First school I thought of is Pitt when I saw the thread. Pitt’s tuition is under $40K but total including living expenses will approach $50K. Its strong in STEM. It’s got diversity as does College of Charleston if you want a smaller school.
But someone else mentioned VCU and it’s much more diverse and in city. UMASS Boston is another. And finally GMU.
Again, these are all over $40K cost - but tuition under $40K and that’s what you said.
Many private colleges are diverse…not just LACs but larger like Rochester, Norhteastern, etc. If you have need, you might expand your search.
Lots of colleges will be under $40K total cost (not just tuition) but I was looking for diverse.
For NJ, look at Rutgers, Montclair State and William Paterson - all diverse. And easily the best bang for your buck and can all achieve under $40K total.
I would call any school and talk to the pre-med advisor. I can’t imagine you’ll get better pre-med advising at large, 2nd tier state schools vs. a top LAC like you attend. It’s possible - I just can’t imagine it. And med school sometimes needs internal recs. and of course access to shadowing. It’s very competitive and not all who target med school make it - so where you go is very important to ensure you have the support you need and to stand out above the crowd, especially in those pre-req classes.
I know my gpa isn’t the highest but I still have 5 semesters to have a good upward trend. I started college during the pandemic so it’s been a tough adjustment for me. I have really good extra-circulars.
I’m just deciding if my school will offer the resources I need to raise my gpa and the pre med advising is going to change at the start of junior year so I would have to start all over with the advising anyway(my schools pre med is weird). So I’m just saying I might as well start somewhere better for me. But all the recommendations are great thanks!!
How will you pay the out of state costs at a public university outside of your own state? These schools don’t meet full need for all…and they also don’t provide significant aid to transfer students.
I’ve been looking at the net price calculators to get an estimate of the tuition. I’ve been contacting FA offices to see what there aid is for transfer students.
@Boo_618 the net price calculators are set up for incoming freshmen…not transfer students. So unless the net price calculator specifically asks if you are a transfer student, don’t take the results as accurate.
Colleges give the bulk of their aid to incoming freshmen, not transfer students.
$40,000 plus the Direct Loan could possible make a SUNY college affordable. Perhaps Buffalo would provide the diversity you seek. @sybbie719 any ideas?
If you feel genuinely happy and supported…why transfer…and yes I read the rest of this thread. But being genuinely happy and supported is very important.
Sorry I meant that I’m miserable at my LAC its not a good fit. With 2022 starting I just can’t do another 2 years at my current college
I want to be old bc NJ colleges aren’t the best fit for me. Like don’t get me wrong they are great schools, but it’s like my hs days all over again so I’m trying to keep most of the schools on my list oos.
I have a Rutgers grad and a TCNJ grad, great schools and it definitely wasn’t HS all over, plus coming in as a transfer I’d assume off campus living anyway. Rutgers is huge and extremely diverse.
Have you discussed your unhappiness with your academic advisor and have you seen a counselor at your health center?
I know a LOT of transfers. And my takeaway is “wherever you go, there you are”. You are making a lot of assumptions about a new college- some of which may be true, some of which are likely not. So before you leave it might make sense to get a handle on your “stuff”.
An admissions officer is going to be skeptical that the lack of diversity has hurt you academically. Socially for sure. But it doesn’t explain your grades. A Med school admissions committee is likely to discount Covid as a cause- since your entire cohort has also been impacted by Covid. The department being a hot mess is neither here nor there- it’s not like you could expect to be doing graduate level work in nanotechnology at an LAC— so if they are offering the core science classes you need to apply to med school- that seems sufficient for a small college, no?
Get a handle on what’s really bothering you, what’s really at the root of you “underperforming your expectations” grade-wise (your GPA is fine btw, it’s just not where it would need to be for a successful med school application season), why you really think a bigger offering of science courses is going to impact you, etc.
Then let’s talk transfer.
Lots of students do research over the summer btw… too hard during the academic year, even if you were in the hub of a major hospital and research center…
I looked up the OOS cost estimates for the schools I suggested you investigate. It might be helpful to see what it might cost for Tuition+R&B at these schools.
Remember, as you try to compare various schools in various states, using your in-state NJ costs as a base will help you determine which are financially feasible and/or which do not make good financial sense.
What really hurt me at my institution grade wise isn’t the lack of diversity it’s that all the the trouble of the lack of diversity brought to me. The professors and students at my school were not welcoming and I faced a lot of discrimination bc of the color of my skin. That really impacted my mental health and my strive for pre med. The whole situation is very complex and I’m not really explaining it well lol I honestly just want out and to start over somewhere else( I know my gpa won’t reset but I’m really looking at the upward trend).
I can’t change who I am but I can change the college that I go to. So, I’m just trying to find more options other than USF bc I really like it.
Like for example I came to my LAC to be a Neuro major. I talked to professors and they assured me that the classes and research are offered. I come to find out that all the classes that I wanted to take were never gonna run. Also the department doesn’t give POC research bc “we don’t have enough experience” but other students who aren’t poc get research with little experience. I didn’t want to deal with that so I stopped doing Neuro( which I still love).
My only other option is bio but the bio here is veryyy ecology based and hard. So struggling with science courses that won’t help me on the MCAT makes no sense. I want to transfer to be able to do pre med not struggling with the racial tensions on campus and being the only student who can speak up. It’s really distracting tbh
I hear where you are coming from. But keep in mind- even at some much larger universities, you can’t be a “neuro” major. You CAN major in psych, with a healthy dose of chem and bio. And you can work in a psych lab with a focus on brain function.
I’d hate to see you switch only to face the same obstacles- and to discover that straight up neuro is a grad level discipline even at the university you are now attending.
Yes. So upperclassmen told me not to bother with Neuro. My LAC is very hard and the whole experience is about collaboration and out side thinking with ur peers but students would refuse to do that with the Poc on campus so it’s like struggle learning on my own. There’s been a lot of racial incidents that I’ve experienced personally that the school “can’t do anything about” and students would call me stupid bc I’m black. That really messed with my head and my academic confidence. And it’s funny bc I went to a HS with low diversity and did well there. I just want to be a student without dealing with all this stuff. I’m not gonna say my schools name bc I don’t want trouble but it’s very bad experience for students of color.
I just want to focus on pre med and having a nice college experience that I can look back at and smile. So I’m trying to transfer again( I didn’t transfer the first time bc the professors and advisors gaslighted me into staying but that’s a whole mess)
They are on board with my plan to transfer but I can’t expect them to pay a ridiculous amount compared to what they are currently paying. USF is very affordable oos even with the little aid that they may offer me. And I can continue my track there and have more opportunities