I agree with this…UIUC’s Promise incents people to basically stay at a low income level…for example, to not get a better job, or start working again.
The difference between Illinois Promise and Illinois Commitment is full ride vs. full tuition. So UIUC would likely cost OP $10K-$15K per year if OP’s family earns too much to qualify for Illinois Promise.
Something to consider…2019 income is in the books so I think OP would still qualify for Promise soph year(?), 2020 income would inform junior year, and 2021 senior year.
Also, this is kind of off-topic, but I am also waiting on Brown’s PLME (like UIC’s GPPA, but no MCAT required and a similar number of applicants chosen).
My Brown interviewer was actually a PLME graduate. I’m assuming it’s just some kind of coincidence? I feel like there’s no way I could get into PLME, to be honest.
Some of these schools may end up pulling from waitlist more than normal this year, as students decide that they’re no longer comfortable with the cost or distance-from-home of former front-runners. But OTOH, waitlist decisions tend to be need-aware even at otherwise need-blind schools, so that lowers the odds for you. Are you going to stay on any waitlists, or let those go and focus on your firm offers?
I’m personally a little dubious as to whether the med school guarantee at UIC is worth giving up a four-year full ride to one of the top LAC’s that have accepted you. In my mind, if the commute were reasonable, that would be a tougher call. But on top of everything else, the commute is unreasonable, and the cost of living on campus also unreasonable. You’d be giving up a LOT, for greater certainty of admission to a med program that will still put you in >200K debt including the inevitable undergrad debt from UIC…? I don’t know. Yes, UIC in-state is cheaper than many others… but you’d also be in debt from undergrad before you even got started. And with the economy taking the hit that it is… I dunno… I would find the idea of riding out the economic turmoil under the umbrella of four fully-funded years at a stable, well-endowed school, a pretty appealing prospect. Who knows what student borrowing is going to look like 3-4 years from now… at least you’d be debt-free and able to make informed decisions when the time comes. And you’d gain so much over those four years in terms of a stellar education and all of the networking resources those schools would offer you.
I do also think this year has shown us the value of being within driving distance of home when stuff happens. That’s definitely a factor worth considering, although not an absolute deal-killer if Bowdoin or W&L seems worth dealing with the distance.
I actually withdrew my waitlist offers - I didn’t really have a strong connection there and I’d rather not dwell on the past May 1st.
As for GPPA, yes, I agree - it sounded VERY good before the gap year, but seeing the 513 MCAT, I suppose I’ll get much more support and a higher quality of education at one of great LACs I got into. UIC has such a great program though and although the commute is long, I’m curious if it’ll be worth it in the end - my brother has a very high GPA as well and he commuted (currently prepping for medical school!). However, as you said, it’s difficult to give up the offers I currently have for GPPA.
Haha definitely the current events have shown me the value of being able to drive home - or in this case, take advantage of the cheap airplane tickets haha.
Currently, I’m deciding whether Bowdoin or WLU’s Johnson Program would be better. For both schools, I have a summer internship stipend of $3000 for Bowdoin and $7000 for WLU’s Johnson program which is great.
However, I’m seeing that Bowdoin is much more well regarded in terms of Pre-Med and during the Johnson Weekend at WLU, the tour guides and the presenters weren’t really able to speak well onto the Pre-Med experience there. Also, I didn’t really like the huge prevalence of a Greek system at WL.
It’s pretty conflicting - oddly though, I do like Bowdoin more than WLU despite having visited WLU and enjoying the experience!
If you haven’t encountered the information yet, note that Bowdoin students may be eligible for early assurance programs at medical schools such as that of the University of Rochester and Albany Medical College.
Does anyone know if it’s possible to change majors for USC? My top choice was neuroscience/psychology, but I was admitted through Biochemistry. Luckily they’re in the same department/college of Dornsife.