Hi,
I have no idea what I want to do, but I do have some idea. I like Pre-med or nursing, math, science (like Bio and Chemistry but hated physics). Any ideas on colleges that are around $30,000 or less that are located in the Midwest? It would have to be coed and have a good graduation rate. I have 3.9 unweighted GPA and 4.2 weighted GPA and a 1320 on the SAT (am taking it again). I just want a college that can help me explore my options. If you could also think of any careers that fit with my interests and pay well that would also be a huge help!
Congratulations on your hard work and success!
First look to public universities in your state. That will be your best bet to find a great school that is affordable. I think of Miami of Ohio, Denison University, College of Wooster, and Kalamazoo College as being outstanding midwestern schools that offer good merit aid. Among these, only Miami has nursing.
Here’s a merit aid table for Miami. Note aid is not guaranteed at these numbers, just qualifies an applicant. Note also it’s good to get your app in early. School super-scores for admission AND aid.
https://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-guarantee/
You might also look at aid numbers for the University of Kansas. Nice campus, Lawrence is a great college town.
https://admissions.ku.edu/tuition-scholarship/freshman
You might also look up the same at the University of Nebraska. It’s an urban school too.
Also, run the net price calculator (NPC) for schools that look interesting. This will be your best resource for getting a good estimate of cost for you.
Good luck!
Truman State would be a good school to look at as a baseline. It’s an excellent public LAC that has a nursing program. The OOS cost is very affordable, automatic merit makes it more so, and the MSEP discount, if your state participates, brings it down even more. (Minnesota-Morris is another high quality, affordable Midwestern LAC, but they don’t have a nursing program.)
You might also be able to get down to your price point with merit aid at some of the CTCL schools; but you won’t know whether they’ll be affordable until after you’re accepted. https://ctcl.org/category/college-profiles/
If you actually qualify for enough need-based aid to bring your costs down to $30K, then that’s a different story. In that case, check out St. Olaf, which is strong in all of your areas of interest and meets 99% of documented need. Run their Net Price Calculator to see what you’d be eligible for: https://wp.stolaf.edu/financialaid/net-price-calculator/
You might also look at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, which seems to check all of your boxes. For U.S. residents, there is only one tuition rate (no in-state vs. OOS tuition differences); it has a School of Nursing plus a College of Arts and Sciences; and the COA for 2018-19 is about $22K.
- Lake Forest is almost guaranteed to give you a nice merit package.
- Earlham is a wonderful school that has prepped students well for med school -- it also has one of the few cadaver courses in the country at an undergrad level. You would probably also receive good merit there.
Seconding Earlham, Denison, Truman State, SIU, and St Olaf.
Adding Luther, Concordia Moorhead, Gustavus Adolphus, St John’s (MN), Ohii Wesleyan, Capital OH, Wooster, Albion, Kalamazoo. Run the NPC and explore them, as they can be quite different in vibe.
As profession look at physician assistant. It’s a hot field right now. If nursing… You might like to be a nurse anesthestist… Both make great money but you have to like what you are doing also.
I just got back from visiting Earlham. Each time I go, I am more impressed.
Earlham offers good merit money, that should get you under your $30k ceiling. They are in the top 1% in the nation for med school admissions, and have a really interesting new Global Health program.
http://earlham.edu/
I agree with other posters that you might also check out Wooster, Kalamazoo, or Beloit. Or, as someone said, look through the 40 CTCL-listed schools.
I would second the recommendation for Concordia College (Moorhead). Excellent 4 yr grad rate and for anything health sciences related, it’s in the regional hub for health care so offers great clinical experiences.