<p>hi,
i was wondering about pre-med.
if i wanna do pre-med in undergrad
does it mean majoring in sciences like biology or chemistry and goin to medical school?</p>
<p>also, does it matter which undergrad school i go to ?
and can anyone recommend me some good schools for pre-med?
i prefer urban, west coast , and east coast.
i live in virginia..</p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>oh my sat is 1820… and gpa 3.86.
financial aid is important…</p>
<p>You can major in anything you like, as long as you complete the pre-requisites for med school (it varies by school but usually includes a year of bio, org chem, physics, and english). Lots of kids do major in one of the sciences, but by no means all. </p>
<p>Most good schools can prepare you for medical school, but you’ll need top grades, a good MCAT score, decent recommendations from your profs (which are easier to get at a smaller school) and demonstrate sufficient interest by working/volunteering in the medical community over the summer. Plan to work hard.</p>
<p>thank you for your comment!
i think lac or medium university would be good.
does anyone know any lac or medium universities in urban setting with good financial aid?</p>
<p>With your scores you should probably look in your home state (which is where?). Going OOS to most schools you would have to pay some hefty tuition. And most state schools offer little FA to OOS students. I’m not too sure of many privates that would give enough $ to make them competitive with your in-state schools.</p>
<p>1) As said above, it doesn’t matter what you major in if you want to go to medical school so long as you meet the medical school’s prerequisite undergraduate courses. Major in what you want to major in.</p>
<p>2) There are pros and cons to both types of schools. Liberal arts colleges will allow you more time with your professors and a broader range of studies; universities will allow you more opportunities to do advanced research and to take specialized classes.</p>
<p>OP’s Quote: *hi,
i was wondering about pre-med.
if i wanna do pre-med in undergrad
does it mean majoring in sciences like biology or chemistry and goin to medical school?</p>
<p>also, does it matter which undergrad school i go to ?
and can anyone recommend me some good schools for pre-med?
i prefer urban, west coast , and east coast.
i live in virginia…
oh my sat is 1820… and gpa 3.86.
financial aid is important…
*</p>
<p>Erin’s dad’s quote: *With your scores you should probably look in your home state (which is where?). Going OOS to most schools you would have to pay some hefty tuition. And most state schools offer little FA to OOS students. I’m not too sure of many privates that would give enough $ to make them competitive with your in-state schools. *</p>
<hr>
<p>Erin’s Dad is right. Your in-state schools will likely be the best for you.</p>
<p>The key issues are your career objective (physician), your need for FA, and your stats.</p>
<p>Because you’ll need HUGE loans for med school, **you need to MINIMIZE your loans **for undergrad - otherwise you’ll run out of borrowing power before you finish med school. If you have too much debt, many med schools will NOT accept you because they’ll think you’ll run out of money before finishing. </p>
<p>Since you’re in-state for Virginia, you are lucky because there are many good schools there that can prepare you for med school. </p>
<p>**Any **good (decently ranked) school that is strong in Bio, Chem, Physics, and Math can prepare you for med school. As long as you do well there and do well on your MCATs, you’ll likely get accepted to med school.</p>
<p>Yes, some privates will give you some grants, etc, but I don’t think with your stats that they can bring down a $50k+ COA to near the cost of your in-state schools. If others know of privates that will bring down the OP’s costs down to near what the COA is for UVa (which is: $21,012 ).</p>
<p>Do you know what your EFC is? Do you know how much your parents can pay? Here’s the link to an online EFC calculator. If your parents are divorced, most privates that give good aid require financial info from both parents.</p>
<p>You can always go OOS for med school, residency, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with everything M’s Mom said. </p>
<p>But do take some time to look at your state colleges and some private ones. Why not try for it? The money you might have to pay or get loans for at a private college could be the same as the tuition for your state college. There is nothing wrong with applying broadly and figuring it out from there. I got into a lac and am going there (I’m getting financial aid) and I also plan on going to medical school and if not that, then graduate school. My point is to apply to both kinds of colleges. When you get all of your acceptances, from there you can figure out what is affordable and what is not. Start searching for lacs and medium-sized universities!</p>
<p>thank you for all the comments it was very helpful!</p>
<p>Somehow, the link didn’t post for the EFC calculator.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml)</p>
<p>Yes you can apply to some privates and hope for some good FA/merit packages, but first you need to determine what your financial situation is so that you can increase your chances for the best packages based on your financial situation and stats. Obviously, if you’ll need and qualify for lots of aid, there’s no point to applying to schools that can’t meet such need without huge loans or have big gaps :(</p>
<p>By using the EFC calculator, you’ll get a rough idea of what your EFC is. Then you’ll need to find out if your family can pay that. If your EFC is small and affordable, then you’ll need to look for schools that can meet need without big loans with your stats. If your EFC is unaffordable, then you’ll need to look for other alternatives since you’ll have a gap. Of course, there are many schools that include gaps in their FA packages no matter what.</p>