Retake 1520 SAT to get full rides?

As kind as @1dadinNC is, I am not the forum expert on these issues, but I’m happy to provide my thoughts. @ChangeTheGame is likely to have some excellent advice if he’s available.

I was going to mention U. of Kentucky and U. of Louisville as options, but I had a hard time finding the information on their sites, so I don’t know if they’re ending their programs, but you would have been able to get full rides to those. This Kentucky page still has it listed, but I don’t know if this is an old page. I would definitely reach out to both schools to see if these scholarships are still happening. Both would also have lots of opportunities for medical/clinical shadowing as you prep for med school.

Also, have you given any thought to HBCUs? Howard has an excellent, competitive scholarship program for STEM majors (Karsh) and a lengthy thread on it here on CC: Howard University Karsh STEM Scholars Program (KSSP). Being in D.C. would also make it extremely convenient to home for you.

Some of the programs that I’ve known of (like FAMU), now appear to be limiting their programs to in-state residents only or not listing them on their sites. You would still qualify for a full ride at Alabama A&M.

Two other schools that you might want to give some thought to are Xavier in Louisiana and Hampton in Virginia. Both are HBCUs with strong science programs, and Xavier is nationally known for producing the greatest number/percentage of black doctors in the country. It’s also going to be starting its own medical school in a few years. In looking at Hampton’s scholarships, they indicate they prefer to give less money to more students, so their top offer listed on their website is $25k, which leaves about $4k for tuition and then adding on room and board.

Is your preference for big state schools, or are those the only schools that you’ve found possible full rides for? Also, how much is your family willing to pay? I understand they only want to pay for one year, but are they willing to use that sum and divide it by four years? For instance, there are more scholarships for full tuition, but scholarships that used to throw in room & board seem to be reducing the r&B part of the deal. As an example, if your family was willing to do $60k for one year, would they be willing to pay $15k for four years? Particularly since you want to go to med school, it’s really best to avoid debt as much as possible for your undergrad.

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