I just started looking into the University of Colorado- Boulder. I already know that I am auto admit to UT-Dallas, and my reach school is UT-Austin. I would like to major in Neurobiology or Neuroscience and then go to med school. I am not sure which school is better for my intended major. Should I go to UT-Dallas full ride or consider CU-Boulder with $20,000-$34,000 tuition? I do not mind working hard and taking out loans for CU-Boulder, but is it worth it? Or is UTD the clear choice here in relation to my major and tuition?
If you plan on attending med school, it may be more practical to go to a school where you are guaranteed a full ride, rather than take on loans for both your undergraduate degree and any degrees beyond.
CU is a big state school with big classes that isn’t an elite that is a target of prestige industries (in case you change your mind and want to enter those) or at the very top in your field. And the student body quality would be roughly similar between UTD and CU. In fact, UTD’s student body has a higher average SAT.
Given all that, why would you pay six figures more for CU?
^ not all the classes are “big”. In fact, most classes outside of first year lecture halls have no more than 30. Colorado’s average ACT is 27 and will likely move up to 28 next year from what I’m hearing. That is comparable to UT Dallas. But to say that CU isn’t a target of prestigious industries is wrong. Goldman Sachs has been ramping up recruiting out of Leeds for the Salt Lake office. Space X, NASA, etc recruits heavily out of the engineering school. It may be a better financial decision for OP to go to UTD but don’t unnecessarily knock Colorado.