<p>I don’t think there’s any reason to assume that airfreshener doesn’t stand a chance – he’s got a strong academic background and he won’t know if he can get into those programs without applying.</p>
<p>It’s just that his parents need to be realistic about how difficult those programs are; and airfreshener needs to accept that his parents are unwilling to pay more than the cost of an in-state public for a 4 year undergraduate school if he doesn’t make it. </p>
<p>Seems to me that the OP should be very grateful that he has parents willing to pay him to attend a public college and willing to finance medical school, and that he should keep options open by applying both to the combined degree programs that his parents are willing to subsidize, and looking for merit aid at undergrad schools that he would like to attend.</p>
<p>I think it is bizarre to require that you apply only to combined undergrad and med school programs. Many kids want to be doctors and change their minds, first of all. There is really no reason that you have to do the combo program if you don’t want to.</p>
<p>Is this fixation on med school cultural? Have your parents always wanted you to be a doctor? Have you?</p>
<p>You don’t mention anything about financial aid (at least in the posts I read). Do your parents know that it can be cheaper to go to top financial aid schools, than going to state schools?</p>
<p>Why are your parents so afraid of what will happen with your lifestyle in college? Either you have given them reason for these fears, or your parents are very irrational and paranoid.</p>
<p>There was a poster who claimed that you had little chance of getting into an Ivy or other top school and that is just simply not true. The top schools will be interested in not only yours scores and GPA but your research and college courses. You have shown a dedication to your area of interest, and your academic career to this point is impressive. </p>
<p>You might want to consider applying to some Ivys and other top schools but be prepared to work very hard so that your dream of medical school is possible. If your EFC is very low than you will probably get more aid at one of these schools than you would at a state school. Good luck to you and remember to have a few safety schools as well as reach schools in the mix. Your parents may change their mind when they see what the real cost of these schools are when the packages arrive.</p>
<p>thank you momma-three for your words. I had a feeling that people were being TOO harsh. There was a similar candidate in my school and she ended up getting into UPENN, Columbia, Cornell, etc. If i were to show you candidates from my school getting into IVIES, you would not be impressed by their credentials based upon the other types of AMAZING people that come on here who do get admitted into the same colleges. The problem is that with most people, they don’t realize the crappiness of my school. It’s hard to do something outstanding if there’s no environmental basis to help foster that outstandingness. Of course this is not a way of me saying that “colleges should forgive me b/c i go to a crappy school. I think i’ll get into top colleges based upon my present credentials” but the fact that context is not taken into account is my defense. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve wanted this for over 5 years. It’s me. But an outsider, someone not in my family, would think “oh look another asian trying to be a doctor cuz his parents are forcing him”
It’s not like that. In fact, my parents even said that i could be whatever i wanted to be; it’s just that i would have to find direct programs for that field.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This was mentioned but thank you. It is definitely one of my options. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re referring to the fact that i want to have fun, or the fact that maybe i’m a spoiled brat? I really don’t feel like elaborating…but i’ll keep it short. It’s only natural for people to lighten up when they get into college, especially when they’ve worked hard in high school. No one is a robot. I guess some people aren’t human beings…(aka the people that are against the idea of my having fun) but i am…so sorry…Your counterargument will most likely be that my parents are paying alot for me to go to med school, not to have fun. This counterargument is under the assumption that i don’t do anything in med school, that i fail med school because of too much partying. Not once in my posts have i said that i will get wasted/do too much partying.</p>
<p>No they didn’t but now they do. They have agreed to make the compromise that if i apply to 6-7 med programs, i can also apply to 6-7 top schools that i would like to go to. And yes, I will have a safety.</p>
<p>All i said is that i want to have fun to them. Note that i didn’t say “…i ONLY want to have fun”. Makes a big difference. But i would go with your second alternative-- “[my] parents are very irrational and paranoid.”</p>
<p>Don’t listen to the posters telling you have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting into Brown. Your stats are up there. They either a) have a misguided view of the college admissions process or b) are very cynical. I would say you have a shot at Cornell/Brown/Dartmouth and MAYBE Duke. Your current ACT is competitive for these schools, and don’t let these overzealous posters make you think otherwise. YES, it is true that many schools reject kids with perfect 36 scores and 2400s but that doesn’t change the fact that a MAJORITY of matriculating candidates to the schools I mentioned have scores similar to yours. The person who ruled you out due to your CURRENT test scores being too low was just wrong. Obviously, a higher test score would make you a more competitive applicant, but the rigor of your coursework is what matters first and foremost. I would also consider thinking long and hard about your essays granted they can really make you stand out from other candidates with similar stats. Now, I do AGREE with the posters that state that it will be VERY difficult if you only apply to medical school BA programs as those are extremely difficult to gain admission too. If your parents reconsider their position on an undergraduate education, I would suggest applying to the schools I mentioned before. Also – to the parents expressing outrage over the kid wanting to have fun: what kind of sadists are you? Obviously a $50k pricetag on an undergraduate education is nothing to scoff at and certainly not something to waste, but to deny the kid some fun is just cruel. School comes first, but that doesn’t mean it will be the only thing in his/her life. For those parents who think he is unreasonable: did you forget what it was like to be 20/30/40 years younger than you are today?</p>
<p>True about UMKC’s med program. However, it is a commuter school with small on campus residence. It is geared to people who want to get in, get educated, get out. There is not a lot of partying social life to speak of. </p>
<p>OP should look elsewhere for that…Assuming he’s serious and not a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>ABC- there are few med students or direct admit med students in the US who would put “having fun” in the top five list of what they get to do with their time during their program. I am not a sadist- but you don’t apply to the Brown program (one which I know reasonably well) if you are trying to achieve a good work/fun balance in your life. There are many other ways to do that and still be a competitive med school applicant- but the OP is quite misguided if he thinks that being in one of these programs is a good way to have a great social life and still emerge as a physician.</p>
<p>If I were the parents, I would be very concerned about the price of medical school. Students can’t get scholarships for many years of their medical education, so it’s a massive expense. Anything that could keep costs down for undergrad would be valuable. I would also be puzzled and unconvinced about why having a social life would require going out of state. Certainly, people have social lives at Rutgers and TCNJ. So this doesn’t seem like a convincing argument about why the student should go out of state. I CAN however, see pushing the parents to let you live on campus–even if you live in commuting range. There’s something about living away from home that enhances independence and maturity incredibly–and it’s still cheaper than going OOS. </p>
<p>On the other hand, you might want to look at some of the top colleges, because your scores are very good. Most Ivies would give substantial scholarships to a student whose parents made $100,000 total.</p>
<p>sorry, but the OP would never make it in ROTC. That’s for people who actually have a goal in life and aren’t just looking to party on their parents’ dime for four years.</p>
<p>Good luck even getting into a medical school when all you’re doing is hitting up the frats every night. It’s kids like you who give college students a bad name.</p>
<p>Some people actually have to work to earn their living.</p>
<p>I think some of you are being too harsh with the OP. It is normal for a 17-year old to want to have some fun at college. There are many colleges with “work hard, play hard” reputations. However, I think most direct MD programs are just “work hard”, so perhaps not the best choice.</p>
<p>My advice to the OP would be to apply broadly. Make sure you have safety, match, reach covered. Apply to both the schools you want to apply to, and to the ones your parents want you to apply to. Also, do some research to find some schools that you hadn’t considered before, that might satisfy both you and your parents.</p>
<p>If you do end up at an instate school, it is worth pushing your parents to let you live in a dorm, to have the more typical college experience. </p>
<p>Good luck with your ACT - if you do bring it up to 35, you will likely have more options. Many of the more selective schools have better need-based financial aid, and/or higher test scores open up more merit aid possibilities.</p>
<p>“my parents and yes i probably will not qualify for need-based seeing as my family makes 100K a year”</p>
<p>IIUC, they SHOULD qualify for some need based aid based on that. </p>
<p>two schools that would love your numbers, and are fairly generous with aid, are Case and RPI. Case would have more of a party scene, esp in the Greek houses. RPI might be a better match if you were female (also probably more aid). As a male you might find their social life more lacking. I am not sure yet.</p>
<p>“Certainly, people have social lives at Rutgers and TCNJ. So this doesn’t seem like a convincing argument about why the student should go out of state.”</p>
<p>In fact I would think having a party life AND being premed would be easier at Rutgers than at a lot of other places the OP is thinking of. Sorry.</p>
<p>I would not completely discount the “I want to get out of here” issue. My DD faced that when contemplating applying to UVA or VTech. Not so much the actual kids from her HS (whom she liked, mostly, and could have avoided if she didnt) But more the sense of replicating Fairfax County Public Schools in general. If you haven’t been here, and esp been here as someone “different” I don’t know as I can explain it. </p>
<p>But of course it depends on your alternatives. Paying full fare at a tippy top school may not be an alternative. OTOH there are lots of other possible alternatives, worth looking into.</p>
<p>I didn’t say that. I said I didn’t think he had a chance of getting into Brown’s direct med program. That’s not the same as getting into Brown. I think the OP might get into Brown or any other school that he applies to, but that isn’t the same as getting into any direct med program that he applies to. But you’re right, he doesn’t have to listen to me or anyone else posting.</p>
<p>I think OP has just phrased the “having fun” part badly.</p>
<p>I think the point is that he doesn’t feel ready for the perceived rigor of a direct med program, and that he wants a more typical undergrad experience, which is not so demanding.</p>
<p>I think that even though perhaps he worded things badly both here and with his parents, the sentiment in itself is evidence that he is right – he does not yet have the maturity, drive and self-discipline for the program his parents want. </p>
<p>So he the real point is that he is simply not ready for that type of program … and if he gets in the outcome could be bad, in the sense that he might wash out because of early college adjustment issues.</p>
<p>I think that if the parents are concerned with partying they could address that issue simply making their expectations very clear about a reasonable minimum expected GPA. They might, for example, tell their son that they will only finance college if he maintains at least a 3.0. Of course the parental expectations need to be reasonable as well — and OP needs to realize that finances are a factor if he wants or expects his parents to subsidize him through college and med school. </p>
<p>Given the costs of college today, it is perfectly reasonable for any parents to tell their kids that they are sorry, but they simply are not willing to pay the full costs of a private college at today’s rates. I do think that most students who would qualify for admission to Ivies or other elites would also qualify for substantial merit money at many excellent but slightly less prestigious private colleges – so that would seem to me the best bet for the OP.</p>