<p>Alright guys and gals I'm in need of some help in looking for a good undergrad school that isn't going to break the bank. I've go pretty good stats (32 ACT, 4.0 UW GPA, well-rounded ECs, look at my Chance Me thread for the rest) and I've been talking with my dad, $20K/year is the ceiling for cost but I'd like to go somewhere I can get a nice scholarship/possible full ride while still making the necessary connections for good LORs, research ops, and quality pre-med courses. I live in Illinois so I may be asking too much on this one but if anything comes to mind let me know. I've been looking into Bradley University (pretty expensive), Wesleyan (Also expensive), U of I (Average cost with poor scholarships), and SIUE (I'm thinking I could maybe get a full ride there but I haven't heard too much about their pre-med quality...</p>
<p>I think you would be competitive for good scholarships at Miami U and Ohio U.</p>
<p>St. Olaf, Lawrence, Beloit, Knox, Carthage (for full-ride)</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad do both of those schools have pre-med programs adequate enough to prepare me for the MCAT but will still allow me to do well in class (High GPA, Class Rank, LORs)?</p>
<p>If you need to get the residual down to 20K, then full tuition scholarships are one way to go. There are several mentioned in the automatic and competitive full tuition/ride threads at the top of the Financial Aid forum page. Keep in mind that where you go to school doesn’t matter to the med school, that YOU will prepare yourself for the MCAT, that to a great extent med school admissions is a meritocracy, and it’s easier to get a high GPA at a school where your competition is limited. If you go to WashU, say, you can expect a higher percentage of pre-med students as good as or better than you are. At Auburn, the competition for the higher GPAs will not be as intense as at WashU or an ivy, where it’s often not that hard to get B’s but hell getting A’s.</p>
<p>Earlham?</p>
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<p>Premed requirements are BASIC classes…they aren’t “premed courses”. </p>
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<p>Any good school is good enough for being a premed student.</p>
<p>schools do not “prepare you for the MCAT”. The classes are basic classes that nearly all schools teach well enough. how well you do on the MCAT has to do with YOU…not the school. </p>
<p>What is your major going to be?</p>
<p>With that budget, then at least a full tuition scholarship is best. your remaining costs would be about $15k.</p>
<p>A place where you can do research (like a LAC or research U or honors college at some public) would be helpful. And yes, where there aren’t too many competitive pre-meds. MiamiU has been mentioned. You can try for one of the full-tuition scholarships at Pitt as well. </p>
<p>SIUE does evidently have some honors research program. However, are you dead sure about medicine/health as a career? School name and network don’t really matter for those fields, but may in some industries (if you decide to work after a bachelors). Also, SIUE is mostly commuter. Dunno if you care about that.</p>
<p>Could you clarify your financial situation? Have you already run some net price calculators to get an idea of how much need based aid you might be eligible for? If your family’s estimated contribution comes to $20K or less you will be able to put together a wide list of colleges.</p>
<p>Or do you already know that need based aid won’t work for you and you’re looking for merit scholarships?</p>
<p>@momrath I’m eligible for a good amount of financial aid (parents are divorced and my dad pays out a good amount of alimony) and $20k is the ceiling but that doesn’t necessarily mean I want to spend $20k. I’m looking for somewhere that would give me a possible full ride and has some good pre med courses but let me sit in the top 25% class rank</p>
<p>Be aware that many private institutions will look at the income of both parents to determine how much financial aid you get. <a href=“CSS Profile Participating Institutions and Programs”>CSS Profile Home – CSS Profile | College Board; Looking for merit aid may be your best bet.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan I’m dead set on being a practicing physician career-wise (anesthetics or cardiology most likely) so I know names and connections don’t matter as much. I just want a good pre med foundation balanced with a good college life.</p>
<p>You can get a good foundation anywhere.</p>
<p>The only difference will be ECs/access to research opportunities.</p>
<p>OP: You might want to ask MiamiDAP, who seems satisfied with the pre-med education at Miami University (Ohio) that his/her daughter received there. Or perhaps go on the Miami University discussion board and make some inquiry there.</p>
<p>@gandalf78 Sounds good I’ll message them. I just found out I can get a full tuition at the university of Alabama out of state (not sure how that school is haven’t researched it yet but free tuition sounds pretty okay to me). </p>
<p>You might also take a look at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN (next to Fargo, ND); 88% med school acceptance rate, avg aid package $25K, and 91% graduate in 4 yrs or less (unlike many state schools).</p>
<p>@Bekp2018 I like those numbers but don’t know if MN is exactly right for me… </p>
<p>I would look at the University of Dayton with your stats - you should get good aid and scholarships. I know of several pre-med majors there.</p>
<p>The son of @mom2collegekids attended Bama and is now in med school. And Dayton does have some pretty good (assured) merit aid available. <a href=“https://www.udayton.edu/parents/afford/#2”>https://www.udayton.edu/parents/afford/#2</a></p>
<p>@jackdmoore97: If money may be an issue, here is a link to another site on College Confidential that gives further links to scholarship information: <a href=“Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums. Good luck with your search. </p>