Thank you all for the advice! To address some comments:
I am planning to do an MD/PhD program, which will most likely be paid for, so my undergraduate education is what will potentially put me in debt, not post-graduate education.
If I do decide to go to UW, of course I will do the honors program so I can keep my scholarship! I do not think the Honors Program is particularly the best route for me considering all of my credits (I will probably go for Departmental Honors as well), but putting in a little extra work for the program is completely worth it for a tuition free education.
I am aware that UW and UChicago are more or less equitable when it comes to biology and medical school, and this is why many recommend that I go to UW tuition free. However, I always wanted an undergraduate experience like the one that UChicago offers (strong liberal arts core within a larger research university).
Lastly, I am paying for a third of the total price of my education. If I go to UChicago, that’s ~90k debt for me. If I go to UW, my parents will pay me since I already paid for over a third with my scholarship.
Now, is going to UChicago worth it if it will just cost more money for the same quality (albeit different type) of education? What this comment thread has told me is that nobody truly knows the answer to this question, which is understandable considering I won’t even know until I’m looking back on this decision years later. Anyway, thanks for all of the advice…I will surely consider all of it when making my final decision!
P.S. Anyone else feel like working so hard for four years just to achieve a dream of getting into a top school doesn’t merit getting hit in the face with a 70k price tag? Since when did our higher education system become a capitalist industrial complex that feeds off of the shrinking middle class!!??