If you attend UA (undergraduate or medical school) as an out-of-state student, is he willing to pay the in-state cost (with you and your parents topping up the extra costs for out-of-state, or using scholarships for that if you earn any)? If so…
For undergraduate, the difference between in-state and out-of-state costs is about $24k. Depending on whether UA offers scholarships to lower that cost, and what financial aid and scholarships you get at in-state UCs/CSUs, UA may be price competitive if he subsidizes it up to the in-state level.
For medical school, the difference between in-state and out-of-state costs is about $22k. If he subsidizes it to the in-state level, then the remaining $22k would be price-competitive with other medical schools, including in-state UCs.
I havent asked him yet. He has been believing this whole time that his whole plan was in state residency so i will have to tell him tomorrow and let you know. Thank you sm for your help so far
@thefuturedoctor The University of Arizona is a great school. You could get great merit aid there. Don’t mess with trying for instate status. What medical school was he thinking?
Based on the table in the Arizona Excellence Awards for non-resident frosh, if your HS GPA is at least 3.75 (however UA calculates it) and you have a 30 ACT or 1390 SAT, you may get a scholarship that covers the additional out-of-state tuition (or higher). Would he contribute the in-state amount for you to attend UA in that case?
I don’t think it matters, U of A for med school. It would not affect your job prospects. You are going to be judged on performance once your foot is in the door. You’ll be 100 steps ahead of everyone else having no debt.
My feeling is that it is nice to have things paid for, but it’s not great to have your grandfather deciding the next 9 years of your life. If he really wants to help you he should be open to various possibilities. For example: you go to a less competitive UC school than UCB or UCLA so you can keep your grades up, and he pays for it as long as you keep your grades at an acceptable level (just as long as he doesn’t cut you off in the middle of a year). Medical school payment can be decided if and when you get there.
Of course, he is free to refuse to do anything at all to help other than his own plan. Just as you are free to tell him you appreciate the offer but that you can only accept it if it’s something that works for you.
Cross those bridges when you get to them. Lets say you do great and get admitted to Stanford medical school, he might changes his mind about UA med school. BTW work on your spell check. You come off sounding like a 4th grader when you don’t. Believe me, this is good advice for the rest of your life.
I would say don’t take it - because there are too many strings. Stick with your plan - and if he really wants to support you, he will come through for your choice of school. If he doesn’t really want to support you - then there is a possibility he doesn’t come through at the end anyway.
And BTW, if you are a good student, U of A gives massive full ride scholarships to OOS kids with good stats. Could also be a trick that way – you can get what he is offering from OOS without his help if you are a good student.
You won’t be an instate resident for tuition purposes in Arizona unless your parents move there with you. Your grandfather is not your parent. Residency is determined by parent residence.
It’s nice that grandpa wants you to go to U of Arizona Medical School...but there is absolutely NO guarantee you will even get accepted to that medical school...or any other, for that matter.
Thank you for your response! Yes it has been a year and throughout this year I have developed a path for myself that is still changing to date. Although I will apply to Arizona, it would be considered my last choice, with schools like Johns Hopkins and UCLA/UC Berkeley being the top schools. I actually toured Johns Hopkins and loved the school but didn’t apply ED because I wanted to see the financial packages from the other schools I’m applying to before I have to accept the offer.
