re: College Applications Are A PITA

quote:

---

where else would you tell her is the best education for the $.

---

$ is always something to consider. A very good friend of the family has a daughter that is applying to colleges right now, said daughter being sort of an honorary niece to me.

At first she had her heart set on Texas A&M at Corpus-Christi. Then she realized that was a bit too expensive. Then it was Houston until she looked at the cost of living down there. With her grades (very good) and her musical ability (quite high) she could probably get a free ride to University of Arkansas, right down the road from where she lives. But she wants to "see" the world.

I've seen the world. It isn't worth racking up a load of college debt.

I've done this over and over in my head - it comes down to a relatively simple decision tree:

Question #1: Does your daughter want to go to graduate school? If "yes," go to the cheapest option you provided. So long as she does well at that university and has good GRE/MCAT/LSAT/GMAT scores, going to Arkansas or Alabama will by no means disqualify you from going to a top-tier graduate University. If the answer is "no,", try as best as you can to make Vanderbilt work financially.

I work at BB I-Bank, and the amount of networking, and graduate work I had to get here vs. kids that went to Vanderbilt, Stanford, Emory, Ivy-Leagues, etc... was painstaking. Fortunately, had a good internal network and played the game right. Like anything else in life, it's very important to be smart, but knowing the right folks are what separate you and give you the leg up, especially early on. If she wants to get into a name worthy consulting/banking firm out of undergrad, it's a massive leg-up.

Sounds like you have a smart kid on your hands that clearly works hard, so, kudos on what is the hardest job of all - raising someone like that.

As for dollars and cents, it would be worthwhile to consider the above.

Also, as an Alabama alum, if the money is better at Arkansas, take it. When you get out of the south, I can tell you there is no discernible difference between virtually any SEC school on reputation (Vandy aside).

It's really where you want to work. If she wants to move out to Dallas/Houston/OKC, Arkansas is probably a good spot. But if she's interested in Atlanta, Chicago, or even NYC, Alabama seems to have a lot of alumni there.

Food for thought based on my personal experience.

quote:

---

What is she planning on majoring in?

---

Biology (Pre-Med track)

quote:

---

Thank you so much for the well thought out, and descriptive reply! I have a feeling we'll be looking more into "smaller" type schools since she wants to go on and become a Dr. I'm even making her apply (gasp) to in-state schools.

---

If she's trying to become a doctor, then a public, in-state is going to be the way to go. She'll be able to get the full "college experience," get a degree from a reputable University, and keep costs low.

The education bubble is something a lot of the guys on our equity research team are doing a massive study on.

A lot of these Universities are doing a fully online degree, available now to students right out of high school. The cost of these programs are a fraction of actual, in-person attendance. Considering many of your freshman and sophomore level classes are in massive, 200 person venues, the experience is not all that different at that level. I've even heard of some students now signing up and attending as "full-time" online students, and still moving to the college town to get the full experience of a 4-year.

Point being, everyone and their mother has an undergrad degree now. Unless you're getting the benefit of some massive network, a degree from a reputable, flagship University at the lowest cost is the way to go.

The student is more important than the school. Especially regarding medical school.

All of the states in the SEC footprint have flagship schools that can give your motivated daughter a great start with a degree in biology. I think the most bang for the buck would be an in-state undergrad degree from one of Missouri’s public universities.

If she is near the top of her class after 4 years, she will be an attractive candidate wherever she applies for medical school. A school’s name may carry a bit of prestige but the student’s ability is far more important when it comes to earning money.

quote:

---

All of the states in the SEC footprint have flagship schools that can give your motivated daughter a great start with a degree in biology.

---

Right. And quite a few schools give nice discounts on people from a neighboring state as far as out of state tuition. Some even offer in state tuition.

Good grades at any decent school will probably get you into medical school. Good grades at medical school will get you into Memphis, Dallas, or any other big city you care to think about in the Southern footprint.

She could make a very nice salary in one of those places while still enjoying a low enough cost of living to take vacations anywhere she wants.

LSU fan here, but FSU is ranked 18th in public universities. LINK

Bama and LSU are #72, so wait around for the FSU acceptance.

Similar situation---Accepted to all schools you've mentioned plus Clemson, Baylor, Rice, LSU, University of Chicago, ATM, Suwanee, Miami, waiting on I think Stanford, UNC & Duke.

Others to consider because from our research they give good money--Clemson Honors, Auburn, Miss St., UGA, UAB, LSU (hard one to figure out early what they'll give but worth applying)

EDIT* One other that throws $ at out of state Bio/Med kids and has recently brought in a few teachers from Miami is UCF. They're really trying to get their program noted right now and spending $ to do so.

Good Luck--the whole thing is a PITA.

quote:

---

I do like Florida

Seriously, thank you for your post. Holy impressive list, batman!

---

Thank you. Mine is interning with a director of a hospital 3 days a week. The advice the Director as well as other Doctors we've consulted with is to take Scholarship full rides for Pre-Med. Save A$$ off for the next step. That's how we're pointed.

If yours has a internship program that they can get into make that step. Even if it's veterinary that helps. Also, if you know any doctors or people in the field that you trust ask questions. It's a big commitment.

quote:

---

I don't want to be rude, but that is simply not true. Purdue is not even in the same stratosphere as Vandy among general sentiment anywhere.

---

Maybe in engineering, but that would be it.