I need help please!! Senior in HS..

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,
I am a senior in NY.
My dream is to be a pediatric cardiac surgeon.
My unweighted gpa is 3.6 and weighted is 3.8
I am still working on my ACT scores…
I am involved in extracurricular activities such as dance, swim, softball, thespian honor society, national honor society, and chinese honor society.
I scored 3 on AP bio, but didn’t do well on AP Psych… I am currently taking AP Calc AB.
I like volunteering, so I do have lots of volunteer hours, and I worked at a day camp.
My financial situation is very tight, so I am looking for colleges that offer lots of scholarships.

  1. What are some good private colleges/universities that offer seven year pre-health/pre-med programs?

  2. What are some good private colleges/universities in general that would “suit” me?

  3. I would like to go to California, Washington, New Jersey,or Illinois, but would that be a really bad idea?
    (I’m the only child in my family and my parents live overseas. Honestly, I really don’t want to live in New York anymore…However, as I said I am financially tight…:frowning:

  4. Is it better to get my undergrad in NY, then consider CA (or other) med schools?

  5. I have no idea what I want to major in yet… Do I have to major in science-related majors such as biology, chemistry, physics…?

  6. What is the difference between PA programs and Pre-med/Pre-health programs?

I’m soooo nervous about this, and I have soooo many questions!!
PLEASE!! I would really appreciate any additional advice!!

Thank you :slight_smile:

2

Are you considered an in-state resident for the public colleges and universities in NY?

Do you have any ACT or SAT scores yet?

How much can your family afford to pay?

3

California’s public colleges will not give you a cent. Plus, your GPA is too low for most of the UC’s who have medical schools attached.

Most of the med schools are tied to UC’s which will charge full rates to OOS students.
@mom2collegekids has children who have gone through the process who can give you more specifics.

If you are a non-citizen, you won’t qualify for med school funds, since there are few scholarships for med school, let alone loans from the government.

$200K for med school.

4

BU offers 7 year program
Case Western has an 8 yr program

5

Just noticed your AP bio score.
If it was a 3, I wouldn’t recommend that major for you.

6

@happymomof1 yes, I am considered an in-state resident in NY. My ACT score is 24 and my family can’t really afford much… I’ll have to get loans.

@“aunt bea” yea, so I guess I’ll have to stay in-state… and nope I’m a U.S. Citizen :slight_smile: And my gpa was one of my concerns… It dropped significantly during my junior year :frowning: I’m working hard on my ACT scores tho… I started very late… What if I don’t get into college at all?

7

Consider SUNY Buffalo!

My So. Cal dd went there.

They have a program there where if you do well in the premed prerequisites, they hook you up to a NY med school. I think the undergrad is funded if you do well in that program.
I don’t remember the name of the program. My dd was going to try it, but went into engineering instead.
Buffalo (Amherst area) looks and feels differently that NY.

8

Your best (and practical ) option is to stay instate in New York and focus on getting into the best public New York State college that will accept you with your grades and ACT scores. Once you start your undergraduate coursework consider career options that appeal to you in case medicine proves to be out of reach for you.

9

“What if I don’t get into college at all?”

With your GPA you will get into a lot of places. Don’t worry about that. Since you are in high school in NY, your own guidance counselor should be able to tell you where you are likely to accepted.

But you do need to worry about the money issue. You need to find out how much your parents can pay. Ask them. You also should ask your parents to run the Net Price Calculator at the website of each college/university that is on your list. That will give them an idea of how much each place will expect them to pay.

You can’t borrow much money on your own as a student. The federal loan limit for freshman year is $5,500. If money is very, very tight for your family, you may be best off starting at a community college or SUNY/CUNY that you can commute to so you don’t have to pay for housing costs.

10

NYS has a tuition assistance [grant program](NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - NYS Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program) for students who are in the top 10% of their high school class who are majoring in a STEM program and will agree to stay in NYS for 5 years after they graduate from college. I don’t know if you qualify, but if you do, be aware that changing majors to non-STEM will change the grants to loans.

11

If you’re a New York resident and are lower income, you should qualify for HEOP/EOP.
You should also get fee waivers to apply to colleges.
I would suggest you apply to SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, but also St Lawrence (will “feel” very different from NY - it’s one hour away from Montreal but in the US), Hobart and William Smith, Marist since HEOP would over your full tuition there and then institutional and federal aid would kick in for the rest. All three have beautiful campuses and offer a residential atmosphere.
If you really want to go out of state, your odds are lower, but you can try a couple colleges such as Muhlenberg, Goucher, or Wheaton, MA. If you’re a girl, Agnes Scott or Simmons. Depending on your ACT score, you may even be able to apply to a college such as Colby (elite LAC in Maine trying to diversify its student body, offers fly-ins to some students).

Are you URM (African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Pacific Islander)? Do your parents have 4-year college degrees? Are you living on your own or without parents (are you registered or have you been registered as at-risk, homeless, or in foster care?)

“premed” is just a set of classes; what matters is the support given to premed students: tutors, good advice, opportunities to volunteer in health care setting, opportunities to do research with some professors.
The classes you’ll have to take: 2 semesters each of biology (DO NOT ask for that AP Bio credit!), physics, chemistry, and English, plus one semester in calculus, statistics, organic chemisty, biochemistry, sociology, psychology, and perhaps neuroscience, plus mastery of a language spoken by immigrants (your native/heritage language would count).
Then you’d add a major, any major of your choice, it can be Philosophy, Economics, Spanish, Computer Science… For med school you’d need to volunteer at a clinic or a hospital and you’d need to try and prove yourself in a science lab (research lab, not classroom lab).