Hello, I was just wondering if anyone could help me choose what college I should be looking at, I’m a Sophmore so nothing is final but I’m a daughter of immigrants so I’m the first in my family to go to college in America and I’m confused, I know I want to major in Biology and minor in Psychology, I also know I want to go to a larger city college (NYU, Columbia, UCLA, UCSF) I was wondering if anyone had any advice? I have a 4.0 gpa unweighted and I’m taking a program called the IB program next year and I’m in National Honor Society and I plan on taking the SAT in a couple months but my goal is to get more than a 15. So what I’m asking is what college would be the best and pros and cons of the colleges that wrote about previously
my advice is to take it one step at a time. How did you decide on medicine, and more specifically on being a doctor?
When a lot of HS kids think of a career in medicine it becomes “I’m pre-med!” and happily embark on a track that will take 11-15 years of school/training plus enormous debt. Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few. as you can see on http://explorehealthcareers.org
Given you are a sophomore I suggest you find a way to volunteer in a health care setting (hospital, nursing home, etc). Experience in a health care setting is an unwritten requirement to get into med school and actually required for some such as many PT schools. Maybe you find out a doctor is your best choice, maybe you find out you’d prefer a different area, maybe you find out you don’t like being around sick people (like my Bio teacher in HS who got a nursing degree only to find she didn’t like the career).
An additional benefit of doing this is it will give the motivation to persevere thru the hard work it takes as a pre-med should it turn out to be right for you. A lot of kids that throw in the towel (maybe 3+ out of 5 entering college as pre-med) because they were never that committed in the first place.
edit: you mentioned UCSF which has no undergrad programs, so drop that from your planned list
Choose an affordable school.
Med school will be VERY expensive, so you need to go with with your eyes wide open about the finances.
I agree with both @mikemac and @“aunt bea”. Take this one step at a time.
Two very critical things for premed students is to choose a university where you can maintain a very high GPA, and also choose a university that is affordable. Medical school admission depends a LOT on GPA and MCAT scores. There are a very large number of universities that have very good premed programs and that can prepare you well for the MCAT. However, medical school is very expensive. Students who graduate with their MD degrees frequently have a very large debt, and you should try to minimize this as much as you can. As such, the affordability of the university that you attend for undergrad is very important.
Also, medical school admissions depends upon experience volunteering in a medical situation. Medical schools want to accept students who are going to stick with it, and having a lot of experience in a medical situation at least implies that you have some sense of what you are getting yourself into.
Premed classes are going to very challenging wherever you go to university. My daughters are not premed, but they have friends who are premed and they have taken many classes which overlap with classic premed classes. It is not unusual to hear of midterm exams where the class average is between 40 and 50. It is the students who are getting 80’s and 90’s in these classes who are the ones who are actually likely to end up in medical school. As such, there is nothing wrong with attending a very good in-state public school for university where you are in the top 1/4 of all incoming students. Even in a school where you are in the top 10% of incoming students, you will find premed classes to be very challenging.
Putting this all together, you should very seriously consider attending an in-state public school for undergrad.
What state are you from?
You can’t go to UCSF because it’s only a grad school. No undergrad.
NYU gives terrible aid, so unless your family will pay $75k per year to go there, take it off your list.
What is your home state? If you’re not a Calif resident, take off all UCs.
How much will your family contribute each year for college?
Thank you for your reply, I didn’t know UCSF didn’t have a undergrad program so maybe for med school,but I wanna become a pediatrician and maybe work in the Doctors Without Borders program for some time, I am in a international medical competition club called HOSA and starting next year I plan on voulenteering at a nursing home.
I became interested in medicine bc my mom died due to a doctor messing up and my dad is currently in a nursing home bc he is paralyzed, (I live with my uncle and aunt who don’t treat me the best, which is why I’m trying to figure everything out bc they don’t want to help) but I became intrested in medicine because I want to help people and that’s as much as I know right now.
Other than voulenteering is there any other advice you have on how to prepare myself?
My home state is Michigan but I definitely do not want to stay in Michigan, I have a lot of family drama and I want to get away from them, I’m not sure how much my family is willing to pay because they don’t treat me the best and I know NYU has a free medical grad school so if I went to say Columbia and then went to NYU for grad school would that work?
I am from I am from Michigan but I have family that I visit every summer in California so after I graduate and if I get into a UC and I changed my perm at address to their house, how would I have to pay (like in-state or out of state) but also I really want to go to a larger city college just to get away from the people I live with
Also what can I do to help me get into colleges? I go to a HIGHLY competitive magnet school and I’m trying to do my best but I feel like it’s not enough
@romanigypsyeyes is one of our Michigan experts. She should have some good ideas for you.
Money is an issue for almost everyone. You need to find out several things from your family so that you know whether or not you will need to apply for financial aid. Some families do have lots of money put away for their children’s educations. So ask your family about the money. How do they expect you to pay for your education? Can they commit to helping you with a specific amount of money each year? Will they attach any strings to that money (e.g. only in Michigan, only at a college like XYZ, etc.)?
If you are a US citizen or legal permanent resident, or fall into one of the other immigration categories that allow you to apply for financial aid with the FAFSA, you need to know what your guardianship situation is. Is your dad mentally competent and still making decisions for you, or have your aunt and uncle been named your legal guardians by the state court system in Michigan? That will affect how you apply for financial aid. If you have a court-ordered legal guardianship, you will file the FAFSA as an independent student. If not, you will file it with your dad.
Your GPA is very good. A high SAT or ACT score will make a big difference in where you can be admitted and the kinds of scholarships you might qualify for. With good enough scores and grades, you might be able to land a true full-ride (tuition, fees, room, meals) somewhere. Spend some time reading up on that in the Financial Aid Forum.
You do not need to go to Columbia for your undergraduate degree in order to get into medical school at NYU. Medical school admission is based on your grades, your MCAT score, your letters of recommendation, your required volunteer/shadowing hours, etc. The name of the college or university you attend does not matter at all. Provided you have the grades, scores, etc. required, you can get into NYU medical school or the medical school at the Mayo Clinic (also free) from any of the state universities in Michigan. So don’t worry about that now.
Moving to California will not immediately make you an in-state resident for tuition and fees. You would need to be independent for financial aid purposes, and you would need to live and work there for at least a year before you qualified. You can check the websites of the universities in California to find out what the specific residency policies are.
Since you are female, you should take a good long look at the women’s colleges. https://www.womenscolleges.org/ Many of them have excellent track records for getting students into medical school, other professional schools, and graduate school. Your GPA is definitely in range for the top women’s colleges (Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley), which means that the next tiers down would be admissions matches and safeties.
Lastly, if your ACT/SAT scores don’t turn out to be what you’d like, take a look at test-optional colleges and universities. http://fairtest.org/
Wishing you all the best!
Pre-med
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
- The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
- The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
- Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
- Success in graduates getting into med school
- Options if you don’t go to med school
“My home state is Michigan”
You are lucky about this part. You have superb in-state options.
If you attend Michigan State or U. of Michigan, and if you live on campus, then it will feel like a completely new world compared to living with the relatives that you are currently with. Even if you are only 5 miles from your current home it will still be a new start on life.
If you can get great grades at MSU or UM, along with volunteering, then you are in relatively good shape for medical school – at least to the extent that anyone can every be in good shape for medical school. These are very good universities.
I also agree that schools where you can get strong merit awards are worth looking at.
It is very difficult to get in-state status in California. This is a change from the 1970’s when I was in university. The state of California just can’t afford to subsidize education for the many out of state students who would like to attend one of the great public universities there. However, you have equally great public universities in Michigan.
I might add: Your excellent high school grades are going to help you. You have worked hard and assuming that you continue to work hard this will help you be well prepared for university. The volunteering that you are planning for next year is another very good step. I think that you have a very good future. Keep an open mind and keep working hard, try not to get overloaded, do some test preparation before the SAT or ACT tests, and I expect you do to well.
@happymomof1 My dad is not mentally competent(he had 3 strokes), my aunt and uncle are my legal guardians. I am a US citizen also. If I can score high enough on my SAT, will I be able to get a full ride? my uncle and aunt don’t have money saved up for me as I only living with them a few years back. Barnard is definitely on my list for colleges to apply to, I just want to go to a college in a urban city (New York, Chicago,Los Angeles, San Francisco) and a college that will give me experience and into medical school and I think Columbia is the one, My guardians don’t allow me to go to football games or parties so I kinda want to experience that too. But I don’t want to go to a party school because education is definitely number 1 for me
It also might be worth noting that if I can successfully pass my IB diploma, i should have a weighted 5.0 and 12 college credits, if I can maintain all A’s and pass the exams, which hopefully with enough studying I can.
Also what is applying for college like? What do I have to do?
If your legal guardians live in Michigan, you will not be able to become a California resident unless you become independent, live in California 1 year prior to attending a UC and are able show you that you get no support from any adults. Your residency will be determined by where you and your legal guardians currently reside. As an out of state applicant, you will receive no financial aid and it will cost your around $65K/year to attend a UC.
@DadTwoGirls I know Michigan has fantastic schools but I just don’t really want to stay in Michigan,-I want to get as far away and I want to be independent, also a big reason why I want to live in the city is because my guardians won’t let me get my liscence and I feel like I won’t have to worry about that in the city. But I think I will apply to UofM and MSU,just in case I can’t afford anywhere else
It also might be worth noting that if I can successfully pass my IB diploma, i should have a weighted 5.0 and 12 college credits, if I can maintain all A’s and pass the exams, which hopefully with enough studying I can. Along with the voulenteering and all the other stuff you have to do in IB, I hopefully can stand out a little
Other than that, Do you have any more advice on what I should do to get into a school like Columbia or UofM? I know Sat prep and GPA and being involved in school but what do colleges look for?
@Gumbymom Thank you, that cleared it up a lot, but what if another pair of relatives to adopt me, who do live in California and have been living there for 8 years? Would I be considered instate then? I’m only asking because I know they would if it was for college
I’m not a lawyer, you need a lawyer to give a reliable answer to a question like this.
But looking at the residency policy at https://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf it sounds like you would still need to be present in CA for a year and a day as a minimum requirement. The only mention of adoption is in the section under minors so I don’t know if this means they need to adopt you while you are still under 18.
No, or else the top 1-2% (or whatever cutoff you want to use) of kids taking the SAT would be going to college on a “full ride” and a little investigation on your part would show this is hardly the case.
If money is a big issue then even CA residency may not get you as much as you expect. The cost of attendance in-state at UCLA is 33K/yr and likely to keep rising. Financial aid at UCs is not very good, even those with need are not getting everything paid for. If your family income is below $80K then tuition and fees may be covered under the Blue & Gold plan which still leaves $19K/year in housing/food/books/insurance. If you come out to CA you may end up attending a CC for 2 years and then still struggle to pay for the last 2 years of college (UCLA or elsewhere) which doesn’t sound like the college experience you are hoping for.
You would have a lot of legal hurdles to overcome and as @mikemac stated, you need to contact a lawyer about changing your guardians.
Here is some information about attending California universities as a Pre-Med.
California med school applicants and acceptance rates:
CA is one of the worst states for a pre-med to be a resident of. Large population; not enough med school seats.
CA produced over 6200 med school applicants in the last cycle. Only 16% of the those 6200+ matriculated at a CA med school (public or private). Another 25% matriculated at an OOS med school, but most CA applicants (59% or 3652) were not accepted into ANY med school.
Nationally, less than 40% of med school applicants are accepted into any medical school in any given year. The odds for MD/PhDs are even poorer–238 applied; 88 matriculated.
https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/321542/data/factstableb7.pdf
@Gumbymom @mikemac Ohh ok, yea I am not sure I really want to go to a California college now, I might still apply as my dad and brother live there but I think I am going to aim for Columbia and if not then Umich and, MSU might be a safety school, I was looking at Columbia’s aid and trying to think about scholarships and hopefully my college will be about 15k but who knows.
I think for now I will just focus on getting a high SAT score, volunteering as much as I can, staying active in clubs and focus on getting through on IB because that might help with college alot, and I know it is supposed to be challenging, Is there anything else is should do that would increase my chance of getting into college/getting scholarships?
Also thank you so much for your help, my guardians don’t help at all and our relationship has gotten to the point where I need therapy once a week to cope with it but they wont change how they are and they think its all my fault which why they even send me to therapy lol.
Michigan is a HUGE state and we have a lot of great options - MSU, U of M, WSU, etc. When I went to MSU, my best friend was at Tech and I never saw him because it was a ridiculous drive. It was quicker for me to fly to see him in Florida when he moved there than getting to the UP. Just to remind you of perspective 
You won’t know know that MSU is a safety until you get some test scores. MSU isn’t as easy to get into as it was a generation ago. However, assuming your test scores follow your GPA, you should be fine.
I was a first gen college student with 2 disabled parents so I get parts of what you’re going through. I ended up choosing MSU and I’m at U of M for my phd.I’m happy to answer questions you might have.
I don’t check this subforum though so feel free to tag or PM me.