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trying to plan ahead...what would you do???


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Hi everyone! I'm a senior in high school trying to decide where to continue my education as an undergrad- I know for sure I want to be Pre-PA, not positive about a specific major yet.

 

I figured the best people to ask this question of would be people trying to pay for PA school now. 

 

I have a full tuition scholarship to Temple University and a small scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. I like Pitt a lot better, but it seems counter-intuitive to pay for Pitt when I can go to Temple for next to nothing. 

 

I'm very lucky in that my parents have given me a set amount of money to use for education. I can go to Temple and save this money for PA school, graduating with my master's degree with less than $10k or $20k in debt, or I can use it for Pitt, graduate with no undergrad loans, but have to pay for grad school on my own. 

 

Is it realistic to take out the kind of loans needed to for me to finance PA school completely own my own (anywhere from $50k-$100k)? If you have any experience with Pitt or Temple, is it worth it in your opinion to pay for Pitt? Am I naive to not take the full ride?

 

Thanks so much!

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Very naive for questioning whether or not to get an undergrad degree for near nothing.

 

Get your undergrad for free...work and earn HCE, save that money, and use that money to help finance PA school.

 

Also, unless you will have access to 80-100K in cash for PA school, you will not be graduating with 10-20K in student loans in today's environment (cost of attendance & living).

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also have you been to these places? Temple is in the combat zone...

 

I'm from Philly so I have spent a significant amount of time on Temple's campus...Temple gets a bad rep but it isn't entirely substantiated. Maybe 10 years ago it was worse but Temple's campus is crawling with security and is currently the brightest lit area in Philly. It has been built up a lot.

 

Bottom line: you're living in a city and you're living in North Philly- I'm not trying to walk around by myself at all hours of the night. If you're smart, I see nothing worse about Temple's campus than that of any other urban college.

 

A "combat zone" is certainly a stretch. I am not worried about getting shot while walking down the street. And even if it was an issue, at least I would be privy to some exciting cases if I ever volunteered in Temple hospital's ER :) 

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your undergrad institution will have next to no weight on your acceptance chances to PA. Go with the cheapest option. You'll be able to enjoy life a lot more later if you arent paying $1500 per month in student loans. You are young, this is the time to work hard, and get your education out of the way so you can enjoy your life later.

 

There are plenty of topics around here with people struggling with "young and dumb" mistakes, learn by proxy and use them as inspiration to attain you goals without set backs.

 

There are very few things more satisfactory in life than having no debt.

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