Art and pre-med, college suggestions please?

College Search & Selection
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<p>So far, my top choice is UCSD, with USC at a close second. UCSD is first because of the beautiful location, but both schools are amazing. Pretty much, I'm looking for schools similar to those. Since I'm planing on doing both art and pre-med, I'd love to go to a school that is strong in both these areas. Really large schools are ok as long as class size stays reasonable, and a diverse student body would be great because I'm an immigrant. Study abroad programs are always a plus ;) </p>

<p>Also, I'm from NV so my only in state choices are only UNLV and UNR, and I'll apply to UNLV as an absolute last safety. I guess I'd like to stay on the west coast, preferably in southern California, but if you have a good suggestion in the east, please share :) </p>

<p>My stats: </p>

<p>GPA:
UC: 3.9999 (I don't think they round up)
UW: 3.8
W: 4.6 (all my classes in HS have been either honors or AP, and uc doesn't give me credit for my honors cause i'm out of state)
Class rank: top 5%</p>

<p>SAT: 2010
710 Reading
570 Math (haha math is not my strong point)
730 Writing</p>

<p>ACT composite: 32
(I took both tests without studying so I hope to improve a lot over the summer) </p>

<p>Classes: most rigorous classes available at my school
countess honors + AP French, AP Lang, AP Chem, AP US Hist, AP World
senior schedule: AP Art, AP Govt, AP Psych, AP Lit, Spanish 3 </p>

<p>EC: not that good: treasurer then VP of french club, co-funder and VP of ASL club, Young Democrats club, used to volunteer at local clinic, won a couple of local art contests,
I'll try to improve these over the summer and during senior year, </p>

<p>Other: first gen college student, immigrated here at the age of 11, rec letters wont be a problem, and I should have decent essays </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>???</p>

<p>Will your parents pay OOS costs for a UC? It costs $50k per year and they don’t give aid to out of state students.</p>

<p>Frankly, if money is an issue, then you need to apply to schools where you will either get big merit for your stats…or lots of financial aid. UCs won’t do that for you. </p>

<p>how much will your parents pay?</p>

<p>Most large state schools will do fine with pre-med and art. Large class sizes can be mostly “frosh year only” at some schools (like my kids’ flagship) and only in some classes. Once you’re past frosh year, classes can be more reasonable in size.</p>

<p>I don’t think USC is a good place for pre-med IF you’re going to major in Art. USC requires a boat load of pre-med pre-reqs…far more than other schools.</p>

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<p>I was pretty sure UC’s did give aid to out of state students, so I might be misinformed. I guess I’ll gave to look into that more, thanks! As far as my parents paying, they’re not. They can’t afford to do it at all: dad is retired, mom is out of work. I was going to use need-based and merit aid, work-study, loans etc… </p>

<p>I should probably add “good with financial aid” to my criteria list.</p>

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<p>I was pretty sure UC’s did give aid to out of state students</p>

<p>NO…they don’t. they can’t even afford to give aid to all of their instate students…so they can’t give any to OOS students. And, much of their aid is Cal Grants…which is for Calif students only. Sorry. </p>

<p>UCs charge OOS fees for a reason. Why would they bother if they were just going to cover the high costs with FA?</p>

<p>Since your dad is retired, his retirement income will be considered for financial aid. </p>

<p>Are you saying that your parents can’t pay ANYTHING or can pay very little? If so, then your Nevada schools are probably not financial safety schools either…unless you can commute to them or cover those costs.</p>

<p>How much can your family pay? </p>

<p>In-state tuition and fees: $5,465
Room and board: $10,456
Books and supplies: $1,000
Estimated personal expenses: $1,800
Transportation expense: $770 </p>

<p>Cost of attendance…about $20k per year. </p>

<p>You cannot borrow much. You can only borrow the following amounts…</p>

<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>

<p>Besides…if you’re going to med school, then you need to avoid borrowing too much for undergrad since med school is so expensive.</p>

<p>However, with your stats you could get a very good merit scholarship at some schools.</p>

<p>But…you also need to find out what your family’s EFC might be. </p>

<p>Use a FA calculator and find out if your EFC will be low enough for Pell Grants.
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid)</p>

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<p>Since I like the school so much I think I’ll still apply to UCSD and see what happens :slight_smile: </p>

<p>My parents can’t afford to pay for my college at all, but I’m sure If I was really, really, desperate they’d to their best to help me out. </p>

<p>I used the EFC calculator you linked me to (thanks!), filled out everything correctly, and my “family qualifies for automatic zero EFC” which should qualify me for a Pell Grant also. Yay!? I guess this is the only upside to being poor…</p>

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<p>If you have a 0 EFC why would you apply to UCSD? You’d get the Pell, a Stafford loan and be $40K short of being able to attend. Look at some alternatives here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>xenophilia, in addition to the link Erin’s Dad linked, you need to look at 100% need met schools . They will be reaches, but it seems you are a competitive applicant. [Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet the Full Financial Needs of Students - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students)</p>

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<p>Obviously, UCSD will not be affordable, but if you want to go thru the hassle to apply, go ahead. Just be aware that it won’t work out financially for you. The UC’s cost $50k per year for OOS students. </p>

<p>Since you’re EFC 0, that means that you qualify for a $5,550 per year Pell Grant. As you can see, that is NOT much money at all! And, you can borrow $5,500 in a Stafford Direct Student Loan. Again, the total isn’t much…about $11k per year. You might also get some other small aid. </p>

<p>You have to apply to …</p>

<p>1) some schools that will give you lots of financial aid…USC is one, but I don’t know how well that would work with Art and Pre-med…since USC has an unusually high req’t for med school apps. </p>

<p>2) some schools that might give you VERY LARGE merit scholarships.</p>

<p>3) some schools that will DEFINITELY give you very large merit scholarships for your ACT 32 and GPA. Use Erin’s Dad’s link.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that a partial tuition scholarship isn’t going to be enough for you since you have such high need. At a minimum…you need at least a full tuition scholarship so that Pell, a student loan, and earnings from a summer job can cover the rest. </p>

<p>How much can you earn/save over the summer? You need to do this.</p>

<p>Do you have a green card or are you a citizen???</p>

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<p>Aww, this post really made me depressed. :frowning: I wanted to apply to UCLA as an OOS, but i thought they gave FA to OOS students…:/</p>

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<p>Better to find out now, right?</p>

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<p>@ Erin’s Dad: that’s definitely true, you guys saved me a lot of time and now I can focus on other schools :slight_smile: </p>

<p>@ GTalum: That list is a god send. I’ve been looking through it all evening long!</p>

<p>@ mom2collegekids: Yup, I’m a citizen. I’ve been trying to get a job with no luck. If I do find one, I could save up all the money I earn and probably continue working throughout senior year. </p>

<p>Now my problem now is: Since UC’s aren’t an option I should looks at schools from other states too. Except, I have no idea how I would pay for transportation. Could loans cover that, or would I be completely on my own?</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Well, I’d have to suggest my college, although it’s not on the west coast- Illinois Wesleyan University. It has a strong School of Art program as well as good pre-med options. I think the overall acceptance rate into med schools is around 80% for IWU where the national average is like 50% (the acceptance rate for IWU biology majors specifically is near 90%, so they like to brag about that). Are you planning on doing pre-med as an art major? Or having another major under the pre-med plan? Just wondering.</p>

<p>So, IWU would be Bloomington, IL, small university of 2100 students. I don’t know if you’d be interested at all, but it’s worth a look at least. </p>

<p>Other than that, I don’t really know much about art and pre-med colleges. I just happen to know that for my college in particular.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Commenting on this part of your post, IWU does have strong study abroad programs. I don’t know how much of a diverse population you’re looking for, so if you are at all interested in IWU, I could try to look up some specific stats for you on #s of different types of students. Class sizes are small- average size = 17 and 11:1 student-faculty ratio.</p>

<p>Hope that’s helpful.</p>

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<p>

[quote]
I have no idea how I would pay for transportation.

[quote]
</p>

<p>All the schools “100% need met schools” that D applied to had estimated transportation expenses included in the final cost of attending. However, the estimates may fall short depending how often you want to go home or the transportation options you have.</p>

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<p>This is a completely different direction for you, but I’d suggest that you look at Williams. The reasons: excellent academics, excellent science, excellent studio art and double majors are common. </p>

<p>Williams medical school acceptance rate is high. Need based financial aid is very good, and can include transportation. Williams is extremely selective, but I believe that you would be a person of interest to them. </p>

<p>I would also recommend that you look into applying to Questbridge for some other college suggestions that you might not be aware of. I would also look at Wesleyan (the one in Connecticut) though I’m not sure of their financial aid policy. If you are female, look into Smith.</p>

<p>Wherever you apply be sure to submit a portfolio of your artwork, even if you don’t intend to major in art. This will be your primary EC. You can find instructions on the colleges’ websites under supplementary materials.</p>

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<p>OP, with a $O EFC and being first generation college student, you should check out Questbridge. [QuestBridge</a> Home](<a href=“QuestBridge”>http://questbridge.org/) Most recipients get a full ride (minus student summer contribution.)</p>

<p>There are many questbridge threads under the Financial Aid forum here on CC as well. Many students do VERY well with acceptances to top schools with your stats.</p>

<p>Also check out Gates <a href=“http://www.gmsp.org/[/url]”>http://www.gmsp.org/&lt;/a&gt; if you are from one of their qualifying minority groups. They meet ALL unmet need to any accredited school of your choice.</p>

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<p>Someplace like Williams would be a good choice, but a reach and as different from USC and UCSD as you can get. If you want to consider 100% need met schools, you’ll need to rethink the type of schools you want to go to. In comparison to USC and UCSD, the 100% need met schools tend to be smaller and/or in cold climates with some exceptions such as UNC. But, you’ll find great academics and a community with like-minded students. Also, if your parents have significant property assets, be aware that will figure into the colleges expected family contribution. If you qualify, you should apply to Questbridge.</p>

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<p>@iluvpiano:</p>

<p>Illinois Wesleyan is on my D’s short list (she’s a rising senior and we live only about an hour and a half from Bloomington). One of the things that really impresses me is its grad rates - 80% in 4 years, 86% in 6 years. That’s by far the best of any of the colleges on her list. We haven’t visited yet, but plan to do so in the fall.</p>

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<p>^Right, their 4-year grad rate is really good. Actually, I’ve seen it listed as higher than 80% in 4 years. On many print sources, they say “better than 9 in 10” graduate in 4 years. On certain things, I’ve seen it listed as high as 92-96%, depending on the year. Overall though, it’s 90%+ each year that graduate in 4 years from what I’ve found in information from IWU.</p>

<p>Hope you visit IWU and hope your daughter likes it!</p>

<p>This is an article regarding 4-year grad rates I found a while ago. IWU isn’t included in it, although their grad rate should be…I guess this research didn’t include everybody! However, it shows some of the more prestigious colleges’ grad rates in 4-years. [10</a> Colleges With Highest 4-Year Graduation Rates - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/03/10-colleges-with-highest-4-year-graduation-rates]10”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/03/10-colleges-with-highest-4-year-graduation-rates)</p>

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<p>I’m from NV so my only in state choices are only UNLV and UNR</p>

<p>Many of the schools in the above posts are good ideas…but none are assured of acceptance and/or assured for affordability.</p>

<p>I don’t like that the UNs are her back-up schools as a pre-med student. Both of those schools are very lowly ranked. UNLV (which I believe is her closest school) isn’t even ranked at all…UNR is about 200. I know that on CC, some have written about the weak academics at those schools. My concern is that she would not be adequately prepared for the MCAT exam…and all her efforts would be for naught.</p>

<p>I think she needs better alternatives for a financial safety schools…ones that she knows that she can get accepted…and ones that she knows will either give her large financial aid or very large merit.</p>

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<p>re IWU grad rates: The 80% and 86% are from the college’s CDS filing.</p>