Hi there, I am new to this whole forum so please bear with me if this isn’t the type of discussion you are looking for, but I could really use some input and guidance from people who have made the same types of descisions that I am looking to make right now:) I am going to be a high school senior this year and am currently trying to search for schools to apply to and visit. I am very strongly passionate about a career in the medical field- specifically emergency medicine. If all goes as planned (which yes, I know that the chances of that are quite slim but a girl’s gotta dream, right?) in roughly 9 years I will be entering into a residency as an ER physician. Right now I just need some advice on some schools to check out as I pursue and undergrad degree in the near future. I live in Arizona and I do know that U of A has an excellent (and for me as a resident, cheap) pre-med program, which I am not opposed to attending. I simply want to keep my options open however, and I have always wanted to go out of state for college. Right now I plan to tour both Baylor and Creighton and I am considering planning a visit to CU Boulder as well. What do you think of these schools as a place for me to study for my undergrad? are they worth the out of state cost? Do you have any other suggestions of schools that might fit me? ( and so you have an idea of the kind of student I am/financial aid I would receive, I am a 3.9 (unweighted) student, I will likely rank 2nd or 3rd in my graduating class, and i scored a 32 on my ACT. I am upcoming student body president at my school and am also a staff member of a local non-profit organization that benefits special needs children. I am involved in many extracurriculars and I have been volunteering at a local hospital for the last 3 summers) any input/suggestions/etc is GREATLY appreciated! my college counselor at school is no help at all, so I could really use any guidance or wisdom you might have!! thank you!
Additionally, I don’t think I’m really “Ivy” material, and I know that my parents can’t afford it. My main problem is that my parents currently make enough to send me to a private school right now AND I am an only child, so basically I know that I won’t receive much in the way of actual financial aid, more likely I am looking for heavy scholarships and grants.
@futureER Few random thoughts to address few areas you touched with the assumption.
Assumption: You seem to be clear medicine is your carrier and you have already taken steps like volunteering for 3 summers (which is a great step). Because many points below will differ completely if medicine is not your choice and plan to pursue any other carrier.
- Cost: If non-medicine, then it is more relevant to choose an ideal college even if it is going to cost. But for medicine, UG is to meet certain pre-reqs and it does not matter if you did at a top college or 150+ ranked college. Also MD cost a lot, so better to be prudent to save money in UG. Still there is no harm to in doing out of state (since that is your desire), if it is not adding too much. In case if you are going to be a national merit scholar, then look for few colleges which give NM Merit aid, in that way that satisfies your desire to go OOS and also not cost that much.
- Have you thought about BA/BD-MD programs? Explore that if that is of any interest to you. This approach has its own pros and cons and people differ with their view points.
- Do research and don't underestimate that some colleges do give merit aid. Random names, USC, Uof Pittsburg, Baylor, UAB.
Seriously, @futureER it doesn’t matter what undergrad you attend as a pre-med.
Pre med classes are mostly lower level intro classes that are offered at almost every single undergrad in the country. One of my kiddos went to a top 30 undergrad and one went to a below #200 ranked state university. Both had multiple med school acceptances and both are now doctors. Pre med is all about the applicant, not about the school they went to.
Some things you need to keep in mind as pre-med:
- most pre-meds don’t make it. There are a variety of reasons, including academics, but most simply change their minds. Medicine is a long, tough, extremely frustrating slog with tons of hoops to jump through.
Plus life happens. No matter how well you plan things out, there are always, always, unforeseen events.
- med school, even your in-state med school, is expensive. Med students graduation hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. (Not exaggerating. The average med student has $200K in med school loans at graduation About 15% have over $350K in loans.)
With this in mind—here’s my advice:
Pick an undergrad that fits you, that offers you alternative majors that appeal to you, and is affordable.
Fit allows you to be happy and get involved with the college community. College is an important time for growth & maturity. And to put it simply, you don’t want to be miserable for the next 4 years of your life.
Alternative majors are important because, as I alluded to above, 75% of freshman pre-meds never even apply to med school. 60% of those who persist and do apply to med school don’t get accepted anywhere. This means every pre-med needs a Plan B. You need to think long & hard about what your Plan B will be. Biology & chem majors are a dime a dozen and career prospects for grads in those majors are pretty dismal. This includes at the graduate (PhD) level.
Lastly your undergrad should be affordable. This mean few or no loans for you, if possible. This also mean you need to think about ways to pay less than the sticker price. Ask your parents if they would consider putting aside some of your college monies to help defray the cost of your professional or graduate schooling if you choose a less expensive college.
CU-Boulder is incredibly stingy with OOS aid–even for high achieving students. (CO produces plenty of its own high achievers, thank you. No need to buy OOSers.) Also volunteering opportunities for pre-meds are limited. One small regional hospital in Boulder; 35,000 undergrads. (The CO med school campus is in Aurora, 45 minutes away by car through various mountain passes. )
Baylor and Creighton are both religion affiliated schools. (Baptist and Catholic, respectively). Make sure you are OK with the expectations of each school. IIRC, Baylor has–or used to have–mandatory chapel attendance for freshmen. Creighton may require GE classes in religion/ethics for graduation.
Low cost alternatives: Do you have a price point in mind? What’s your ideal budget? Have your used the NPC (net price calculators) for colleges you’re looking at. Google name of college + net price calculator
TBH, you’re not likely to get huge amounts of merit aid unless you go down in selectivity from UA and ASU.
Why? because colleges use merit aid to improve their academic profile. The more competitive the college, the higher your stats need to be to get merit. At USC–which GoldenRock mentioned-- the average ACT for accepted students is 32. You’re not likely to get merit at USC. You’d get instate tuition at Alabama and UNM.
You might ask in the financial aid forum for recommendations on merit scholarships. Lots of knowledgable posters there.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/
How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.
Good colleges for future pre-meds include Grinnell, St Olaf, and Whitman. Run the NPC.
Definitely apply to ASU Barrett and UA Honors as those are good in-state options.
Forget CU, no scholarships to be had.