Would all four of those schools give you no-loan aid? (The first three would, I’m pretty sure, but I’m not certain about Case.) IMHO only schools with a guaranteed no-loan aid package should make the cut for EDII - keep the others in the mix for RD and see what they offer, but don’t submit a binding app anywhere that the aid could be worse than your UIUC baseline.
Pomona and Swat are at least a straightforward direct flight away. Southwest has nonstops between Midway and Ontario, which is the airport of choice for the 5C’s (only 10 minutes from campus); and American has ORD-ONT nonstops. (Getting to/from LAX from campus is a mess, tbh, and to be avoided whenever possible.) There are, of course, tons of nonstops to PHL, and the flight is less than half as long as getting to SoCal… but additional time in the air is much less of an issue than having to make a connecting flight, IMHO. It’s helpful that you live near a major hub.
There are, of course, real advantages to being within driving distance. Being able to drive for move-in and move-out means not having to re-purchase the stuff you can’t fly with. Being able to get home without advance planning can mean a lot in a family emergency or when you just feel the need for an impromptu visit. I wouldn’t entirely discount your family’s preference that you stay closer. But a direct flight to an airport that’s convenient to campus is still worlds better than a planes-trains-&-automobiles scenario.
One more thing to think about, OP: You’ve expressed some weariness in the past with being a low-income student at a very high-income high school. It’s worth considering whether you want to attend a college that may evoke some of those same feelings.
You can look up any schools you’re interested in with this tool. (Bowdoin is #27. Case is #178. UIUC is #307. )
What these stats won’t reveal is what day-to-day expenses feel like on these campuses. Swarthmore is known for having an extremely all-inclusive campus lifestyle, with little to no spending money needed to participate in on-campus activities. Pomona is similar, I believe. I don’t know what it’s like at WashU in this respect, but it’s an important question to look at, for a school with such a high median income - it’s no fun to be the friend who has to opt out of things because of money. (One example: 35% of WashU students participate in Greek life; and the high cost of participation may well make this a non-starter for you. Only you can say whether this would bother you or not.) IMHO, it’s good either to be at a school where you’re not a financial outlier, or to be at a school that makes a real effort to keep wealth differences from being a barrier.
If you love Bowdoin, I wouldn’t necessarily give it up without doing some additional research on transportation or talking with someone at Bowdoin about how their pre-med students. It’s a neat school, and although the info sessions all tend to run together after a while, I clearly recall how proud they were of their need-blind, no-loan policy. Bowdoin is only a half hour or so from Portland, which is Maine’s largest city, and there is a regular bus service. Also, keep in mind that Pomona is actually quite a distance from Los Angeles, although it is certainly in a more populous area than Bowdoin.
There is easy bus service from LAX to the train station and then a train that takes you to Claremont where Pomona is located. Also, there’s Ontario airport within 10 miles of Claremont, and we found it an inexpensive airport to fly in and out of, though you may have to change planes in Denver or Phoenix to get there.
@aquapt. Great points. There is a huge difference between UIUC and WashU in this respect. You can feel the difference when on campus. My neighbors kid went there and we visited and he calls it, Country Club University. ?.
When deciding whether to skip a course and take advanced placement for which you have AP credit for, try the college’s old final exam for that course to see how well you know the material by the college’s standards.
For pre-med purposes, many medical schools do not take AP credit for pre-med course work. The most preferred option is to substitute a more advanced course in the same subject area for the course skipped with AP credit, but a probably more common choice among grade-grubbing pre-meds is to repeat the AP credit for what they think will be an “easy A” (but often is not, and may require marking “repeat” when listing the course on the medical school application).
AP courses aren’t marked as “repeat”.
Rather than the relative wealth of classmates, checking how inclusive the college is (whether everything is included or not) would be a better move.
More college resources mean more opportunities for those who don’t have personal resources (that’s one area where lower income kids benefit most from top/meet need colleges, along with creating networks and relationships with a broad variety of peers).
There would of been a big difference of accepted credit if my son went to UIUC vs Michigan. That’s why I included the link for him to look at and research it. But I wouldn’t get to hung up on it. There are so many great interesting classes to take that I think students bypass since they come in with so much AP credit these days.
I think as stated the “correct” fit for the college is very important once you have a choice. Certain colleges couldn’t even imagine my kids at due to certain factors.
http://www.aamc.org/amcasguide (page 33) says that a college course that repeats AP credit should be marked as “repeat” on the medical school application.
OP is not applying to med school yet. Not considering repeating an AP. No idea where grade grubbing comes in for OP.
He needs a “right fit” college. For med goals, it should be a cooperative learning environment (profs/dept and students.) Not one out to weed the bulk of freshman med wannabes.
That’s policy or the philosophy in the depts. Not some college that ranks better. More than that.
Not stronger name brand, whether some think he needs a car to socialize. Or how much some like some colleges.
We want him to thrive. He has his own strengths and possible weaknesses. It’s not about increasing his list with more reaches…then hitting the wall, in college.
Supportive environment and resources are crucial for premeds and should be #1 criterion IMHO. College resources and financial inclusiveness are crucial for first gen/lower income kids.
HKim’s ideal college lies at the confluence of these two points.
From my understanding, the caveat here about the “repeated course” is that AAMC is referring to 100-level college intro courses. So, for example, HS AP Stat and a 100-level college stat course is a repeat. But a 400-level course in something like Probability is not a repeated course. Also, from my understanding, a college level statistics course is desirable, even if one took a HS AP Stat course.
The point is that course selection decisions made early in college (long before applying to medical school), or even while in high school (if taking college courses while in high school, or sometimes whether to take AP exams or send the scores to the college) can have implications to medical school applications that students often are not aware of until later.
That appears to be the intended interpretation. Pre-meds who enter college with AP credit that the college accepts in substitution for frosh-level courses are encouraged to take more advanced courses in the same subject area (e.g. upper level probability theory after AP statistics credit, not a “repeat”), rather than take courses that repeat their AP credit (e.g. non-calculus-based introductory statistics after AP statistics credit that the college allows in place of that course, considered a “repeat”).
Cart before the horse. He isn’t choosing college courses yet. The discussion right now is choosing what to do with the time remaining to the RD or any ED2 deadlines.
I brought up weeding as posters were suggesting more reaches. Fit is not brand name or media ranking.
Congratulations ! You are pretty much set now. The rest is all gravy on the main meal.
Yes, most students end up at schools within hour of home , within the state, with numbers rapidly diminishing the further you go. So Northwestern, Chicago, Wash u, CWR gets a lot more kids with very similar stats and accolades that you have, your clones, than , say, Pomona, Bowdoin, Swarthmore. And yeah, that S is in a major city works its way into the picture too. Imo, Bowdoin the best shot for those reasons. Yes, most parents, family, do not want their kids going off a distance away. I felt the same way about my kids.
