Hi everyone!
I’m looking for some help in eliminating 3 schools from this list of 6; they’re listed in no particular order:
Binghamton University, SUNY
Stony Brook University, SUNY
Northeastern University
Purdue University
Boston University
University of Pittsburgh
I plan to attend as a biology major then go into the medical field. I know some of these schools are public schools, so I’m also wondering if anyone could tell me how lenient their financial aid/merit policy is for OOS students. I also lean toward liberal/diverse campuses and I prefer a campus with no religious affiliation. Anything other than that is fair game though.
Basically:
are they a good stem school?
how much financial aid can I get?
As of now, I think I’m crossing out Binghamton and Purdue, but I’m not sure… I don’t want to make a bad choice. I’ll be talking to my guidance counselor soon too. I also checked my school’s Naviance and all schools are around the match/high match for me, I believe. My reason for doing this is that I want to apply to 10 colleges and I have 7 reaches/safeties/some matches already sorted, so I need 3 more to apply to this fall/winter.
And if anyone has better suggestions, please tell me!
Thank you!
What can your parents afford to pay? Have you used the net price calculators at these schools? What are your scores and GPA? Keep in mind that schools that are matches or “high matches” will generally not provide you with merit money.
Binghamton may be a good one to leave in because it is reasonably priced - compared to others- for OOS students. However… we don’t know what your parents can afford and we don’t know if you used the NPCs. It’s possible that Binghamton is too expensive for you.
One thing you might want to think about is how Northeastern has the co-op program- it can sometimes take you 5 years to earn a bachelor’s (or if you love the idea of a co-op you should consider that too!!!)
Another factor to consider is what else is on the rest of your list? It’s likely that some schools here offer a unique option compared to others, or you could want more of the same type of school, or who knows what else. Either way, I think the context of the rest of your list may make it easier to decide.
Out-of-state public universities tend to give no or little financial aid. You can check each college’s net price calculator on its web site to get a financial aid estimate.
You probably want to eliminate the most expensive (net price) schools, so that you can save money and avoid debt for undergraduate, since medical school is expensive. Also, eliminate any school that you would not under any circumstances choose over your safety (that you are assured admission and affordability at).
Keep in mind that medical schools want to see the highest GPA and MCAT scores. What, if any, of these schools have grade deflation? What is the percentage rate of students who apply to med. school from these schools who are accepted?