I’m going into my junior year of high school, and am wondering my chances of finding a full ride scholarship at a university that will prepare me for medical school. I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, have taken and scored four 5s and one 4 on AP exams, will continue to take the toughest classes, will participate in a pre-med opportunity at my local hospital through the school, volunteer at church and the hospital, have leadership roles, lots of extracurruculars, am currently top of my class, and plan to throw (track & field) in college. I qualified for districts in all 3 throwing events my sophomore year, placed in discus, and will most likely make it to states this year. I’m looking to go pre-med with a major in neuroscience. I’m not looking to go to the most prestigious or expensive school; I want to attend a school that will prepare me for medical school without putting me $250,000 in debt. So, what I’m asking is if I seem like someone who could “qualify” for a full ride on a mix of both athletic and merit based scholarships. Any and all thoughts will be appreciated, thanks!
What are you standardized test scores?
I haven’t taken either yet, but on the PSAT I got 1460/1520 and the pre ACT I got a 32/35. I’m planning on taking both before the track season this year.
Are any college coaches recruiting you for an athletic scholarship?
There are some colleges like University of Alabama-Huntsville that have “guaranteed scholarships” to students with a certain combination of GPA and standardized test scores. Those colleges will typically post a grid on their website, showing what you need to get what type of scholarship. You can look for those and get an idea of what test scores you need to go with your GPA.
Aside from that, there are big scholarships available for National Merit Finalists at some universities. There are also some for Valedictorians.
If your athletic achievements have you nationally ranked in your sport, you should be on the radar of college coaches for recruitment. The recruitment usually takes place fall of junior year, a year before college applications. Whatever your level, it is time to be contacting college coaches to see if you have a chance at playing on the team, and if there are available scholarships.
Typically, someone who gets a big academic scholarship as opposed to an athletic scholarship will have class rank in top 5%, standardized test scores in top 1% to 5%, and achievements that include national or international awards in their academic area of interest related to their planned major. Look for individual and (academic) team competitions to try to win awards this year.
Any college can prepare you for medical school.
Getting a complete, free, full ride…is not common at all…
What state do you live in? What scholarships are available at your local 4 yr school?
It would be extremely unusual for a track athlete to get a full athletic scholarship. It is possible to get enough in scholarships from several different sources to stack to cover your needs.
You need to just keep working on everything - athletics, academics, ECs.
Military academies and ROTC love the combination of athletics and brains.
Smart to look at what is out there in all combinations - academic, athletics, in-state, smaller schools, etc. Look at what others have done a year or two ahead of you - although scholarships change, you can at least make sure you look at the various schools that may work for you.
Full tuition alone seems much more likely than full tuition with full room and board. Are you in a position where you could potentially pay $10-12K a year for room and board but are just hoping to save it for medical school? If so, you could certainly try to get a full ride, but realistically should focus at least as much as full tuition scholarships, which may be possible for you.
One thing about full ride non-athletic scholarships: Some schools may have just a few of them (as little as 5 or 10) and might not award them until March. So you can try for them if a school you like has some, but there’s no way you can count on them happening.