Full ride to U Toledo, or top tier school?

[blue beard]

Hey SDN, I am a longtime member but I made a new profile in order to protect my anonymity. Before I start, let me just say that I know this kind of post can be annoying or sound like bragging, which is not what I'm trying to do. I understand that I am VERY lucky and grateful to even have this sort of decision to make.

I have been offered a full ride to University of Toledo, and I have also been accepted to a couple of "top tier" schools which have programs/locations/philosophies that I really like. To complicate things further, I have also been offered a 50% ride to one of the "top tier" schools. I don't necessarily plan on going into an ultra-competitive specialty, but I want to keep my options open... Obviously I need to wait for the fin aid packages from my other acceptances before making my final decision, but is a full ride instead of a 50% ride (or whatever other offers I get) worth spending four years somewhere where I don't think I would be as happy? If I want to eventually go into health care advocacy and international work, is the prestige worth paying for? Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

And before I get flamed for whining on here, let me reiterate that I am not trying to complain! Circumstances have conspired very fortunately for me and I am extremely grateful for the choices I have as well as for all the great advice SDN has offered me.

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[BigEast55]

Honestly, without knowing the names of the top tier programs, or how much you like/dislike Toledo, I think that you should go to the top-tier school with the 50% ride if you feel like you will like it significantly more. If you didn't feel like Toledo was a place where you would be comfortable or happy, then I don't think you should go there even if it is free. 50% is a nice chunk and you could get away with not having a massive amount of debt. I'm sure others will say take the money and run, but I think happiness is really important. I would definitely try and do a second look, maybe spend a night with a student or something like that to help make a decision.

Congratulations!

 

[a winner is you]

Take the 50% and go somewhere you like.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Congrats! I say take the 50% RIDE assuming a 40k-50k tuition per year. In four years, you'll have spent approximately 100K for a more worthwhile (b/c you like it), enjoyable, and prestigious program! I also assume in these calculations that COA living differences would be negligible or approximately the same.

In short, you're spending about half as much as most medical students (assuming non-scholarship) do to attend a reputable program and you're getting a lot out of it--overall happiness, reputation, and lifestyle...

Best of luck!

 

[drizzt3117]

Agree, take the 50%.

 

[tkim]

Free is free. The lowest debt is best, unless you have some long-term plan to seek a specialty/fellowship that will be only served by a more expensive school with connections or an academic department that does not exist at Toledo, go with free.

 

[yohji]

top tier. but then again, it is hard to say without knowing exactly what school(s) you are talking about.