<p>Hi,
I have a little bit of a predicament on my hands. I am a freshman at Marquette University studying biomedical engineering (BME) with a specialty in biocomputing. First of all: I LOVE my major. It is what I want to do, and I am doing well so far. I had a 3.72 last semester, and it should be closer to 4.0 this semester.</p>
<p>The only trouble is the finances. I didn't try hard in my college prep highschool, and I got a 3.5 and a 30 on the ACT with very little studying (no studying for the ACT). I did sing in a choir, and became an Eagle Scout. I currently have no financial aid, aside from the $40K my parents promised to me. Assuming that I get a co-op, I will be in roughly $80K-100K in debt.</p>
<p>Another note: I intend to apply to an MD/PhD program with a PhD in biomedical engineering. I calculated that with 8 years of training, I will have accrued roughly $160K in debt from undergrad (MD/PhD training is fully funded with a living stipend). I know it is hard to write this off, but in the great scheme of things, this is the average debt of a medical student.</p>
<p>I have been looking for scholarships, and I applied for the SMART Scholarship for Service, a full tuition scholarship w/ living expenses with a guaranteed job after my degree. I am currently an alternate which is a great surprise to me, as only 11% of undergraduates receive this prestigious scholarship, and I am only a freshman. This means that I am competitive enough for scholarships, I just can't find them.</p>
<p>What merit-based scholarships can I apply for as an undergraduate? I have also been thinking of transferring, but there are no other decent universities for BME in my home state (MO) aside from WUSTL, and I don't know how much financial aid I can get. It is also extremely hard to transfer engineering credits, from what I have heard.</p>
<p>Sorry for this short story as my first post, and any advice/tip/lead on a great scholarships is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Your best chance would be transferring to a school that meets need if you qualify for need based aid. Is there some reason you can’t leave MO? That sure would limit opportunities.</p>
<p>This sounds like a good deal, if you can get it! I know several MD’s who graduated with significantly more debt, although it wasn’t all from undergrad. Is it possible that your school has privately endowed merit scholarships for continuing students? Could you cut your room costs by becoming an RA or AA next year? </p>
<p>sk8rmom- Thank you for the heads up on the Tylenol scholarship! I am filling that out as I speak. I’m going to go to the office of financial aid next week and see if there are any merit-based scholarships through the university. The problem with wanting to go into an MD/PhD program is even getting in, as you said. But I’m focused on this goal, and will be starting research over the summer.</p>
<p>hmom- Sorry for the confusing wording; I was looking for state schools in MO to transfer into to pay in-state tuition, but none of them (even the Missouri Science & Technology) has a BME program. And there’s no way in hell I’m getting need-based aid… my parent’s combined income is around $120K.</p>
<p>An income of $120K, unless your parents have lots of assets, would get you some need based aid at many private colleges. At the best aid schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford for example, you’d only have to pay $12K.</p>
<p>I’m a little late for transfer this year, but I’ll give it a shot next year! Yale would be incredible for the research that I would like to do. I’ll probably need to take the SAT again if I wanted a shot, from hearing what the admissions sound like.</p>
<p>Quick question- which other schools aside from Yale, Harvard, and Stanford provide need based aid for my family’s income? I’ve tried looking, but no luck so far. Thanks!</p>