Boston U full scholarship vs. Yale full price

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who went to BU for medical. He didn't care about the name schools and I'm not sure if he even applied although he could have. He is doing VERY WELL now. I think he started and sold a clinic or something. He is semi retired and enjoying life. I don't think an IVY would have improved his life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I see your child's other choices include UMD-CP (in-state), Notre Dame, Tufts and Haverford full pay.
May I ask why her top two choices are Yale and BU and not Yale and UMD-CP? Mostly curious why UMD-CP is not in the running since that is extremely affordable even without a scholarship. Also can't believe she did not get a scholarship to UMD-CP given her caliber. There are tons of high performing kids at UMD-CP (I think around 40% of the Blair and RMIB magnet kids end up there for financial reasons) and they seem to do very well with med school admissions.

She likes BU for the possibility of doing the 7 year liberal arts/med school program.

The 7 year accelerated program has a separate admissions process. I don't think she can apply or transfer in later. BU does have an early med school admission program, but you don't shave off a year of school.

Yes, that is my point. She has applied and was accepted to the 7-year medical school program, and would need to maintain a 3.2 GPA and score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT to continue in the program. She also would not be able to apply to other medical schools which we are not sure about.

This sounds hard to give up OP - a bird in hand! So she would get her undergrad degree paid for, she is pretty much guaranteed admission to med school which would be easier to pay for as her college savings acct. won't be touched for undergrad and she would finish in 7 instead of 8 years. This thread has focused on the financial considerations and the quality differences between BU and Yale but what you've just told us puts another point on the BU side of the ledger. It is hard to get into med. school and having a near guarantee would make her undergraduate experience more pleasurable and less stressful. You know your own kid but I would be very grateful if my child did not have to deal with the anxiety of jumping through the med school admissions hoops for four years. I say that without knowing your child. She was obviously able to navigate college admissions hoops very successfully.
On an unrelated note, may I ask what (in your opinion) helped her secure admission to Yale? Is she a magnet student or an athlete?

[Anonymous]

Yale. Your kid can slack off, get C's and B's and still get a job over a 4.0 from Boston U.

[Anonymous]

It is very hard to turn down Yale but I would go with the BU choice assuming you know with certainty she is wired to be a doctor.. If she does great there and has high MCATs she may have other med school choices down the road. If not, she'll still have the BU 7 year program in hand. On the other hand, a huge percentage of kids shift their majors around as they should while they're discovering what they really want to do. Plus, some end up hating the pre-med track and peer competitiveness. Yale is the safer alternative, aside from financials. In the end it has to be her choice as committing to pre-med takes a lot of determination in either college. Tough choice.

[Anonymous]

Boston University. Good school and you should never turn down free tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale. Your kid can slack off, get C's and B's and still get a job over a 4.0 from Boston U.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale. Your kid can slack off, get C's and B's and still get a job over a 4.0 from Boston U.

+1

OP's kid wants to go to medical school. Slackers, even slackers from Yale, don't go to med school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I see your child's other choices include UMD-CP (in-state), Notre Dame, Tufts and Haverford full pay.
May I ask why her top two choices are Yale and BU and not Yale and UMD-CP? Mostly curious why UMD-CP is not in the running since that is extremely affordable even without a scholarship. Also can't believe she did not get a scholarship to UMD-CP given her caliber. There are tons of high performing kids at UMD-CP (I think around 40% of the Blair and RMIB magnet kids end up there for financial reasons) and they seem to do very well with med school admissions.

She likes BU for the possibility of doing the 7 year liberal arts/med school program.

The 7 year accelerated program has a separate admissions process. I don't think she can apply or transfer in later. BU does have an early med school admission program, but you don't shave off a year of school.

Yes, that is my point. She has applied and was accepted to the 7-year medical school program, and would need to maintain a 3.2 GPA and score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT to continue in the program. She also would not be able to apply to other medical schools which we are not sure about.

Very, very few students get accepted into these 7 year combined programs. Do not turn it down!!!! Full ride and not having to apply to med school is huge. I have a niece doing this program in another university and she was extremely happy to get accepted. Had to interview in person at most schools that have the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I see your child's other choices include UMD-CP (in-state), Notre Dame, Tufts and Haverford full pay.
May I ask why her top two choices are Yale and BU and not Yale and UMD-CP? Mostly curious why UMD-CP is not in the running since that is extremely affordable even without a scholarship. Also can't believe she did not get a scholarship to UMD-CP given her caliber. There are tons of high performing kids at UMD-CP (I think around 40% of the Blair and RMIB magnet kids end up there for financial reasons) and they seem to do very well with med school admissions.

She likes BU for the possibility of doing the 7 year liberal arts/med school program.

The 7 year accelerated program has a separate admissions process. I don't think she can apply or transfer in later. BU does have an early med school admission program, but you don't shave off a year of school.

Yes, that is my point. She has applied and was accepted to the 7-year medical school program, and would need to maintain a 3.2 GPA and score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT to continue in the program. She also would not be able to apply to other medical schools which we are not sure about.

Very, very few students get accepted into these 7 year combined programs. Do not turn it down!!!! Full ride and not having to apply to med school is huge. I have a niece doing this program in another university and she was extremely happy to get accepted. Had to interview in person at most schools that have the program.

For a normal undergraduate program, I think it would be kooky to pick BU over Yale. But, if she's in BU's combined med program and she's funded, its's a no-brainer the other way. You save all the money, finish college a year earlier and she's already accepted into med school.

[Anonymous]

12,000 med students applied to BU med school and only 124 were accepted. That is acceptance rate of 1%. It is so incredibly challenging to get into med school. One C in organic chemistry with a professor who is reluctant to give A's can ruin your chances of going to med school. I would encourage BU.

[Anonymous]

OP: What's the decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston University. Good school and you should never turn down free tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I see your child's other choices include UMD-CP (in-state), Notre Dame, Tufts and Haverford full pay.
May I ask why her top two choices are Yale and BU and not Yale and UMD-CP? Mostly curious why UMD-CP is not in the running since that is extremely affordable even without a scholarship. Also can't believe she did not get a scholarship to UMD-CP given her caliber. There are tons of high performing kids at UMD-CP (I think around 40% of the Blair and RMIB magnet kids end up there for financial reasons) and they seem to do very well with med school admissions.

She likes BU for the possibility of doing the 7 year liberal arts/med school program.

The 7 year accelerated program has a separate admissions process. I don't think she can apply or transfer in later. BU does have an early med school admission program, but you don't shave off a year of school.

Yes, that is my point. She has applied and was accepted to the 7-year medical school program, and would need to maintain a 3.2 GPA and score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT to continue in the program. She also would not be able to apply to other medical schools which we are not sure about.

Very, very few students get accepted into these 7 year combined programs. Do not turn it down!!!! Full ride and not having to apply to med school is huge. I have a niece doing this program in another university and she was extremely happy to get accepted. Had to interview in person at most schools that have the program.

For a normal undergraduate program, I think it would be kooky to pick BU over Yale. But, if she's in BU's combined med program and she's funded, its's a no-brainer the other way. You save all the money, finish college a year earlier and she's already accepted into med school.

We have a kid at Yale who loves it. But I think your kid should definitely choose BU -- full scholarship AND the 7-year program!!! I agree that is a no-brainer for me. Good luck to your kid, OP, and let us know what she chooses!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I see your child's other choices include UMD-CP (in-state), Notre Dame, Tufts and Haverford full pay.
May I ask why her top two choices are Yale and BU and not Yale and UMD-CP? Mostly curious why UMD-CP is not in the running since that is extremely affordable even without a scholarship. Also can't believe she did not get a scholarship to UMD-CP given her caliber. There are tons of high performing kids at UMD-CP (I think around 40% of the Blair and RMIB magnet kids end up there for financial reasons) and they seem to do very well with med school admissions.

She likes BU for the possibility of doing the 7 year liberal arts/med school program.

The 7 year accelerated program has a separate admissions process. I don't think she can apply or transfer in later. BU does have an early med school admission program, but you don't shave off a year of school.

Yes, that is my point. She has applied and was accepted to the 7-year medical school program, and would need to maintain a 3.2 GPA and score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT to continue in the program. She also would not be able to apply to other medical schools which we are not sure about.

This sounds hard to give up OP - a bird in hand! So she would get her undergrad degree paid for, she is pretty much guaranteed admission to med school which would be easier to pay for as her college savings acct. won't be touched for undergrad and she would finish in 7 instead of 8 years. This thread has focused on the financial considerations and the quality differences between BU and Yale but what you've just told us puts another point on the BU side of the ledger. It is hard to get into med. school and having a near guarantee would make her undergraduate experience more pleasurable and less stressful. You know your own kid but I would be very grateful if my child did not have to deal with the anxiety of jumping through the med school admissions hoops for four years. I say that without knowing your child. She was obviously able to navigate college admissions hoops very successfully.
On an unrelated note, may I ask what (in your opinion) helped her secure admission to Yale? Is she a magnet student or an athlete?

This sounds like the way to go to me too.

[Anonymous]

Getting into a good medical school is arguably even harder than getting into an ivy. I'd take the full ride at BU, assuming that she is certain that she wants to be a doctor.