<p>I am a Caucasian female from Ohio who is beginning to think about colleges. With my UW4.0 and large amount of ECs, I should be able to get into some pretty nice schools. (I have yet to get my scores for ACT or SAT.) These schools include Case, CM, and possibly Cornell or JHU. Because I would like to go into medicine, these schools would be very good undergrad, or even grad schools.</p>
<p>Only problem is, they cost an arm and a leg. My family is the epitome of upper middle class. My parents make way too much to even be considered for any need-based financial aid. And from what I hear, many of the very good schools don't offer much non need-based financial aid unless you are likely to find the cure to cancer (alright, maybe not.) Even if these schools do offer merit based aid, it's often not very much. I know a kid with a 35 ACT who only got 20 grand from case. Sounds like a lot, but not when it costs about 43,000 a year.</p>
<p>So, I recently went to a college fair and I was able to talk to some people from some colleges. The one that surprised me the most was OSU. They have a very selective biomedical sciences undergrad program where the average ACT score is a 33. I also learned that, if I become a NMF, I will pretty much go there for free. I will get full in state tuition + 4500 + 2700 for honors. From this year's stats, that leaves about 36 dollars per year for room and board. Not bad.</p>
<p>I guess my main question is, am I totally screwing myself over if I pick to go to OSU over one of the "better", yet more expensive, alternatives? Also, is there absolutely no way I could get into a prestigious Med School coming from OSU?</p>
<p>Of course you could get into a decent Med School coming from OSU. It's not a "bad" school. Grad schools realize that expensive private schools are not realistic for thousands of people each year. They care much more about what you did with your time in college than where you went.</p>
<p>I'm in the same position you are, considering my in state UW-Madison over expensive places like Georgetown, Tufts, Middlebury. Apply to all interested schools and compare packages.</p>
<p>$36 x 4 = $144
Don't forget all the minor expenses, which can easily fall in the range of $500-$800 a year.
so $500 x 4 = $2000
$2000 + $144 = $2144!</p>
<p>I actually asked case people at the college fair too. They said they give a max of 2000 for NMF. However, the catch is, this cannot be combined with any larger merit scholarship.</p>
<p>You are doing what is smart right now: looking at options you can afford. If you want to go to medical school you are far better off opting for a highly selective undergrad biomedical program at OSU than to get yourself in a lot of debt elsewhere ... since medical school costs a lot of money. </p>
<p>Talk to your parents and find out how much they are going to be willing to pay toward your college. If the answer is, "not much"- then continue the path you are on -- look at colleges like OSU and other colleges (public and private) where your GPA, test scores & NM status is likely to pull in a lot of aid. You will have a lot of excellent choices in the end, without the angst and frustration of the many students who are obsessed with prestige schools, and then either don't get in or else get in and find they can't afford it.</p>
<p>I've asked my parents that question, but they didn't provide a very good answer. They said they'd figure out a way to pay for whatever college I want to go to but they'd prefer not paying too much.</p>
<p>I guess I'd feel more guilty than anything if they paid 150k+ for a school with a good reputation when I could get a very good education at a state school for almost nothing.</p>
<p>Problem is, I don't want to apply to only one school. I know I'll get into it, but I almost feel like I'm cheating myself by not applying to more.</p>
<p>I guess I should also add that although my parents do like the idea of paying hardly anything, they are scared that I am "settling." That I think that I can't get into anywhere else, so I'm just going to OSU because I know I can get in there. Also, my boyfriend is going to OSU, so they are a little concerned about that.</p>