You qualify for merit aid at a TON of schools but that covers some, even most of the cost at some schools but not all. And they are not necessarily local to NY.
If your income is truly $40k look into Questbridge as recommended by others.
1 Like
@sybbie719 made an excellent suggestion to look into Questbridge, but do it soon!!
Also, if your parents donât plan to contribute anything to your undergrad costs, you would need a full free ride, and those are not easy to come by.
3 Likes
4 Likes
OPâs GPA is on the low end for QB: QuestBridge | National College Match Finalist Profile
I am not saying OP shouldnât put in an app. But the QB app is time consuming, and if they want to do that, I strongly encourage them to finish it before school starts. The QB app is due September 26.
4 Likes
Iâm honestly not very sure either, they say they will pay if I do well in school but I canât really determine how well I can do in a school I havenât been accepted to yet. I told them if that is the case I would rather not risk going into that much debt by applying to an ED and would rather go to a more affordable college thatâll teach pretty much the same things and they werenât too happy about that.
2 Likes
Will your parents co-sign or take out loans for you to attend college? Ask themâŠwith $40,000 a year income, I honestly would not suggest that.
But here are YOUR loan limitsâŠanything above that will need to be either cosigned or taken out by someone else.
Freshman $5500
Sophomore $6500
Junior $7500
Senior $7500.
Thatâs it.
1 Like
An advanced Regents with mastery in math and science means achieving at least an 85 on all 3 math regents (algebra, geometry, and AL2/trig) along with at least an 85 in 3 science regents (Living, chem, physics).
If you are going to achieve honors on top of this, you would need a 90 average on regents exams
2 Likes
You can only take out $27K in total for undergrad. $5.5K the first year, then $6.5K/$7.5K/$7.5K. Any loans above that will be on your parentsâŠeither directly or as a co-signer. You are right that you want to limit undergrad debt, especially if you are thinking of med school, which will be virtually all debt ($350K to $400K).
1 Like
Thank you, I will look into more affordable SUNYs with good premed programs, although I donât think I will ever be able to convince my parents.
1 Like
Is it possible to have a mastery in just math 
Thank you so much
Many who plan on premed go to plan B after taking introductory weed out science classes, kids who get Aâs in AP chemistry can easily end up not doing well in college chemistry.
3 Likes
Another data point you mentioned. You mention that science isnât your strong suit. It will need to be in undergrad school as your sGPA is one metric medical schools use for admission.
3 Likes
You need to apply to a school that you can commute to- either a CUNY or a SUNY. Look at Excelsior- that could cover tuition at either.
I donât know what your parents will contribute, if anything. If they will not cover room and board then a school such as Binghamton or Geneseo becomes unaffordable, most likely.
yes, it is possible to just get an advanced regents diploma with Mastery in Mathematics
2 Likes
A delicate question - if science isnât your strong suit, why do you want to be a doctor? You donât need to major in a scientific discipline to get into med school, but you do need to take a lot of science classes. Medical education is science-heavy, and you never stop learning and using science. Given that most applicants to medical school get rejected, why do you want to go for a profession that will require you to spend so much time in disciplines that arenât your strength?
Considering the kinds of volunteering or shadowing experiences youâve had, it seems like youâre using people skills more than scientific skills. Those skills can apply in a wide variety of professions. What subjects are your strongest?
As a high school student, you donât know what you donât know - there are lots of areas of study, lots of professions, lots of graduate degree programs that you just donât know much about right now. Thereâs a wide variety of health-related professions, many of which have lower science requirements than med school. Focus on college fit (which includes affordability â and it looks like you donât even know what would be affordable), and explore once you get there.
Honestly, it sounds like neither you nor your parents are terribly well-informed about this process. Thatâs fine, but you need to enlist the help of people who are.
10 Likes
Oh things arenât looking too well. With financial aid(?) I think I may be able to afford it.
Others have said this but I want to repeat it in the starkest possible terms.
I have a lot of doctors in my extended parent peer groups, including because we use private schools where a lot of doctors send their kids. And some of those kids are interested in pre-med. And among these people, the conversation is typically not what is the most prestigious college that my kid can barely get into. It is what is a good college that will be both very affordable and relatively easy to get great grades for a high-achieving kid. Which simply reflects the reality of the grades you need to get into a med school these days, and the cost of med school as well (which can be daunting even to well-off doctor families).
OK, so, for example, a very popular college in my circles among the high-achieving pre-med type kids is Pitt. Pitt is an excellent college for biology and biomed, and indeed has an excellent med school. But a big part of the conversation involves that Pitt, for these kids, will be an easier place to be an outstanding student than an âIvyâ or such. They also like Pitt because even if someone starts in pre-med but then decides to do something different, generally if you are an outstanding student at Pitt in most things, youâll have lots of other great options.
Now interestingly, some of those parents are getting worried that Pitt has gotten TOO popular among such kids. Like, if too many such kids are going to Pitt, then maybe it wonât be relatively easy to be sufficiently outstanding.
But in any event, this is how the actual doctor families and such I know typically think about colleges these days. They feel like they have to be very strategic.
OK, so you have gone to a âfairly competitiveâ high school and gotten good, not great, grades. Again, I feel like the most helpful thing I can do for you is be blunt, so here it is: I think you would be taking an enormous and unwarranted risk by going to the most competitive college your SAT score and other non-grade factors could get you into. The risk is the exact same pattern would repeat, that you would get good but not great grades, and this would make it extremely hard if not impossible to get into med school. And indeed harder to switch successfully into something else if med school doesnât work out.
I get that your parents have a different view, and I canât necessarily tell you the best way to deal with that problem. But it is your life, and I think you really need to be careful about the decisions you make at this juncture. You are obviously bright, and there are so many colleges were a bright person can be an outstanding student and then leverage that success in college into achieving lots of success in life.
So I think you should be very cautious about going to a place where instead your odds of being an outstanding student are much lower. Thatâs just not worth what your parents think it is worth.
2 Likes
Well, to be honest, Iâm just not sure what else to be. I donât really have anything Iâm good at, so I figured I should just be a doctor, if Iâm going to have to study as much as I will. I do have other majors in mind, since so many people (not just on this website) who have told me that med school is going to be so much worse.
Iâm not sure what would be affordable since my parentsâ responsiveness and willingness to pay changes throughout the day 
I think I may just go for SUNYs and hope I qualify for financial aid.
Is there a suny or cuny that you can commute to?
I think you need to put medical school and careers on hold for now. You are young, it isnât clear to me that you want to be a doctor (thatâs ok), your strengths are not in the sciences, and your goal should be on finding an affordable school.
2 Likes