Net price per year at each college, after applying scholarships and financial aid grants.
WashU - Full Price ~ 100K
UVA - In-state ~ $35346
SAI - 124,346 ish
Arts & Sciences for Both
Student preferences beyond the above (including weather, class sizes, campus culture, college demographics, fraternities/sororities, distance from home, etc.).
I prefer a smaller school
I would not want to go to a party school
I don’t mind being far from home, and in some ways I think its better because I have more opportunity to branch out
I do not want to see a ton of people from my high school, because I want to be able to branch out
I do want a relatively comfortable living situation, whether that’s in the dorms or just because of proximity.
Preliminary assessment of each college based on the above.
I strongly prefer WashU currently, simply because of the plethora of resources it offers for premeds (MedPrep I, MedPrep II, Ampersand Programs, strong med school ties)
I haven’t heard many great things about UVA from a premed perspectives, and have actually heard a ton of negative things about UVA’s biology department
It’s not like either school is “bad” its just that from what I have seen, WashU seems to be a better fit. My parents really want me to keep an open mind, which is understandable, since cost is definitely important for medical school. But they seem to really dislike the idea of sending me to WashU, when I am perfectly comfortable with taking out a loan if it means supporting my education.
Why did you apply to each college you are considering?
You will not be in hs 2 at UVA - it’s a big state and hard to get in school.
Med school is $400k+. UVA is giving you $260 back that your parents can spend later.
Can you find a cheaper private school ? WUSTL is too much.
Let me share with you - I’m a patient at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Know where the 1st and 2nd year Radiology Residents attended ?
I think the ‘brand’ is overplayed. Good marketing - ie strong pre med etc.
Auburn CWRU
Florida A&M
Florida State Fordham
Lipscomb
Luther
Murray State
Northern Illinois
Pitt
Princeton Tulane
Tuskegee
U North Carolina
U Puerto Rico
U Tennessee
Vandy (2)
Who told you that UVA bio isn’t good ? Have you talked to a student in the department ? Don’t look at Reddit etc.
The bigger question - if you pivot from med school, a bio degree often leads to low paying jobs. So where’s the ROI?
Interesting neither shows up in bio ranks I looked at. Just one. . The ‘best’ I found is college factual with UVA 35 and WUSTL 48.
Personal family call but I have to think the 25 year old you will breathe a huge sigh of relief for going to UVA over WUSTL, assuming your parents support your future academic costs. Too many med students take out too many loans and get financially hamstrung.
Unless there’s enough money in the bank to pay for med school too, save your money and go to Virginia. I was fortunate to get through school before it was crazy expensive, but some of my physician patients younger than me, have HUGE debt. More than one wasn’t paid off until in their 40s. It’s a massive drag on wealth building.
You, as a student, are not permitted to take out enough in loans to pay for WashU, and this is a good thing. The loans would be your parents.
What makes you think UVA’s biology dept isn’t good? We did not get that impression…at all…after talking to students.
Keep in mind that big changes might be coming to the student loan program. This would put caps on undergrad and graduate loans, including medical school.
I’m going to suggest that your parents want you to keep an open mind because they are not thrilled about spending an extra $65k per year given that you are planning on med school. Medical school is extremely expensive so if you can offset that at all by saving some $$ on your undergraduate education that could be a good choice. And UVA is nearly as prestigious as WashU if that is something that matters to you. That being said, WashU is a great school and if your parents are OK with the cost, it is an excellent choice - I don’t think it is going to increase your medical school chances but it does provide a very different educational setting that seems to appeal to you.
What major(s) are you considering? No reason to choose bio at UVA if you don’t think that department is great (but I wouldn’t rely on 2nd or 3rd hand reports.)
In the big picture, pre-med wannabes should major in something they like, and attend a school where they can be at the top of the class. Pre-med will be challenging and a grind at both of the schools on your list. For this and other reasons most incoming ‘pre-meds’ do not end up going to med school.
You can take out a max of $27K in total loans during undergrad. Anything beyond that is on your parents, either directly or as co-signers. I would not recommend your parents assume any debt for WashU unless it would not change their lifestyle at all, or impact their retirement savings. Further, if you do make it to med school, that will likely be paid 100% with loans…so minimizing undergrad loans is key. Also look at this thread for further information about the Grad Plus loans: Bill Introduced in Congress will eliminate Grad Plus loans
Out of all od the premed hopefuls coming out of high school, only about 5-10% of them actually go to medical school. College is a maturation process where students find their real passions. I would highly suggest UVA. If you decide medical school, you have low debt. If you decide against medical school, you have low debt. Your best chance for medical school is your home state anyway. State schools give preference to in-state applicants.
WashU has a well deserved reputation for grade deflation. So add that your consideration pile.
The grading is brutal there. (Son of a friend started as a pre-med. Top student coming out of HS. He didn’t last past the second semester because his bio grades were Cs. He’s a smart kid too. Stanford Law grad now making big $$$ at a white shoe law firm in Chicago.)
I don’t like UVA. My kids (we’re VA residents) didn’t like UVA and refused to apply there. And STILL I’d say UVA. Unless your parents are extremely wealthy and willing to cover WashU and med school. Otherwise, take the cost delta between UVA and WashU and save it for med school to reduce your med school loans.
UVA is a great school that will give you a fantastic education. My family didn’t love the student vibe, just didn’t fit with my kids, and they really didn’t want to go to a school that had the same vibe as their HS, even if they wouldn’t necessarily be seeing kids from their HS. But if these were the only choices - and it meant spending an extra $65k/year when we knew the goal was to do more schooling even after that, then they would’ve done UVA. Do you have any other options that are still interesting to you that might be less expensive than WashU?
I recommend having the financial discussion with your parents, as they know what is affordable for your family (any hardship, ability to save for retirement etc). You are only permitted to take the $5500 loan your first year.
Med school is extremely expensive. Are they able to help out if you attend UVA?
Both schools have the required premed classes. I would choose UVA.
Just echoing others, although WashU does sound like much more the college experience you are looking for, I think it is usually a bad idea to take on a bunch of extra student loan debt (meaning beyond the federal limit). Really in general, and even more so if med school is a possibility. I have just seen too many times how that can limit practical options in terms of education and career, with people turning away from paths that could have been great for them in the long run because they felt like their debt required that. You want your college to expand, not limit, your options, and taking out a lot of extra debt undermines that goal.
Incidentally, I have an S24 who is a first-year maybe-Bio-major and maybe-premed at WashU. They do in fact have lots of nice advising and support for premeds, and none of that is changing the fact the premed curriculum is very hard, and lots of kids are not doing as well as they expected, and others are beginning to realize there are plenty of other professional career paths that are not so hard, long, and expensive. And so undoubtedly like at every college, the large majority of kids who started in his class at WashU thinking they were premed will not end up going to med school.
I also do wonder if you have any other choices, maybe not as highly ranked as WashU and UVA by the US News and such, but less expensive than WashU and yet more in line with what you are looking for in a college experience than UVA. If not, OK, but then I might suggest you could start at UVA and see how it goes. I think there is a good chance you will end up liking it despite your reservations, but if it really wasn’t working for you, you could then look at transferring.
I don’t like to suggest transferring as a Plan A, I think you should really try to make it work for four years wherever you decide. But I also think when you do that and it just isn’t working, transferring is a fine option.
Thank you all for your input. I have scheduled a call with the WashU financial aid office to see what we can do. But, most likely, I think I will end up committing to UVA.