I’d really love some guidance on any colleges in the mid west with strong pre-med programs! I’m thinking that I might want to major in neuroscience, but I’m not sure yet. My parents will be able to help pay for some of the cost, they won’t be able to cover very much and I don’t believe I’ll be able to qualify for much (if any) financial aid, so schools with great merit aid would be ideal. I think that I want to attend a medium-large school and I’d like a school with good spirit and a great campus life.
I’m a rising senior with a 3.8 UW GPA, 4.1 W GPA, and 33 composite ACT score. I have a few extracurriculars I’m fairly involved in leadership wise, however I’m not involved in any sports.
Currently some of the schools I’m looking at in state are
Grand Valley (safety)
Western Michigan (safety)
U of M (reach)
Also out of state I’m interested in
Case Western (reach)
Miami Ohio (match?)
Bowling Green (safety)
Any information on any of these schools or any other suggestions would be really appreciated!
All of those schools will do a fine job of preparing you for med school. Have you run the Net Price Calculator for each school? Do that and see if your parents can handle the costs.
I have not yet, I will definitely be doing that soon though!
Case Western would be an ideal college and a low reach only because of acceptance rates otherwise it’d be a match. An excellent premed school in the Midwest -meets 100% need and has merit too- is St Olaf. Among the best undergraduate teaching in the country, opportunities to intern at the Mayo Clinic, very strong in all sciences. Would be a low match as long as you indicate interest asap, filling out “request info” form, email admissions, click on every email they send you…
Virtually all good schools are fine for premed.
There’s no such thing as a premed program at 99.9% of schools. Premed prereqs are normal classes that other STEM students take as well. There’s nothing special or unique about them.
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My parents will be able to help pay for some of the cost, they won't be able to cover very much and I don't believe I'll be able to qualify for much (if any) financial aid, so schools with great merit aid would be ideal.
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How much CAN they pay? You need to know this so that you’ll know how much merit you’ll need from various schools.
for instance, if your parents will pay $15k per year, then you’re going to need a FULL TUITION scholarship.
I don’t see much reason to apply to UMich if your parents won’t pay for it.
Dobypu know your efc? Can you parents pay but won’t, or are you lower income? Have you now run NPC’s on UMich and on some 100%need schools?
I do not know my EFC and have not had the chance to run the NPC. I just found out yesterday that my parents are getting a divorce so now my financial situation is going to be a lot different… I’m not sure if this will effect my financial aid or not.
It won’t for a CSS Profile school. Both incomes (if applicable) will be used to generate an EFC. For FAFSA it’s which ever parent you live with most.
“I don’t see much reason to apply to UMich if your parents won’t pay for it.”
Perhaps you weren’t aware of this mom2collegekids, but The University of Michigan meets demonstrated financial need for ALL instate students:
http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/AboutUMFinancialAid/SampleAidPackages.aspx
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“I’m a rising senior with a 3.8 UW GPA, 4.1 W GPA, and 33 composite ACT score.”
I’d say you’re a match for Michigan, since you are instate and you have very good scores. Definitely apply!
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I just found out yesterday that my parents are getting a divorce so now my financial situation is going to be a lot different.
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I’m sorry to hear this.
Divorce during a year that you’ll be applying to schools can often play havoc. Parents’ money will likely be redirected to lawyers. 
Right now, your parents may not realize how this all will impact what they can pay because divorces often cost a lot more than people initially think. You do need to ask your parents (maybe not this week since emotions are high), how much they’ll be able to pay each year.
You need to be prepared in case next spring comes and your parents realize that they can’t pay much for college. We see this sort of thing happen every year here on CC.
You can apply to a variety of schools and see what happens, but you need to also apply to at least 2-3 schools that you will know will be affordable because of ASSURED very large merit awards. These can be your financial safeties.
With your ACT 33, there are several schools that will give you at least free tuition. What will Grand Valley give you?
University of Michigan will require the financial info from both parents.
Sure, but that’s THEIR determination of financial need. OP explicitly says that their parents can’t cover very much but they also won’t be eligible for a whole lot of financial aid. If their EFC is more than $15K, then OP won’t be able to attend.
With that said, I think UM is more of a match than a reach - your ACT score falls in the top 25% of applicants, and your GPA is very good. For the same reason I think Case Western is a reachy/match for you.
In Michigan, what about Wayne State and Michigan State?
Are you looking for other medium-to-large Midwestern university? Other matches and safeties might be Loyola Chicago, Bradley University, Butler University, Valparaiso University, Xavier University, . OOS publics (which may prove prohibitively expensive) are Minnesota, UIUC, Indiana, and Purdue. You might consider some cheaper branch campuses of the main systems, like Minnesota-Moorhead. Some reach schools are Northwestern and Notre Dame.
Some smaller schools are Kenyon, DePauw, Marquette, Earlham, Ohio Wesleyan, College of Wooster, Kalamazoo College.
You might consider a few things - your parent’s financial situation will be changing dramatically but your need is likely based on last year’s taxes. Consider if you have good options for a year off. Once the financial situation has settled down, you will know what the schools can do in the way of assistance. Also, with financial need, some private schools may end up costing less than public schools. You might also consider the environment that you will do well in. Earlham or Kenyon, or Miami of Ohio are all very different environments, while all could provide an excellent preparation. Earlham may be a more cooperative atmosphere while others might be more competitive. Some might be very good at preparing you for placing at a good medical school, while others might be more hit or miss but more likely to place you at a big name school. Talk to the bio and chem departments and find what their placements are, and where they go.
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Perhaps you weren’t aware of this mom2collegekids, but The University of Michigan meets demonstrated financial need for ALL instate students:
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@rjkofnovi Yes, I know that, but from what this student has written, it appears that UMich will be unaffordable. If the family runs the NPC and finds that UMich will expect them to pay more than they can, then it may be a wasted app.
and…now that the OP has indicated that her parents have announced that they’re divorcing, it’s even more likely that UMich will be unaffordable since UMich does require both parents info, and a fresh divorce often leaves families financially devastated.
Thankyou all so much for all the suggestions and information. Because of all the changes that are happening right now it’s making it a lot more difficult to determine what I can even afford next year. I really wish this wasn’t happening right now but there’s nothing I can change, I can only try and make the best of this situation. I believe that I will be spending more time with my mom and she does make much less than my dad, so we may get financial aid at some schools it looks like.
Grand Valley Has a scholarship competition where I would receive at least 6k a year, up to 9k a year I believe. Wayne state is not ideal to me simply because of it’s location. I will be visiting MSU, however I don’t think I will apply because it is such a large school.