No, they did not pay a penny. Yes she was invited for the event. To be considered for DO or any advanced scholarships (she did not get them but was selected to interview, and all selected kids had Dean’s scholarship - hers was 20k with 2 k more later) it was mandatory to attend Shark Preview week - 3 day event. They did provide housing and pick-up from the airport for kids who decided to attend alone, but everyone had to pay out of pocket even from Alaska and Hawaii.
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but they provided some and admitted you into this wonderful program - and you saw the investment was worth it.
so that’s good.
Does this saying i’ve never understood well work here:
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,”
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Dickinson
Muhlenberg
Gettysburg
George Washington
Washington and Lee
Rochester
Lafayette
Bucknell
Furman did not provide FA package yet.
She is deferred at Richmond.
There is one more DO interview coming up with results in April - I do not want to jinx it, so I will post after the results will come out.
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I totally agree with that proverb.
Are there MCAT prep courses she could take while at Nova to help her get that minimum score necessary?
I know a bit about the LSAT and Bar prep courses…and I know they are pricey but very helpful in hitting the scores necessary. Would spending a bit more money on that make sense and make Nova more attractive?
Just thinking out of the box a bit, because hitting a minimum score with a guaranteed placement seems the cheaper and most direct route if Med School is definitely the plan.
If she is at all hesitant about Med School, then I would be pushing for Rhodes. That would give her a ton of optionality, both in and out of the health care field.
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Well, at least now, " I want to be a doctor" without hesitation. “If the doctor route will not work, I want to be a Psychologist.” She is ready to put a lot of work into it, and she is doing it. Given the above, her BS will be either neuroscience or psychology depending on the program (some psychology programs are very heavy on the number of classes and do not include any premed classes, and neuroscience covers some psychology and some premed.)
Nova does not provide any MCAT prep classes even for extra money. Outside courses are always an option. I have no idea how much they cost, but I am sure that if DD will end up in NOVA we will make sure that she has resources to prepare for MCAT (paid or free). If the course is 10k I would pass, but if it is under 3k we will consider it.
A quick google search shows that many of the top-rated MCAT prep courses come in at just under 3k.
But if you save a lot of money at NOVA and DO is guaranteed with sufficient MCAT, it sure seems to me like 3k is worth spending on this.
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I’d assume Nova is going to work to ensure she succeeds. It’s not in their interest to bring kids in this program and have them flounder.
She might - but the resources will be there.
Because the basis of this entire chat since Nova came in would pain them. They don’t want future prospects thinking like this.
What should be a - they’re going to make my kid a doctor has become - there’s a small chance but they’re kind of a garbage program and no one would want their grads anyway.
I embellish - but you see my point.
I’m sure if she attends and has the right mindset, she’ll have every opportunity for success.
I don’t think Nova is a bad school. It’s not Harvard in rep but I don’t think it’s bad, no worse than your typical state school.
Ranking wise and I’m not a fan - but in US News - it’s not horrible. And I’m sure they put out a ton of successful grads.
There’s a lot of schools that people don’t consider “top notch” - but doesn’t mean they’re not of quality.
OP - you mentioned Niche - they get a B+ for academics and many fine get a B+ and the reviews seem better than most schools. I’m not saying you should use Niche but since you mentioned it. The bad ones are the typical - they’re out for money, there’s no school spirit. Well it’s not UM or UF with big football. And they do have regional campuses - so you might need to pull some of what you hear out - as you’re not going to one in an office building in West Palm or San Juan, etc.
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About Nova students not getting to 502 might be because as you said they have to take the test while in undergrand. It is not a trivial test and requires studying and planing so maybe they are overwhelmed with their classes and a reason they do not do well. Most of the medical students I personally know took a year between undergrand and applying to med school and they took the MCAT then. Just a thought.
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And there is the option to be both - by pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology, e.g.:
https://chp.mercer.edu/academics-departments/clinical-psychology/psyd-program/ ,
where she could specialize in areas such as neuropsychology.
DD just got into Gettysburg with an Eisenhower scholarship… I think there are very few students who got it (something like 5?) There were 650 accepted students out 6,900 applicants. They wrote it in the letter… Apparently we submitted SAT there.
Eisenhower is $43k. She got also from Gettysburg 3.5k grant +$2k WS and some loans.
It is one hour from home.
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Gettysburg is a great small school. Definitely worthy of consideration!
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DD is saying how on Earth we can choose a college? She has so many great options… It is not even funny…
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Take the loans out of the equation.
Better to have more choices.
If you can visit bonus.
What can help with too many is take one you like - and match it with another head to head. Just 1:1 vs looking at ten at once.
If there’s a clear winner amongst the two, remove the loser.
Helps to whittle down.
Hopefully you can visit, eat in the dining halls etc.
You have a dream situation !!
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We do not consider loans, I just pay attention to numbers. But what is interesting is that some schools like Rhodes give more in unsibsidised loans and less in subsidized ones. Also some people suggest to use subsidized loans and pay it out after graduation; that makes sense to me.
We visited Gettysburg before, but plan to go again for admitted day for sure. It is simple one hour drive. They do not take many transfer credits but we need to check it out. Calling them tomorrow :). Wow, we did not expect this… It was almost off the list…
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DD just for fun applied for some programs at Ursinus but did not get to be a finalist there 
Go figure…
Furman came out with FA. They added to 28K scholarship 11k grant +1.5K FWS. After work reimbursement COA is about 22k.
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Congrats on Gettysburg! Being close to home has advantages, as does possibly retaking courses.
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