In my area, even the community college ADN programs have selective admission. Granted, admission is not as tough as for the BSN programs, but still none are open admission. For open admission in a healthcare field here, a student would need to opt for a CNA or Phlebotomist program - both of which can lead to more advanced careers in healthcare but which require a longer more complicated pathway. That said, a student who is interested in healthcare should take a look at all the options at local local community colleges and find out which would be open admission or all-but-guaranteed admission for their stats.
I want to addâŠwhen you are building a college list, there is nothing wrong with looking at Community College and Trade School options. There are many fine careers which start at these schools.
For many students, an affordable track is starting at a CC and moving to a four year to complete a bachelors.
It was in the Stone Age, but my DH did just that. Started at an Ivy (that didnât work out). Left college and worked for seven years. Went back to a community college to complete general education requirements, and subsequently got his degree from a four year university in engineering. He is the VP of a company, so it all turned out well, and it saved us a ton of money.
Even those can be oversubscribed, so that they may not be easy to get into.
However, a student who does complete an ADN/RN may find that RN->BSN programs at universities are less difficult to get into than BSN programs for those without ADN/RN. Also, someone who completes an ADN/RN does have the ability to work as a nurse then if (for example) there is not enough money to complete the BSN immediately.
Weâve had it pretty easy because S21 has a very specific and fairly rare major, so the list of options was relatively short. Heâs applying to what his college counselor calls a target plus ED, which he toured and loved, and a solid safety EA, which heâd be perfectly happy with.
@hillybean you are fortunate, indeed! Good luck to your son.
For some students, a short application list works just fine.
I definitely agree that short lists can be fine. 
My nephew only applied to the home-state public U that guaranteed admission for his stats and offered his major. He had his admission letter by Thanksgiving, and got a great education. My daughter knew that her options were the local community college or a place that she could bring the costs down to that same price range. She saw no point in looking anywhere else (and as I found out later truly didnât want to leave home just yet) and so was one-and-done. She visited several places before applying for transfer, applied to two, and attended the affordable in-state public. She has no regrets.
I am concerned about my sonâs lack of standardized testing. We still donât have sat or act scores for him and his school just shut down for two weeks due to Covid so the sat scheduled school wide on the 14th is not happening. He took three AP classes last year and got 5âs on all of the exams - is there anyway to submit those as a basis of comparison to other applicants - he has done well in hs and we were looking at small liberal arts colleges in the northeast but I am not sure schools really mean it when they say test optional.
Many colleges are test optional this year simply because both the ACT and SAT tests have not been able to be administered consistently since before the beginning of March.
If the colleges say they are test optional, they are not using standardized tests as a criteria for admission.
The schools donât have a choice this yearâŠthey have to âmean itâ because there are no tests for a lot of kids who are seniors who would have taken them in the spring as juniors, and perhaps this fall as seniors. As you noted, the tests are still being cancelled in many places.
These colleges will be looking at the overall strength of the student application. Certainly this can include AP tests, but I would say, only if your student scored a 5, and yours did.
SoâŠmake sure the rest of the application looks greatâŠessays, etc.
As always, this student should have a variety of schools on the application listâŠsome where he feels confident that admission is a sure thing, and others where he might not be so sure.
There are small liberal arts colleges in the northeast that have been test optional for yearsâŠand it hasnât been an issue filling their classes.
Go to fairtest.org for the complete list of schools that already were test optional.
DS is a high stats kid with no real passion for one particular field. Has lots of interests (math, public policy, economics, medicine), but no genuine passion or calling. #1 in class of 500 at powerhouse public high school. 1570 SAT. Lots of APs and community college courses. National Merit SF. Heâs torn on taking on of the full rides based on his NM status and shooting for Ivy League. We can afford to help him with undergrad anywhere, but if he goes to an expensive/Ivy undergrad there will be no parent funds for grad school, which he is likely to do. Any advice on building a list for a high stat undecided kid??
He does not need to decide now â he can apply to various colleges and decide later after seeing admissions and FA/scholarship results.
Presumably, you have told him what your financial conditions with respect to funding college and âgrad schoolâ are. Note that âgrad schoolâ costs vary from free (funded PhD program) to hugely expensive (medical or dental school).
For some subjects like math and economics, there can be considerable differences in the upper level course offerings between departments at different colleges. It is not necessarily true that the Ivy League colleges will be better than other colleges for all students and interests in this respect.
Side note: for the tippy tops, âpassionâ is not a keyword. But there is an expectation of some sense of direction forming, by senior year. In turn, that would guide, eg, choices of ECs. And the activities, especially how he stretches outside academics, can be quite telling, on their own. Itâs ok to be the kid who might go STEM or might choose social sciences. But what shows how he pursued these possible interests, beyond classes?
So imo, it does help to re-examine what all heâs involved with, outside the academic excellence.
@NChopeful21 it doesnât have to be all or nothing. There are some excellent colleges that are highly ranked (if that is what you are looking for) that do give merit aid to some students.
As with all students, I suggest he make a list, and it can be short, of what he is looking for in a collegeâŠurban/suburban/rural, large/small, public/private, religious affiliation/not, distance from home, breadth of majors, proximity to things he enjoys for recreation/school offered activities, possible majors or areas of interest, etc.
Your screen name implies you are from NC. UNC-Chapel Hill is a fabulous top research university with just about any major you can dream of. If you are instate for that, go for it. NC State as well.
Other top schoolsâŠand these give very competitive merit awardsâŠUniversity of Virginia (Jefferson Scholars), Vanderbilt, University of Chicago. Many state flagship universities give excellent merit awards to high achieving students Ohio State (Morell) for example. There are others.
The Benecquisto in Florida provides a full free ride to NMFs at any FL public. University of New Mexico offers a fabulous full ride award to NMFs.
In terms of grad school and money, many parents (the Thumper family included) paid for undergrad for the equivalent of four years. Anything after that was student funded. One kid got his masters partially funded by a grad assistantship and partially with loans. The other went to professional school about half tuition funded by a fellowship program and half loans.
Depending on the field of study, some advance degree programs are funded with stipend.
Some students also get jobs after undergrad, and their employers help fund grad school.
SoâŠwhat would I do? I would want my kid to attend a school where he feels confident he will find his passion. SoâŠsomething with a variety of majors and a core course requirement so he has to take courses out of his comfort zone. In doing so, he can explore lots of optionsâŠand a major or career direction will evolve.
I would personally concentrate on undergrad now. If he wants grad school in the future, you can help himâŠor not.
He is a strong student. If he applies to those flagships, I would suggest applying to their honors colleges as well.
He doesnât have to make up his mind today where he will attend (assuming no ED application). SoâŠapply broadly, and when acceptances come in, try to have him tease out which ones have the most positive characteristics for him.
If possible, maybe next spring you will be able to visit his top three or so choice.
Good luck!
My kid is NMSF and applying BSMD in NJ/NY colleges.
I was told that for some colleges, if they donât admit for BSMD, they wonât consider for undergraduate at all.
I am looking for colleges to regular undergrad major student.
Can you please let me know which colleges still consider for undergrad if we donât get in to BSMD.
@Later2021 as you know, acceptance to BS/MD programs is way more competitive than acceptances to any of the elite schools people speak of.
No question, your student needs a plan B for if he doesnât get accepted to BS/MD programs.
I donât know the answer to your questionâŠbecause you arenât telling the BS/MD programs to which your student is applying. The school policies vary as to whether students will be accepted to the college if not accepted to BS/MD.
There is a whole section on this forum dedicated to multiple degree medical programs. Here is the link:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/multiple-degree-programs/
You will find many many threads over many years that discuss your question. Plus you could pose your own question there.
If I was helping your student build a list, I would be looking at colleges which have good medical school advising, and access to all the requisite courses he needs to apply to medical school. In addition, these schools should have proximity to opportunities for volunteering, shadowing, and the like.
In your childâs case, the reach schools will be his BS/MD applications. In my opinion, none of those are sure things for any applicant. He then needs schools where he would get a good education with a major of his choice. He needs top GPA plus will need a great MCAT score for medical school interview offers, and good interviewing skills as well to gain acceptance into medical school.
And lastly, I would addâŠmany many premeds never get to the point where they actually apply to medical school for any number of reasons. So, I would suggest that your student have (the plan b list) some places with a variety of majors from which to choose, just in case he changes his mind.
Iâm tagging @WayOutWestMom who can perhaps give some additional advice about crafting a full application list for someone applying to BS/MD programs as their Plan A.
@later2021 Post your question on this thread, you will get more feedback:
Aside from the excellent advice you got from @thumper1, your child should apply to a balanced list of non BA/MD undergrads. (Safety, match, reach) BA/MD programs are extremely competitive with admission rates lower than the Ivies.
Build your list from the bottom up. Start with a school that offers a range of majors your child may be interested in and is financially within your means.
Medical schools care very little about the prestige of the undergrad a student attends.
Choose colleges that offer the best combination of fit, affordability and opportunity.
@Later2021 since your student is a NMF, I would strongly suggest you add schools that will provide a totally free undergrad education to your student in the event that the BS/MD option doesnât work out. A few good options would be:
- The Benecquisto Scholarship which offers NMF a full ride at FL public universities.
- University of New Mexico which offers a full ride plus perks.
- University of Alabama which offers a good award for NMF.
Schools like these could very well be your studentâs sure thing schools.
In addition to ^^^
4.Univerity of Oklahoma --5 years of 100% tuition waiver.
And yes, should your child be admitted to OUâs medical school in year 4 or 5, they can apply the tuition waiver toward med school tuition there.
Thank you so much @thumper1 , @WayOutWestMom , @Mwfan1921 .
Sincerely appreciate your kind support and advise .
Kid is applying almost all BSMD colleges in NY/NJ areas. Hence worried what happens if they donât get admit in BSMD and they ignore general regular admissions a sthey filtered out in BSMD.
I was so nervous as I donât know much anything about college admissions and aid etc.
I can say my kid is first kid on my whole family & friends going to medical or atleast showing interest in medical school.
Thank you ton for your suggestions.
D21 has about 12 schools on her list. 3 reaches, 5-6 matches (will depend on essay fatigue) and 3 safeties. She plans to ED at a small liberal arts college in the northeast.
She has taken the ACT twice, both times scoring composite of 32. Her superscore is 33. Her ED schoolâs profile lists a range of 31-34 (25th to 75th percentile). Would you send this score? Her transcript, ECs and essays are all very competitive. Just donât know if her scores will hurt her! This is a school that is not normally TO.
Thank you!