@Roentgen - I haven’t looked at the merit scholarship yet. My S was born @ LIJ. May be just for that reason he should apply :))
Hofstra seems to have few full scholarships and didn’t realize that they have been emailing DS for last 6 months and now almost weekly. Is Hofstra select candidate app common or is it really selective?
@Roentgen , @GoldenRock , Thanks a lot for all the information. We will definitely start the thinking process based on your comments. We really appreciate you guys.
@srk2017, I believe Hofstra University by itself, as an undergraduate institution, is not selective, hence the tons of admissions paraphernalia he’s getting, especially if you’re in the state.
@Roentgen - I do understand Hofstra undergrad is not selective and medical school is relatively new. That’s why it wasn’t in our list, but now wondering if it’s worth pursuing if they give full tuition for undergrad. We are not instate though.
I worked close to Hofstra ( 10+ yrs back) and familiar with LIJ surroundings. Both are safe as per I know.
DS was informed today that he will be getting Pitt GAP application soon. They won’t send interview invitations till Feb though. so it will be long wait!
@srk2017, if Hofstra were to do something like give a full-undergrad tuition scholarship, I would take it. I doubt that would happen in the Bachelor/MD track though. Since it’s a Bachelor/MD in your own home state, apply there for sure, You can see how much costs will end up being closer to the interview stage and after acceptance in which you get an accurate financial aid package about a month until May 1 to decide.
@Roentgen - We are not instate. We are in pacific time zone 
Also, do school won’t give scholarships if they see you are a combined program candidate? I remember reading some getting scholarships (from last year thread).
@srk2017, apologize, I realized that Hofstra is not a public institution anyways. It varies a lot by combined program. Some combined programs, the undergraduate university will give hardly any non-loan based aid because the combined program is enough to entice you (or easily replace you with someone else more than happy to come for the price, if you were to turn it down) others like Case’s PPSP you’d have to take the MCAT to qualify for any merit scholarships (and have to score a certain amount to stay in the program if you were to take the MCAT for that reason): https://admission.case.edu/apply/ppsp/. It varies so much, there isn’t really a one all-encompassing rule.
@sonpat: Do you suggest to include Dr. shadowing experience at the Essay? got a very touching story, but not sure if shall take that as essay topic? Thanks!
@srk2017 In our experience, we felt pretty much every school provided merit scholarship. Merit scholarship did not have any impact to whether you applied to BS/MD or just BS. The higher the ranked, the harder to get merit scholarship. The higher the ranked, the smaller the merit amount.
For example, we applied only to BS/MD programs with the exception of UC’s and Vanderbilt.
NU & Wash did not give UG admission itself (that is a different topic, we already made posts)
Vanderbilt and Rice, gave admission but $0 (higher ranked and more competitive merit scholars) (rank 10-20)
UR, CWRU, RPI, Lehigh, Miami etc ( 20-50) all gave merit aids from $20-30k
Pitt, OU, (above 50 ranked) gave full tuition.
But some lower ranked BS/MD programs like Drexel, VCU etc gave only around $20k than full tuition.
Thanks @GoldenRock. DS is mostly applying to high to mid ranked programs and applying for scholarships at couple of them.
@srk2017, I forgot to mention at places in which the institutions – undergraduate and medical school are completely separate institutions, your chances of getting some level of non-loan aid are probably higher because the entire budget isn’t all in 1 pot. Also the ones in which you’re doing a full 4 years of the undergraduate program (and thus 4 years of tuition), you’re treated as a “normal” undergrad in terms of financial aid purposes.
@Roentgen - Thanks for the update. I also have felt that 4 yr undergrad ones may treat the apps independently. I may be in minority, but I prefer my DS to do 4+4 and definitely not 2+4 (not even applying).
@srk2017, that’s probably a good idea. I’ve mentioned this in the UMKC thread, but as the application cycle progresses, the applicant often finds themselves more “committed” or “invested” to going than they were in August. So often students’ judgment will get clouded when they have that acceptance in hand. All the more reason to really investigate the program early on in the fall and early spring so you have the basic facts of the program down. So if you feel like the undergraduate experience may be too rushed or too diluted, then stick with the 8 year programs in which you can have some level of normality.
All, if we know we wont qualify for any financial aid, is it a good idea to still select “Need Financial Aid” in CA? does it help or hurt the chances of admission?
@chick5 First it does not help or hurt chances of admission. But any professionals (school reps or any paid college admission services companies) will ALWAYS recommend to apply for FAFSA. But any of your friends who have already gone thru the process with their child and have a similar profile like yours, will ALWAYS recommend it is a waste of time.
So I would suggest, review your situation, being in CA I understand your dilemma. If both you and your spouse are working and close to $250k or so, and have lot of investment properties (not your primary home) it is waste of time.
I came across this website http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■/ by the candidates who got selected to multiple programs.
Thank you @GoldenRock.