<p>Hi! I'm currently a female junior living in Huntsville, Alabama. I'm trying to figure out what colleges I'd like to apply to next year and make sure I'm on the right path to get there. Both my brother and I go to a private school, so money is very tough to come by and is a key factor when looking for colleges. My dad actually makes a lot of money, so we don't qualify for much need-based financial aid, but it all goes to our private school. Getting a merit-based scholarship, which I've heard are VERY hard to come by, is something that I really need to be able to go to a decent college. I'm interested in medicine and I plan on majoring in biology, chemistry, and Spanish in college. Any suggestions on where I could go? I'm looking for a good "pre-med" program that will get me ready for medical school and allow me to not have to sweat about getting accepted in a prestigious medical school.</p>
<p>Stats:
-So I took the SAT as a sophomore and got a 2220 (760 W, 740 M, 720 R). I definitely plan to take it again and at least reach 2300.
-35 composite on ACT after one sitting. I do plan on taking this again as well.
-I'm ranked 1/96 in my class, with a weighted GPA of 4.3 (All A+s) and by the time I graduate, will have taken 10 AP classes.
-I'm in National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society (I'm the top-ranked Spanish student in Alabama based on a standardized test given throughout the country)
-I'm part of the Youth Leadership Council of my school, which organizes the school's involvement in the greater community. I am set to be leader of this group next year.
-I've been playing the violin for 11 years.
-I'm part of my school's Science Olympiad team, which has been to the national tournament several times, as well as our scholar's bowl team, science bowl team, and debate team. I am set to be leader of all of these groups next year.
-I'm part of the Spanish Club at my school and am set to be leader of this group next year.
-I'm Secretary of my class.
-I began a new club at my school to raise awareness of childhood obesity. We've made significant progress and are on our way to educating the entire city! Huzzah!
-I've so far done around 200ish community service hours?</p>
<p>Colleges that I'd potentially like to attend:
-Vanderbilt University
-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (though I've heard it's extremely hard to get in as an out-of-state student)
-Rice University
-Duke University
-UAB - This is a public, in-state university whose medical program is ranked nationally. I'm hesitant to fall in love with this school head over heels because the undergraduate program is not so awesome; instead, I've heard it doesn't adequately prepare students for medical school. There is a program at this school called EMSAP - early medical school acceptance program. It's an honors program that guarantees you a seat in UAB's medical school, as long as you make a 28 on the MCAT. I've heard it's a wonderful program.
-Wake Forest?</p>
<p>I'm kind of a tad bit shy and so I'd really love a smaller school, but I can get over it if I love everything else about the school.</p>
<p>I'm freaking out because I know my dad really doesn't have to money to fund an education at any of these schools if I get accepted unless I get some sort of substantial merit-based scholarship. I'd really love any advice at all about what I'm doing wrong or right or what I need to do or anything you think is relevant! Thanks guysssss!! :)</p>
<p>Oh yeah, the private school I go to is known for how hard it is. I think our college counselor has connections at Vandy? I’m not totally sure about the underworld of college admissions haha</p>
<p>UNC’s total costs for OOS residents are now over $40K. That’s cheaper than the full sticker price at the private schools you’re considering, but still high. Can your family afford that? They do give some merit scholarships, but the average is only about $4600. Would that be enough to make a difference? I don’t know how much of this merit aid goes to OOS students.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Rice give merit scholarships in higher average amounts (~$20K for Vanderbilt), but then, their costs are correspondingly higher. </p>
<p>Assuming your family income does disqualify you for need-based aid, I would not count on getting your costs much below $35K at schools like these. No harm in applying (you might get lucky), but to be realistic you have to assume there are many other kids with high stats competing for merit aid at schools like Rice, Vanderbilt, and UNC.</p>
<p>To have a more realistic shot at larger merit scholarships, consider somewhat less selective colleges like Rhodes or Centre College. You should also be aware that a few tip-top schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford) now have very high ceilings on income qualifications for need-based aid. I believe Yale now awards need-based aid for families making as much as $200K.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! Yeah, the most my family is going to be able to afford is maybe $10-15K a year. I’ve been researching about the merit scholarships from Vanderbilt and I realized they are very, very selective and that I’m probably not going to receive one of them. My dad was suggesting going to a lesser known public college for undergrad 1) because it’ll be cheaper and 2) because it doesn’t matter where I go for premed as long as I have grades good enough to get into medical school. I’m not so sure about that last reason. Is it true that all medical schools look at is grades and MCAT score? I recently heard a story about this girl from California that went to UCLA for premed and she ended up with maybe a 3.6 GPA and she was unable to get into medical school anywhere. It sort of freaked me out!</p>
<p>heymap… i would disagree with what you have heard about UAB prep for med school… it more than adequately prepares a student for med school!! their science courses are excellent, premed advising begins freshman year with seminars, mcat practice, interview techniques, shadowing opportunities.</p>
<p>EMSAP is very selective but you have as good a shot as anyone with your stats…they only accept 10 per year and that includes oos students who apply.</p>
<p>Sci/tech honors is a great program for students interested in med school. You will begin research in your freshman year. Very cohesive honors group with courses designed specifically around research experience. The director of that program is Dr Tucker, if you can arrange to meet with her you will be impressed</p>
<p>From your stats i am assuming you may be a national merit (or national hispanic scholar) which means you will get a full ride at UAB, which is a great way to go if considering med school and the costs involved with that.
If not then with your 35 act you will get automatic merit of tuition and housing.</p>
<p>My son is at uab in the sci/tech program (began research 1st semester freshman year) currently in a cancer lab working with dna through the med school. He is also a chem scholar and is doing 2 degrees at once. (Heavy load but alot of support from advisors, honors college etc)</p>
<p>any other info i can help you with ie life on campus etc?</p>
<p>med schools look at your college gpa and your mcat scores in the initial cuts…need about a 3.8 gpa and 30+ mcat to be considered.</p>
<p>You are almost certain to get a free ride at UAB, so apply there and lock that in. Then apply to all your dream schools too, and keep your fingers crossed.</p>
<p>@parent56: Thank you so much! That makes me feel a lot better! I had previously thought that UAB’s prep for medical school was awesome because I’ve seen many people go to extremely prestigious medical schools, i.e. Johns Hopkins, from it. However, a couple weeks ago, my aunt, who knows someone that used to work at UAB, told me that the program was lacking organization. From what you’ve told me, my aunt’s statement is false! Awesome! The only thing I’m scared about now is the size of the campus/classes. I come from a school where the largest grade size is 96 and the largest class size is ~20, and I’ve gotten used to the one-on-one attention. Has your son mentioned anything about that to you? </p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad: Bama is also a great option, but I’ve heard that by going to UAB, one’s chances are better to get into its renowned medical program. Also, Bama has almost twice the number of students as UAB, which kind of scares me.</p>
<p>@danceclass: Thanks so much! That’s what I plan on doing!</p>
<p>heymap with your stats i would really recommend you apply to the sci/tech honors program. as a cohesive honors college, you will be with about 50 other kids with the same interests…you will take seminars together, and a variety of courses all geared to that honors college, so you will have alot of contact with that group through the 4 years. they also have retreats and special activities etc. you will have a peer mentor from the program in the classes ahead of you and that really brings all the sci tech students together. My son also went to a math/science school with small classes…and he has never had a problem with class size at uab… just texted my son and here is what he said some of his class sizes were like (some freshman year so intro courses in there too) </p>
<p>180 for gen chem 1
30 for honors chem 2
20 for english
10 for criminalistics</p>
<p>He heard that psych 101 is quite big…200+, but he took that online during the summer so hasnt experienced it for himself.</p>
<p>According to uab stats the average class size is 31.</p>
<p>He says the size isnt a problem at all as he has found the professors to be extremely accessible and approachable, generous with their office hours. He has also been to parties and dinners with his profs on multiple occasions</p>
<p>The campus itself is very safe, and all the buildings basically surround the green. 70% of freshman live on campus. The dorms are either suite style or full apartments. about 6% are greek </p>
<p>Certainly uab med school gives preference to instate students over oos applicants. Certainly try for emsap too.</p>
<p>while he is handy… any other questions for me to text him? :)</p>
I second both schools, especially Rhodes. Furman, Hendrix, Samford, Trinity, and Tulane are very generous as well. Eckerd, BSC, and Millsaps are a little less so but still maybe worth a look.</p>
<p>I think it’s hard to beat the merit scholarship offerings at Alabama or UAB, though. A guaranteed admit into med school is certainly nothing to sneeze at.</p>
<p>heymap… i dont know anything about the program or the school but University of South Alabama in Mobile also has an early med school acceptance program</p>
<p>S2 applied to Rhodes and Tulane and they do give great merit (full tuition) but will still leave a bit more than 25K per year unless OP gets one of the few full rides offered.</p>
<p>@parent56: Oh wow! This information is really helpful! Thanks! Some other questions I had about UAB are: Does your son find his classes challenging enough? Also, does he have plenty of time to do extracurricular activities? And I thought about the University of South Alabama in Mobile but it would take around 7 hours to drive from the campus to my home in Huntsville, so unless I get a better offer there, I probably won’t be attending it. </p>
<p>@warblersrule: That’s what my dad was recommending as well. It’s really scary to excel during your undergrad and then not be accepted into any medical school at all! I’ll definitely look into the colleges that you listed. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks for the link! And well, I’m not 100% sure where I’d like to be because I’ll go anywhere I get a good offer, but I’d LIKE to set my western boundary at Texas and my northern boundary at maybe Maryland? Or New York? I don’t particularly love the cold but again, I’ll go wherever I get the best offer.</p>
<p>heymap… yes he finds the courses what he expected…the professors expect you to do the work and they grade fairly. Initial gen chem wasnt really challenging as he had taken multiple chem classes up to organic and inorganic in hs…but he thought it was taught well…has never felt the intro courses were used as weeder courses. He is involved in multiple organizations, member of some committees, vice president of one, he also to my surprise just went greek. He takes advantage of the arts, concerts etc offered at alys stephens center has gone to multiple performances, He spends time and climbs the rock wall just about everyday. He also is doing research in labs. One of his favorite things is being a TA (as part of the chem scholar program) in the chem labs along with the grad students who assist the professor, so he sits in on the actual lectures of the classes that he goes to those labs for. He is a busy fellow LOL. </p>
<p>He was convinced initially that he wanted to go to another school oos… was disappointed when we made the decision to stay instate as the merit money was better. The professor that interviewed him at the other school for a research program offered him a job this past summer, so he got to go work there…he came back and said…the experience was wonderful, the school was wonderful… but he was getting all that and more at UAB and about 80K cheaper :)</p>
<p>That sounds awesome! I still have a year left before I begin applying for colleges, but I wanted to get an idea of where I’d like to be in 2 years and also make sure I’m on the right track to get there. Thank you so much for all of your helpful advice and answers! I think I’ll still apply to some highly selective schools just in the minuscule chance that I get a full ride but UAB is a major contender. Did your son apply to the EMSAP program at UAB or University of South Alabama in Mobile?</p>
<p>Hello! I was browsing through threads because I’m extremely confused about college, and it seems as though you all have some great insight and I was hoping you could help? </p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school, and I’ve narrowed down my schools to UAB and Rhodes College. Both schools will cost approximately the same (I live in Memphis, and I’m considering transportation costs). </p>
<p>At UAB, I would be a part of the University Honors Program. I plan to major in Neuroscience, minor in Psychology (or Forensic Psychology at UAB), and be on the pre-med track. </p>
<p>Which do you all feel is the stronger academic choice/will give me a better chance of being accepted into medical school?</p>
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