<p>@Vctory:</p>
<p>It bogus because those folks who chase the prestige and money and don’t have any intrinsic interest in a field usually come to regret the choice that they made and either wish they had done something else or make the switch. Job satisfaction among doctors is actually pretty low these days, despite the money and prestige (and with the gigantic amount of debt from med school, the cost of liability insurance, and relatively limited upside, the money isn’t as great as you think). So if you’re going to enter medicine, I think you really should have an intrinsic interest in either helping people or medical research if you want to be happy. The older I’ve gotten, the more I believe that you should follow your work; that is, you should enter a field where you feel an intrinsic motivation to work hard to achieve the goals of that field. Extrinsic motivators may change, and even if they don’t, are often like false gold, where the glitter does not match the substance.</p>
<p>Anyone who thinks they can accurately predict the future of healthcare (or any other field) should immediately head to Wall Street where they will make oodles of money. Of course, if they are wrong, they will lose oodles of money.</p>
<p>The best indicator of an ability to predict the future is the ability to make money at it.</p>
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<p>Have you consider low cost options like some of the schools listed here?
<a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>The following look like full tuition or better for you (meaning you just pay living and travel expenses and books, or less if it is more than full tuition):</p>
<p>Troy
Tuskegee
Alabama State
Arkansas - Monticello
Howard
Florida A&M
Coppin State
Prairie View A&M</p>
<p>A few more points on the ACT, or an equivalent SAT score, can give additional large scholarship choices, as can be seen from the list. You may want to take both the SAT and a retry at the ACT.</p>
<p>In addition, <a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; lists some competitive large scholarships that you can also try for, although they would not be automatic for GPA and test scores like the previous list.</p>
<p>And don’t forget to run the net price calculator at each of the schools already on your list to get a financial aid estimate.</p>
<p>Yes, put Howard (or other) on your list at least. With a scholarship you will have a nice safety that saves money, and you would get an interesting experience. Plus they have a medical school so you will get access to advising and hospital work.</p>
<p>Checking African American can help with admissions at colleges that look for URM, underrepresented groups.</p>
<p>Applying to Howard makes sense.</p>
<p>Unless the OP wants to attend a HBCU, however, I don’t see the point of going somewhere that is no better than UM-Flint (and may not even be cheaper with travel, given that UM-Flint is in-state and that income should mean fin aid even with savings).</p>
<p>Checking the “African-American” box is also good advice where ever she applies. It can’t hurt and can only help.</p>
<p>The OP should not worry about cost and just apply where ever she wants. UM, MSU, and Howard are good places to apply, but fin aid may actually be better at better schools, and checking the “African-American” box may give her an undetermined boost at chances at places.</p>
<p>After getting acceptances, personally, if I know I wanted to go in to health care, I’d choose the cheapest option out of those at MSU’s level or higher with a nursing school and do nursing & pre-med there.</p>
<p>@21peepole21:</p>
<p>So it doesn’t look like you actually have to choose between a cheaper college and a better college. At least, not yet. </p>
<p>Financial aid could make the best college the cheapest college, which brings me to the most important piece of advice (more important than where you apply):
FILL OUT THE FAFSA FORM.</p>
<p>If your guidance counselor is any good, he/she would already tell you that, but on the off-chance that you have an incompetent guidance counselor, here it is again: FILL OUT THE FAFSA FORM.</p>
<p>Then apply to UMich, MSU, and Howard. Any other colleges you want to as well (especially those that are need-blind and meet full-need). Wait until acceptances to decide where to go.</p>
<p>BTW, some colleges do have diversity merit scholarships. For instance, Babson:
<a href=“http://www.babson.edu/admission/tuition-aid/undergraduate/merit-awards/Pages/diversity-leadership-awards.aspx”>http://www.babson.edu/admission/tuition-aid/undergraduate/merit-awards/Pages/diversity-leadership-awards.aspx</a></p>
<p>Finally, just because your mom saved the money for education doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about cost, as med school is hella expensive, and a dollar saved now is a dollar that can go to med school education later.</p>
<p>Regarding Howard, apply early if you want the automatic scholarships, since the scholarships are not unlimited and are offered on a first-come first-served basis to qualifying applicants.</p>
<p>Regarding need-based financial aid, note that many schools want other forms like CSS/Profile in addition to FAFSA.</p>
<p>Good advice, @ucbalumnus. </p>
<p>the savings are for mom, sister and OP…they really need to minimize college costs.</p>
<p>the single parent asset exemption is low on fafsa…about 15k…so about 235k will be assessed at about 6% per year…about 14k per year. Umich uses CSS. </p>
<p>We will be filling out the FAFSA yes. I’m really appreciating all these replies. About the becoming a doctor. I love learning in general about anything and everything and I also love helping people. So I thought that’d be a good way to go. I’ve let my feet get wet in many subjects; programming, engineering/drafting, design, tech, med. And I find the medical path to be the most plausible. My mother is an RN so I have considered going through the nursing programs but then again not really aiming for that. I’m definitely going to start using a NPC.</p>
<p>OP, it sounded like perhaps you undervalued Michigan and MSU as top colleges. Both of those schools are great academic schools. The key will be keeping your finances in line, but you can do it.</p>
<p>The trick is to apply for FAFSA only schools if the mom had a lot of savings, CSS Profile schools will take assets into consideration and reduce financial aids. We did not get one because D’s 529 balance is high, even our income is low enough to get aids.</p>
<p>Well, 529’s are treated differently from non-529 savings, I believe.</p>
<p>When it comes to fin aid, there are 3 groups of colleges, evidently:
FAFSA, CSS Profile, and 568 Consensus (though I don’t see HYPS & CalTech in Consensus; do they have their own more generous formulas?)</p>
<p>Evidently, UMich is CSS Profile. If I had to guess, I would guess that MSU is FAFSA.</p>
<p>All except Consensus whack 529 savings more heavily (regular savings are “taxed” at 5-6% per year). Consensus schools tax 529 savings only at 5% per year.</p>
<p>Are the savings partially in a 529 or no? And good point by @mom2collegekids that the savings are for the mom and sister as well. Any home equity?</p>
<p>Good article here:
<a href=“2014 Guide To FAFSA, CSS Profile, College Aid And Expected Family Contribution”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2014/01/31/2014-guide-to-fafsa-css-profile-college-aid-and-expected-family-contribution/</a></p>
<p>You may qualify for a simplified means test if your mom is eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ tax return. If so her assets will be excluded from consideration on the FAFSA and you would be eligible for much more aid.</p>
<p>"What is a simplified needs test?</p>
<p>An alternate method of calculating the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for families with adjusted gross incomes of less than $50,000 who have filed, or are eligible to file, an IRS Form 1040A or 1040EZ or are not required to file an income tax return. All assets are excluded from consideration.</p>
<p>A student may qualify for either an auto-zero EFC or Simplified Needs Test (SNT) EFC if, in addition to meeting the relevant income criteria, the student or the dependent student’s parent(s) received benefits from a means-tested federal benefit program (e.g. SSI, food-stamp program, or free and reduced price school-lunch program).</p>
<p>Only the parent’s tax return is considered for auto-zero EFC and Simplified Needs Test EFC determinations. Please note that the maximum Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of the parents was raised to $20,000 (from $16,000) for an applicant to be eligible for auto-zero EFC.</p>
<p>If you are determined to have a higher amount of financial need, you may be eligible for aid programs such as the federal Pell Grant or the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)."</p>
<p>Here’s the guidelines for eligibility for 1040A or 1040EZ</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc352.html”>http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc352.html</a></p>
<p>The simplified needs test may not apply to 529 savings however if that is where OP’s mom has saved the money.</p>