@volatyl:
I am very sorry. You must feel terrible right now.
Public universities will not give you any financial aid.
OK, sorry for thinking you had moved to the mainland; I hoped you’d have some instate options in a US State.
Most scholarships come from the colleges themselves. A complement comes from the federal governement and, in some states and for their instate residents only, state grants. Private scholarships one applies for in the Spring of senior year are one-year, one-time gifts to help buy dorm stuff, books…
Can you take a gap year? Or might your family move to the mainland and establish residency in a state?
Fine. I get it. I won’t go to California. Don’t bother replying to the thread anymore. Thank you all for responding.
Folks here are offering to help you find a good college that can help you get that bachelors degree without worrying about crippling debt.
Why wouldn’t you want that help?
If you are a prospective pre-med in Puerto Rico, why not attend a university in Puerto Rico as a pre-med, then medical school in Puerto Rico, which is relatively inexpensive, so that you can start your medical career without the huge debt burden that most US MD graduates start with. A much lower debt burden will give you much more freedom in your career and life choices – you are much less likely to feel that you have to chase the maximum amount of money every time.
You can borrow huge amounts of money for medical school (debt levels of $300,000 or so for medical school are entirely possible), but you would not want to if you have a much lower cost/debt option like medical schools in Puerto Rico.
Well, as has been said, there are several possibilities:
- your parents move and establish residency there, you work, then reapply for Fall 2019
- you apply to some colleges on the May NACAC list (colleges that miscalculated yield) if some are located in California AND have financial aid
- you take a gap year, work, and apply to CA private universities that do offer financial aid
(note that you could retake the SAT or ACT if solutions 1 and 3 seem possible, as the higher your score, the better your odds).
In addition, what did you so like about California? It’s such a big state - cool and humid in the North, hot and dry in the South, with huge sprawling cities and isolated rural areas… - what aspects of it appealed to you? There may be other states that share the characteristics that most appeal to you - states that may offer financial or merit aid for your stats.
If you can look past the inherent negativity of the situation – which is unfortunate, and everyone here knows it hurts to have plans not be possible – you will find that several posters are trying to help you find alternatives that would be more affordable. Check out their suggestions. You may still be able to find an outcome that gets you to your end goal: an affordable bio degree.
My dd attended UC Davis and was an undergrad in NPB. (NeuroPhysiology, Biology, and Behavioral Science)
Her bio classes had 500 to 1000 students.
These are some exceptionally smart students.
Most of those NPB students, at graduation, were applying to med schools.
That was 1000 undergrads with degrees.
Many of her peers have already been rejected by med schools.
You want to do this, and get loans for a quarter of $1 million? (And that’s not even med school.)
That’s pretty expensive and risky.
@mom2collegekids are any of the Alabama universities still taking applications…with guaranteed scholarships?
What SAT or ACT and GPA would be the lowest to get this kid a full tuition award? She has $15,000 between her parent, Pell and Direct Loan to cover other costs…anything still taking applications?
@ucbalumnus do you have any ideas?
You CAN go to school in CA, just not a public school. If you are Pell eligible, you need to seek out private schools known to meet most or all of your need. They have endowments which help them underwrite fees to keep the student body economically diverse. As others have said though, the numbers simply will not work at any CA public no matter how badly you want it.
This is especially important if you want to go to medical school, as there is no aid, only loans. You don’t want to carry a huge undergraduate debt in addition to a big med school debt.
Good luck!
Look guys, I’m really bitter and sad and annoyed and I just have a lot going on in my head right now. I just had all my plans completely crushed by lack of money and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I get it. I won’t go to California. I’ll probably stay in Puerto Rico to complete all my studies because I cannot take a gap year (I cannot waste a year that I could be using to get closer to med school). Now that I think about it, UCD probably accepted me because they knew I wouldn’t be able to enroll, and I just messaged UCI regarding my possible withdrawal. Thank you all anyway.
I understand you are disappointed. But take a day or two…and think about this. Then come back, let us know your stats, and maybe, just maybe someone here can give you a college option that will work for your financially.
Just want to say, get a job tomorrow, work 20 hours/week til hs grad, then full time til school starts, just say you earn $10/hour (not likely) …and you’ve earned a whopping $6k before taxes. Call it 5k. Won’t go far to help pay tuition and RB.
If you are looking at California because you like the weather, consider U of Arizona, ASU, or New Mexico. Much more financial aid available.
@eyemgh, made a good point^. You can attend a school in CA, but it would have to be a private with private dollars: USC, USD, Santa Clara, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Azusa Pacific, University of the Pacific, University of San Francisco, Mount Saint Mary’s.
Most of the privates, however, have already closed their applications.
It is not a race to get into med school; you have to get exceptional grades. That could be an advantage at a smaller private, vs. a large public school.
Also, the admissions’ office doesn’t know your financial information because the FA office is a completely separate office.
What are your stats?? Maybe we can find an affordable alternative for you
We understand that you’re upset. This sort of thing happens when students post a lot in the threads where the only concern is getting in, and not whether there will be funds to attend. After weeks/months of excitement, talking about dorms, roommates, etc, it all comes crashing down when it’s not affordable.
There isn’t a tuition fairy, and there aren’t scholarships now that would fund this.
Being a PR resident is actually a huge plus for med school admissions to the PR med schools. Go someplace that’s affordable, get the best stats you can, and hopefully you’ll get into med school. I think PR has 3 or 4 med schools.
For a full ride merit scholarship with a late deadline, http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443 suggests possibilities (depending on GPA and SAT/ACT score), but check on school web sites and/or ask directly:
Alabama State
Tuskegee
Alcorn State
Prairie View A&M
Does University of NM offer it’s scholarships to Spring admits? The website seems to indicate the Amigo Scholarship is available to Spring admitted students who apply by October 1. Maybe this would help this student.
UNM does offer the Amigo to spring admits. The Amigo is pretty much automatic so long as the student meets the academic criteria.
With the Amigo, tuition, fees, room & board is about $17K/year. Transportation to and from PR will add a couple of thousand.
FWIW, UNM has 35% Hispanic enrollment. Albuquerque, the city, is about 50% Hispanic. UNM SOM is across the street from the main campus. (Both My Ds graduated from UNM SOM.) If you are a Spanish speaker there are many, many places which would welcome you as a pre-med volunteer.
Being PR is a boost for med school admission everywhere, not just for the PR med schools.
Thanks @WayOutWestMom
Could you post the required stats so that this student will know if she is in the running for the Amigo…should that be a consideration.