<p>Harvard University
Yale University
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
University of Chicago
Brown University Program for Liberal Medical Education
Northwestern University - Honors Program in Medical Education
University of Rochester - Rochester Early Medical Scholars
Rice University - Rice/Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scholars Program
University of Southern California 8-year medical program
Boston University 8-year medical program
Saint Louis University - Medical Scholars Program
Albany Medical College/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 8-yr medical program
Albany Medical College/Union College Leadership in Medicine 8-yr program</p>
<p>I'm interested in going into medicine (hence the medical programs), but if I don't get in, I realize that it will be super hard for me to make it into medical school the traditional way since I am an international. If I don't get into the medical programs on my list, I'm considering pursuing my other interests like politics (although it's definitely not a secure career path to pursue) or business. I am also not sure of what I should major in!</p>
<p>Also, since I am an international asking for financial aid, I'm not so sure about the colleges on my list (other than the Ivies because they are need blind).</p>
<p>Should I take some colleges off my list since I will have little to no chance of getting accepted anyways?</p>
<p>Without worrying about stats but just basing your decision on finances and what I said above, what you you advise?</p>
<p>Holy ****. Sorry for the mouth. WOW. And also being an international asking for financial aid… I’m confused. And also, why are you applying to Wharton if you want to go into medicine?</p>
<p>I know that cutting down your list can be difficult, but honestly there’s no good reason to apply to 18 schools unless you have a huge chunk of money you want to toss into the air. My suggestion would be for you to get a college book and read the entire description of every school on your list. Try to find the schools that are the best fit, not the ones with the biggest names. Also, don’t get too caught up with the 8-year programs, undergrad is about finding yourself. </p>
<p>My thoughts:
Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania Wharton, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, University, of Chicago, Northwestern, Brown – Clearly you care about reputation, but this is simply too many reaches. Cut it down to 5 AT MOST.</p>
<p>Rice, USC, and BU are good realistics. I would keep them.</p>
<p>University of Rochester is good, as are WPI, Union, and SLU. I would recommend cutting WPI, and maybe another one of these.</p>
<p>Without looking at your stats, I can’t tell you too high or not…but have you actually looked at these schools? There’s more to them than a list of Ivy Leagues. Cutting about half of the Ivies off the list might be a good start; pick the ones you really want to attend.</p>
<p>Being need blind is not the same as offering you financial aid. It just means that they don’t look at if you can afford to go to the school before they make their decision on admission. Once your admitted they may offer you aid or not. </p>
<p>Some schools say they meet total expected need of admitted students but they all have formulas to determine how much your expected contribution should be. I’m not sure that Need Blind or meeting expected need apply to international students at many schools.</p>
<p>If your a international from an under served country and you overcame tremendous obstacles to get grate grades and SAT’s then maybe the university will find a way to help financially. But…</p>
<p>The reason for applying to all reaches is that if I don’t get in, I might as well just stay in my home country and pursue a post secondary education there as opposed to coming to the US. Based on that, any thoughts?</p>
<p>You seem to be under the impression that the only really good schools in the US are either in the Ivy League or provide 8 year BS/MD programs. My impression is that it’s actually easier to get into Med School the normal way – by applying after undergrad and MCATs, then it is to get into an ultra-competitive BS/MD program which usually has only around 10 or so slots per year. Post your stats so we can give a better analysis.</p>
<p>Based on that, my thoughts tell me you’re uninformed (or poorly informed) about the quality education you can get outside the schools you’ve listed.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP’s screenname is telling us something?</p>
<p>If not, we can’t tell you anything without knowing more about your stats. The vast majority of people on the planet would be aiming too high with your list.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the rest of you, but at the risk of sounding xenophobic, there’s something more than a little annoying about all these international students coming here and expecting massive quantities of financial aid. There’s an entitlement mentality that I find disturbing. I certainly wouldn’t expect other countries to subsidize my education in those countries.</p>
<p>Where did you get that impression? The vast majority of the doctors in the US did NOT go to the elite schools on your list. You seem to be under the impression that elite undergraduate schools are necessary for medical school. They aren’t.</p>
<p>Agreed. Given OP’s stated interests and other schools on the list, there is no reason OP should be applying to Penn-Wharton instead of Penn-CAS (save, of course, for the blind pursuit of prestige).</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, I would have to agree as well. My guess is that they will ultimately benefit their home country more than the US (as has frequently been the case with students from developing/developed countries), so their home countries (or they themselves) ought to be paying.</p>
<p>Who has the sense of entitlement-- an international student hoping something is available or the citizen that accuses hopeful international of taking what citizen believes should be going to people like citizen?</p>
<p>In general, U.S. taxpayer-financed aid will not be going to foreign nationals. Why would a college use its resources that way? The same reasons they offer aid to citizens and LPR-- opportunity and diversity, among others; maybe to extend theinfluence of American values. It makes sense that federally subsidized FinAid be used for the benefit of the U.S. and its taxpayers. Private colleges might have a more global view of their mission, and they certainly can set their own agenda.</p>
<p>To be a little hard-nosed about it-- why should anybody get financial aid? You can talk nice about an educated populace, but the chief benefits go to the students and the institutions they attend. </p>
<p>Many Americans are awfully quick to accuse foreigners of taking what is theirs. Go ahead and discuss and challenge finaid policies, and voice your opposition to the ones you don’t agree with. But don’t accuse a person looking a for a school that has policies that benefit him or her of having an entitlement mentality.</p>
<p>I didn’t “accuse” anyone of anything. My parents paid my way full freight, and I am planning on paying my children’s way full freight, so I have no reason to believe that anyone is “taking” financial aid that should have gone to me or mine. So you’re completely off base there – this is not “why are you taking money that rightfully should go to me.” I’m not asking for a penny. It’s more of a general comment about the concept that a lot of internationals seem to assume that they’re entitled to financial aid from American schools.</p>