<p>Hi everyone, I'm showing my neighbor how to garner info from the parents of CC. Her S is a senior beginning his college search. Here are his stats:</p>
<p>Male
Large public HS <3000
GPA: 4.45/3.95
SAT: 1850. M/CR 1250
ACT: 27 composite. will retake
Will be taking SAT II </p>
<p>Class rank: top 2%. 12/670?
Taking most rigorous classes possible at school</p>
<p>Desired major: chem or biochem (possible premed)
Medium size school preferred (12-20k students) but will consider large schools
Looking in northeast or California it will consider other locations.
Interested in merit aid and other financial aid.</p>
<p>I suggest taking the SAT and/or ACT again soon if at all possible. The grades look great but scores not so much… Case Western isn’t really east, but they give great merit aid. RPI is also a very good science school with lots of merit aid for high stats. Case has early action, so applying early is smart. They will inform you of your scholarship when you get accepted, so you know if you need other safeties. I’ve heard great things about UMBC, and they are a science and tech school.</p>
<p>Whatever is his own state public(s)…especially if scores don’t go up significantly. And, if he’s seriously considering Med School, would save $$ on undergrad and may be able to “stand out” more than at a higher ranked undergrad.</p>
<p>The standard advice: could possibly get merit if some research is done finding schools where scores are higher than average, but that could very well be a school that’s smaller than 12-20,000. </p>
<p>Any special interests? With such a high class rank, he’ll hopefully apply for every local scholarship available…</p>
<p>Wow, you all are acting like his scores are bad. In reality, they’re pretty darn good!</p>
<p>My advice to most students:</p>
<p>Plan to go to community college for two years and then transfer. BUT also apply at a 2-3 state schools with good programs in your major & maybe a private or out-of-state school with a reputation for giving aid. If it ends up CC is cheaper once the aid packages come in, go there. </p>
<p>Obviously, if the parents WANT to spend a lot of extra money or the student wants to have a large loan debt, do whatever they feel like.</p>
<p>What kind of budget are they looking at, and have they tried the net price calculators at some UCs and CSUs?</p>
<p>For California residents, UCs are typically around $30,000 to $35,000 per year at list price, but students from families with income under $80,000 will get at least $12,000 per year in grants and scholarships (perhaps more). CSUs are typically around $20,000 to $25,000 per year at list price. In either case, commuter students living with parents will have lower expenses since commuting costs plus cost of living in parents’ home is lower than living in rented housing at school (dorm or off-campus).</p>
<p>ASU is not cheap for out of state students, and WUE tuition does not apply to any majors at the main campus in Tempe. There are merit scholarships, although some of them have high college GPA requirements to retain.</p>
<p>I would find a school where his stats get him into the top 25% of the applicant pool if he wants to go to medical school. First round of medical school acceptance is all about GPA and MCAT score, after that it’s almost all about research opportunities. Have them spend some time on the pre-med forums here.</p>
<p>He needs to get test scores up if he wants merit aid most places.</p>
<p>The parents say they are comfortable with 15k net per year. They will not qualify for need based aid. It looks like they have a good plan with good alternatives: his first choice is a school in the northeast where his older brother studies, then UC/CSU and schools in between that they can afford. S is not opposed to attending local cc.
Re: test scores. He says he took them cold without prep and has been spending time studying. He feels most comfortable with the ACT and will retake. What are your thoughts on him taking the SAT again?</p>
<p>adding alabama school… will get 10K per year with current score at UAB, if he raises act to 28 then 15K per year against total cost (tuition, dorm and food) of 22-25K</p>
<p>good school for sciences, urban campus, 11K undergrads. home of the med school</p>
<p>His test scores are not in line with his GPA. He needs to prep. for SAT/ACT. Looks like he took them without any prep. I doubt that Case would give much with these scores. Otherwise, I woudl strongly suggest Case. If Med. School in plan, then get to any cheapest one as Med. Schools are very expansive and the chances at any Merit awards even for Summa Cum Laude’s (straignt As in college) are close to zero. Med. Schools do NOT care much where applicant went for UG and even UG major is not that important. They care a lot about college GPA/MCAT score.</p>
<p>[The</a> ACT | ACT-SAT Concordance | ACT](<a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/]The”>The ACT Test for Students | ACT) indicates that his current SAT CR+M is very slightly higher than his current ACT. However, he may want to consider which test’s subject matter he is more comfortable studying and doing practice tests (real ones that are actual old tests) on.</p>
<p>For UAB in particular, you may want to ask if the SAT CR+M of 1250 is sufficient to get the $15,000 per year ACT 28 scholarship (based on the score range of 1250-1280 that is listed with ACT 28), or if a score of 1260 would be needed (the single score equivalent of ACT 28). The same question should be asked for any other school where an ACT 28 versus 27 is an automatic scholarship threshold.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus has a good point… he may be fine with his current scores for the 15K scholarship The person who can answer that quickly is. really nice person!
Heather L. McKnight
Coordinator of Undergraduate ScholarshipsThe University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-8132(205) 934-8941 Fax
<a href=“mailto:hlm@uab.edu”>hlm@uab.edu</a></p>
<p>Note also that a pre-med student should try to sharpen his/her test taking skills, since the MCAT is a very important part of the medical school admission process.</p>