Momtoufourkids – YES, UMaine is our other choice right now (and where I went) and I would be happy to have her that close 
WOW , thanks for all the input so far!
It’s called being smart. I’ve never seen a big sign that says “Good” “Better” or “Best”, inc. Rankings are subjective. Yes! Encourage her to go to a school that’s paying for her education because it’s a wise and sensible decision. I think UCF is a GREAT decision. You’ll be surprised how many Harvard qualified students choose to do that. Debt is not your friend! There’s no rational reason to pay more money for a bachelors degree than you have to, especially when the end goal is going to be a $150k plus medical degree. Trust me, she’ll thank you later.
Have you checked U of Maine merit scholarships?
https://go.umaine.edu/apply/scholarships/maine-matters/
UMaine National Merit Award: Semi-Finalist status with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation: 100% of tuition and fees
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
most likely she would get into the Honors College https://honors.umaine.edu/
Also, run the Net Price Calculators on the websites of other colleges of interest to make sure what the colleges think is your Estimated Family Contribution.
@frozenmainemom
One important thing to consider is that most pre-meds don’t graduate and half of the ones that do graduate don’t get admitted to a medical school.
So,1.) how committed is she to pre-med? and 2.) if she were to decide to switch to something else, what else would she switch to? and 3.) do the schools you are considering have that major?
For example, if she says bioengineering or business those are not available at all schools.
If cost is so important to all the posters how about an online college education. SNHU is probably pretty cheap. @frozenmainemom how much money do you make each year?
@collegedad13 You miss the point. OP says she/he won’t get much if any financial aid and has no college savings. She/he doesn’t need to justify their finances to you or anyone else. OP’s student is an NMF and will have affordable options that will fit just fine. No one was advocating an online degree. Spend your own money as you see fit.
No, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. I think especially for undergrad where grad options are being considered having minimal to no debt is always a good idea. The full ride kind of deals can be extremely competitive so cast your net wide.
That said, you should make an appointment with a financial planner to get your finances squared away ASAP. Not just for college reasons but also to eliminate debt and plan for retirement. It is pretty sad that you may be full pay on paper but literally have nothing to put toward college. Especially if you do things like regular trips to Disney. I am watching a friend deal with elderly parents who saved nothing right now and it’s really sad. It’s a huge gift to your kids to have your elder years financed. You already made the mistake. Don’t make it worse by encouraging her to take on debt or taking it on yourself if you already have debt.
@FrozenMaineMom “am wondering if other parents would handle this situation the same or if I am rotten for “limiting” my daughter by this…”
Since you asked, yes it’s unfortunate that you didn’t save a dime for your D’s college and now she has to basically pay for college herself by getting very good test scores and grades (and she will have to maintain those grades each year in college).
We have some close friends whose S can only go to “lesser” colleges at out of state schools that give lots of merit because the parents were irresponsible with their money (e.g. living in a beach community they couldn’t afford, spending lavishly on vacations, cars, etc.). It’s just so sad to see…
Agree that you shouldn’t take on loads of debt, especially with med school looming in the future. As an aside and something to think about, my family member had medical school paid for by applying for the health professional scholarship offered by the Army. There is an Army, Navy and Airforce program. He did all of his training at Walter Reed after medical school and “paid back” his obligation by working at Army hospitals afterward while getting paid as an officer. It’s a great option for the right person. He was debt free while his med school classmates came out with around $200,000 worth of debt.
There’s a variety of ways to get a low net cost for college – merit aid, need aid, in state tuition, live at home (to save room and board), community college, online, etc. etc. etc.
So the first thing you should do is establish a realistic budget for what you can spend a year. Is it really $0.00? $10k? $20k?
Even for a NMF, full tuition schollies (rather than 100% full rides) are much more common. A full tuition deal means you still have to pay the room/board ($15-20k). Once you are paying $15-20k (rather than zero) there’s potentially many more options available to you and your kid.
Then run the NPCs at some selected schools to see what your net price would be. Don’t assume that you won’t qualify for meaningful need aid at a school like Dartmouth without actually running the numbers. Maybe you won’t, but maybe you will. Don’t guess.
Last, recognize that very few HS aspiring pre-meds will ever even apply to med school (much less be accepted to and attend med school). Only 42% of Asian college freshmen who start in science/engineering end up with an undergrad STEM degree. 32% of whites; 20% of AAs and Latinos.
So it is quite unwise to base your decision primarily on the assumption of med school. Much smarter to pick a college that would work if med school does not happen (because that is what will probably happen), but which would work for med school too.
@itsgettingreal17 I am not missing the point. Someone who says they wont get much if any financial aid means they make lots of money. The true cost of a college education is around 200k per year at a good four year institution. I guess there is a very large philosophical question as to why some one who makes lots of money deserve a free education. Nothing is free. Someone is paying for it. It may be taxpayers or alumni paying for it . Someone is paying for it.
OP, you sound very grounded and smart – no wonder you have a scholar! No, debt is rarely worth it, especially if grad school of any kind is possible. Who wants to be 21 and saddled with debt?! You might also try Princeton, much made of it here as generous with aid
You are not crazy for pushing a full ride… you can’t afford the more “prestigious” schools. Good luck to your daughter!
Like some have said make your budget of what you can afford and let your D know. Then research and apply to schools knowing that budget which might mean that not only must your D get into the school but must also get generous Merit Aid. There are plenty of resources on this site of schools with NMF awards and other schools that give merit aid. Also try the NPCs of Harvard and Princeton to see if they might work - you might be surprised.
Some top schools that have full tuition or full ride schollys include:
USCal
WashU
Vandy
Duke
UNC-CH
UVa
BU
If she wants to go to medical school, there is at least one Honors College which gives a full ride and also a guaranteed admission to their medical school if you maintain certain GPA. Forgot the name.
Been there, done that, twice so far. DS16 was strongly incouraged to go to OU (before they changed their NM scholarship) because she wanted to study meteorology and their program was prefect for her. DS18 wants comp sci it was harder with him because he is auto admit at UT and could live at home. He picked the full ride for National Merit at UT Dallas. DS20 plans to join his brother at UTD with either National Merit (crossing fingers) or their other generous merit. All three kids will graduate debt free and will have oppertunites that they might not have had at higher ranked schools.
thank you all who offered constructive thoughts and didn’t chastise me for our financial situation (and NO, I do not make millions, just a hair over the amount that would allow us to receive financial aid and NO it was not all spent irresponsibly but I will not waste my time explaining our past years’ medical bills or anything else because that was not the advice I was seeking)…It’s all good and we will get it figured out! my parents had no money for my college and I survived just fine
I would not make assumptions about the affordability of some top schools, some of which offer aid for incomes up to $ 180k. If you make more than that, I don’t understand your situations.
Someone else may know more, but the CS Profile that is used along with the FAFSA for some colleges, asks about debt and I believe it is taken into account, so that might also mean more aid than you think.
Finally, I would not make plans exclusively based on “premed.” Many schools don’t have a “premed” program. A student can major in anything and go to med school. And a large percentage of high schoolers who think they want to go into medicine, change their minds.
I think your daughter will have a lot of options. It sounds like you have an affordable in state safety. Have her apply early and then roll the dice for the competitive merit schools.
In addition to the excellent options mentioned by @dolemite take a look at Muhlenberg (PA, great pre-med and offers a few full tuition scholarships) and Case Western among privates. For publics, many have already been mentioned - UT Dallas, UNM, UVA, UCF, Alabama. I would add Arizona State U, excellent Barrett Honors Program and big merit for National Merit finalists. Also consider U of South Carolina, which has a quality honors program.
There was a long time poster whose daughter ended up taking a full ride at either Centre or Rhodes, can’t remember which, and ended up at an Ivy for med school.
Back in the day, I went to my state flagship for undergrad (free) and then got fully funded offers to top grad schools (also free). It’s not a bad way to go.
That’s not true, @collegedad13 , because not all schools meet financial need. I’m very low income and wouldn’t get any FA from a California public. PA doesn’t give much (or enough) aid to its middle class residents, and many of them go seeking merit aid from other states. Some states keep their tuition low and have a merit program, like Florida and Georgia do, so there isn’t a lot of extra need based aid being issued by the schools (fed Pell grants, yes).
On the other hand, some schools are dangling that NMF money to attract scholars. Those school must know that some people have spent all their money on wine, women and song (or beach houses) and will be forced to send their children to UKentucky, Dallas and Oklahoma to get free tuition.