I’m lucky to have received the RPI Book Award/Medal today.
The 25k Medal award seems pretty confusing to me. They award it to the “best” of the science/math kids, but these kids are likely to get full rides from better/similar schools.
I’m wondering if I could receive scholarship money on top of the 25k/year Medal award? IS it possible to reach full tuition/ride?
I got a full ride. My friend got a full ride as well (neither of us got the Medal though). It’s possible to have the remaining funds awarded through the Rensselaer Grant and a few other awards. It won’t be in merit awards, but you can get more from other things.
To give an example of how this could work out:
25k Medal
12k Federal Loans
14k Rensselaer Grant
Full tuition
My friend was awarded over 25k for her Rensselaer Grant, so it’s even possible to have it exceed tuition. The only thing is that you can’t have your merit awards from RPI exceed tuition. It can exceed tuition with loan awards and need-based aid or grants either from the government or the school. Room+Board scholarships are also offered, but don’t bet on getting that unless your family makes less than 50k a year.
Congrats @joedoe, but full ride and full tuition are usually considered to mean aside/before any loans. I do agree that RPI has private funds to close the gap and they were pretty generous with DS. I’m also glad the administrator is working to increase the scholarship funding pool.
So full tuition based on merit is possible, I gather?
@TQfromtheU @joedoe
Tuition is $51,000.
From rpi.edu: "Because Rensselaer provides varied merit scholarships, if a student is eligible for multiple Rensselaer scholarships, we will provide the scholarship which awards the highest dollar value for which the student is qualified.
A student may not combine multiple awards. The total of Rensselaer provided scholarships or grants may not exceed tuition."
I would say you would received the highest dollar scholarship for which you qualify plus receive grants based on your need. I don’t see any information about a full tuition scholarship, so IDK about that.
" Total Rensselaer provided scholarships and/or tuition benefits may not exceed tuition." The Medal Scholarship is $25,000 / year for $100,000.
Congrats.
You of course could get a better award later, but at least you know you have a partial scholarship to a really great school, putting the cost in the same range as OOS at major state schools. This would cost you same as Georgia Tech and less than Michigan, even if this is all you get from RPI. Yes you may get a larger scholarship from a less competitive school, that’s a decision some have to face. Also if you have financial need, that could increase the assistance from RPI or any school.
Without posting your stats and financial situation, tough to say if you may get more.
But I can say my son loves RPI, meets lots of super smart and nice people, he is very happy there.
You are very lucky to have this option. Most people apply not knowing if they would get any aid at all.
I feel like the money is wasted honestly @blevine
I’d be much more interested in RPI if their BSMD program were tied to a better medical school. Albany Medical College is unranked and has an out of state tuition at 54k/year.
Right now even my safety would be a better option than RPI financially (if I only get the 25k, and maybe even with full tuition still not better). It would be UF. Since I am NMF, the state of FL gives full cost of attendance if you attend a school in the state.
1540 SAT (790 math +750 english), 3.99 (one A-)/4 unweighted.
All honors + 1 AP freshman year
All honors + 2 AP sophomore year
1 Honors + 6 APs junior year
Volunteer at hospital/food pantry for a total of around 300 hours after I graduate. Band since 8th grade. Varsity Weightlifting since last year. President of a club.Won a few chemistry/science competitions (with a small team).
also don’t like to bring in demographics but - hispanic male - I know it helps a little
Thank you for the help
You did not mention your desire to go to med school.
Apparently it is better to go to a safety school, get high grades with little competition in the classroom, in order to improve your chances of admission. You may be bright but grading is tough at rpi. If you can get into any joint bsmd program, take it. Better to have the admission ahead of time.
I just would like to know, were you nominated for the rpi medal by a teacher with no knowledge until you were selected ? Or did you need to be involved in the process ?
@blevine
I did not express interest in RPI specifically, but my college counselor is aware that I am looking for BSMD programs and a good chunk of tuition off.
That might have influenced their decision to nominate me. I think it’s mostly because of my math/science skill.
I found out about my nomination when they called award recipients individually up to the stage for “Book Awards” (at an assembly).
Yale, Harvard, etc. Apparently the RPI award is just as prestigious/possibly more than these Ivy Book Awards. I knew of the Rensselaer Medal and I had a feeling this is what it was. So I asked a college counselor and she confirmed that this is the Medal with the scholarship. Everyone else just gets a book or something.
Basically the other “Book Awards” mean nothing and are just a way to give hard working kids in my class recognition.
@AimingTop50 Please be aware that it DOES NOT MATTER what the ranking of your medical school is in the least bit. Getting an M.D. in the United States is incredibly difficult and every medical school in the top rankings have less than 5% acceptance rates. Be aware that the acceptance rate at the Albany College of Medicine is 1.5%… The acceptance rate at Harvard Medical school is 2.3%… Medical school is extremely difficult to be admitted to and no matter what, if you graduate with an M.D. you’re a doctor. Compare that 1.5% acceptance rate to the 8% acceptance rate at RPI for the dual medical program, it’s over 5 times higher than if you were to apply after undergrad. US News rankings for medical schools also really don’t mean anything, they only rank the top 80 somewhat medical schools and all those medical schools have close to perfect MCAT scores… At Harvard it’s a 37, at Albany Medical College it’s a 32. The GPA at Harvard is a 3.93, the GPA at Albany is around a 3.7.The stats are still incredibly high, they’re not sending you to a D.O. program or medical school that isn’t good.
Also, I’m assuming you’re a junior in high school. Please be aware that you WILL NOT just get the Medalist award with those stats. Basically everyone gets the Rensselaer Grant, which is not a merit-based award. My friend got it for over 20k, I got it for like 15k. It’s a lot of money. This is before loans and any federal aid you may get as well, so you could potentially go to RPI for only a few grand. Also, be aware that students in the dual medical program are awarded the best financial aid packages. Many are paying close to nothing.
In terms of medical school, again, if you get into a B.S./M.D. program and do not take it you’re making a big mistake. The only thing at RPI will be you need to manage a 3.5 or higher to remain in the program, but if you maintain that GPA you will be guaranteed acceptance to medical school.
@joedoe I appreciate the input and you are mostly right.
I just don’t know if only receiving full tuition from RPI and then having to pay 54k a year just for tuition (~80k/year COA)
That would put me at around 320k for med school COA + 20k*4 cost of living in NY for undergrad. 400k debt. Scary stuff man. Scary stuff.
It does matter a decent amount where you go to med school, but nothing like business school. If you want to get what specialization you want (residencies are competitive, too).
I am a junior. Fixing to apply to Brown, Upitt, Urochester, Case, and likely RPI BSMDs. All no MCAT (one that requires you to take an MCAT ain’t a BSMD in my book). RPI or Case is my lowest choice. Both have very high med tuitions (59k for case) and for other reasons - not just the money. Of course, if I only get accepted to one of these two, I’d still consider it thoroughly. It will be a tough decision. (I know all of these are insanely selective).
Hey, RPI’s program is 7 years. That’s a solid +
@AimingTop50 Medical school is also not full price, they offer aid and scholarships with minimum stipends similar to graduate schools. It would probably be around $150-$200k, but still that’s around the price of what it costs to go to any medical school these days. If you’re making 200k a year though it’s not a bad option.
Also, if I were to rank the schools you just listed in terms of the program quality for biology, it would go as follows:
Brown > Case => RPI > Rochester > UPitt
I would say any joint BSMD is your first choice, if you really want to be a doctor.
Very difficult to get, you need to convince two admissions committees of your capability for med school, having taken no college classes yet. And AP course are good, but they are NOT college equivalents. This is one reason some schools limit the # of AP credits, and better schools look at every AP and decide what you get to waive for a 4 or a 5 score. I know at least one AP subject at RPI, you get no credit for a 4, they clearly do not think much of that AP test. At another school I saw they give one semester credit for a 4 and two for a 5 on another subject. The top schools clearly think that “passing” is top 20% for AP tests (about the distribution for a 5).
And if you get through that dual process, I am sure most schools will work with you to make it affordable. Your thought process should only apply if you don’t get the BSMD. Then you should consider a school both to save money and one where you can get straight As in a science major. Easier to do at some colleges than others. RPI would be on the more difficult side compared to some others. In fact at freshmen oreintation for parents, they told us “your kids got As in HS, they may get some Cs here, but don’t worry, they are still learning”. I have no issue with that since my son has no interest in med school nor PhD in his field.
I’m confused as to whether or not you would qualify for need-based aid. If you only qualify for merit, Brown doesn’t offer any. Have you looked at the other schools to see what their max merit is, and how likely it is that you’d be eligible?
@mjrube94 I am somewhat upper-middle class. I would qualify for good amount of money from H and P but not many other schools. Brown I would maybe take the hit for their awesome open curriculum (study whatever you want).
@joedoe Upitt’s med school is ranked 15th. Rochester’s is around 20-30. Albany is dead last, for sure. It’s still something but c’mon, it is unranked and one of the more expensive medical schools.
@blevine Probably true.
I have the mindset, though, that if a person can get into a highly selective BSMD, chances are he can get into a good Med School. I’d have to work extra hard, though to have a super high GPA and MCAT
@AimingTop50 , Albeit not medical school, my son is struggling with a similar dilemma. He was admitted to the BS/JD program at RPI which, by default is with Albany Law School, a school he has no interest in. My advice to him is to think of it as a 1-way commitment. He does not need to go to Albany at the end of 3 years, however, subject to a few conditions, they have committed to take him. For the law program, RPI does have options where they will recommend its students to Columbia and other schools. Columbia will take up to 10 students/yr after the 3rd UG yr and allow UG degree from RPI to be awarded after the 1st yr in the JD program. I suspect the MD program may have other options as well. It may be worthwhile for you to reach out to coordinators of the accelerated programs and ask this question. Whereas the primary advantage of the BS/JD is that it cuts a year off, I do agree with others that the acceptance to Med School as an 18 yr old is a huge advantage for someone who wants this path.
@NJFather Thank you for another angle to look at this.
If I am accepted, I will definitely contact them about that. Thanks!
Is law school as hard to get into as med school?
@AimingTop50 It depends, but yes it’s brutal to get into law school. I’d agree with @NJFather that the perk of the medical program is security knowing you’ve been admitted to medical school. You can definitely apply to other schools for medical school after the three year period, and I know that each year RPI gets over 10+ kids in Columbia, 10+ kids into Harvard Medical School, and many other top medical and law programs. Be aware that considering each graduating class prior to this one only has 1300 kids and only a small percentage wish to pursue law or percentage, that’s a huge success rate. If you maintain a very high GPA you can also be invited to do the 7 year PhD program or 4/5 year masters (depending on your credits) in science. You can then, later, apply to medical school and have a much greater change of getting in since only a small percentage of the applicant pool for medical schools comes from PhD students, who are already experts in their given field. Granted, again, the dual medical program does guaranteed acceptance to Albany, but these are other options you could take if you wanted to pursue a different route.