What type of college is right for me? (I like large public universities, strong premed programs, diverse campus, affordable with merit scholarships, I live in Florida)
I’m considering schools like WashU and the University of Florida. My GPA is over a 4.0 but I haven’t taken the SAT yet because I just finished freshman year.
If you like large public U’s and affordable - stick with in-state. WashU is private and not known for being particularly generous with financial aid. But since you are only a high school sophomore it’s really too soon to know what sort of merit money you might qualify for – but I think the Florida Bright Futures program is pretty straightforward and can potentially provide you with a full tuition scholarship at any Florida public. Plus plenty of options to choose from.
Thanks! The more I think about it staying in state sounds right for me 
Yes, the likelihood is that in-state will be hard to beat.
Depending on how the next couple of years go, you may end up having OOS/private options that are as appealing and affordable as the FL publics. But there’s plenty of time to worry about that, and you won’t have enough information for a while, to assess where you stand in that regard.
So your best use of energy right now is to really familiarize yourself with your in-state options. As someone who likes the idea of a large public U, you should have no difficulty finding things to like about the various public U’s in Florida. Actually get to know these schools - at least “fall in like” with a couple of them, to the point where you can picture yourself there and where you’d feel at least a little sad not to go there if that became the “road not taken.”
If you can do that now, you’ll be in the perfect position to evaluate, later on, whether there are options outside of FL that are even better, or whether the FL in-state deal is an offer you can’t (and don’t even want to) refuse.
You should start looking at your Florida opportunities. I think you have a Bright Futures scholarship program that makes it hard to beat in state options. Make sure you understand what you need to do to get that money.
But the most important thing overall is to start talking to your parents about college and what they are willing and able to pay. Also get information so you can plug in their financial numbers on Net Price Calculators for schools that interest you. How much can you expect to get from UW in financial aid, given your family’s financial situation? Would your parents pay what it would require? How about UFL or other Florida schools? How about Harvard? Get an idea of cost for each school. Highly selective schools don’t tend to give out much in the way of scholarships , just need money. OOS public schools like UW don’t tend to give out much need money except to in state kids, and you have to see what they have in the way of OOS scholarships.
I think OP is talking about WUSTL.
A FL student has Bright Futures and that is hard to beat. But chancing a rising sophomore is impossible. No test scores, ECs, and stuff like that.
For a potential premed, cost and grades are all important.
Thanks for the advice. My extracurriculars are pretty average…I’m studying hard for my tests
Future Business Leaders of America (3 state awards)
National Science Honor Society
HOSA (1 regional awards)
STEM club
Speech and Debate (secretary)
It’s great that you are thinking about things early – but a LOT can and does change between freshman and junior year – particularly with EC’s. So don’t worry now whether your EC’s are average or not — just keep focused on doing well in school and living your life and feeling free to participate or explore as things come up. You are very fortunate that you are comfortable with attending a large public and that you are a resident of a state with a good array of options — so you have set a very reasonable goal that gives you room for flexibility along the way. So you need good grades but you don’t need to be a superstar to qualify for a full tuition Bright Futures scholarship at a good in-state university – but you it’s always possible that you will end up with some additional options 2 years from now. So no need to box yourself in at this point either.
Thanks!
Consider UCF. If you can keep your grades up and get a high score on your SATs you could be considered for their honors program which is considered to be very good. Good luck!