Sorry if this has been covered already but mandatory health insurance is required in order to attend most colleges. Not sure that should impact OP’s decision.
Correct, but the full ride schools cover the cost (AFAIK) and UIC doesn’t
Yeah we have a health insurance (always had one). It’s no UnitedHealth but through a Korean Christian organization (that governments recognize) so I’ll be filling out the waiver if I do attend.
@HKimPOSSIBLE make sure that your insurance qualifies for the waiver. I don’t know about Illinois but I do know a lot of people with very good health insurance could not get waivers in Massachusetts. Just something to double check, you are already an expert at research.
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I don’t know if this has been mentioned before, but in view of the coronavirus situation might it be safer (both for health reasons and for possible study disruptions) to choose a small school outside of major metro areas?
My daughter’s school outlines what a health insurance needs to provide in order to qualify for a waiver, presumably UIC has similar information somewhere on its website.
Yeah for sure! My brother had the same insurance when he went to UIC and we were able to use the waiver.
https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2019/04/four-bowdoin-women-of-color-on-becoming-doctors.html
@HKimPOSSIBLE As wise people have said on this thread and other threads, as pre-med, attend a school where you have the best chance for a high GPA, good pre-med advising, access to good medical ECs, and ability to keep total costs and debt low.
Your journey is just beginning, it will be great to see you thrive and not just survive.
You will make the right choice for you and your family. Have faith and believe in yourself!
@calcollegemom , what a wonderful article.
I agree. Really gives me a nice view of the school and they really want to diversify and support their school.
There’s another thread on cc that I don’t want to post so this post doesn’t get sidetracked. It’s about if it’s worth sending someone to Reed College for bio /medicine research for $200,000 more over their instate acceptance.
So the obvious answer is no but many are saying if she was going to go to medical school and this family could afford it then there are many advantages going to a known Lac over the large but very good state school. (all stated at some point in this thread).
I found this really telling.
That was a great article. The most impressive factor to me was how much tutorial help Le’Shauna received from Bowdoin. My own child went to an underperforming middle school to a high performing HS, so I saw first hand the stark differences in education, and how hard it can be to catch up with your peers. Kudos to both Le’Shauna and Bowdoin for putting in the hard work and resources to catch her up, and providing a pathway to success for this obviously bright young woman.
That article is great; however, those women of color may not be very comparable to OP who I believe would technically be considered an ORM in the med school admissions process, and is male to boot. Those characteristics matter. Further, those young women had a very different journey including having graduated years before their med school acceptance, unless I’m misreading something.
Not saying OP shouldn’t go to Bowdoin - just not sure it’s accurate to provide that article as evidence as to why he should. JMO.
I haven’t posted on this thread but have been following it since the beginning. It is so wonderful to read about how things have turned around for the OP.
I am mainly posting to say that I am voting for him to pick UIC. It’s obvious from reading his posts that he likes it the best and has good well thought out reasons for selecting it. I’m getting a bit miffed at those who keep pushing Bowdoin despite his resistance. I hope he doesn’t fall for the online pressure in this thread to pick a school that doesn’t feel as right for him.
I hope OPdoesnt feel pressure from this thread to choose Bowdoin. This is his life, and he needs to do what he thinks is best for him. And there is definitely appeal to knowing you have the med school “guaranty”. I also think, though, that OP is very familiar with UIC and the opportunities available there. But he’s not that familiar with Bowdoin and its opportunities. So I hope OP can take any further input about Bowdoin as merely informational, as more information is better than less. ?
I’m a little miffed at the online pressure as well, and the article is good, however note that the four women took a few gap years of 3, 3, 4 and 7, which was the right decision for them, but the OP is not interested in a gap year, from what I can tell.
“Dr. Kim at the age of 25, or you could perhaps be Dr. Kim from Harvard at the age of 27.”
Not sure how helpful this is, Harvard’s acceptance rate is 3%, gpa is 3.9, mcat of 519 and you have to probably a couple of gap years to be competitive, take a break between school, maybe save some money. Even Bowdoin says you should take a couple of years to build up your resume. If the OP is one year out of hs, so say 19 now, if goes undergrad anywhere and med and the gap, he’ll be 30.
@theloniusmonk , who said he has to take gap years? I think many people here believe HKim can aim high, and we feel he has what it takes to do that, if he wants to. I think that’s the point.
No matter where he goes, he will be an MD when he is finished. No need to chase prestige, unless he wants it. Follow your heart @HKimPOSSIBLE. There are no bad choices here.
Personally, I’m not concerned about prestige or whatnot. I’m concerned about the commute (and what it means) and about the insecurity (food insecurity, financial aid instability). I don’t worry about HKim not reaching his goal of med school but rather being impeded by and forced through material issues he wouldn’t have at the other colleges he’s been admitted to. I’ve been trying not to post again but just wanted to correct this impression if that’s the one I gave.
“who said he has to take gap years?”
Bowdoin’s advice:
“keep in mind that we encourage individuals to apply to programs in health care fields when, and not before, they are in a position to be realistic candidates.”
“Over the past five years, the majority of applicants have chosen to matriculate in medical school 2 or more years after graduation.”
This is what we know - Bowdoin says that 15% of applicants apply straight out, but there’s not enough applicants to cross the 50 needed to make the AAMA list, even though other LACs with similar sizes do.
"I think many people here believe HKim can aim high, and we feel he has what it takes to do that, if he wants to. I think that’s the point. "
Ok, but you don’t have to aim high for med school, and even if he does, GPPA program is non-binding so if he doesn’t get into Harvard, he still has UIC to fall back on.
I would also put a very heavy consideration on the fate of Illinois finances in how you factor choosing UIC. The state is and has been on incredibly shaky ground long before the pandemic struck. With many people out of work, tax revenues are going to plummet. Even if many people decide to change the constitution to go from a flat to a progressive income tax this coming November, there will still be far less income to tax here. Many people are leaving the state (my family included - we are moving to another state this summer) - many of these are the higher earners. Expect the money troubles to continue for a long while. Illinois tends to cut education funding FIRST. The universities are the first to feel the pinch - that’s why tuition is so ridiculously high in the first place.
If you can afford the loss of a significant amount of the Illinois funding - pick UIC. If you would have to drop out without it - very seriously consider whether or not you should pin your whole future on it.