<p>So I'm finally down to my top 3 schools: Franklin & Marshall, Ursinus, and Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg might be my favorite by a few hairs but I'm definitely not sure right now. I also live near F&M and am taking a dual-enrollment class there so I really understand the feel of that campus. I have interviewed there and I have an interview at Mberg on Saturday, which will be my third time on campus. I intend to go back to Ursinus this winter.</p>
<p>I have 4.1 GPA, one spot away from top 5%, 3 APs junior year (scores: 3, 4, 5) and 3 more this year, plus my dual enrollment at F&M and next semester, physics.
Pre-med/Bio major, also interested in Spanish and Italian and definitely study abroad. Interested in Mberg and Ursinus's early assurance programs with Drexel UCM. F&M has a similar one that starts freshman year of college.
2180 SAT: 640 CR, 740 M, 800 W.
Lots of community service, Interact and Do Something Clubs, GSA, Heroes mentoring program, tutoring, cross country, track, orchestra, piano. Volunteered/shadowed in the ER this summer for medical experience.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice? Anyone who goes/went to one of these schools, sat through a really good (or really bad) presentation. Much appreciated! :)</p>
<p>I hope that you intend to spend some time at Muhlenberg besides just your interview this weekend. I would suggest you plan on doing your interview and then spending time all over campus. Grab a coffee and hang out at Seeger’s, talk to the people you come into contact with. All of them. The other students, the staff, the barista, the whole enchilada. Ask how they like Muhlenberg, what they don’t like about Muhlenberg, what you should see, what is happening on campus. Eat in Woods. Hang out and talk to the people who are there, the ones who work there, the students who come in and sit at nearby tables. Let them know you are there for your interview and that you are considering attending next year. Listen to what they have to say about their experiences. Soak it all in. I think you will be surprised, Muhlenberg is a friendly community that will welcome the discussion and hopefully at the end of the day you will have a clearer picture to help you decide which school is your best fit. Best of luck to you! </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice #beenthereanddone I have been on tour twice there before and I was able to talk to some students in my area of interest. I definitely know what you mean by the “friendly community,” which is one of my favorites things about it.</p>
<p>Since you’re pre-med, have you considered the competition at these schools to get into med school. I think you’ll have to be among a select couple dozen at Muhlenberg (I’m less familiar with the culling at F&M and Ursinus) to get the letters of rec that you’ll need to apply to med school. You’ll start out with about 150 pre-meds freshman year and end up with 25 or so. Is that what you want your college experience to be? Will you be one of the chosen few? or would you be better off applying to a less competitive program, one where you’ll be the big fish chowing down on the little fish?</p>
<p>@jkeil911 I know what you mean, but I have also heard worse things about F&M’s program in that regard.
Did you go to Muhlenberg, and if so, were you premed at any point?</p>
<p>@bopper Financial situation is a little complicated because my dad got laid off in March but started again in October but the 6 months was a very dramatic shift. I am the older child so they haven’t had to pay for college before. I know that F&M doesn’t do merit $, but they give a LOT of need-based: average of $43,000. And the average person who goes there has more money than I do, so I would probably get more. They also give some music talent scholarships, which I’m looking into there as well as at Mberg for an extra few thousand dollars a year to be in pit orchestra or what have you. What about Ursinus’s financial aid? I know that they give out laptops included in the regular tuition and they have some scholar’s programs similar to Mberg. Thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>muhlenberg is a school that in my opinion every student should look at. it may be the best all around school .
happy students, great professors, beautiful campus, great student retention rate.
and remember muhlenberg has a bs/md program with temple and a bs/md program with drexel. </p>
<p>@informative, among PA LACs, esp for pre-med, these three schools are spoken of in almost the same breath. </p>
<p>OP, why the reluctance to run the net price calculators on these schools? It’s the only thing that’s going to tell you if the schools are affordable, short of the FA package that doesn’t arrive until March. Tell your parents you need to know now in order to be sure you’ve applied to schools they can afford.</p>
<p>Do run the NPCs. I think Ursinus is the most generous with merit but if you’re rather low income F&M may be cheaper. Apply to all three.
When I see science (biology/premed) + Italian + study abroad, I think “Dickinson”. Any particular reason it’s not on your current list?</p>
<p>Hm, Pitt is good for premed but not especially noted for its Italian dept or study abroad for science majors… With Dickinson, students who’ve reached a sufficient level in Italian can direct-enroll in biology classes at the University of Bologna (and even attend medical lectures if they want to, although not for credit obviously). They can also participate in John Hopkin’s Graduate Center classes and have internships in the city.</p>
<p>My D’s at Pitt and finds the Italian quite good so far, and she would know. Pitt has a Florence program, and Florence is where you want to go if you want to improve your Italian. </p>
<p>I agree Florence is better than Bologna. But for a high-level speaker, the ability to take any class immersed in the local university is also a great opportunity.</p>
<p>I think it’s more important to take your Italian to people’s homes and to the cities and to learn the Italian people speak at dinner and parties and in nightclubs and businesses. One advantage of Bologna (or any city other than Florence) would be that you’re hearing Italian you won’t hear in the classroom! </p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts! Pitt is much larger than most of the school I was looking at; I’m fairly sure I want a small school (and having my current class at F&M reinforces that). I thought about Dickinson early on but one of my friends, who has better grades than I, visited there and said it was extremely expensive. Maybe I’ll look into it during my free time this week. I will also be sure to use the Net Price Calculators. Again, thanks for all the advice!</p>
<p>F&M claims to cover 100% of demonstrated need.
Muhlenberg claims to cover, on average, 90.7%.
Ursinus does not seem to post a Common Data Set file, so I do not know what they claim.</p>
<p>According to the IPEDS database, below are the average net prices student pay at various family income levels.</p>
<p>Family income = $30,001 - $48,000
$9,335 F&M
$14,776 Muhlenberg
$20,585 Ursinus
$22,598 University of Pittsburgh (in-state)</p>
<p>Family income = $48,001 - $75,000
$19,167 F&M
$21,611 Muhlenberg
$25,108 University of Pittsburgh (in-state)
$25,254 Ursinus</p>
<p>Family income = $75,001 - $110,000
$24,287 Muhlenberg
$26,052 F&M
$26,451 Ursinus
$28,385 University of Pittsburgh (in-state)</p>
<p>Use the online Net Price Calculators for each school to build your own estimates.</p>