I qualify for a $20,000 / year merit scholarship at an university based off of my stats.
The COA is $68,000.
My Net Price will be $23,000 (without merit aid; simply need based)
Does this mean I will pay $3000 / year? I’m confused by how these two get applied together.
Thanks
Merit aid gets applied FIRST.
In your example, you’re applying need-based aid first and then merit. Doesn’t work like that.
Sounds like the school has determined that your “need” is about $45k per year and that your family should pay $23k per year.
So the school will say that the $20k merit goes towards that $45k of need. And then they’ll adjust your need based aid to $25k…and your family will still pay the $23k
@mom2collegekids That’s really tragic because I was applying to mainly lower ranked schools as a pre-med to hopefully pick up a full-ride or have my merit aid cover the difference my need based aid couldn’t cover? What should I do now? This completely bums me out because I’d have to pay this much even at lower ranked schools I planned to apply to. Thank you
My stats, if this helps, are:
Ranked 9th in a class of 800
3.975 UW; 10 APs
1430 SAT
EFC (FAFSA): $12,000
Then you need to apply to schools that will give you huge merit.
Do you qualify for a Cal Grant? Which UCs are you applying to?
Which school is the school you’ve described in your first post? And what exactly was the aid listed in the results of the Net Price Calculator?
How much will your parents pay per year?
“Then you need to apply to schools that will give you huge merit.”
Will being slightly above the 75 percent test scores + GPA be a good indicator for “huge” merit? Or should I look at places where I’m far above the 75th percent?
“Do you qualify for a Cal Grant? Which UCs are you applying to?”
I have not yet applied, but it looks like I meet all the requirements for the Cal Grant.
I am applying to UCLA (parents require me to do this because it’s close to home; I am aware especially this UC (as well as the other UCs are not great for premed)), UC Davis, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
“Which school is the school you’ve described in your first post? And what exactly was the aid listed in the results of the Net Price Calculator?”
Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.
I likely qualify for Trustee’s Scholarship ($23,000); Maybe President’s ($26,000) if they take my Weighted GPA.
I’m sorry, I can’t provide an exact aid listed in the NPC because CollegeBoard’s servers are on maintenance, but it reduced my net price cost to around $23,000. The COA is actually $58,000 (not $68,000). So my need based is $35,000.
“How much will your parents pay per year?”
They have agreed to pay $15,000 to $20,000 per year. This would cover the UC costs ($17,000ish b/c I get free tuition due to an AGI of $63,000). It would leave me in about 20k in debt if I go to a private school. Most privates give me a NPC around $23,000 (alike Trinity).
You could work. Even just 10 hours per week during school and 30 per week during the summer could generate another 10k or so albeit it would impact aid after your first year.
https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/g-20_disqualificationfactsheet.pdf
If I were you, I’d also apply to UCR. UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced. They might offer you some merit and that merit would stack on top of the Cal Grant. Seriously, as a premed, going to Merced might be best. Less competition, smaller school, more attention, etc. UCR would be good too because they reserve some med school spots for their own undergrad students.
UCLA and SD are awful for premeds. Too many of them and the weeding is atrocious.
Did Trinity’s NPC include student loans?
Your parents’ income is rather modest. How can they contribute that much per year? Do your parents own a business? If so, then if Trinity uses CSS Profile, they may determine that your parents’ contribution should be higher.
Not horrible, but again, if your parents own a business, likely your “need” will be adjusted.
What about some of the privates in Calif…like Redlands, Whittier, St. Mary’s… you’d get some Cal Grant money and likely some generous merit. You’d get lots of attention because they’re small.
If you’re going to go OOS, then choose a state with med schools that are more likely going to accept an OOS student. Texas meds are awful with OOS students. (The med schools in Oregon, and Washington are also not welcoming to OOS/OOR)
If you make it thru the premed process, then very likely you’re going to be attending an OOS med school since most California residents must matriculate elsewhere.
For huge merit, typically you need to be well-above that 75% mark. So if the upper quartile is starting around 1400, then huge merit wouldn’t likely be awarded. But if upper quartile is starting around 1280, you probably would.
Keep in mind that med schools do NOT care about the name of your undergrad. Any of the schools mentioned… UCR, Redlands, St. Marys, are fine.
Also might want to look at NAU in Arizona.
New Mexico colleges give generous merit.
Thanks for your helpful response!
My parents have about 100k in their savings account (excludes retirement), and will be able to contribute around $20,000 based off of this account and their income. We also do not pay the full tax rate because of exemptions. Don’t really know the specifics behind this because an accounting company files our taxes. In essence, we get to keep a large portion of our yearly income, so they will be able to contribute said amount.
I’ve been on CollegeConfidential for the past year and I have seen your advice against the UCs for premed. This is one of the main reasons why I am considering privates over UCs, though I’ll be in a little bit of debt. UCs will cost me around 17k + living expenses; whereas private colleges are near the 25k range. I think I will take one of the poster above’s advice to work (hopefully a medical related) job, but I expect ~20k debt if I decide the private line. UC, on the other hand, would leave me debtless.
Should I strongly consider your stated UCs because of this financial advantage or should I not worry too much about the potential 20k$ debt?
I will also look into those non-UC schools and local schools.
Thanks once again
I’m going to give my opinion…the UCs are a challenge because SO MANY kids from CA want to attend Med school IN CA.
It’s not because of cost.
Some colleges do apply merit scholarships to replace student loan and work expectation and/or unmet need first, before reducing FA grants. But the policy can vary by college.
If the college does not give its policy on it’s web site, ask directly.
Regarding UCs for pre-med, that is generally considered a bad idea for out of state students due to high cost for them and no particular advantages for pre-meds.
However, they may be among the more affordable options for California residents. California in general has relatively few medical school spots compared to the number of pre-meds, so most of the few who do get into a medical school will face really high private medical school costs. Hence, minimizing cost and debt are highly important for California pre-meds.
It definitely varies by school and is often not apparent on the website. Just call the FA office and ask if merit can be stacked on top of need-based aid. At my daughter’s school, merit scholarships from the college stack on top of need-based aid (yay), but outside scholarships will reduce need-based aid by $.50 for each $1.00 of outside scholarship $$.
The UCs are usually a terrible idea for OOS premeds…too pricey. I post mostly about OOS premeds with their eyes on a UC…I think they’re thinking that it’s a ticket to UCLA or UCSF med school? Or just any Calif med school?? Anyway…it’s commonly a disaster decision. I’m currently helping an OOS premed who insisted on attending a UC and now has a troubled GPA and significant debt. Ugh. A mess to clean up!
However, you’re instate.
The top 5 UCs are often terrible for all premeds simply because there are just too many very strong premeds attending and the weeding is extreme. (UCB, LA, SD, D, Irvine)
In your case since money is an issue and if you don’t have a low/no debt private option, then a lower level UC may be the best route…simply because along with the Cal Grant, you might get a merit award. (Cal Grant wouldn’t be reduced due to merit since it’s an entitlement)
That said, I’m concerned that your parents’ assets might disqualify you for a Cal Grant since eligibiity isn’t just based on income…assets are considered as well.
Do your parents own a business or take business deductions?
@mom2collegekids
“The top 5 UCs are often terrible for all premeds simply because there are just too many very strong premeds attending and the weeding is extreme. (UCB, LA, SD, D, Irvine)”
Does this extreme weeding apply to UCSB as well?
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Do your parents own a business or take business deductions?"
No, we do not own a business or take business deductions. I know that our taxable income is significantly below our 63,000 AGI, though. But, it isn’t due to assets.
The top 5 UCs each had 400-1000+ applicants to US MD med schools last year.
UCSB had 174 applicants.
UCSanta Cruz had 107 applicants
UCRiverside had 216 applicants
I’m trying to find the numbers from UC Merced, but I’d guesstimate that the number would be somewhere around 100-150.
We don’t have the numbers of how many freshman start out as premed, but then are weeded out. But it’s really a matter of “student strength”. If you’re running with too many students who are as strong or stronger than you are, then likely you’re not going to end up being a top finisher. And that’s the problem with the better UCs.
Common sense would suggest that you’d have a less chance of being weeded at SB if you really applied yourself (that’s always necessary). BUT, you can’t be sure that you’d get into SB, so it would be best for you to apply to the other lower UCs as well.
It wouldn’t be due to assets, it would be due to deductions. Assets don’t reduce taxable income, deductions do.
Take a look at University of Nevada, Reno. WUE or Nevada Advantage stacked with a Presidential Scholarship would leave a COA of slightly more than $20,000.
If the parents can pay $15,000, then the student could cover the rest with work or a direct loan.
The Presidential Scholarship is $8000 per year and requires a 3.5 GPA to maintain.
Regarding pre-med weeding, some colleges have GPA distribution information by course available:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/2074436-some-colleges-have-grade-distribution-information-available-by-course.html
You can use that to see what percentage of students in typical pre-med courses (general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, calculus, statistics) earn A- or higher grades. Then consider that in context with the estimated strength of students based on admission selectivity.