<p>I'm sort of in a pickle. It is my dream that I have been working for my entire life to attend a private university away from home in order to best prepare me for my future. I want to do something big in the medical world one day. I don't want to be the general run of the mill family practitioner. In order to prepare me for this, I want the best undergraduate education as possible to prepare me for a good med school. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is looking to be impossible to finance. My family makes around 120k a year, and is supporting a few people. My EFC is around $18,000 and my family can only really contribute around $7,000 a year. Although I personally don't really mind taking out loans to pay for it (although I really don't want to as I'm going to have to cover med school later), I can't put that burden on my family, as they have to cosine. In case I somehow can't cover it, i don't want it to fall on them. Even In-State public Universities would be too expensive. My only other option is community college, none of which have real pre-med programs and I don't feel as though I would be prepared for a high level medical school if i were attend them. </p>
<p>I have been trying to find other means of paying but none of the scholarships I know about so far have pulled through and I'm getting doubtful on the others. I really need a break, because if nothing pulls through, I don't know what I am going to do.</p>
<p>Any advice on how to finance my education? Any major scholarships that I qualify for? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 my school doesn’t have weighted classes
ACT: 29, 31 super scored
300 hours of community service, several leadership positions (NHS and Math Club President, Quiz Bowl captain, etc…)
I am also Native American if that helps and I live in Oklahoma</p>
<p>If family income is that high, then your EFC is likely higher unless you have a sibling in college. Usually, EFC with that income is about $30k per year. </p>
<p>You need to apply to schools that will give you large merit for your stats or will give you large merit for your NA status. However, you may have missed many scholarship deadlines.</p>
<p>Apply to UA-Birmingham. With your ACT 29 you should get a lot of merit. Very good for pre-med students. The scholarship priority deadline was Dec 1, but they usually still award for those who are OOS until money runs out. So, you’re likely going to get a big award.</p>
<p>Merit is often based on best sitting, not super-score. </p>
<p>You may have to start at a CC and then transfer to a state univ. You seem to wrongly think that only a private school can prepare you for med school. That is so wrong. </p>
<p>Besides…a private won’t be affordable. Even if you were to get - say - $20k in merit - your family won’t pay the other $30k per year to go there. </p>
<p>Taking out private loans is a VERY bad idea. </p>
<p>* Even In-State public Universities would be too expensive*</p>
<p>Is there a state univ that you can commute to?</p>
<p>If not, then if you add your $7k family contribution to a 5500 student loan (no cosigning), and some summer work earnings and part-time work during the school year…there probably is an instate public that is affordable…especially if you got some merit.</p>
<p>What kind of merit could you get from Ok State Univ?</p>
<p>(See out of state scholarships at the bottom half of the page. NA Scholar status will get a waiver of the OOS tuition differential plus the Amigo scholarship which is full in-state tuition for 4 years. Room & board is ~$7000/year.)</p>
<p>UNM has a medical school across the street from the campus and excellent research opportunities for a motivated student. UNM also has a significant Native American enrollment. (Undergrad and med school)</p>
<p>I would like to further clarify, the reason why my EFC is as low as it is it is is because I do have a sister in college right now, and 120k is a ball park estimate, my family was a little stingy on letting my know the actual finances and they are the ones who did the EFC and I just estimated what they make. All the private universities I am shooting for garuntee 100% need-based aide without loans in their packages, so fortunately, it is only my EFC I have to work with as far as loans are concerned.</p>
<p>I understand that a private level education isn’t the only way I could be prepared for medical school, but I want to be as prepared as I can. I live too far away from any state schools to commute from home and the closest community colleges from what they have told me don’t offer much as far as pre-med is concerned. I really want to attend a high level medical school after my undergraduate as well (Washington St. Louis, Columbia). I know that my admission into medical school is all contingent on how perform during my undergrad and on my MCAT and such, but I want a school that is going to make my dream as easy as possible, and I know that the medical school admission rate from the schools I want to go to for my undergrad are much higher than my in-state schools, not to mention the community colleges. </p>
<p>I am not trying to sound snooty like I am docking the schools or anything, it is just that I really want this particular education, and am personally willing to do anything for it. It’s my dream and I’m not going to settle for anything else unless it is an impossibility. I just don’t want to screw my family over in the process and want to minimize the damage to myself as much as possible. That’s why I’m trying to find as many potential financial aide sources as I can.</p>
<p>First of all, it’s way, way too early to even been considering this. You have no idea if you will even be a competitive applicant in 4 years. In fact, there’s no guarantee you won’t change your mind. Nationally between 67-75% of all freshmen pre-meds end up never applying. (That fall out rate is more a reflection of a student’s changing interests than it is of a student being unable to succeed in required science classes.)</p>
<p>Second, the differences among US medical schools are smaller than among undergraduates colleges. All US medical schools teach a fairly uniform curriculum since all students have to pass the same standardized national exams (STEP exams). The pass rates of all US med schools are uniformly high—about 94% on the first attempt.</p>
<p>BTW, both WashU and Columbia medical schools will require parental financial information when you apply for FA there and will expect a substantial family contribution toward your medical education on top the the loans you will expected to take out. </p>
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<p>Do not depend upon self-reported numbers of any college. There are so many ways that schools manipulate their numbers that these numbers are basically meaningless. For example, a number of top schools use committee letters to prevent weaker candidates from applying to medical school to keep their numbers high. These weaker students are often perfectly viable candidates and could get accepted–except without a committee letter med school adcomms won’t even consider them.</p>
<p>Read this analysis from Amherst’s health profession advising office to understand some of the politics of med school admission.</p>
<p>I understand that colleges inflate their statistics, but based on that document, Amherst still had a 79% admittance rate, which is still higher than the national average. I’m trying to get the best chance I can, not just a good one. </p>
<p>I understand that the decision I am making appears unwise, but it is not just about the preparation, although that is a big chunk of it. It is also about the experience. Staying in state has virtually no appeal to me. I want these next four years of my life to be nice. I’m tired of the lifestyle at home and I can’t even imagine sticking around. Beyond the shear academics, I have yet to see an affordable public university that provides a similar environment of the private universities I would like to attend. </p>
<p>I know it is incredibly stupid, but my main goal in life is notoriety. I do really want to become a doctor, but in all honesty, I know I may change my mind on that. My true quest is to be well known, for something that’s not illegal of course. Regardless, If I am to attend a top level graduate school in any field, I want the best shot at admittance. I know that my path may change down the line, but I am preparing for my current ambition as I can’t reasonably consider how I will feel 5 years from now as I am not there. With the way I feel currently, I would deeply regret if I didn’t do all that was in my power to go to my dream school (BTW, it’s Columbia, for both undergrad and grad). If I’m not admitted , then oh well, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try my absolute hardest to get in. I won’t tolerate any future ‘what if?’ reflections on my part. </p>
<p>I’m just trying to find as many ways possible to get the money. I will resort to using private loans if I have to to realize this dream, but I do still want to minimize it as much as I can.</p>
<p>Sorry if that sounded sharp, I’m just a little touchy on the alternative school route as everyone and their mom keeps trying to discourage me from pursing what I want to do. I want advice within the realm of my decision, and not further attempts at persuasion.</p>
<p>tipa891…Unless your parents or some other adult is willing to co-sign private loans, you cannot borrow enough money to pay for a private university. On your own, you are only able to borrow the maximum Stafford Loan limits which currently maxes out at around $27,000 total for 4 years ($5500 freshman, $6500 soph, $7500 junior and senior). You will not qualify for any Pell grants with your family’s income level, so if they can only contribute $7000 per year in addition to the Stafford loans you’re still WELL short of reaching the COA for private universities. You can apply to the pricey private U’s and see what kind of merit aid they might offer you, but it’s not likely they’ll offer enough to cover the financial gap.</p>
<p>It’s not a matter of trying to “persuade you away from your dream”…it’s a matter of financial reality. Even if your parents are willing to co-sign large private loans (not a good idea for ANY family), will they be able to re-qualify each year to continue taking those loans? Their credit scores will decline each year as they have more debt from the loans already taken, so what is your plan if the loans aren’t available anymore midway through your undergrad? How do you intend to pay for grad school/med school or whatever follow-on educational path you choose? More loans on top of the undergrad ones? You really need to take a step back and evaluate the situation realistically. For the VAST majority of students, what they WANT to do is often not possible. This isn’t just “your decision” to make, and money to pay for a college education isn’t easy to find. The advice being offered here isn’t an attack on your dream, it’s simply a reality check and you should take it to heart. Good Luck to you.</p>
<p>My cousin’s daughter is married to a doctor who went to a local state, non flag ship college for undergrad, did very well there, studied like crazy for the MCATs and got in to medical school. He is a doctor now. He’s not the only one. Your grades will make the big difference in gaining admissions to med school. </p>
<p>Unless you come across a money tree or your family hits the lottery, you will have to borrow heavily for med school and it is very expensive. Doctors do not, as a group, make as much as they did in proportion to the cost of their education, and many doctor familes are truly feeling the pinch of repaying those loans. You are that much better off not to have too much in undergrad loans by going to a less expensive undergrad school. Also, research is not a high paying field. Bear that in mind. I</p>
<p>I think you can find low cost programs that will give you the education you need to fulfill your dream. Ironically, for many, it is the way to best ensure such a future as some of the big name pre med schools have a gauntlet and gate keeping techniques that can ruin your chances before you get there.</p>
<p>What tribe do you belong to? Is there any scholarship money avaialable if, say, you were willing to spend time in the tribal health center post graduation? There are a number of tribes and reservations near me (Lakota, Dakota, Rosebud, Winnebago, Omaha) and some do provide support for students seeking certain degrees, often in social work or health fields.</p>
<p>If this is your true goal, then being a physician is the wrong route. Academic medicine and/or biomedical research is very definitely the wrong route. </p>
<p>Being a physician is not a glamour job. It’s long hours and dealing with people who more often than not completely ungrateful for your help. (Just ask my kiddos!) Being an academic researcher is even less likely to net you fame. (I’m married to an academic researcher and while he has an international reputation among his peers, I doubt anyone else has heard of him despite his 8 patents and 100+publications. DH used to joke that he knew exactly who bought his book—all 19 copies of it.)</p>
<p>Either career requires many years of formal study and training, followed by many years of low salaries as residents or post-docs, followed by many more years busting your hump trying to establish your professional reputation. </p>
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<p>If “notoriety” (probably not your best word choice there since it carries the connotation of gaining fame for a bad reason) is your goal, there are much faster and less expensive ways of achieving this than going the academic route.</p>
<p>For some schools, if you claim to be American Indian, some sort of tribal recognition is requested. There are many, many Americans who have Indian ancestors, but have not affiliated or registered wtih tribes. Without official affirmation from a tribe, some colleges will decline to have you designated as Native American or American Indian just from self identification.</p>
<p>Come on over to the CC pre-med topics forum and get more recommendations from people who have been there. Notoriety and the desire to be famous aside (marry a Kardashian or go on Reality TV is all you need for that), I am just addressing the advisability of undergrad choices and med school. </p>
<p>If you truly want to be a physician, then your goal should be to finish undergrad debt free. Sure, go ahead and apply to your dream school, see what their offer is, but even if that is doable, ask how their offer will change when you’ve no sibling in college.</p>
<p>Be sure to apply to other financial safety schools, for example, schools on that list given above #7, there is nothing wrong with attending a locally well-reputed small private. I have seen kids from locally, but not nationally recognised small privates get into local well reputed med schools and get in early and do quite well. A private with numbers based merit-Baylor, Chapman, Gonzaga, Whitworth, etc., will allow you all the same benefits of private school- small classes, good professors, the ability to form relationships and get strong LORs, etc as a nationally famous school.</p>
<p>If you really honestly believe you will go to med school, find a school which will do for you what you need and want, but allow you to graduate debt free.</p>
<p>Unless you have blood papers verifying AE status, it won’t count. </p>
<p>It sounds like you’re going to ask your parents to co-sign loans for your 4 years of undergrad. Will they agree to doing it? Will they re-qualify year after year (each year they co-sign their credit rating will take a hit…so they may not qualify to co-sign for your junior or senior years…then you’d be stuck and have to come home).</p>
<p>If your parents won’t co-sign (or won’t qualify to co-sign) then private schools that you want won’t work because how would you cover your parents’ contribution? </p>
<p>You have a wrong impression about med schools, etc. As Wowmom states, they’re all essentially the same…teach the same things, use the same textbooks, etc. There isn’t some big variance. </p>
<p>Getting accepted to even ONE US MD school is an accomplishment these days. Many don’t get accepted to ANY.</p>
<p>*Here’s my story. I’m a fairly poor African American girl coming from a rural public school in Oklahoma. I am currently a junior. My EC’s are pretty good considering my school’s limitations. I’m involved in several clubs with a few officer positions (NHS, Drama, BPA, etc.), academic bowl (a good team), and a few community organizations. Further involvement has been a challenge because most community activity in my town is church related, and I’m not religious. I’m a contender for valedictorian and have a 4.0 GPA unweighted. I have not taken any AP tests, but my school offers no AP classes. I am taking some classes at a local university however and am doing well. </p>
<p>My ACT score is a 33 (E:33 M:34 R:33 S:30). I haven’t taken the writing portion yet, but am pretty sure I’ll do fine on it. I have not taken the SAT. As far as national merit, I haven’t received my scores back yet so I’m not sure how likely that will be, but I’m am almost certain that if national merit falls though that I will qualify for national achievement. </p>
<p>.*</p>
<p>???
Fairly poor? fairly poor? Your parents earn $120k per year and you think that you’re “fairly poor”?</p>