<p>Up until recently, I have been very narrow-minded when it came to college (ex. only had 2 choices). Now, I am interested in learning more about schools and finding a "Fit" more than just going for prestige. </p>
<p>I have decided I want a more liberal arts, small class, type college, and not a huge research school. I also want to be premed, so I think a school with an undergraduate focus is important. I have been accepted to two schools so far (Wayne State Honors College and Alma College) and have great aid packages from both. Everyone I ask, however, says I should aim higher? Would it be settling too much to attend these colleges?</p>
<p>I'm an African-American from Detroit, with a 31 ACT, 3.87 GPA (Rank 5/92), and good participation in extra-curricular?</p>
<p>As a URM with a 31 ACT and a 3.87 GPA, a lot of the top liberal arts colleges that will meet full need will be interested in you. It all depends on how far away you are willing to go to school, how much you can pay, what your family income is, etc. </p>
<p>Give us a better idea about what you’re looking for, including course of study and your family income situation and we might be able to give you a good idea about where to apply.</p>
<p>With these stats, as MrMom said, most, if not all, Top LACS will be interested in you. And since they meet need and are very generous, you could end up going to school there for as low as in-state.
Definitely apply - you already have two safeties and you have till May 1 to decide.
If you can go far away, Carleton has an agreement for summer research with the Mayo Clinic for example.</p>
<p>If I were you, with your stats and already admitted to two colleges, I’d aim much higher. You 're in a good position - you know you’re going to college next fall.</p>
<p>Many liberal arts colleges will not only accept you but chances are they will also give you merit aid, and depending on family income you may get generous need based aid from the top liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Congrats on your success! Also, you should look at the College of Wooster in Ohio. They offer a pre-health program that includes medicine. Wooster offers tons of research opportunities and they are known for the Independent Study Program. I would imagine with those stats you will get a nice FA offer. </p>
<p>Finally, to answer your question, Yes!!! With a 31 ACT most of the top LAC’s in the country would not only want you, but will give you lots of money to walk their halls. Obviously you would have to apply, but if your course rigor matches your scores you will have a lot of options.</p>
<p>Please apply to the U of Mich. you can go into the Residential College Program to get the full experience you are looking for. PLUS you get as fine as fine an education available almost anywhere. They also cover full instate need.</p>
<p>Aiming higher is fine. There are many small lac prestigious colleges, but depending on your family finances it can change in dramatic ways. I would suggest using the FA calculator on the websites. Also remember that the college you accept increases in cost about 5% yearly. If u receive 20k for aid every year for four years great, but that may not cover the cost of the college in two years time. Lastly 31act score is somewhat low for top Lac colleges even for urm’s . Good luck and congrats. Also remember if u have lots of ap classes you may enter as a sophomore, and may have smaller ,more intimate classes.</p>
<p>If I were you I would check out Whitman. It has a fantastic pretty med program, is a solid school, and definitely fits all of your criteria. Also Duke is great and it only has 6500 undergrads. They definitely put emphasis on undergrads and have an incredible program.</p>
<p>As far as need-based financial aid goes, you can go to each college’s web site and search for the net price calculator. Use it to get an estimate for need-based financial aid for your family financial situation. Each college is different, so do not assume that one college’s financial aid estimate will be similar to another college’s estimate.</p>
<p>You are overly generous, but I’d also say that at top LACs, that number is probably not generous enough. Virtually everyone admitted to the top LACs has the academic ability to become an MD based on their test scores alone, the question is, do they have the interest, discipline, and desire?</p>
<p>A few years ago, I had to take Bio 101 at the local commuter college in order to get a teaching certificate (long story, bad idea, interesting experience). This is the course that all pre-meds need to take, and there were a lot of them in there. Giant lecture hall, probably 300 students at the beginning of the semester. I was probably the oldest student in there, by far. By the time of the final, half the class had dropped, and the grade distribution of the remaining students was a U-shaped curve, you either had and A or high B or you had a low D or an F. Very few in between. </p>
<p>Practically speaking, 75% of the class didn’t make it past the first pre-med class. I can only imagine what the rest of the pre-med classes did to the entering list of pre-meds.</p>
<p>Right now, you have two great safeties. So, aim as high and as wide as you want to and can. Look at the top 25 LACs for example (on USNWR) and check them out. Borrow the Fiske Guide or Insider’s Guide to the Colleges from your school library (anything 2008+ is fine) and see which ones look interesting. Fill out the “request info” or “join the mailing list” form for them.
I’m sure you’ll find lots of cool places you can’t wait to hear from.</p>
<p>Looks like schools that are realistic for you would be either those with good need-based financial aid (check their net price calculators) or those which give you a near-full ride merit scholarship (see the full ride merit scholarship lists)</p>
<p>I would recommend you attend an elite school. </p>
<p>While many studies predict that there is little difference in future income based on which college you attend, the same studies suggest that for black students, Latino students, low-income students and students whose parents did not graduate from college, there is a significant increase in earnings from attending an elite school. </p>
<p>mathis, You will be a person of interest to many selective schools. No guarantees, of course, but there’s nothing in your profile to keep you out of any college in America and a lot that will get you in!</p>
<p>First, be clear on the finances. Most likely you will qualify for a good chunk of need-based financial aid. Ask your parents to use an on line net price calculator to give you an idea of how much aid you might be eligible for. If that works, you can continue with a wide ranging list.</p>
<p>(If you’re a junior, you should also contact QuestBridge. If you’re a senior, I think it’s too late.)</p>
<p>There are oodles of very good small liberal arts colleges in the midwest and northeast. Many of them have strong track records in getting their students into medical school. Many of them actively recruit high achieving non-Whites. They will want to hear from you. </p>
<p>Small LACs vary considerably in personality and environment, so do some research on their characteristics like location (city/suburban/rural) and other attributes like sports, politics, Greek presence etc. Once you find one or two that appeal to you, you can find others in the same general personality type.</p>
<p>I can name a few to get you started, but really there are quite a few choices: Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Kenyon, Grinnell, Carleton.</p>
<p>Better to use the net price calculator on every college being considered, since even those that claim to “meet full need” can have significantly different net prices for a given student.</p>