OP is waaaay too early. I would research assured entry programs to MD or DO. The BS/MD track is pretty hard to get into. Consider U South Florida. They have a pretty good program and scholarship $$.
Here is the link to the BS/DO program. They have another one for Morsani.
OP should qualify as a National Recognition Scholar. So, COA will be around $17000 per year.
No, he doesn’t pay for rent/mortgage but does pay for child support. He’s kind of cheap though and the majority of my non-scholarship/financial aid financial support will be from my mom who makes the 110k a year before taxes. Aww kinda sucks that his income is going to be included but then again, I understand why they would include it. Going to have to start getting creative ig with saving money!
Also, about the LOR, my ap Lang teacher I’m going to have again junior year but my AP Gov teacher I’ll have had both sophomore and senior year, would that work?
As for the CNA certification, it would be REALLY COOL to be a nursing assistant but I’ve looked into it and the cheapest online program I could find was $1300 and I just don’t have that kind of money available at the momment 
Frankly it doesn’t matter. You have access to plenty of schools based on your credentials and ethnicity that will bring you within budget based on merit alone. Even if ethnicity wasn’t a factor, you’d still make your cost. Actually well below your stated budget.
But there’s trade offs. Like anyone on a tight budget, you have to be willing to choose those schools that will provide you merit in exchange for attending their school.
Ohh okay thank you so much for the advice on the financial aspect of college! So, my mom will most likely be the one providing the majority of the financial support so she’d still be my custodial parent or does the fact my dad make a higher income and provide support (but not as much as my mom) still automatically make him my custodial parent?
The demographics and location of your high school will be viewed favorably by UCs, but UCs might not be affordable. There’s a thread somewhere on here for national Hispanic recognition scholars. If your psat falls in that range you should look at some of those schools. Cal poly slo gives a 3k scholarship for national recognition scholar, off of already very affordable tuition. Purdue give an additional amount for that as well. Arizona schools have been mentioned and would be good options. If you’re a national recognition scholar I have to mention Alabama because their scholarship is incredible. You could go to undergrad nearly free. The reality is that the best scholarships often come from schools trying to attract minority students because their numbers are low. I wouldn’t let that dissuade you. If we really couldn’t afford to put our kid through college, or if we were looking at the expense of med school in the future, we would have jumped at the national Hispanic recognition scholarship our son got from Alabama.
I think this student should also think about the population served by the colleges. As noted by a poster above, there is a large Hispanic population at University of New Mexico…and the school definitely looks to serve the population there.
And it’s way closer to CA than Alabama. (Program at Alabama is fine, but I’m not sure about the Hispanic population there).
But free is attractive if you have budget constraints and are planning on med school.
See if you can find a job at a nursing home or assisted living facility as a receptionist, activities aide, hostess in the dining room. None of these jobs require certification, all of them will have you interacting with residents, and some large companies will pay for a certification program for employees as part of their benefit package. If you can get certified with someone else paying for it…
Well…there are a lot of moving parts for this student to consider. And plenty of time to research the options.
Mainly it’s for students to have options. And maybe the formalized pre med llc helps. I last put through our U of Az and I’m sure there’s more
@1dadinNC in NC son is on the Bama diversity scholarship. NC State was the plan but didn’t happen til later when he got moved from spring to fall. But by then, after the visit to Tuscaloosa, it was game over. People have to remember the school is 58% OOS with more than 1100 from CA alone. Why ? Likely the merit generosity - and football. My son - set for Purdue - one visit, game over. Another mom on here thought her kid was going to Pitt - visited Bama. Game over. First time I had lunch there - kid had a Hillel cover on a text book. Right away made me feel better. People’s preconditions are off, certainly on campus. And I travel the state for work - lots of diversity (various ethnicities) and lots of friendly.
It’s just one to say- you have $30k a year but you won’t even spend $50k over four years. That’s all.
It and many others are possibilities that may (or may not) trump In state costs. Ultimately OP will need options at budget. UNM, Arizona, Bama and many more will be possibilities. As long as one works and it will - even privates - that’s all she’ll need.
Tulsa seems aggressive. Kalamazoo is. Other states flagships and privates. OP has time. She’ll definitely be in demand.
She might even look for fly in programs.
It’s early but something to think about in the future - especially if all expenses paid. Many are non merit schools but perhaps many are generous enough to make budget.
@thumper1 - yes to your last post. Spot on. Op is early but it’s a great time to fill in a spreadsheet or document with the names she is hearing so next spring she can begin to look a bit closer.
Custodial parent is defined by the amount of support provided, not by the parent’s income.
@kelsmom perhaps you can comment on the new custodial parent guidelines. I’m assuming this is the honor system…
Vanderbilt and UChicago do not count your non custodial parent’s income. Run the NPC but odds are that you’d get at least a full tuition (need based) scholarship.
Yes, taking Spanish 102 and 201 woule be a good move.
UCs and CSUs typically count the first semester California community college foreign language course as equivalent to the second year of high school foreign language, then each additional semester of college foreign language as equivalent to an additional year of high school foreign language. See University of California A-G Course List (put the community college name to search the courses there).
Other colleges may have different equivalencies; you may have to ask them directly. A common equivalency is one semester college = one year high school.
Note that while UCs and CSUs require high school second year or equivalent, UCs recommend high school third year or equivalent (which would usually be second semester college). Some other colleges recommend high school fourth year or equivalent (which would be third semester college if they use UC/CSU equivalency, or fourth semester college if they count one semester college = one year high school).
Note to the University of Alabama fan club: the OP mentioned this in the first post:
Alabama is one of the states with the most restrictive abortion laws.
Initially, students are in the honor system to use the parent who provides the most financial support. However, if the financial aid office chooses to do so, they may request information regarding how much financial support each parent provides to the student. Also, while parents who were separated could consider themselves unmarried for FAFSA purposes in the past, beginning in 2024-25 only legally separated parents will be allowed to consider themselves unmarried for FAFSA purposes.
And Florida is wasting no time catching up.
That’s fair. Honestly I don’t know who is or isn’t. Seem like a lot are.
Maybe WUE ??
If this helps
Abortion law in the United States by state - Wikipedia may help the OP in terms of various gradations of restrictions (e.g. elective abortion may be banned or legal at any time, but is more commonly legal up to a specified gestational age that varies by state).
I’m impressed you’ve gotten your score up so much. Way to go! Just wanted to make sure you’re preparing for the DIGITAL PSAT/SAT because that is the test that you’ll take this year. It is a little different than the paper test. The questions aren’t weighted the same and it’s adaptive. Make sure to practice with the calculator they will give you on the test (It’s built into the website).
As for help on the reading section there are a lot of videos out that with tips on that.