UC's vs. Private School Financial Aid

[Ataglance2010]

Hey guys,

Could someone please comment/offer any advise regarding the financial aid packages at the UC's?

Do any UC's offer grants (not counting entry scholarships)?

It is my understanding that UCLA gives 5k in scholarships to each accepted student, but does that mean the remainder will ALL be in loans?

Some private schools offer need-based scholarships/grants to students who still have "need" after taking out a base loan+counting the family's EFC.

For instance:

private: total cost including living (e.g. 60k) - base loan (e.g. 30k) - EFC (e.g. 0) = 30k scholarships/grants.

UC: e.g. 60k - 5k scholarship - EFC (e.g. 0) = 55k in loans?

I'm sorry if my question seems poorly worded, it really shocked me that the cost of attending a UC could be FAR MORE than that of a private school, and I am not sure if I am misunderstanding something here.

Thanks!

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[Pons Asinorum]

Cheapest school in CA based on average indebtedness of graduating class is Stanford, according to my MSAR. You aren't misunderstanding anything - medical school is expensive.

 

[dodobird1]

Cheapest school in CA based on average indebtedness of graduating class is Stanford, according to my MSAR. You aren't misunderstanding anything - medical school is expensive.

care to shed some light on how this is possible when their tuition is higher than UC's (and increasing next year)? It might be a quick assumption, but I'm inclined to guess from personal experiences that many of the people who go there come from families who will take care of that debt.

 

[SoyRicoSuave]

Nope, you are not misundstanding, with the ca budget crisis uc tuition has sky rocketed and some privates could actually be cheaper. If you can get your hands on "need" based loans then you probably will still be paying less at a UC (stanford is an exception due to their ta/research tuition compensation). But a good deal of privates, ones with large endowments especially, will be cheaper after scholarship to those who don't qualify after in putting parental income (even if your parents will not be paying for any of your school...)

 

[Pons Asinorum]

care to shed some light on how this is possible when their tuition is higher than UC's (and increasing next year)? It might be a quick assumption, but I'm inclined to guess from personal experiences that many of the people who go there come from families who will take care of that debt.

Nope, those who pay their own way are excluded from the numbers. Stanford is very expensive, and has great scholarships. USC is expensive, and has less great scholarships and very high indebtedness. The UC's have high tuition because the state is broke and has been for some time. It's expensive regardless of whether you choose private or public in CA.

 

[rHinO1]

Nope, those who pay their own way are excluded from the numbers. Stanford is very expensive, and has great scholarships. USC is expensive, and has less great scholarships and very high indebtedness. The UC's have high tuition because the state is broke and has been for some time. It's expensive regardless of whether you choose private or public in CA.

Just curious how you determined this. On SDN, it has generally been concluded that the average indebtedness in the MSAR DOES include people who pay their own way. If you have other info that would be good to know.

 

[blehm98]

last i checked UC tuition is a little over 10k a quarter, so 35k a year or so
that's not really expensive...
unless it's gone up since i last looked, which is possible but i don't think that much
in state, of course, out of state it's as high as any private so ~45-50

 

[ThePowerofLove]

last i checked UC tuition is a little over 10k a quarter, so 35k a year or so
that's not really expensive...
unless it's gone up since i last looked, which is possible but i don't think that much
in state, of course, out of state it's as high as any private so ~45-50

Cost of tuition doesn't really matter nearly as much as how much scholarships/grants the school can offer. Schools like Stanford, Yale give a lot of free money out. UC's give out all loans essentially.

 

[blehm98]

Cost of tuition doesn't really matter nearly as much as how much scholarships/grants the school can offer. Schools like Stanford, Yale give a lot of free money out. UC's give out all loans essentially.

yes but even if you take out straight loans it'd be like.. i'm not sure how long CA takes to consider you a resident, but assume two years it's still only 140k in debt
more than stanford puts out on average, but still much better than many people get, especially if they don't get much as far as aid goes

 

[SoyRicoSuave]

yes but even if you take out straight loans it'd be like.. i'm not sure how long CA takes to consider you a resident, but assume two years it's still only 140k in debt
more than stanford puts out on average, but still much better than many people get, especially if they don't get much as far as aid goes

1 year to obtain residency.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

yes but even if you take out straight loans it'd be like.. i'm not sure how long CA takes to consider you a resident, but assume two years it's still only 140k in debt
more than stanford puts out on average, but still much better than many people get, especially if they don't get much as far as aid goes

Tuition and cost of attendance are two very different things. You're confusing the two. Yes, the "fees" at a UC are "only" around $30k. But then you have to cover your cost of room, board, books, computer, tests, misc. Total cost for pretty much all the schools is $55-70k a year, depending on where you atttend and where you live.

 

[NotAsking4Much]

Cheapest school in CA based on average indebtedness of graduating class is Stanford, according to my MSAR. You aren't misunderstanding anything - medical school is expensive.

As been mentioned, I do want to remark that take these numbers with a grain of salt. The average graduating debt includes people who pay the full ride with parental support or from personal funds or from whatever means that allow them to have 0 debt. You are going to get huge outliers that draw the mean down. Private schools may have more of these individuals...

 

[Pons Asinorum]

As been mentioned, I do want to remark that take these numbers with a grain of salt. The average graduating debt includes people who pay the full ride with parental support or from personal funds or from whatever means that allow them to have 0 debt. You are going to get huge outliers that draw the mean down. Private schools may have more of these individuals...

I find it hard to believe that Stanford and UCSF, which have nearly identical stats for GPA, MCAT, race and IS/OOS, are that different in terms of numbers of matriculants paying full price. The differences in indebtedness are due to the amounts of institutional grants/scholarships that the different programs offer.

 

[dodobird1]

I find it hard to believe that Stanford and UCSF, which have nearly identical stats for GPA, MCAT, race and IS/OOS, are that different in terms of numbers of matriculants paying full price. The differences in indebtedness are due to the amounts of institutional grants/scholarships that the different programs offer.

Biggest factor you looked up was UG institution if I'm not mistaken. Look up how many people in Stanford med school went to Stanford as undergrad, they really take care of their own. UCSF is not as lopsided. I don't want to say that everyone Stanford UG had their parents pay their way, but there's a much higher chance that if you went to there as an undergrad you probably had parents paying your way (as opposed to a state school). It's how private schools are. Though I am willing to believe Stanford may have the ability to dish out more scholarships since their class is so small (and a good portion having their parents paying tuition) so the regular folks can pay their way.

 

[Musclemass]

Biggest factor you looked up was UG institution if I'm not mistaken. Look up how many people in Stanford med school went to Stanford as undergrad, they really take care of their own. UCSF is not as lopsided.

Absolutely correct. Stanford fills a big percentage of its med school classes from the ranks of its own undergrads, to a MUCH greater extent than UCSF does.

 

[blehm98]

Absolutely correct. Stanford fills a big percentage of its med school classes from the ranks of its own undergrads, to a MUCH greater extent than UCSF does.

this may have something to do with UCSF not having a ugrad program

 

[LuciusVorenus]

this may have something to do with UCSF not having a ugrad program

I lol'ed.

 

[bacalaca]

Tuition and cost of attendance are two very different things. You're confusing the two. Yes, the "fees" at a UC are "only" around $30k. But then you have to cover your cost of room, board, books, computer, tests, misc. Total cost for pretty much all the schools is $55-70k a year, depending on where you atttend and where you live.

you have to take into account that you only have one summer (between first and second year). So after that, you will be paying tuition 4 quarters a year... dont forget housing, food and expenses for the full year... o and alot of different fees... plus all ur books, syllabus, and medical instruments... o and Step 1 and step 2. (step 2 will set u back 1600)... then there is residency applications and interviews

 

[Musclemass]

this may have something to do with UCSF not having a ugrad program

Absolutely correct again!