If you do want to go to med school, consider a state school or lower priced out of state school so you have money left over for med school.
I would suggest visiting local colleges to get a feel…Visit your state flagship and a small LAC for example. You may feel the state flagship is overwhelmingly large or you may be energized by all the people. You might think the LAC is suffocatingly small or endearingly intimeate. Also maybe visit a Colorado School of Mines to see what an Engineering school is like.
Narrow down your list to 10 or less…and then when you get acceptances pick 2-3 to go to admitted students days.
Since you have money specifically set aside, I think it really makes sense for you to go to an in-state public or a school where you’ll get significant merit.
Med school, depending on whether it’s instate public or expensive private, will cost somewhere between around 120k and 300k - just for tuition. The nice thing is that with 250k, if you stayed in state or went to a school with good merit aid for let’s say 25k/year, you would still have 150k left for med school. In addition, a school that’s not quite so competitive will make it easier to get a high GPA and you’ll be a star student. Opportunities will be easier to get when you’re at the top of the class.
And if you change your mind about med school, you have 150k left. You could pay for a master’s program, or start a business, or buy a house with cash. That’s incredible freedom to have.
A score of 28 on the ACT does not necessarily have any bearing on any potential score on the MCAT exam you would be taking 5 years into the future. An ACT score of 28 does not make you competitive for several of the schools on your list as others as already pointed out. Applying ED to any school without seeing it is not a wise choice. What looks good on paper and through your research may not feel right when you get there as you might hate the vibe. You did indicate you wanted to get away from harsh winters… Notre Dame, according to my daughter’s friend who attended Law School there has a pretty harsh winter, for example.
OK, so we don’t have your entire application in front of us but there are a lot of reach schools on your list.
Please listen to the people on this board. They will tell it to you perhaps like no one else can.
Go to the CDS for each school. Get the Fiske and Princeton Guide. Go to the NPC for each school. Look at where you may be able to get merit. Have realistic reaches, matches and safeties. That means financial safeties.
I once told a girl I was advising that she had too many reaches on her list. She got upset, defensive, and insisted that she would get into them. Guess what? Nope, did not happen. The only schools were a safety state school (that I strongly encouraged her mother make her apply) and a private college that I recommended. It was heartbreaking to hear about the process of rejection after rejection from her mother. Unfortunately, the private school was not a financial safety ( something I had recommended that they look into before applying) and the family may go into a lot of debt if she goes.
Your ACT score is limiting your options. It is only July right now, so you have lots of time to prepare more fully and take the ACT test again to raise that score.
If you’re serious about med school, DO NOT go to a Calif undergrad as an OOS student. That’s just way too risky.
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I was not aware that a 28 ACT meant I was "doomed" on the MCAT. I think that is a bit far fetched.
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There is a correlation between SAT/ACT scores and the MCAT. You’re not “doomed,” but your score indicates that you might not score high enough on the MCAT. Not saying for sure that you won’t do well…just be sure to really prep for the MCAT. And, if you don’t score high enough on the MCAT for MD med schools, then certainly DO med schools are an option.
In the meantime, prep and retest…also take the SAT.
If you want to go to med school, then don’t blow your money on a pricey undergrad. That’s just short-sighted.
If you can increase your score, then you might get merit at some schools which will help you save your money for med school.
First, to your question, yes you can attend a school you have not visited and your life will not be ruined. My daughter only visited a few of the colleges she applied to and picked one she has not toured. @mamaedefamilia had wondeful suggestions on how to research colleges without leaving the comfort of your couch.
Next, you said you like all equally. Awesome! Pick the cheapest that you can get acceptance to – decision made. I know you mentioned you have a huge pile of money that can only be used for college, and of course, you aren’t required to give us a dollar figure or tell us if you don’t use it for education can it convert to buying a home or for retirement, but a quick look at one of schools on your list shows this:
University of San Diego:
COA of undergraduate and medical school in total (without bothering to guess yearly increases, so probably add at least 10%) = $498,689
I’m guessing overall cost will be cheaper at the southern schools you listed over the west coast. It’s an easy internet research project you can do this summer.
Other random thoughts to narrow down your list:
If you want to leave Colorado because it’s cold, don’t choose northwest schools.
Do you want to live it a city or smaller community?
Do you want a religious school or not?
Applying to schools is hard work. Pick one school where you are below the 25% percentile stat range (but not ED) if you must, but no more.
If you are serious about becoming a doctor, don’t attend college in CA as an oos student. There are enough pitfalls on the way to med school, to add one that big.
I have to agree with all of the other posters. You want to come to school in California because you want warm weather. We all get that, but, most of the schools that have warm weather are in Southern California, Arizona and Florida.
For the southern Cal schools, these are extremely competitive in every way you can imagine. Your SAT score of 28 wont get you in to most of the southern UCs except maybe Riverside.
If you look on this site, you will see the kinds of scores that hopeful students report. You will also see that every one of them “wants to go to med school”.
YOUR COMPETITION:
There are not enough spaces for all of the California hopefuls who want to be doctors.
My dd just graduated from her UC in Biological Sciences. There were 1000 students receiving degrees in micro bio, bio engineering, neurobiology, reg bio, etc. Most of those students were recovering from taking their MCATs in the Spring. Now, if her school had 1000 students, who were in the Bio discipline, with pre-med coursework, how many others, (in other majors) also have planned or are planning on applying to med school? That’s only at one UC campus.
You have to compete with all of the other campuses’ students who have high SAT and ACT scores, who have to get all A’s in college, AND each year there is a fresh batch of new student grads trying to get into med school. That is heavy competition.
Why would you choose to come to the most competitive state, pay gobs of OOS tuition fees, then maybe hope for a decent GPA?
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If you are serious about becoming a doctor, don’t attend college in CA as an oos student. There are enough pitfalls on the way to med school, to add one that big.
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We can’t say this enough. I don’t know how many times we see posts from OOS premeds looking to go to school in Calif. I don’t know what is attracting these students…the idea of being in fun, sunny weather? The idea of going to a Calif med school? The idea that they will eventually practice in Calif. I don’t know.
We do know that the outlook for instate Calif premeds is rather grim, and even more so for OOS premeds in Calif.
California ~ Unlucky State for Premeds
Some numbers are rounded
SOM applicants IS app % Matriculants IS Matriculants %
UCD 7200 62% 110 99% (maybe the 1 OOS is MD/PhD)
UCI 6300 73% 104 94% (maybe the 2 OOS are MD/PhD)
UCR 5700 76% 50 100%
UCSD 7500 59% 125 75%
UCLA-G 8600 60% 151 83%
UCSF 7500 48% 165 75%
USC 8200 51% 185 77%
Stanford 7200 35% 90 35%
Med schools interview roughly 5-10% of their applicants.
MD/PhD students included in above numbers....and can be from any state since NSF pays their tuition.
UCLA Drew not included...only 24 matriculants....mission driven.
The new private SOM CA Northstate is also not included.
As you can see....Calif med schools have a problem of too many applicants,
not nearly enough seats,....and most have a strong instate preference.
Before someone makes some crazy claim that I hate Calif, I need to offer this. I was born and raised in Calif. I spent the first 40+ years of my life in Southern Calif. Our children were born there and spent their first 10+ years of their lives there. California will always be home to me.
If an OOS student wants to eventually practice in Calif, then either try for a Calif residency post-med-school or move there after residency/fellowships are complete.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Really my top schools are Pepperdine, Santa Clara, and university of sandiego. I’m aware of the fact that cost in an obvious factor. This is going to sound a bit strange but I am 100% sure I don’t want any kids. As a result of this I figure that I will end up spending less on my med school loans then on the cost of raising my own kids and paying for their college etc. Obvioudly debt is not a good thing, but for some odd reason I’m not really bothered by it. To me being at a school where I am the happiest is worth the loans.
Also I’m not like dead set on doing residency or going to a med school in Cali. Obviously I would like to, but that is not the main reason I want to go to undergrad there.
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Obviously debt is not a good thing, but for some odd reason I’m not really bothered by it.
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Why would you be bothered by it? You’ve never experienced the burden. You have no idea how annoying debt would be.
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To me being at a school where I am the happiest is worth the loans.
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Again, you have no idea.
As for having kids…you may or may not have kids. Whichever decision you ULTIMATELY make is your business. However, you’re 17/18 years old. You don’t know how you’ll feel once you’re in your 20s or 30s. You don’t know what any future spouse may want, and could change your mind.
Don’t make a decision that forces you into any corner.
Another thing, clearly I want to get a 30+ on my MCAT. But if I did get a 28 there still are med schools that you can get accepted to. Like someone else said a lot of learning happens in 5 years, but if I got a 28 MCAT it would probably be ok.
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Another thing, clearly I want to get a 30+ on my MCAT. But if I did get a 28 there still are med schools that you can get accepted to. Like someone else said a lot of learning happens in 5 years, but if I got a 28 MCAT it would probably be ok.
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Just to be clear, you’re using old MCAT numbers. Unless you’re a URM, you won’t likely get into a US MD school with an MCAT 28. Right now, few MCAT 28 traditional unhooked applicants are accepted. As time goes on, admissions are getting even more competitive.
So…no…you probably will NOT be ok.
And…I’m very familiar with what’s said on SDN. The devil is often in the details. Those accepted with a sub 29 MCAT to a MD school are usually URMs and non-trads.