DAMN!! Northwestern's costs

[SD Skunk]

http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05 Medical Budget 1.pdf

2004-2005 total costs for Feinberg students:

1st year: $61,200
2nd year: $77,600
3rd year: $75,400
4th year: $32,800


holy S H I T. my heart is sinking

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Haybrant]

http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05 Medical Budget 1.pdf

2004-2005 total costs for Feinberg students:

1st year: $61,200
2nd year: $77,600
3rd year: $75,400
4th year: $32,800


holy S H I T. my heart is sinking

wtf mate! that is fricking nuts; hope they have decent financial aid!

 

[dnelsen]

Those totals include room and board, transportation, etc.

That isn't just tuition. In fact only a little over half is tuition. Tuition is the main thing that is going to vary from school to school.

 

[sunUCB]

that includes extra crap, like 3,000 for a computer - for most students, i assume that would be a 0, unless you buy a new computer....which you could still get for well under 3,000.

 

[superdevil]

http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05 Medical Budget 1.pdf

2004-2005 total costs for Feinberg students:

1st year: $61,200
2nd year: $77,600
3rd year: $75,400
4th year: $32,800


holy S H I T. my heart is sinking

78 thousand dollars for an M2 budget? bwaahahahahaha!

i don't give a sh.t how much of that is tuition and how much of that is not. that's utterly insane. is it really worth that much to go to a private school in a hip part of town? i know picking a med school involves emotions and intuition, but damn. peeps at NU must really like it there!

 

[SD Skunk]

Those totals include room and board, transportation, etc.

That isn't just tuition. In fact only a little over half is tuition. Tuition is the main thing that is going to vary from school to school.

i don't mean to sound rude, but really, there's no need to play devil's advocate, and looking at it with perspective doesn't really work in this situation. 78k is 78k. it's a hell of a lot of money, regardless of how much of it comes from tuition. the bottom line is that it's money being demanded.

SHEEEEEEEEEIT, HOMIES!

 

[Homer Doughnuts]

http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05 Medical Budget 1.pdf

2004-2005 total costs for Feinberg students:

1st year: $61,200
2nd year: $77,600
3rd year: $75,400
4th year: $32,800


holy S H I T. my heart is sinking

DAMN, is that with or without a Mercedes ?

 

[DrRads101]

Why not name this "DAMN!! [INSERT PRIVATE MEDICAL SCHOOL HERE'S] costs"? Have you looked at the budget for other private medical schools? You are unfairly singling out Northwestern here. It's totally cool to play devil's advocate because in this case 78K is not 78K because you can get by with much less, not to mention other places are just as if not more expensive to live. The only thing set in stone is tuition here, which is competitive for private universities. Obviously this is not a state school and Chicago is not Little Rock, AK though, so you will pay more than for a public education in a small town. But moreso than other private universities in big cities? Nope.

Anyways, to the meat of the budget, do you plan on spending $3000 on a computer? Probably not. You certainly don't need to buy books here, that's for sure, and hardly any of us do, so there's less $3000/yr right there. Room and board you can get for much less than $17K/yr or whatever they are budgeting. I pay $850/month and live in a fat apartment right off Michigan Ave. Do the math--that's significantly less than $17k/yr. Transportation $500 a quarter? Are they insane? It costs $1.75 to ride the El and I take it maybe once a week at the most. Live a few bocks from campus: Transportation costs? $0. Point being--your budget will be much different depending on your ability and desire to spend money, and where you choose to live. They are obviously being liberal here and giving you plenty of wiggle room.

Bottom line: Only the tuition is set in stone, and the tuition is right in line with other private medical schools. Other bottom line? Chicago is much cheaper to live in than on the coasts. Chicago is definetly cheaper than living in the Bay Area, NYC, Boston, etc.

 

[DrRads101]

wtf mate! that is fricking nuts; hope they have decent financial aid!

Maybe you are misunderstanding because those quotes are not for tuition. Your school's (Stanford's) budget for medical students is just as high, if not a little higher. (http://med.stanford.edu/md/financial_aid/includes/2004-2005 Budget - 12 month.pdf)

Stanford:

1st year: $60,239
2nd year: $78,241

 

[superdevil]

Those quotes aren't tuition, and the overal budget and COL is no more than your school. Stanford's costs are even more expensive (http://med.stanford.edu/md/financial_aid/includes/2004-2005 Budget - 12 month.pdf).

holy crap, you're right! wow, the highest budget i've seen thus far doing financial aid paperwork was around 59k/yr (which includes private schools). these budgets in the upper 70's are making my head spin.

 

[45408]

I pay $850/month and live in a fat apartment right off Michigan Ave. Do the math--that's significantly less than $17k/yr.

Awesome. I hope that's me in two years.

 

[DrRads101]

holy crap, you're right! wow, the highest budget i've seen thus far doing financial aid paperwork was around 59k/yr (which includes private schools). these budgets in the upper 70's are making my head spin.

You have to look at the total cost of all four years though. For instance, Columbia's budget never gets too far above $59k/yr like you mentioned, but let's add it all up (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/student/finaid/PDF/mdbgt0506.pdf):

Columbia
1st year: $57,560
2nd year: $59,436
3rd year: $63,574
4th year: $59,246
Total: $240K

Northwestern
1st year: $61,234
2nd year: $77,608
3rd year: $75,388
4th year: $32,853
Total: $247K

The point? 1) Private medical schools are all expensive, 2) these budgets are a big joke because no one ever spends what they propose and the only sure bottom line cost is tuition, and 3) I have too much time on my hands (which says a lot of positive things about the Northwestern curriculum).

BTW you also have to consider bang for your buck versus many places as far as lifestlye since, for instance, the equivalent of my apartment in NYC (amenities, poshness of location, sq. ft., what floor you're on, etc.) would easily run into the $2000+/month range, and wouldn't even be available in places like the Boston or the Bay Area since they don't even build buildings that tall there.

 

[Rzarecta]

holy crap, you're right! wow, the highest budget i've seen thus far doing financial aid paperwork was around 59k/yr (which includes private schools). these budgets in the upper 70's are making my head spin.

Hey SD, in your MDApps profile you have "no whammies." What game show is that from again? I swear it is something like Jokers are Wild, or some other weird 70s show.

 

[superdevil]

You have to look at the total cost of all four years though. For instance, Columbia's budget never gets too far above $59k/yr like you mentioned, but let's add it all up (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/student/finaid/PDF/mdbgt0506.pdf):

Columbia
1st year: $57,560
2nd year: $59,436
3rd year: $63,574
4th year: $59,246
Total: $239,816

Northwestern
1st year: $61,234
2nd year: $77,608
3rd year: $75,388
4th year: $32,853
Total: $247,083

The point? 1) Private medical schools are all expensive, 2) these budgets are a big joke because no one ever spends what they propose and the only sure bottom line cost is tuition, and 3) I have too much time on my hands (which says a lot of positive things about the Northwestern curriculum).

i do think its a bit odd that the schools would even create budgets that lavish, given the fact that students can and do live so frugally. i mean, if someone takes out loans for the suggested "budget", they could be taking out ~10k more than they really need, right? also, what's the deal with the descrepency between the MS4 tuitions at columbia and NU?

 

[DrRads101]

Rzarecta, your avatar is freakin' hilarious man....

 

[superdevil]

Hey SD, in your MDApps profile you have "no whammies." What game show is that from again? I swear it is something like Jokers are Wild, or some other weird 70s show.

i have no idea what the show is called. i just have childhood memories of watching reruns with those corny-ass whammy animations dancing across the screen whenever people lost their $$$.

wait....i just googled it. i think its called "press your luck"

 

[SD Skunk]

You have to look at the total cost of all four years though. For instance, Columbia's budget never gets too far above $59k/yr like you mentioned, but let's add it all up (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/student/finaid/PDF/mdbgt0506.pdf):

Columbia
1st year: $57,560
2nd year: $59,436
3rd year: $63,574
4th year: $59,246
Total: $240K

Northwestern
1st year: $61,234
2nd year: $77,608
3rd year: $75,388
4th year: $32,853
Total: $247K

The point? 1) Private medical schools are all expensive, 2) these budgets are a big joke because no one ever spends what they propose and the only sure bottom line cost is tuition, and 3) I have too much time on my hands (which says a lot of positive things about the Northwestern curriculum).

BTW you also have to consider bang for your buck versus many places as far as lifestlye since, for instance, the equivalent of my apartment in NYC (amenities, poshness of location, sq. ft., what floor you're on, etc.) would probably run into the mid-$2000/month range, and wouldn't even be available in places like the Boston or the Bay Area since they don't even build buildings that tall there.

wow, damn. hey seriously, thanks. you managed to play devil's advocate very convincingly.

i'm not sure whether to be relieved or freaked. but as long as i can find a way to afford it, even with loans, i think we can all agree this is going to be the best investment we ever make

 

[fakin' the funk]

Hey SD, in your MDApps profile you have "no whammies." What game show is that from again? I swear it is something like Jokers are Wild, or some other weird 70s show.

PRESS YOUR LUCK of course. That's the show with the randomly-moving cursor, which one smart dude eventually figured out and won $250K in one taping (I'd say the average then, in the mid-80s, was $10K). What was the host's name, Peter Tamarken or somethin?

There was a NEW PRESS YOUR LUCK on the Game Show Network a while back but I think it's over.

Contestant: "BIG BUCKS NO WHAMMY NO WHAMMY AAAAAND...STOP!"
Peter: "Oh, and a whammy..."

 

[Haybrant]

Maybe you are misunderstanding because those quotes are not for tuition. Your school's (Stanford's) budget for medical students is just as high, if not a little higher. (http://med.stanford.edu/md/financial_aid/includes/2004-2005 Budget - 12 month.pdf)

Stanford:

1st year: $60,239
2nd year: $78,241

yah its expensive as well; i wasnt trying to bad mouth anyone; i think what is most important is the average debt of graduate and Im not sure what NWU's is. Stanford claims their average debt of graduating student is $68-70k which is far below the national mean. Hence i say, hope they have good financial aid.

 

[exmike]

holy poopers! Thats the price of living in chicago i guess. NW's tution is high already too. Mine is high, but living in cleveland is cheap

 

[Mediculous]

yah its expensive as well; i wasnt trying to bad mouth anyone; i think what is most important is the average debt of graduate and Im not sure what NWU's is. Stanford claims their average debt of graduating student is $68-70k which is far below the national mean. Hence i say, hope they have good financial aid.

I think NWU has a relatively low average indebtness of students for a private school. I can't find the link, but I think I read that the mean debt from a public school was about $100,000, so NWU numbers are pretty good, especially considering that Chicago is a fairly expensive place to live. The Princeton Review website says that Stanford's is around $64,000 and NWU's is around $86,000. It might not be Mayo debt, but it certainly isn't out-of-state U. of Colorado debt. I think NWU has a maximum debt they'll let you acquire before they start waiving portions of tuition, too.

 

[Ross434]

Thats ridiculous. I was planning on taking out 5-8k a year beyond my school's budget for extra living expenses - i thought it was a little lavish, but, 78k is INSANE. The budget for the school i'll be applying to is only 37k

 

[dnelsen]

I think NWU has a relatively low average indebtness of students for a private school. I can't find the link, but I think I read that the mean debt from a public school was about $100,000, so NWU numbers are pretty good, especially considering that Chicago is a fairly expensive place to live. The Princeton Review website says that Stanford's is around $64,000 and NWU's is around $86,000. It might not be Mayo debt, but it certainly isn't out-of-state U. of Colorado debt. I think NWU has a maximum debt they'll let you acquire before they start waiving portions of tuition, too.

You also have to remember that a lot of the students going to ivy league schools probably have rich parents that help pay their tuition. This fact probably skews the numbers for many ivy schools and other prestigous private schools.

 

[exmike]

You also have to remember that a lot of the students going to ivy league schools probably have rich parents that help pay their tuition. This fact probably skews the numbers for many ivy schools and other prestigous private schools.

that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. med school is med school. its not like rich kids are preferentially accepted at ivys.

 

[45408]

that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. med school is med school. its not like rich kids are preferentially accepted at ivys.

Easy there, spanky. Lots of money can definitely help someone get into a top school, which can help them get into a top med school, and it can also cut their expenses from there. Don't get so butthurt.

 

[PublicEnemy]

chicago is expensive. housing on or near michigan ave can be pricy, but still they're being extremely generous with their budget for room and board. i don't think its at all unreasonable to be able to shave off 30K or more off the 4 year total. and when you add it all up, as its been shown, its very competetive amongst most private schools and even many state schools.

chicago is a great place, and many people, myself included would love to go back there, no doubt. but trust me, if they were actually robbing you blind, they would get called out on it.

 

[Mediculous]

I think quite a few NUMS students live in Lake Shore Plaza which is in a great location, is pretty close to school, and normally has pretty good deals going on. I know of someone who last year got a nice one bedroom for $1200 a month with the first 3 months free, which makes it $900/month for a year. That's crazy cheap for Chicago.

 

[XoQo]

...i think someone might have pointed this out earlier...but the reason that you have such drastic differences in estimates for your 2nd year and 3rd years (compared to 1st year) is that you pay tuition by quarter.

1st year -- 3 quarters worth
2nd year -- 4 quarters worth (since you do rotations in summer)
3rd year -- 4 quarters worth (also cuz of rotations in summer)
4th year -- 1 quarters worth

Customarily you only pay 12 quarters of tuition -- but you have about 15 quarters of living expenses.

Currently for the 2004-2005 school year each quarter costs $12,190 in tuition. I'm told that there is about a projected 3%-4% increase in this for the 2005-2006 school year.

 

[fakin' the funk]

that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. med school is med school. its not like rich kids are preferentially accepted at ivys.

When I first read this, I was aghast.

Then I realized it must be sarcasm.

Right?!?!

 

[IllinoisStudent]

Maybe you are misunderstanding because those quotes are not for tuition. Your school's (Stanford's) budget for medical students is just as high, if not a little higher. (http://med.stanford.edu/md/financial_aid/includes/2004-2005 Budget - 12 month.pdf)

Stanford:

1st year: $60,239
2nd year: $78,241

I thought Stanford was supposed to be the most generous school ever when it comes to fin aid. From what I have heard, they beat all UCs in aid. So if you got in, these numbers shouldn't scare you a bit. Unless you dad/mom makes $500,000+ a year, you will not have to pay the entire tuition. Most students (so I have heard) find Standford as cheap as state schools. In fact, they have the lowest loans per student among all private schools.

 

[Childe]

. Obviously this is not a state school and Chicago is not Little Rock, AK though, so you will pay more than for a public education in a small town.

You Chicago, IN people dont know your abbreviations..