JFSinIL Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 (edited) School #1 claims a 70% rate of students being accepted into medical school. School # 2 claims a 90% rate. (Yes, both are very good schools.) Both have offered substantial scholarships, etc. In fact, about the same. BUT school #2 starts out more costly, so we'd have to take out parental loans (which we really are loathe to do, as we have a disabled kid for whom we need to fund a special needs trust). Either school ds has to take out the maximum of the federal student loans. Each school is the same size, a LAC three hours drive from home (in different directions), has a lovely campus, etc. etc. Is the higher med school acceptance rate worth an extra $4 - 5 thousand a year in loans???? (Of course, we haven't heard a peep from Vanderbilt yet - if ds gets in there that is where he will go! The above is assuming V. says "No" - it is the long shot, hardest to get into school to which ds applied.) Edited March 21, 2010 by JFSinILnewme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Do the schools give any info on what specific medical schools their students are accepted into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Do the schools give any info on what specific medical schools their students are accepted into? Ah! Great question! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 I would also ask what percentage of the students who begin as premed actually applied to medical school. Attrition rates can be very telling. I recommend ask the head of the biology department instead of admissions. Dd is going to a not-competitive undergrad school, and appreciated the very honest, detailed response given by its biology dept. head. I second asking which medical schools. Sometimes colleges have agreements with certain med schools. Dd's school has an agreement with the med school she'd like to attend. If you have a certain gpa at the undergrad school, you are guaranteed an interview with the med school. GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrarianMom Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Does DS have a specific medical school in mind? If so, he might inquire about specific students who have gone there. If not, I would say go with #1 and save your money for med school. I have a good friend whose daughter went to a state university in our state and was offered acceptance at many med schools including MAYO, Loyola, Wash U, and others. She liked program best however at our local state U med school as it would prepare her best for being in family practice and taking medical mission trips. Has your son considered doing med school at Vanderbilt rather than UG? Several years ago we had a horrific medical emergency while on vacation in Nashville which resulted in my dd having emergency surgery at Vanderbilt's children's hospital. We were quite pleased with her care and with the top-ranked surgeon who took care of her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Ds hasn't gotten as far as thinking of which medical school - until a couple months back, he was still a History or "undecided" major!!! Somehow his AP Bio class has sparked a real interest in biology/probably medicine - so I am looking ahead to make sure we don't send him somewhere that would hurt his admission to medical school if it comes to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 We haven't heard from Vandy yet, either. I think that 90% acceptance rate is absolutely worth an extra 5k a year. I would ask which med schools most grads go to, though, to make sure they are really good schools. If they have a large number of students attending off-shore schools, LOL, that's probably not a good thing. It might mean they're pro-active in getting their kids in *somewhere* (anywhere), but not really doing as good a job as they should in academics. I'd also try to find out average MCAT scores..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 I might as well not be coy, the schools are 1 -Augustana College (IL) and 2 - Illinois Wesleyan. We go back to Augie Tuesday for the Honors interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrarianMom Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 That is tough as both are excellent schools. I previously worked in a high school and a graduate I knew well went to Augustana for pre-med. I think he ended up in plastic surgery. My sister went to IWU but in music. The library at IWU is absolutely beautiful, but the library at Augustana won the best academic library of the year a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in IL Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I might as well not be coy, the schools are 1 -Augustana College (IL) and 2 - Illinois Wesleyan. We go back to Augie Tuesday for the Honors interview. Sorry, I haven't been following your ds's journey closely. Did you tell IWU that Augustana is the other contender? I know IWU considers Augustana one of their biggest competitors. I have heard that they often will give more based on the other colleges you are considering. Tough choice. But, Vanderbilt is more expensive than either of those. Are you assuming he would get enough at V to make the cost comparable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thanks to you all for some great ideas to consider! My biggest fear is getting ds in at a good school..then having to pull him out after a year due to lack of funds! If Vanderbilt takes ds, and gives scholarships/grants/work study to bring cost down to our EFC, then ds can use loans to make the EFC for us same as it would be at Augustana. V. claims to NOT use loans as part of the aid package, so this could work (if he gets in). Aug. and Wes. both use the loans as part of the aid package. Dang! Where is that winning lottery ticket or unknown rich relation when we need it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Don't say no right away (like my preface? lol), but the daughter of a former acquaintance of ours is getting her MD via the military. I'd call them up for you, but I've lost touch with her parents. However, someone here might have good information as to the pros and cons. Might be worth considering to keep the crazy costs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Don't say no right away (like my preface? lol), but the daughter of a former acquaintance of ours is getting her MD via the military. I'd call them up for you, but I've lost touch with her parents. However, someone here might have good information as to the pros and cons. Might be worth considering to keep the crazy costs down. DS was actually thinking ROTC with Air Force or Navy last fall - then we found out he needs surgery on his dominant wrist and will be six - eight weeks recovery. Since we can't do most calisthenics now (due to pain - his wrist is in a brace) or this summer (after surgery) he did not even apply to either. Most of the schools he has looked at do not have ROTC anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 The military isn't the only option. The National Health Service will also pay for medical school. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Mail just came - now Gettysburg is in the running as they have made the biggest financial offer of all. Of course, he applied to them when we thought he was a HISTORY major...time to google biology at Gettysburg!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Mail just came - now Gettysburg is in the running as they have made the biggest financial offer of all. Of course, he applied to them when we thought he was a HISTORY major...time to google biology at Gettysburg!!!! Congratulations on the newest acceptance! It's nice to have an abundance of choices. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.