<p>I will be a senior this year, and I have to start applying to colleges this year. I'm going to try to apply to some of those top-tier colleges; some that I have in mind are UPenn, BC, BU, Duke, and maybe Brown.</p>
<p>But, I also want to see if there are any other colleges (like small liberal arts colleges) that I can apply to that are good and not as expensive. </p>
<p>As of now, I'm interested in being a doctor, and I know med-school is expensive and more important than undergrad, so I'm trying to incur as little debt as possible for school :/ A lot of doctors that I talked to recommended taking that path :)</p>
<p>I stated before that I want to be a doctor, but that is subject to change. So, I'd prefer if the college is well-rounded ^^ </p>
<p>If you could recommend any colleges that aren't as well-known but good, that would be awesome! Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>How about providing more information? First, do you care about location or school size? Secondly, sticker price and actual cost of attendance can often be two VERY different things. What is your family’s income like? Are you a top student who could qualify for top merit aid somewhere?</p>
<p>I don’t really care about the location of the school, though I prefer mid to large campus sizes.
In terms of family income, unfortunately, my family makes +$200,000 a year…but they have a lot of debt. So on paper, my parents look really good but in actuality it’s not much. I’m hoping for some form of financial aid x__x
I’m in the top 11% of my class, but my school is pretty competitive. I have a weighted GPA of 4.1 and an unweighted GPA of 3.65. My test scores are average: SAT= 1900 (took it only once), and ACT = 30 (took it two times).
I have had a lot of leadership activities, and I have been participating in clubs ever since sophomore year. Here’s some of them:
Red Cross Club: Member, Vice-President, and current President (total of 3 years)
Red Cross District Board: Member, Secretary and current President (total of 3 years)
CSF: member, Junior Officer, and current President (total of 3 years)
NHS: all 4 years
Science Olympiad: Founder and current President (total of 2 years)
Lit Mag: member, Prose Editor, and Chief Editor (total of 4 years)
Future Doctor Association: Head of Pediatric Department (total of 1 year, it was recently founded)
Spanish Honor Society: 1 year
I have also done marching band for two years, volunteered at a county hospital for about 2 years now, and a teacher at my church for about 3 years (: </p>
<p>In order to get merit aid, you need to look at schools wehre you will be in the top 25% of applicants. Also, apply to your state school. With your stats you will need to look at less selective schools than the ones on your list if merit aid is needed. Rather than worrying about if you will be admitted, you will need to worry about how much your parents will pay. For someone who is interested in a medical program, grades and UG debt are very important, and state schools can help you keep costs down. </p>
<p>Where do you live, and are you willing to go outside of your region to school?</p>
<p>While those are certainly respectable scores, they are not tippy top school stats, so don’t count on UPenn, Duke, or Brown.</p>
<p>Instead, head to the college search function on here and put your scores in along with clicking the merit aid option. You can also sort by the size you like and any location preferences. Then start checking out those schools. There are several of them.</p>
<p>Almost any school can prepare you for a medical (or other) career and it is better if you do it without a lot of debt or hardship on your folks. Smaller schools could also be an option if you find one you like. State schools can be an option - esp in state for you - as they can be less expensive while still providing a good education. If you try for top schools, you’ll likely be paying full price (if you get in, and that’s a big IF). Save your money for med school or grad school… or a house. Your scores are decent enough to get you some merit aid if you adjust your school choices a little.</p>
<p>some great schools to look at Hendrix College, Drake University,Muhlenberg College in allentown,pa, or Butler University. all great schools near bigger cities but not in the big city(some of the schools in boston you do not know if you are even on campus! but the schools I listed will give you a great education, a happy student body, and a feeling of community! a reach school would be rice university !</p>
<p>“I will be a senior this year, and I have to start applying to colleges this year. I’m going to try to apply to some of those top-tier colleges; some that I have in mind are UPenn, BC, BU, Duke, and maybe Brown.”</p>
<p>Boston University loves applicants like you – solid student, respectable standardized test scores, active in your school and community, FULL PAY. </p>
<p>Penn and Brown don’t offer merit aid, and Duke and BC offer such limited merit aid they are essentially need-based aid only schools for the vast majority of admits.</p>
<p>Some schools in the northeast you might want to look at: Ursinus College, St. Lawrence University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, St. Michael’s College.</p>
<p>With medical school on the horizon, one of the most cost effective options will be your in-state flagship school (University of fill-in-state-name). Additionally, some state schools offer generous aid to OOS applicants. People here have had luck with University of Alabama, Oklahoma and Indiana University.</p>
<p>A 3.65/1900/30 makes Penn, Duke and Brown extreme long shots, with BC being a reach as well. I think BU is very likely though I can’t speak to their aid offers. Use the College Search function here on CC (left side of this page, 2nd link under the Main CC Site header). Look for schools where you are in the top 25%. That should generate a pretty good list to work with.</p>
<p>OP, you won’t be offered any financial aid except Stafford Loans because that is based on financial need. Financial need is generally defined by income and assets; debt really doesn’t get considered. As the other posters have been saying you need to focus on schools where you have a shot at merit aid.</p>
<p>I head one doctor speak very highly about the students coming out of U of Rochester. She said they were well prepared in sciences and got a good foundation for med school.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you look at some of the schools in the Colleges that Change Lives group. They offer excellent educations and produce students that interest many medical schools. If medicine does not happen to be your major, they provide many other options. Some can also be quite generous in their merit scholarships.</p>
<p>You are not likely to get any need-based aid.</p>
<p>This means looking for schools with list prices under limits based on what your parents are able and willing to pay (your in-state public universities are obvious candidates), or schools with large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>3.65 GPA and ACT of 30 produce the following large merit scholarships:</p>
<ul>
<li>UA Birmingham Blazer Elite for $15,000 per year: leaves about $10,000 per year remaining cost of attendance</li>
<li>Howard University Capstone for tuition, fees, room: leaves about $10,000 per year remaining cost of attendance</li>
<li>UA Tuscaloosa UA Scholar for 2/3 OOS tuition: leaves about $20,000 per year remaining cost of attendance (if engineering, gives full OOS tuition plus $2,500, leaving about $12,000 per year remaining cost of attendance)</li>
</ul>
<p>Note that higher ACT (or SAT equivalent) scores can produce better merit scholarships at the same or other schools (e.g. 34 ACT with your GPA will give you a full ride at UA Huntsville).</p>
<p>"Where do you live, and are you willing to go outside of your region to school? "</p>
<p>I live in California, and I initially wanted to go out of state, but I guess financially-wise it isn’t a smart choice :U </p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your replies They were all really helpful, though it was a bit disheartening to see that getting scholarships (or financial aid for that matter) will be difficult for me x__x </p>
<p>I guess that brings me to another question: would you recommend me still applying for the colleges I listed previously D:? It seems as though the only real chance I have is BU ><</p>
<p>if you do not apply, for sure you will not get in! but, if you take the time to broaden your list, a perfect fit maybe unknown to you now and you could get merit based aid and pay less then in state in your home state! PA and MA have a ton of schools you could visit in a short time of all different sizes and reps. I have been to duke many times and UNC chapel hill. both are beautiful and have smart students. but , when I left Duke’s campus I never felt like wow this is the place for me! unc did not feel like it was my “it” place either, but that is just me.</p>
<p>Typical tuition and books numbers for California residents:</p>
<p>UC: about $15,000 per year
CSU: about $10,000 per year
community college: about $3,000 per year</p>
<p>The cost of attendance charts usually list other costs at about $5,000 to $8,000 for living with parents (costs similar to what they spend supporting you as a high school student, plus perhaps greater commuting costs), and $12,000 to $20,000 for living near campus not with parents. Obviously, there are regional differences in living expenses.</p>
<p>Some out of state schools with big merit scholarships may cost less (see #14 for examples). Some may even be similar or lower at list price than UCs or CSUs (e.g. public schools in the Dakotas, University of Minnesota - Morris, Truman State University).</p>
</p>
They were all really helpful, though it was a bit disheartening to see that getting scholarships (or financial aid for that matter) will be difficult for me x__x </p>