<p>Hi, everyone my name is Tenzin Paljor and I am a Junior. I live in Minnesota. I am a well rounded student have a 3.9 gpa with ap and honor classes under my belt, involved in clubs, and will take the act in april. I am looking for a college that is affordable for my family's level of income which is mediocre at best. However I will definitely seek financial aid and scholarships. Still i am wondering what is the most reasonably-affordable college in the Midwest and New England area to study medicine, pred-med to be more precise. I am well aware that medical schools are competitive and private colleges are suggested, but I honestly don't think I can afford that. So please help me create a list of schools that fit the criteria I am looking for.</p>
<p>Top of your list should be your state “flagship” university (University of Minnesota), the main campus. With a 3.9 GPA you may get into the honors college (your ACT scores may impact that also) and you can find all the necessary pre-med courses there. Also look for private colleges that give good merit aid for your stats. There are a number of threads on here about merit aid. Finally, look for schools that will give good need-based financial aid for your family’s income level. Med school admissions are mainly driven by your college GPA and MCAT scores, the reputation of the college is less important (within reason), I understand.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for the University of Minnesota. You may also be interested in UW Madison which should be a similar price because of tuition reciprocity.</p>
<p>I was planning on applying to the Biomedical college in the U of M, but i heard that it was pretty difficult to get admitted, so i was wondering if going to the Morris campus of the UofM
is a good choice because i heard they are pretty affordable around 10-15k tuition and a medical program although it is mainly a liberal arts school. What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>Pre-med can be done in any major (but you have to take the pre-med set of courses).</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities flagship campus is very good. The University of Minnesota - Morris public liberal arts college is also good for those who prefer a smaller school (though selection of courses and majors is more limited). Residents of Minnesota also have a tuition discount available at the very good Wisconsin public universities (as well as less well known public schools in the Dakotas, but those are cheap to begin with).</p>
<p>Also, to add to the above information on reciprocity with WI, ND and SD residents of MN also receive discounts for schools in the Canadian province of Manitoba.</p>
<p>[Reduced</a> Out-of-State Tuition Options](<a href=“Blog - Get Ready for College”>Blog - Get Ready for College)</p>
<p>MN also participates in the Midwest Student Exchange program which covers some schools in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. For this program you have to match the criteria and check to see which majors are covered. </p>
<p>[MHEC</a> : Student Access: Midwest Student Exchange Program (1)](<a href=“http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram]MHEC”>http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram)</p>
<p>The top private schools offer amazing financial aid. If you want to stay in the midwest look at the small LAC’s and UChicago and Northwestern. I received a great need-based package from UChicago that reduced costs to 1/6th the cost of attendance and was cheaper than any in-state school here in CA.</p>
<p>Assuming you do well on the ACT/SAT you’ll be able to get into CBS at UMN Twin Cities with a 3.9.</p>
<p>here is a twist to your request:
two of the best universities in all the land that offer ‘need blind’ acceptance and depending on your family income will offer a full ride are: Yale in New England and Rice in Houston, TX</p>
<p>Both are actually quite diverse in ethnicity AND socio-economic status as well…it so happens that Rice is known as the happiest campus of every american university…</p>
<p>good luck Tenzin</p>
<p>Yale and Rice aren’t unique in that respect. Most if not all of the top 20 schools are like that. Of course those schools are all very selective.</p>
<p>Take a look at Grinnell in Iowa - a top 20 LAC that offers very generous financial aid and merit aid, as a result of a huge endowment. Extremely strong sciences, if you are pre-med.</p>
<p>* I am well aware that medical schools are competitive and private colleges are suggested*</p>
<p>You seem to be “well aware” of a myth. Private colleges are not “suggested” in order to be accepted to a SOM. </p>
<p>Pre-med is not a major. You have to pick a major…what will it be?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay?</p>
<p>Are you low income? </p>
<p>When will you be taking the SAT and ACT.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Gratuitous off-topic advice to you and any other poster:
protect your privacy by never using your real name or other specific identifying information on forums like this.</p>
<p>On the topic, I agree with some of the other posters. Start with your in-state public options (UofM at Twin Cities, Morris, etc.) but also consider some selective private schools. Generally, the more selective the private school, the better the need-based aid (for those who qualify.) However, the very most selective private schools usually don’t offer much (if any) merit aid.</p>
<p>If you are an under-represented minority with good test scores, that may work to your advantage at highly selective private schools.</p>
<p>I am fairly certain the top undergarduate institutions have high medical school acceptance rates. They might be more difficult to get good grades at then publics, but medical schools will know how relatively difficult a school is. Also, it’s better to get a good and impressive degree (that fits your needs) at a better school just in case you change your mind about the pre-med track.</p>
<p>Med school admission is very numbers based. Factors that count include the MCAT score, overall GPA, GPA in the pre-med series, letters of recommendation, and evidence of commitment to the career field. The name on the college/university diploma counts for very, very little.</p>
<p>*I am fairly certain the top undergarduate institutions have high medical school acceptance rates. They might be more difficult to get good grades at then publics, but medical schools will know how relatively difficult a school is. Also, it’s better to get a good and impressive degree (that fits your needs) at a better school just in case you change your mind about the pre-med track.
*</p>
<p>Uh…no.</p>
<p>There are top schools that don’t have good admissions rates… The UCs (even Cal and UCLA) don’t have good admit rates.</p>
<p>And, no, med schools don’t give you a pass if your GPA is lower but you went to a name school. </p>
<p>SOM admssions is largely driven by…MCAT, GPA, Science GPA (BCMP), LORs and ECs. As long as you don’t go to PodunkU, SOMs don’t care if you went to University of Georgia of Georgetown University.</p>
<p>I am not saying they give you a pass cause of a schools name, but they should know the rigor of that school and how difficult it is to obtain a higher GPA, or else med schools are only admitting weaker students at less rigorous schools, and that makes no sense! Also, why would anyone go to a difficult school as a pre-med if this reduces their chances of acceptance? There are a lot of pre-med students at any top school, but shouldn’t there be none if the acceptance rates are lower for these schools? Also, I would like to think that doctors come from impressive undergraduate institutions rather than lower and less rigorous ones, because that means they generally worked harder in college and high school. I really hope my chances at med school aren’t destroyed because I will likely be matriculating at University of Chicago, which is probably going to kick my butt compared to high school.</p>
<p>PAG…there is so much grade inflation at the elites, that their grades have become less impressive.</p>
<p>And, all good schools have rigourous Pre-med pre-reqs. They aren’t a walk in the park at most schools. And, the MCAT is very revealing as well. So, no fear of admitting weak students. </p>
<p>*Also, I would like to think that doctors come from impressive undergraduate institutions rather than lower and less rigorous ones, because that means they generally worked harder in college and high school. *</p>
<p>Ha ha. You’d be surprised where your doctors went to undergrad. My son’s surgeon (one of the best in the county) went to FIU. He went to Duke for med school and went to the Mayo Clinic for his residency. </p>
<p>Where someone went to undergrad is not evidence of whether they worked hard in high school or not. My kids were Val and Sal of their private high school. They had excellent test scores as well. They went to our mid-tier flagship for undergrad. The fact that they didn’t go to an elite for undergrad doesn’t say that they didn’t “work hard” in high school. Older son is attending an elite for his PhD…so going to his flagship didn’t hurt him a bit.</p>
<p>Okay, can’t afford medical school anyway. :</p>
<p>And if I could afford med school then I would have just gotten mediocre grades in high school and gone to a lower-tier public (oh wait, can’t afford that either) and then tried at that college and gotten into med school. I don’t have the luxury (ie the money) to afford a public school or a lower private so I will be stuck working harder (GASP!) at my higher level private school that is affordable! I’m just so happy you’re kids were vals and sals at their (pricey?) private high school and went to a mid-tier public and then got into a top private graduate school! I do not have that option, even though I am a valedictorian at my public high school and have worked very hard to get a spot at a top private college I can afford, which is what the original post is all about. It seems strange to me that the system for medical school admission favors those with higher GPA’s from lower schools (the ones that are more expensive, at least for me, a lower middle class student) than those from more difficult schools with lower one’s. Yes, the premed courses may be the same, but other courses are likely not. The problem is is that my most affordable school is the most rigorous (UChicago’s core) , which will hamper my chances at med school. I hope the OP finds some great and affordable options that allow them the best chance at acceptance into a medical school.</p>