Hi, I’m a rising senior (Arizona resident) and am making my college list, just want a few more schools and perhaps a review of my current college list. Emphaszing ones with merit-based aid (don’t qualify for need based). Also I’m asian so im guessing that will hurt my chances, not applying to any UC’s bc they lowered asian admission rates. My major is going to be science-related or pre-med with goal being medical school. Trying to apply for more competitive schools but still not too expensive??
My current list is: UofA, ASU, umich, uw, unc, uu, upenn, and maybe rice, NYU (too expensive?), purdue, and duke
Stats:
4.0 GPA
top 1% of class
HAVENT taken SAT/ACT!! due to cancellations
college prep and rigorous high school
all honors classes + took APWH, APUSH, AP Calc AB, AP Lang, AP Physics, and more AP next yr
5 on APWH last year and hoping for 4s or 5s on APUSH, AP Calc AB, and Ap Lang this yr
330+ community service hours and internship at hospital, community center, library, tutoring
various leadership + founded club also organized blood drives, penny for patients fundraiser, etc
varsity tennis, top orchestra, pottery
some college classes over summer
awards from NLE, state science fair, varsity letters
UC’s are banned from using race as a basis for their admission review. UC’s offer little no financial aid (need or merit) to OOS applicants so you are wise to exclude them from your list but not for the reason you listed.
Of the schools on your list:-
UofA, ASU, - good merit available
umich, uw, - no merit
unc, - only merit is uber competitive Morehouse Cain scholarship
uu, good merit
upenn, - only merit is uber competitive Huntsman
rice, - very limited merit
NYU - no merit
For auto merit consider: Alabama, Ole Miss, Miami OH
There is merit at other schools, but so much depends on your budget.
@Gumbymom thank you for clarifying, I had a misunderstanding with california’s ACA 5 and thought it was already passed but I guess not
@CollegeMamb0 my parents said they will cover most of the expenses but i dont know the exact amount, but theyre open to applying for ivy league. Its mostly my decision, since I don’t want to spend to much going undergrad cause i need to save money for med school if I decide to go. I know its probably going to be hard to find a competitive school that offers merit but just trying to get more ideas out there
@Eeyore123 yeah I totally agree, my current list doesn’t have a lot of merit thats why I’m asking for other colleges to consider since these ones were the ones I came up with my family + college counselor at school and just some basic ideas
You need to know how much your parents are willing/able to pay out-of-pocket. You can only borrow ~$5500/year. Have they run the Net Price Calculator for any of the schools on your list?
@aquarist@Gumbymom
ACA 5 — which will repeal Prop 209 and allow for affirmative action — was approved to be placed on California’s November ballot. The UC regents unanimously endorsed the measure.
@Southoftheriver Check out TCU! I think with your stats you are definitely qualified for at least 1/2 tuition, but if essay quality and interesting personal traits are good, also an invite to Chancellor’s Scholars Weekend to interview for Full Tuition. Let me know if you have questions, and I’ve wrote quite a bit about this in other replies you can see on my profile.
Really need a budget and an SAT/ACT score to give good advice. If med school is the plan then you want to save money on undergrad. Med school is expensive. Honestly, like most kids the most economical option is usually an in-state flagship.
UC’s don’t offer OOS merit. Ivies don’t offer merit. NYU and Purdue not known for merit.
After that what are you looking for? Big or small school? Urban or rural?
Does Arizona have any tuition exchange programs with other states?
@chmcnm my PSAT score was 1440/1520 so hopefully when I do take the SAT/ACT itll be at least 1450+ or 31+?? I don’t think I have a firm budget but maybe net price under 40k? Not sure. At this point I’m also leaning towards in-state, but I do want to consider all of the other options too! We have the Western Undergrad Exchange which is pretty good, but it has limited options
Looking for suburban-urban, preferably not religiously affliated, idk about campus size. I’m just trying to balance out a good education with not too expensive price
Keep in mind that most merit should really be called “preferred pricing”. Also look for schools that the price is within your budget without “merit”. Being a big fish, regardless of the size of the UG pond, is important for med school admission.
