I think College of Wooster is a good choice. I would also check out Ohio Wesleyan. My D got really good merit there and was invited for a weekend to compete for additional scholarships including full tuition scholarships.
My D is at Elon and they give very little merit. Fellows get $6500 a year and I think that’s it for merit as far as I’ve heard. She does however have lots of Jewish friends.
I think Clark would be worth a look. Worcester is a bit gritty but kids there seem smart and driven. If you are looking at Dickinson, Gettysburg might be worth a look as well (both have my D about $20-25k and her stats were below your D’s). Susquehanna has a beautiful campus, she would definitely be in honors and she’d get great merit (I think my D got 35k). Not sure if there is a hospital nearby.
Apologies for misreading. 3.95 is a different game. To a school like Tulane, she’s going to need to go TO - and sorry to say - but Tulane offered admission to under 10% - so it’s a reach for almost all. You definitely need to do ED or at worst EA there and show them lots of love.
She’s a shoe into Pitt - even at what I thought was a 3.5 - but likely no money. CWRU - at 3.95, she’s got a shot. VCU for sure is an in.
My note still holds - you need to apply to schools with auto merit, big merit, or third tier liberal arts like Kalamazoo, Allegheny, Wooster, etc. to get big bucks. You have to be a star.
You might look at W&L Johnson Scholar (unlikely but worth an app) and then College of Charleston…b4 I said you’d get $12K. At 3.95, you have a chance for Honors and Charleston Fellow. Not saying everyone gets this but we are on full tuition scholarship out of state - well it’s like 5 different scholarships that combine to full tuition. Living there not cheap - but even if it’s $20K (apartments are $1K+ for 2nd, 3rd, 4th year)…with free tuition it’s cheap - of course, my daughter needs a 3.5 to keep the $$. The Jewish life seems amazing.
Not saying they’re good for pre-med. What I’m saying is - you are seeking big merit - so those schools - Bama, Ohio U, WVU, Miami of Ohio, Charleston, U of SC (adding), Arizona (with a 3.95 she’ll get $30K), Florida State (adding now I know the 3.95)…these are all large, solid, with Jewish life public schools that give the $$.
So while you’re looking for mid-size good in pre-med, being that the $$ is something you bring up as most important, schools like these can be your safety valve to get the cost where you need it so you can attend assuming you can’t find the right school at the right cost on the private level.
Bradley and Hofstra are two you can get an estimated cost right now in their net price calculator…I’m sure there are others. Both very regional but also have Jewish life.
I focused on cost in giving recommendations. Pre-med is just advising so each school will have it.
I would not recommend a CC for pre-med. Not impossible but I doubt the rigor of classes will be where it’s needed.
Joining the Honors College and/or living learning communities can further help.
My only concern with Washington College is their financial situation…they’ve been making a lot of cuts. I’m not sure what this will have done to majors but I’m also not 100% sure they’ll be there in 10 years.
There’s lots of articles like this - and there’s a lot of small, LACs in similar financial binds.
But I had heard good things about the school when my son researched a few years ago.
If they’re desperate for funds, they might have great aid. But they might also be lacking in basics that have to be cut.
You might want to edit the title to change “B+/A-” to “3.95 unweighted HS GPA”, since “B+/A-” implies 3.5 GPA. (That is, assuming that the HS GPA is calculated with A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0.)
Now, to get big merit, a student with a 3.95 HS GPA may need to look at colleges where the students typically came in with 3.5 HS GPA, since big merit is used to attract top-end students to the college.
Thanks, I should have been more clear about my comment on Elon and that you are starting from a lower first cost. For example, the tuition at Wooster is 52,000 and the tuition at Elon is 36,500. So you would have to get over 15k in more in merit to reach a similar net price. Also, I do believe there is Merit available greater than 6.500.
Also yes the comment on Worcester being gritty is partially true but it really has experienced a transformation. Here is a link from an NPR article on Worcester from 2018. It has progressed even more since this article came out. Forget Oakland Or Hoboken. Worcester, Mass., Is The New 'It' Town : NPR.
OP- some great ideas on this thread. Just be aware that most kids who think they are going to med school when they are in HS do not end up going. And not because they aren’t smart enough, or their grades aren’t high enough- it’s because they fall in love with something else once they get to college.
So while it’s great that your D is planning ahead, you should make sure that she’s not putting the cart before the horse. I know kids who have “undermatched” (attended a college where they were clearly at the top of the class, just because they wanted those achievable A’s to stand out) and discovered by the time Organic Chemistry rolled around that they were more interested in biostatistics, or inventing new prosthetic devices, or epidemiology, or some other health related field. And their college did not have the depth in those areas to give them enough “heft” (particularly anything engineering related- you are either at a college with a solid engineering program or not, and developing robotic arms, or concocting new materials for implants, etc. requires some sophisticated resources).
So sure- med school. But keep an eye out for her other interests, or could-be interests. And that’s why you keep reading posts like “UMD for the win”. It is tough to beat a flagship research university, especially if she doesn’t want a tiny college. Hofstra? Sure. Look at it. I know a lot of kids at Hofstra (and who have graduated from it). Great place for a solid B or B minus student who didn’t really come into their own academically in HS. But does it compare to UMD intellectually? Explore and come to your own conclusion.
One advantage if she gets scholarships….you can save your money to help fund medical school should she get accepted. Medical school funding is loans loans and more loans. Any money from the bank of mom and dad would be very helpful for medical school.
Thanks James-West. I actually a bit familiar with WPI. We considered it for older kid but at the end crossed from the list. Yes they give merit, but more for kids like my oldest (engineering).
BTW oldest got good merit in Case, some merit money in UMD, some very good acceptances at top schools and we selected no money option in one of the top engineering
OOS public schools. No regrets, difficult life, and we pay a lot of money…
blossom, I like your perspective. DD is not engineering material. (As an engineer myself, I know :))
We do have plan B in case of UMD for other around health majors. It is just being pediatrician is so good fit for DD. Not dentist, not podiatrist or ophthalmologist. (I know that pediatrician is one of least desired specialty in med school and least paid among doctors.) Her great grand mother was pediatrician, so she probably got some predisposition through genes :). Other around medical majors will come into play only if she will end up in UMD and will not be able achieve high GPA there…
I think that some of the OOS public schools that are being suggested are because they offer automatic merit which might make them affordable, and thus worth looking into. These schools usually post the unweighted GPA (and test scores, if applicable) that is required for automatic merit.
For example, below is a link to the chart for university of Arizona. You will need to scroll down to the out of state section. With a 3.95 GPA, your daughter would be looking at around 5k tuition. (And room and board). No essays or other extra work is required, which makes the automatic merit awards so appealing.)
But if she is also wanting to apply for merit scholarships, those deadlines are often quite early. You might want to consider making a spreadsheet ASAP with cost of attendance, merit awards, deadlines, and work required both to apply to those colleges and also to apply for those merit awards.
Blossom, I think we are trapped either way. Yes UMD is highly intellectual (in some majors, not all) environment… But in those classes it is cut throat environment… Then if we will go for schools that can give DD merit, she will have few equal. That technically the point - to stand out from the crowd. Both options are not good for DD… That is why I am looking for schools that are lower than UMD but not way too lower…I become to like St. Mary’s idea more and more (Frankly I never payed attention to it until 2 separate people mentioned it to me). Honor’s college where all kids are smart but probably less smart than at UMD sounds appealing. I just have to persuade DD that she will be happy there. She is not rural girl…
I don’t think you can make that jump. Just like your smart daughter wants a smaller school and more of an LAC experience, a lot of other very smart students pick St. Mary’s for that reason. Some pick UMD for the scholarships, for a particular program or even for the marching band, but maybe they really would have preferred the LAC experience at St. Mary’s.
Many years ago my sister picked Middlebury (and had also been admitted to Mt. Holyoke and 3 other LACs) but then transferred to Wisconsin for financial reasons. She was the ‘same smart’ at either school. Liked both schools too.
If she wants to be closer to UM hospital, there are a couple of undergrad majors at the UM@B campus, social work, nursing, pharmacy. It’s not a campus most undergrads want as it is urban and each professional school pretty much stays to itself (although the dental school hosts killer parties all are invited to), but it would get her hanging out with doctors immediately.
The courses your kid will need to take to apply to medical school will be equally challenging no matter where she attends college. She will find top students in these courses at any college.
It’s not like she is going to have an easier time getting great grades in hard subjects at one college vs another. These prerequisite courses for medical school are challenging. But I’ll add…medical school is even more challenging. And there is no hand holding there.
@WayOutWestMom could you comment on “easier” vs “harder” schools for keeping GPA high….for medical school applications.
Dickinson came to mind. Carlisle is a neat little town.
Chatham College in Pittsburgh. Close to Squirrel Hill. Great Jewish neighborhood and next door to Pitt and CMU. Lots of medical opportunities around Pitt.
If she’s willing to travel a little further maybe FSU depending on SAT. Might get OOS tuition waiver. $17k/year. Several other Florida schools that would work.
Delaware?
Some of the schools on the list below surprised me. Good luck.
I would look at Elon University in NC.
Very good programs. Area hospitals (Duke/ UNC/ Wake Forest) excellent Pre-med.
Not very religious.
I would also look at Washington and Lee in Va. Superb pre-med. great Jewish center on campus.
Both should offer merit aid. Especially Elon
The comment about Osteopathic med schools reminded me - also look at what kind of early assurance programs each college may have with particular med schools.
sounds appealing. I just have to persuade DD that she will be happy there. She is not rural girl…