confused and depressed

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I DON'T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHERE I SHOULD GO!! =(....i want a college in illinois and I want to go on to a reputable med school. Therefore, the undergrad school has to be somewat reputable. The problem is $$, my parents say we cannot afford 25,000 + a yr including the grants, loans n stuff. I need help finding a good illinois premed school that is affordable....help me CC!! i <3 u guys !!!</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA:
Weighted: 4.5
Unweighted: 4.00</p>

<p>Class Rank: 10/760 ~top 1% (mite end up being 7 by the end)
ACT: 31 (first time)</p>

<p>AP's:
Currently: APUSH, AP Chem
Senior year: ap bio, ap psych, apes, calc bc, ap physics
**im pretty sure ill get 5 or 4s on these..its too early to tell </p>

<p>SAT IIs:
?? didn't take em yet</p>

<p>Courses:
9th grade
Health
World History
Biology Honors
Geometry Honors
English
Keyboarding (really helpful..lol)
Business and Consumer
Spanish 2</p>

<p>10th grade
Chemistry Honors
Spanish 3 Honors
Intermediate and College Algebra Honors
Child Psychology and Development
Speech
English 2
Contemporary World History</p>

<p>11th grade (rite now!!)</p>

<p>AP US History
AP Chem
Physics Honors
Spanish 4 Honors
Precalculus Honors
English 3</p>

<p>12th grade (next yr schedule)</p>

<p>AP biology
AP Calc BC
APES
AP Psych
AP Physics
English</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Spanish club
club interact
Math Team (1 yr)
Peer Helpers
mu alpha theta
national honors society
spanish honors society</p>

<p>Volunteer:
convalescent Center
Central Hospital
Election judge (awesome experience =) )</p>

<p>Awards: (not much)</p>

<p>3 President's education awards (from Bush..lol)
4 Academic Achievement Awards
Illinois State Scholar</p>

<p>Summers:
Pharmacy internship via walgreens and midwestern univeristy</p>

<p>Essay: im a good writer...ill figure somethin out (hopefully..hehe)
Recs: not worried. i <3 my teachers</p>

<p>im a first generation student, a female if that helps....all suggestions welcome and desperately needed!!! hehe</p>

2

<p>illinois wesleyan is good for pre-med…though not much else. lol.</p>

<p>UIC GPPA sounds like a good option for you, no? and it’s not terribly hard to get in, esp with your stats. The tuition is cheap and it’s a simple-ish program.</p>

<p>What about UChicago? Are you elligible for Financial aid? (because UCHICAGO covers everything if your family makes below 60k)</p>

3

<p>thanks so much for ur answer!! i really appreciate it</p>

<p>family’s income bracket is between 80k to 100k…so that mite be a problem…like my dad is worried we mite lose our job in the middle of my college education and then we are screwed</p>

<p>uic gppa seems super diffiuclt…i’ve been watching that thread on CC and most kids are 34 ACT and well, perfect.</p>

4

<p>smarty-- if a parent loses a job, top schools will step in and cover significantly more in financial aid as they are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated need.</p>

5

<p>i tried to convince my dad that…he kept on saying that they would make him broke b4 they offer $$…</p>

<p>if that is the case, that does help solve my problem</p>

6

<p>why don’t you apply to those top schools anyways, and see how much they give you? just try. it’s not like you HAVE to go there if you’re in, esp. if finances aren’t right.</p>

<p>Then you won’t be so confused/depressed :)</p>

7

<p>im plannin on doing early decision…and if the finanacial package matches its not a problem…the concern w/ my dad is losing his job in the future or some big tradgetdy. then i will be locked in a college and $$ disaster</p>

<p>also, does anyone know how much out-of-pocket expenses would be</p>

8

<p>No, smarty, that’s what I’m saying-- financial aid is not locked and is reassessed each year (and more often if necessary) and will be fluid along with your family’s developing financial situation.</p>

9

<p>Knox College is the best Liberal Arts College in illinois (and outside of Northwestern and University of Chicago the next best college), it has a very high med school acceptance rate and gives outstanding merit and scholarship aid! Check it out for sure</p>

10

<p>thanks so much guys…that helps solve the financial ? and u guys gave me some good ideas =]</p>

11

<p>If you need to evaluate FA, then applying early is not a good idea. You have great stats, you could get merit aid. you also may have more options if you consider going outside of Illinois.</p>

12

<p>Your family income does NOT disqualify you for financial aid. But put prestige aside for the moment and focus on match and safety schools. They will give you the most financial aid. State schools dont do much with aid unless you are an honors student and qualify for their flagship scholarships. </p>

<p>Your stats are great! Scholarships will ROAR in.</p>

<p>I have a suggestion: Look outside of Illinois in neighboring states.</p>

<p>St. Louis University is a fabulous school and even has a highly regarded medical school. It gives out fabulous scholarships particularly to kids like you with your stats and AP’s. </p>

<p>Ohio has so many schools its not even funny…and many of them are outstanding and offer WONDERFUL scholarships and financial aid. </p>

<p>Applying EA is okay (its non binding), but applying ED is the problem with FA…because it IS binding. So DONT apply ED anywhere. But fire away at EA or rolling admissions.</p>

13

<p>you should really consider schools outside illinois.
some really decent women colleges are very generous(bryn mawr, smith, MHC…)</p>

14

<p>

Not at all true… the expectation is that you will get another job. I am a parent who lost a job right after my son started in college. They did not want to give additional aid until it was apparent that I would be in financial trouble (as evidenced by the next FAFSA cycle).</p>

15

<p>For the record, the University of Chicago has (non-binding) EA. Can’t tell if it’s
your kind of place, though.
Great suggestions here; you will be fine.</p>

16

<p>Here is a neuroscience program at Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College that I think you would like: [Ohio</a> University: Honors Tutorial College:PROGRAM DESCRIPTION](<a href=“Honors at OHIO | Ohio University”>Honors at OHIO | Ohio University)</p>

<p>My son is graduating this year from HTC and if you spend some time on their site you will see that the perks are incredible, most impressively Tutorials (one-on-one course with professors in your major).</p>

<p>It is a fantastic place, but they only take about 60 students per year into the program. But your stats are very impressive. It is a small, close-knit group, but you have the resources of the larger (20K students) university.</p>

<p>Oh, and I should mention that you will get GUARANTEED scholarships at OU, based on your stats.</p>

<p>For you:<br>
As an Out of State student, you will get $4500 per year PLUS as additional $4000 per year for a 31 ACT. <em>If</em> you can get your ACT up to 32, you would get an amount equal to full in-state tuition plus the $4500 (approx three-quarters of the total tuition).
[The</a> Gateway Award Program: Ohio University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm#gateway]The”>http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm#gateway)</p>

<p>I cannot recommend HTC enough. PM me for more info. And check out the student video testimonials (my son is 4th from the left on the testimonials page of the HTC site).</p>