Hey everybody, I am new to this website so forgive me if this is in the wrong area and I will move it accordingly.
So, I live in MA, what school do you think would be a good fit for pre-med. Also, if it helps, I want to major in computer science and fall back on that degree if the whole medical school thing does not work out.
thanks
Welcome to CC!
In order to get meaningful responses, you should probably give a bit more information. Common details to include:
This online list will give you some schools to consider: “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges With Great Pre-med Programs.” Many of these colleges also have excellent computer science programs. For a start, look for schools with twenty or more course offerings in their CS departments.
Ah Okay, so I guess I am in the right spot for posting, thank you.
Ok so based off of my freshman and sophomore years, I have around a 3.8 GPA and a 4.23 Weighted.
SAT score is 1960, 640 on reading, 660 on both writing and math
My family’s income is not the best, and there lies the problem. I want to go to a good school such as NEU, BU, etc., and I believe I could be accepted after I retake the SATs and score in the 2000-2200 range at the beginning of my senior year. Also after this junior year, both my weighted/unweighted gpa will have gone up considerable. Also believe that my EC’s are impressive enough for these schools. However, the idea of paying ~42K a year for these schools for 4 yrs and then paying ~50k a year for med school for 4 years does not sound desirable. I have been contemplating just kicking back to a cheap, but still pretty good from what i’ve heard, state school such as umass lowell (which is only 15 minutes from me and costs like 12k w/ commuting).
Any thoughts?
If you apply to colleges that meet full demonstrated financial need, some of your concerns will be ameliorated.
@merc81 what exactly do you mean by full demonstrated financial need? Sorry if I seem a little ignorant to the whole financial aid process.
When a college states it meets full demonstrated need, it is essentially a pledge by the college to make their school affordable for you if they accept you. Btw, no need to apologize. Sometimes they teach you everything in high school except what you really need to know.
^ That is NOT what meeting full need means. It means they evaluate your finances and make their assessment of what your need is, and meet that number. No where did I see the OP state that he was low income. Colleges that meet need are usually excellent choices for low income families, not so much for those who just don’t want to pay.
I said later that my family’s income is not the best. What exactly would be considered low income in MA?
“Not the best” is subjective. I’ve seen people on this very site say that because they live in an expensive area, $200k a year isn’t the best.
“Low income” is more objective. Commonly defined from about $0 - 40k per year for the average family of four (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/incomelevels.html ?).
^^^ “My family’s income is not the best” (#3)
“It means they evaluate your finances and make their assessment of what your need is, and meet that number.”
That’s exactly what making something “affordable” is. If I had meant making it “inexpensive,” I would have said that.
70k for household income in MA?
I would definitely apply to ULowell, among others. Their computer science program is strong, and I know several people who got full rides there (even outside of the Abigail Adams tuition scholarship).
Will i get the “college experience” at umass lowell? And will there be ample oppurtunities for research, internships, etc.?
I can’t really speak as to research or internships (while I know if its reputation in engineering, most of the people I’m close with who go there are more into the humanities). When it comes to the college experience, though, I wouldn’t consider Lowell as being an abnormal experience, if that makes sense? Its campus is a bit spread out (as I’m sure you know if you live nearby), but that doesn’t seem to have resulted in a lack of unity or traditional college feeling. They’ve been building/renovating dorms, and they’re really nice. And the city of Lowell itself has been getting a lot better recently, in terms of restaurants, the arts, etc.
Since you live nearby, I would definitely recommend visiting in the fall and seeing if you can talk with professors or current undergrad students. That would probably give you a very good perspective on things.
You are already a good candidate for excellent schools such as St. Lawrence, Union, Dickinson and Trinity. To some extent it’s just a matter of following through with your applications and seeing how you fare, both in terms of acceptance and cost. The schools you mentioned may also be options for you, though NEU has become quite selective recently. There’s something called a Net Price Calculator you can access to assist you in estimating expenses; other posters can help you with this.
Any good school is good enough for premed. There is nothing “special” about premed. It’s just regular classes that all schools offer.
If you get your M+CR SAT up higher, that will help. Also take the ACT.
Ask your parents how much they can contribute. You’re not low income. You’re middle class. Your family will have an EFC of several thousand dollars. So you need to know how much they’ll pay.
You won’t be able to “cover” your parents’ EFC with student loans because you’ll already have loans in your FA pkg.
“and costs like $12K with commuting”
It’s a minor point, but even if you commute, someone still needs to pay for your meals at home.
Thanks to everyone who has replied.
Top colleges that meet 100% need now have a threshold roughly at 75K for a family of 4 (you get a full ride or close to it, with or without loans) and 125K (definitely full tuition and often more added, sometimes without loans). You may even qualify for fee waivers depending on circumstances. HOWEVER the less endowment colleges have, the less generous they are - ie., colleges with super aid like Haverford or Davidson or Brown vs. Gettysburg or Dickinson. Still, it’s definitely worth trying to apply to these in priority.
There are only about 60-80 schools that meet full need among 3,700 in the US. All others DO NOT meet need, meaning they may admit you but if there’s not suficient financial aid, it’s not their problem. The NPC should give you a pretty good idea of how much colleges would expect your family to pay - start with the NPC for each of the schools listed before.
BU and NEU do NOT meet full need, so they may well be too expensive. However, if you fill an institutional need, they may provide you with sufficient scholarship money.
Run the Net Price Calculator on EACH college’s website - you’ll quickly see that what they estimate to be your family’s ability to pay will vary greatly.