsewhere → $140k debt
$0 for school B without medical school
$400k for school B + medical school
School A generally preferred over school B with or without medical school
School A gives a higher chance of getting into medical school through the dual-degree program
Since the debt scenarios are based on attending medical school, and the amount of debt is not huge in the context of medical school debt or (eventual post-residency) physician pay, school A is certainly a valid choice in this situation. Note that the larger debt scenario is only if you get dropped from the dual-degree program for GPA or whatever reason, but still get into a medical school elsewhere, a less likely scenario.
So the “risk” factor - the up and down - will be based on the target year set.
It’s not a question of trusting your parents. It’s a question of what “year” they picked and how much are in equities, etc. Markets have gone up for a long time - so trust is easy - but it doesn’t mean the situation hasn’t changed. I trust me (in that I’ve grown regularly over the years) - but my net worth has fallen greatly these past few months due to things I didn’t expect (war, etc).
For example, my 529s were set up further out than my kid’s attendance years - as I sought growth. But if I needed to protect the money, I’d have put it for a year prior to their attendance to ensure no equities.
You may just want to check to be sure.
But alas, I’m in the pool A camp for reasons @gardenstategal said.
Nothing worse than waiting for an answer on a college app -and even having to do a college app - and College A seems to eliminate all of that.
Life is long - I’d hate to think the possibility would exist that you couldn’t do what you want - and that’s school B.
I’m a huge loan/risk guy - but in this case, based on the info you provided, I’m comfortable with the level of debt vs. reduced risk.
This is mostly right. It doesn’t take into account inflation, or any money I could earn during undergrad. It also doesn’t include interest that would accrue during residency and the end of medical school. Or maybe it’s assuming those things all cancel each other out?
Also, the program at School A you move to the medical school after 3 years undergrad. So the $140K is for 3 years. If I went for 4 years, it would be $187K. Also, that assumes my GPA is under 3.6, but over the threshold to keep my merit aid.
So $187K - and that’s without inflation - let’s say $200K although depending on the school, off campus costs often go down (apartment/cook vs. dorm/dining hall).
You still have $200K+ for med school - within the limits - but tighter.
It’s a risk/reward assessment - how confident are you in yourself? And then what if med school dies out.
Plenty of kids on here start pre med, they’re jonesing for it, and first year it fades away - quickly. Was recently an NMF at Bama who had this exact situation.
In this case, you’d still have $$ for a Masters though.
I.e. GPA < 3.6 but keep scholarship and still get into some medical school → $587k → $187k+interest debt.
What is the merit scholarship GPA threshold?
If it is something like 3.0, then losing it means no realistic chance of medical school. If it is 3.5, there would still be an outside chance of medical school, which could be the most expensive (but unlikely) scenario. But it also looks like the no-medical-school scenarios would all be debt-free unless you went to some other expensive professional school after graduation.
It sounds like you and your family have thought this through well. And with the amount your parents have saved for you and your sibling, they sound like they are likely financially savvy and likely financially stable. So they probably have some other resources they could utilize and/or have moved some $ into cash to ride out the bumps in today’s market and may not even need to touch the college savings money next fall when you start school. You are in the enviable position of being able to choose school with guaranteed admission to their medical school, and it certainly sounds like you are likely to be able to maintain the GPA (congratulations!) and you don’t have to deal with the stress of the MCAT, taking some time off between college and medical school to work in an interim likely, low pay position, and then starting med school a year or two later. So so, by starting med school after year three of college, and not needing to take a year or so off in between before you were to start med school otherwise, you have the enviable position of being able to move towards your career, after medical school, two years sooner than many other med students. So even if you have some debt, you will likely be able to handle it sooner and manage it successfully. I think this is a no-brainer. Congratulations! Choose option A which you clearly love and prefer.
I think where we’ve landed is that I am going to “make” the decision to go to School A, and then sit with that decision for a couple weeks. If it still feels right, I’ll send in the deposit.
Pretty much everyone who knows me in real life thinks A is the right choice.
Good thought - check housing though. Does when you deposit matter what/where you get?
If it does - and I’m not saying to deposit now - but you may want to consider - securing housing now and if you change your mind, you’ll lose the housing deposit - but it’s a small cost where the other school is free.
I don’t know the school or housing situation - but at some, earlier is better….a lot better.
Congrats on making a decision and I hope the next few weeks validates your conclusions.
Both schools have enough housing for all first year students. The chatbot at School A says when you pay the housing deposits doesn’t impact room assignment. I think I want to go “random”.