Hi everyone!
I have been accepted to Umich-LSA and OSU-main campus. I am pre-med, undecided on my exact major. UMich has always been my dream school, but it’s more expensive than OSU (27k a year of loans for me with my parents paying 30k vs my parents paying for OSU and 0 loans for me). I live in Ohio. I’ve heard it can be difficult at UMich to stand out as a pre-med or get proper ecs for med school. I am in stem scholars at OSU.
Would you recommend attending OSU or UMich?
Thanks everyone!
tOSU for the win. You can achieve all of your goals from tOSU and perhaps save money for medical school. Please read this thread I’m going to link. It’s very possible all those loans will need to be private loans for medical school…and especially if you use federally funded ones for undergrad.
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OSU. Your future debt-free self will thank you.
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tOSU whether you end up in med school or not. You are talking $100k plus in loans. It would be financially strangling. If you end up in grad school, it would rise.
You’re talking over $1200 a month for ten years. Who’s gonna pay ??
In so many cases tOSU and Michigan are peers.
You flat out can’t afford Michigan. As an OOS student, it’s crushing financially unless you have the means.
Congrats on tOSU, one of the leading schools in the country.
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OSU. Hands down.
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I think that this is an easy one.
That is just plain too much debt…
This might also be true but it is the debt that makes this an easy decision, along with…
The Ohio State University is a very good university, that is affordable. It will set you up very well for medical school if you continue on that path. If you choose a different path (which is very common for students who arrive at university thinking “premed”) then tOSU will also set you up very well for a wide range of other options.
U.Michigan is a very good university. Compared to Ohio State, Michigan is not just worth taking on the debt. “Financially strangling” is a very good description of the impact of this much debt.
Arrive on campus at Ohio State planning to attend every class, always pay attention, and keep well ahead in your class work. Keep an open mind regarding whether you want to stick with premed / medical school, or consider medical research, or do something different. You will be exposed to a lot of opportunities at Ohio State.
Best wishes and congratulations!
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Thank you for your insight!
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I did not see that thank you!
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Yep. Even I am going to tell you not to go to Michigan. It’s the financially responsible thing to do.
Good Luck.
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Your head says OSU. Your heart says UMich. I think the fact you are asking speaks volumes about what you know what you should do verses what you want to do. I will be a contrarian and say will you regret not attending the school of your dreams? The fact is, both schools are excellent and you probably will enjoy both colleges. Is one school better than the other, depends on where you live. Good luck in your decision!
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I do have to agree with you there! I’ve always loved Michigan. Thank you!
I can speak from experience. My dream school was UCLA and both brothers graduated from Brown. I did not get into either. I had to “settle” for UCSD. Do I regret going to SD? Yes…for a few weeks/months. But after summer ended and I was now meeting my new found friends at UCSD and enjoying the school that wanted me, I have no regrets. Of course yours is different that you were accepted at both and have a tough decision to make. So is your dream worth $100K? Most on CC will say no. They don’t believe in dream schools. They don’t believe that a loan of that amount is worth its price between two schools of equal or near equal ultimate value. I personally disagree. I do believe there are dream schools and that it may be worth being less practical and to think with your heart more than your head, but you will need to figure out how much is your heart’s desire worth. You don’t want to put yourself in such a predicament that you start off life in deep debt when you didn’t have to. Knowing that med school could cost you $500K in itself. So leaving you the most important question…is UMich worth a $100K debt? I know some UMich grads who actually would say yes and would never go to The Ohio State. Good luck!
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The problem with this is there is no guarantee that the OP will be accepted into Med school. Then they have an extra unneeded $100,000 to pay off. That is a lot of money. I can go on and on about the Rivalry. Trust me on that. Life will be much easier without that extra $100,000. My kids have friend’s that graduated with high loans and they feel like their trapped. They have well paying jobs. There is the dream but then there is the reality of being in that much debt. Getting a car, condo, house etc will be a much harder get.
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Yep, and that pesky $1,000+ payment every month for 10 years. It’s so easy to spend other people’s money! I know plenty of young adults who won’t consider a serious relationship with someone with a large amount of debt.
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If the law on grad student loans passes (and so far everything decided by the Administration has), taking on so much debt at the undergraduate level would make med school impossible since you wouldn’t be allowed federal loans and having 100k in debt already would make banks wary about further debt (ie., you wouldn’t get the loans or at prohibitive rates). You’d be stuck.
If you’re serious about med school, take tOSU and STEM Scholars. It’s a good program, whether you end up applying to med school or not.
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My daughter didn’t attend Michigan, but she did live in Ann Arbor after she graduated from college and worked as a clinical research assistant (later research program manager) at the med school. She said it is tough to get clinical experience opportunities at Michigan. The pre-med office controls the hospital placements and you must go through them to get shadowing and hospital volunteering. Not all students will get offered a placement.
Don’t know anything about tOSU and their pre-med office.
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I completely agree….however, the heart makes people do impractical things. Maybe that’s normally not a good thing. Maybe sometimes it’s ok. The OP will need to weigh the debt incurred with the importance of attending Michigan. She will need to consider the costs involved. That the grass is always greener on the other side. Would I do it? No. But this decision is an important one that she needs to think about, weigh the costs and risks with her family, and take everything into consideration. Sometimes life is more than about just being practical or sensible. If that were the case everyone should go to community college or buy a Toyota Corolla, right?
I’m not sure most 18 year olds - or even parents willing to sacrifice their financial lives for a name - are suited to do this.
Sure - maybe 1 or 3 out of 100 will make it work - but by the overall #s - no chance!!!
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