<p>Furman is looking attractive, but not being local to the school, I don't know if it's just advertising.</p>
<p>Would you put Furman and "good pre-med" in the same sentence?</p>
<p>Schools for comparison that are currently on the top list (for a current junior with a 33 composite ACT) are Pitt, U of Rochester, Case Western, Franklin & Marshall, and U of Alabama.</p>
<p>Finances are a consideration.</p>
<p>All would be good choices for the right student. Check out the merit scholarship/financial aid opportunities and apply to all of them where you have a legitmate opportunity to receive the aid you need. Get the packages and then decide among the “possibles” based on “fit”. A student can get to med school from all of them.</p>
<p>You have two national LAC’s, two small national research uni’s, and two big state schools. That’s either a good mix or a random sampling. ;)</p>
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<p>You do realize that there are two ways you can use “Furman” and “good pre-med” in the same sentence:</p>
<ol>
<li>“Furman” does NOT have a “good pre-med program” ------Borat NOT jokes</li>
</ol>
<p>OR</p>
<ol>
<li>“Furman” does have a “good pre-med program”</li>
</ol>
<p>That being said, it doesn’t matter where you go to undergrad, what matters is what you do while you are there.</p>
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<p>It’s a good mix. I’m lining up visits this spring to see which appeal enough to him for him to want to apply to them. Ideally, he wants small (based on college visits with older brother), but he also wants pre-med or med research, and we need the finances, so I’m trying for a good mix that will help him decide if he indeed wants small or “lab” bells and whistles or somewhere in between.</p>
<p>Then, of course, we’ll have to see what the acceptances and financial packages are like, but that’s all down the road.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>With the beginning bias (and IMHO) that UG choice is one of the lesser factors for getting to Medical School, here’s some personal observations.</p>
<p>Furman is an very good to excellent LAC. VG to excellent schools are all perfectly valid choices to successfully prepare for Medical School. I’m aware of several MD’s who did UG at Furman and all speak very highly of their experiences there.</p>
<p>UA is VG and seems to be rapidly improving Large Public University with a huge scholarship carrot. With those stats assuming his GPA matches, he almost certainly would get a Full Tuition scholarship. If he is a National Merit Finalist (??Semi-) he can literally bump to Full Ride Scholarship. I’m literally familiar with hundreds of MD’s from UA (of course as an alum that probably shouldn’t count) including several who went to Ivy’s and near Ivy’s like Duke/Vandy/Wash U.</p>
<p>Rochester is an excellent school with a brutal weather history. Oldest son with same ACT score was offered 17K scholarship a few years ago to offset 47K estimated annual COA. Though he like UR, he chose a different school who offered a far better scholarship (Not PreMed, but was Science/Math major).</p>
<p>^^^ Many thanks for your thoughts!</p>
<p>No, this guy didn’t make NMSF in our state. His score would have been high enough in 30 of the states based on last year’s cut off, but not here ¶. He ran into a clock/watch error on the first math section. He used his watch based on the proctor’s time on the board as the clock was behind him, but his watch was 5 minutes behind - meaning he didn’t get to finish 3 questions. Add that to 2 “idiot” errors he made himself in math and 3 missed questions each on the CR and W and he’s just commended with a 212.</p>
<p>“I” told him to go through and do all math questions first, then check them. “He” insists on checking as he goes along timing himself. It was a costly error this time, but such is life. He took the ACT as a sophomore and got a 34 on the math (30 composite), and then in fall of his junior year he got a 33 on math (33 composite), so we’re just going to go with those and skip the SAT. If needed for merit aid he could retake the ACT again in April (only offered twice a year in our neck of the woods), but I’m on the fence as to whether we’ll bother with it. A bit will depend on what he learns in his visits and how competitive he needs to be with the ACT.</p>
<p>Many people have told us good things about UA. It’s definitely on our “consider highly” list, esp if he doesn’t get a similar financial offer from Pitt. The others we’ll just have to see what is offered when/if he wants to apply and is accepted. Baylor might be on our list as well, but we probably won’t get to visit until he’s accepted and we see what finances are offered (assuming he gets accepted).</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I would have my son take the ACT again and this is why…</p>
<p>You’re frustrated that he didn’t make NMSF…and I totally understand.</p>
<p>However, there are schools that will give “extra money” (above their published scholarships) to students who have stats that are higher than the minimum req’t.</p>
<p>A mom recently PM’d me to tell me that her ACT 35 son (who didn’t make NMSF either) was given the normal free tuition scholarship from Bama, but then also got a surprise letter awarding an additional $4,000 per year. He may not have gotten that extra money with the ACT 33.</p>
<p>also…Bama awards several competitive scholarships (Crimson) for kids with top stats who didn’t make NMF…those scholarships are actually better than the NMF scholarships. Those also typically go to kids who have the highest ACT/SAT scores.</p>
<p>That student with the ACT 35 is probably also being considered for the big Crimson scholarshp as well.</p>
<p>So…even though your son’s ACT 33 gets him free tuition ASSURED from some schools, a ACT 34 or 35 might get him even more money.</p>
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<p>Many thanks for your thoughts. It probably is worth it to have him take the ACT again in the spring when juniors usually take the test (April around here). His science score was the main subscore that pulled him down. He got a 30 on that, then 33 math, 34 English, 35 Reading. If he can pull the science up to match the others and get a little higher in math it would be worth it. Math and English just swapped scores from his sophomore test. He brought reading and science up a bit (had gone in cold to those the first time around). Perhaps he can bring them up just a tad more with more practice. It actually surprises me that science is his lowest subscore as it and math are his best subjects. I thought science might be his highest score.</p>
<p>So typical. lol. My kid did the same thing except even more dramatic: a 26 Science (and she’s a science nerd) and a 36 math, 33 Reading, 34 English (or maybe vice versa on R and E , my memory is gone :(). She was some kinda ticked off. She had done no prep, not even the booklet that came with the test. Didn’t understand that Science is really Science Reading not science knowledge (the answers were in the graphs and text, who knew? lol) . Once she figured out the “trick” (she literally missed every question on a section about “dewpoints” and no others on her first test) she sailed through and ended up with a 35 Science, 35 Cumulative. still with no real prep. Just an understanding that the Science section has nothing to do with how much science you know, it’s Science Reading. I have given this advice to several kids since then with great results. It’s a keeper. ;)</p>
<p>His 33 is a great score. But a 34 or 35 will look better and be a more accurate statement of his ability. Tell him to take the test again. My bet? It will make him lots of money.</p>
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<p>Thanks for your thoughts. It could well be worth the testing $ and time.</p>