<p>Forgive me I don't know exactly where to put this, but has to do with my premed study I want to get into. </p>
<p>I'm in my senior year of High school. I have good grades and a 3.6ish gpa my weighted is little higher. I retook my ACT and believe I'm going to get into the low 30s or at least high 20s. I want to be a surgeon. I'm don't plan on specializing on a body part. I a couple of weeks ago we had a state and community college application week where you could apply for free, and my deen forced me to apply to a few as fall back schools. I got accepted to them already. I applied to the U of M twin cities, and I just have to send my transcript, and honestly the U was my fall back school and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get in. I am also applying to Macalster ( I really like this school), Hamline, and Augsburg. I want to Major in Physics ( I love physics), and Philosophy. Then apply to Medical School ( I really have no preference). I am more concerned with where I want to undergrad because I really dont want to go to college in Minnesota. Although my mother is really against me moving out of state, but i think I can convince her. I want to go to college in California, and I was thinking Berkley, Santa Clara, San Diego, and Santa Barbra. Or go to NYU or Colombia because I like the big city feel, but I heard NYU isn't to good with Financial aid but I like its location in Greenwich Village , and I like that Colombia is an Ivy, but I feel Colombia is too far away from the action of New York City. </p>
<p>Basically I'm really lost, and I need guidance on what to do and what your thoughts on these school or my dilemma.</p>
<p>Visit the schools and do your research. The school that is a great match that would allow you to succeed is the one you should matriculate. You have years of unbelievably hard work ahead of you before you can call yourself a surgeon. That is why you need to start off well and happy.</p>
<p>As an OOS student, the UCs are going to be very expensive too (50k+/yr) and likely no need based FA. Columbia is going to be difficult for admission with your gpa, and possibly ACT. When applying to med school, your gpa and MCAT will be much more important than the name of your UG college. It’s good that your Dean had you apply to safeties, both financial and admissions, UMinn-TC is a great school. </p>
<p>What is your financial situation like, how much can your family afford to pay and will you qualify for need based FA?</p>
<p>Note: When filling out your applications, do be careful with spelling: Dean, Macalester, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Columbia.</p>
<p>Thank you for your inputs. I’m am doing research, and I know the path to being a surgeon is going to be long and hard. </p>
<p>Entomom-
I will probably will qualify for need based FA because my family doesn’t make a lot of money. My uncle lives in the Bay Area ( with some extended family) so I won’t be completely alone if I go to school their ( one of my mothers main concerns), and I know I’ll be a OOS student but I really like California. If I go to Columbia or NYU I have no family their, but I also want to live in NYC. I’m also not choosing my undergrad just for the prestige because apparently Med Schools don’t care that much. I’m just choosing it based on where I want to go not really prestige. </p>
<p>I could go to the U of M Twin Cities ( which is a good school) and then after go to the U of M medical school like a block away. I’m just not digging it here so I want to go out of state. If doesn’t work out I could still get into Macalester, or the U of M.</p>
<p>nuux–you need to understand that at public universities, need-based aid is often very limited. Often no more than federal student loan limits ($5500/freshmen; $6500/sophomore and $7500/jr and sr.) Most public Us simply cannot afford to give you more than that.</p>
<p>No California public university (UC or CSU) will give you need-based FA to cover the cost of the OOS tuition differential. (About $30,000/year). Even though you have extended family in CA, you will not be considered in-state for tuition purposes. Your legal state of residence will remain in MN since that is where you parents live.</p>
<p>And taking out substantial loans simply to live somewhere else—not a great idea for pre meds. Medical school is breath-takingly expensive and there isn’t a whole of FA available except for loans. It’s wise to minimize the amount of undergrad debt if you’re serious about medical school in your future.</p>
<p>If you want to apply to the UCs, go ahead, but be prepared that you probably will not be able to afford them.</p>
<p>Since you have some strong ideas about where you want live, you should try using College Board’s BigFuture search engine</p>
<p>You can search by geographical area, by major, by test scores (plus other criteria) to find schools that might be better match for you than Columbia or Berkeley.</p>
<p>And whatever else you do–make sure that you get your app into UMN-TC on time.</p>
<p>Nobody can tell which school you personally will like. You have to figure it out on your own, while NOT keeping in mind Med. School at this point at all.
After you determine which schools match your personality and wide range of interests (current and potential), then keep in mind for the Med. School:
-it is a good idea to attend the cheap (free) UG
-you will have to get a very high college GPA (3.6+)
-having good pre-med advisory/committee will help a lot in your application
-major is not important
-opportunities for volunteering / Research are important, but frankly I do not know a single place that lack them.
-name of your UG / rank / your perception of good pre-med or bad pre-med is completely irrelevant, Med. School will not care about it. GPA / MCAT below certain level will cut you off.</p>
<p>Some med schools favor in-state applicants. Check and see if your state med school does. (AAMC). Since that will be a good target for med school, you may want to consider whether you want to spend the next 8 years in your state, or try a different location. Remember, you can go elsewhere for residency training too.</p>
<p>First, maybe see if you like big schools or small schools, LACs or research uni. If FA will be a consideration, use the price calculators for a general idea, and apply to a larger range of schools. Your in-state schools may turn out to be your best financial bet. </p>
<p>Case Western Reserve Univ, Wash U, Duke, Northwestern, Tufts, are some larger schools to consider. All have merit aid as well as need-based aid. If you think you are Ivy material, the need-based aid is very good.</p>
<p>The merit scholarships at WUSTL and Duke are highly competitive, and an applicant with a gpa of 3.6 is likely not in the running. NU and Tufts (with limited exceptions) have only need based FA:</p>
<p>“Case Western Reserve Univ, Wash U, Duke, Northwestern, Tufts, are some larger schools to consider.”
-CWRU is a small private school. I do not know about the rest.</p>
<p>…However, CWRU is very well known for great Merit awards to the top students. I am not sure if GPA=3.6uw would fall under their category of the top caliber applicant. 4.0 / ACT=33+ will get great Merit at CWRU (pretty close to a full tuition). Besides that, many IS will offer full tuition Merit award, but again, I am not sure if 3.6uw would be considered for that</p>
<p>You’re not going to GET the need-based aid that you’d need for UCs. They do NOT give need-based aid to cover the OOS portion of tuition. So, your family would HAVE to pay (at LEAST) $23,000 per year, PLUS full loans of about $5500. </p>
<p>If your family can’t pay $23k per year for a UC (plus the loans), then no UC will be affordable for you.</p>
<p>You need to understand that just because your family has a low income and a low EFC, does NOT mean that schools have to give you the money to attend. Not at all. Especially state schools and many privates.</p>
<p>Have you run the NPC for UMinn? IF not, do so.</p>
<p>What was your last ACT score? The scores are out.</p>
<p>*but I feel Colombia is too far away from the action of New York City. *</p>
<p>lol…no its’ not too far away. </p>
<p>That said, if you’re going to be a serious premed student, then looking for schools for the “action of a big city” is not a good plan. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that a premed can’t have any fun, but your fun will be more limited. Plus, you’re not going to have the money to be clubbing in NYC. lol</p>
<p>Columbia is on the upper west side and while far from the village, is not far from plenty of action, plus, unlike NYU, you actually have a campus.</p>
<p>^This sounds much better, I never understood the hype about NYU, right there in a middle of the place that presents many challenges to those who live there.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>think that this should not be posted on pre-med board as it does not matter</p></li>
<li><p>more likely to get “non-need based” $ at a public school if you are high ACT/SAT/GPA than at private. For example ALL aid (even if you are best quarterback in the nation) at Stanford is need bases. Harvard guarantees full aid if low income (it was < $100,000 last year)</p></li>
<li><p>figure out what you want to major in and which schools top in that subject and then where you would like to live. (For example if you wNt to be an engineer, Penn State would be a top choice)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>^ Nope. Stanford offers athletic scholarships based on athletic talent and their need for it on their teams-- no financial need necessary. If you are the best quarterback in the nation, you will get a full scholarship. It is not an Ivy, it is in the PAC12.</p>
<p>Also, many private schools (outside the top 25) give merit aid and many OOS publics do not.</p>
<p>Camom
According to the Dean of Admission in a talk to significant donors / alums, you are incorrect. Over the past several years, all $ is now need based - even to top athletes or scholars. They even had the courts ok changes to named scholarships that offered $ to specific applicants (ie from xyz city or corporation or Olympian) to add need based to them.
If you are a top athlete, you will only get a “likely” letter of admission.</p>
<p>I disagree. The OP wants to attend college OOS and is interested in medical school, but has a poor understanding of how need based FA works. Money is a large factor in choosing schools to apply to or attend, and if med school is a possibility, it is even more important to consider.</p>