2025 Pre Med or General College Advice ( 3.6 GPA, 1510 SAT) [<$50k preferred]

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out for some advice on colleges for my daughter (DD). We’re starting the research process early, and I’d love to get some feedback on potential schools.

Daughter’s Profile:

  • Asian Female from the Northeast USA

  • **Academics: **

Strong GPA in 9th and 10th grade (above 4.0 weighted).
11th grade GPA dipped slightly due to SAT prep and increased extracurricular involvement (current unweighted GPA is 3.6).
We don’t anticipate a significant increase due to the college-prep curriculum at her school.

  • **Extracurricular Activities: **
    • Teacher at local Coding platform for 2 years (teaching computer coding to kids)
    • 3-year volunteer at a local hospital and EMS
    • Volunteer for a financial organization supporting people of color
    • HOSA finalist (top 10)
    • Demonstrates strong understanding of human psychology and enjoys teaching children

Financial Aid:

  • We can comfortably afford up to $50,000 per year.
    Stretching to $75,000 would require significant sacrifices (transportation, vacations, etc.) and likely student loans.

Family Background:

  • In addition to my day job, I am Adjunct Professor at a state university.

Questions:

  1. Target Colleges:

Considering her academic profile and extracurriculars, which colleges could be good targets for her application?

  1. BS/MD Programs:

Is she eligible to apply for BS/MD programs (combined Bachelor’s and Doctor of Medicine degrees)?

  1. Adjunct Professor Experience:

Will my experience as an Adjunct Professor be beneficial in her applications, particularly at state colleges?

  1. Flexible Majors:

Are there colleges where she can easily switch majors if needed during her academic journey?

  1. Additional Majors/Minors:

Are there any other majors or minors that might be a good fit for her interests and skills ( Biology, Coding, understanding human psychology, teaching and helping others)?

  1. ** Additional Improvements **

In addition to applying for ED for the reach colleges, what additional improvements, I can make to students profile to increase her chances to get admitted to college

Possible Colleges (Initial Research):

  • Rutgers University
  • Drexel University
  • Georgetown University
  • New York University
  • Boston University
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Florida
  • University of North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Michigan State University
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Cornell University

Additional Information:

My daughter may have slightly neglected her academics after achieving a strong SAT score. We’re working to ensure she stays focused throughout senior year.

Any advice or feedback on colleges, the application process, or anything else would be greatly appreciated! Our goal is to set realistic expectations and help her find the best fit for her academic and personal goals.

Thanks in advance!

2

Is your state school on this list? I would consider adding the University of Delaware and SUNY Binghamton. You have enough reaches- I would add a few likelies.

Maybe look into bioinformatics?

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Yes.

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Yes, but those are so competitive that with a 3.6 HS GPA, they are likely to be unrealistic reaches.

Not unless the specific colleges you adjunct at give any kind of benefits that may be relevant (but adjunct faculty get few or no benefits generally).

Yes, but you need to check each college specifically and for the specific majors of interest. This is assuming that you mean capacity limitations, which are the typical administrative barriers to changing majors. Regardless of whether there are any capacity limitations, a student who is undecided or is considering changing major does need to take courses to stay on track in the possible new major in order to avoid needing extra semesters.

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I think it’s fine to apply to BS/MD programs, but I agree that they are probably not realistic. Apply and see!

I think your list has a lot of reach schools. I would add a few likely schools, as I noted above.

Keep in mind that your daughter can be premed with any major. She seems to have several interests, which is great.

What improvements can she make? I think she is a good student. Junior year is wrapping up soon- I would make sure she has teachers lined up who will write her recommendation letters, crafts a solid list of colleges, and begins to think about a major (this might change).

Combining education and biology (double major) will allow her to teach after college if she wants (you mentioned teaching above). She can still apply to medical school if she went this route. I have a family member who taught HS chemistry for 3-4 years and then went to medical school.

6

Appreciate your help @twogirls. I have added bioinformatics as one of the possible choices. Its little challenging and stressful for me to understand what my child wants. example, she is good in biology but not in chemistry.
good in math and computers but not interested in any majors for these fields.

One thing for sure, she like to help others. This might be one of the reasons she is interested in patient care.

One of the reasons I am here is because, I am not sure what her reach/safe colleges are outside her in state schools.

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@WayOutWestMom

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Jut FYI, education majors are required to do practicums and student teaching their senior year–which is quite time consuming. Student teaching requires the student to be at their teaching site for the entire school day which generally precludes them from taking other classes at the same time. (Night classes really aren['t feasible since the student teacher will be writing lesson plans and developing their teaching materials after the school day is over.)

Instead of doing a ED major, maybe consider doing TFA post college graduation if OP’s child wants to teach. TFA requires 2 year minimum commitment and the TFA student will teaching full time while concurrently earning a MAT to meet state teaching certification requirements. It’s a challenging and rigorous program, and one that med school adcomms look at quite favorably.

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Yes, agree about student teaching being time consuming (forgot lol).
I think it is one year, but not sure.

TFA is good, but competitive (or at least it was). Another good one is City Year.

10

State universities are fine for pre-med students. Med school pre-reqs can be taken at just about every 4 year college in the US with exception of art & music conservatories.

I like state universities for pre-meds because they offer a wide range of majors which will allow a student to explore their interests, plus public universities are usually a student’s most cost effective option.

The price of one’s undergrad education is an issue that all hopeful premed must consider since med school is hideously expensive (It’s around $75-100K/year now at many schools and costs are rising at ~5%/year. ) There is little financial aid for med students except for loans, loans and more loans.

TFA is still very competitive. I think only one of every 4 or 5 applicants is accepted.

AmeriCorps is another very good post-graduation service opportunity. There are some medically related positions offered thru AmeriCorps.

One of D2’s BF from HS decided after working for a few years after college that she wanted to do medicine. She did a career changer post-bacc at Bryn Mawr College and then spent a year in AmeriCorps during her glide year where she worked with HIV/AIDs patients doing outreach, education, and assisted getting them enrolled in health insurance programs.

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OP my daughter did TFA…if you have any questions.

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https://financialaid.usc.edu/graduate-professional-financial-aid/keck-school-of-medicine/the-cost-of-your-medical-school-education/ lists a cost of $106k to $116k (depending on what year one is in medical school).

However, in some states, the in-state public medical schools, if the student can get into them, cost significantly less.

13

Bioinformatics, biostatistics or data science might be interesting for her.

Unfortunately there is more chemistry in pre-med than bio. Pre-med requires only 2 semesters of bio, but 5 semesters of chemistry.

And, sadly, there is no math in med school–or so both my daughters–who each earned a mathematics degree in undergrad-- used to lament during med school.

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If she is interested in learning about other health care related fields, have her look at this website. There are lots of ways to work with and help people beside being a doctor. Perhaps one of these will interest her too.

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There are so many careers that help people besides medicine. There are literally dozens of other health professions careers that do not involve being a physician.

I suggest our daughter look through this website:

It has information about health profession careers your daughter has probably never even heard of. Some require a post-graduate doctoral degree (like physician, dentist, biostatistician, epidemiologist, audiologist, physical therapist, medical physicist). Some require some additional post graduate education but less than a doctorate (like cardiovascular perfusionist, certified anesthesia assistant, medical social worker, music therapist, pathology assistant, radiation therapist, nuclear medicine technologist, advanced practice nurse ). Some require specialized vocational training as part of a bachelor’s degree (like clinical laboratory scientist , respiratory therapist, dental hygienist, kinesiotherapist, forensic chemist or forensic biologist)

16

SUNY Geneseo might be another one to add to the list. If you live in NJ they will match the cost of Rutgers.

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If you can only afford $50K a year, you don’t want to stretch to $75K.

As it is, college is just half the journey - right? There is the post college college years.

There are schools that your student can attend from $20K on up.

I don’t know your state (but it would help to know) but you can focus there or schools that will “buy” a student with your stats - i.e. $20K a year - such as Alabama, UAH, Mississippi State. Bama has a special program from pre med.

So just looking at your list - it’s either a stretch or expensive (I don’t know your need profile).

So Rutgers is likely - but what if not in state?

Drexel is safe - but not cheap.

Gtown is unlikely - but only has need aid. Have you filled out the net price calculator

NYU has limited merit - and is unlikely.

UVA - yes, meets need - if you have - but assuming you are OOS, is very expensive otherwise and is unlikely.

UF - the GPA is low - maybe a low reach. It can come under $50K (today) but if you’re doing pre med, honestly, why wouldn’t you go to the neighboring state where you’d be under $20K a year and saving money. In other words, a flagship is a flagship is a flagship in many cases including this one. Yes, you are Asian and maybe that’s something to look at but…

UNC - another that meets need but if you don’t have, too expensive - and a stretch.

PSU - a decent shot - but doesn’t meet need…so if you are OOS, it won’t work.

Same with PItt (apply early, they are rolling) but if you’re OOS, you can’t afford.

Michigan State is safe - but again, if you are OOS, how do you afford.

CWRU is unlikely admission and affordability - but it’s worth a hail Mary

Cornell unlikely - and only need aid.

I think you have to focus your list on budget and adding more realistic options - you have a few realistic from an admission POV but you didn’t provide enough info to know if they are affordable.

And if you have a $50K budget, short of running NPCs that say, yes I can afford it, you should not ED. Also, you could find many LACs (if you preferred smaller and more personal) that will hit this $50K mark and even come well under!!

This is part of the journey - you need to be in the comfortably afford camp and need to plan for the four years after.

Good luck.

McCollough Scholars – Pre-Medical Studies at the University of Alabama (ua.edu)

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If you can afford up to $50,000, then I would cap it at $50,000. Stretching to $75,000 with “significant sacrifices” and loans is not a good idea, imo. Things happen- you need a new car, a new roof etc. Stretching an extra $5000 might be ok….depending. Stretching an additional $25,000 a year? Might be an “ouch,” depending on your expenses and other kids etc. Try putting that money away now and see what happens.

If you “stretch” an extra $100,000 for undergrad, what will happen for medical school/grad school? I would save the money for med school.

My advice is as follows:

  1. Use the NPC for every school. Eliminate the schools that are not affordable.
  2. Keep the schools that offer merit. Be prepared to turn them down if merit does not happen (and the cost is over 50).
  3. I see a lot of reaches. Keep them if the NPC shows that they are affordable, but do not add any more reaches. You have plenty.
  4. Add another instate college (not sure of your state). If it’s Pa you have 2- that’s good.
  5. SUNY Geneseo OOS is in the mid 30’s- I would add it.
  6. Apply to SUNY Binghamton. The OOS cost is under 50 and you may get a little merit. This is a strong school and would not be a safety if you were instate. They are trying to increase OOS students.
  7. Apply to UDel- you may get some merit…maybe (will it be enough?).
  8. Do some research on Alabama. The program noted above looks good.

College is expensive, unfortunately. Grad school is expensive. Medical school is very expensive. If med school or any kind of grad school is in the plans…she may have to stay instate so that she is not saddled with huge loans. That is not a problem…at all.

It looks like you live in either Pa, Va, NC, NJ, or Michigan. That means you live in a state with excellent options. Students who attend these schools get accepted to medical school and competitive graduate programs all the time.

19

Honestly, applications to BS/MD programs will be a waste of time and money, for her. She is very unlikely to get into any of these.

If she is absolutely certain she wants med school, then consider the long term goal here, which is compiling a 4.0 GPA and the needed ECs for med school, while preserving funds for med school. Her best bet is to go to a large university where she would have many majors available, in case she decides to change majors. She would be better off majoring in something she absolutely loves, in which she can do very, very well. From what you describe, she might want to do a double major in Comp Sci plus psych or sociology. Every school offers the premed pre-reqs, so this really isn’t a consideration. If she does a double major of Comp Sci with something more “humane”, she’ll have an automatic exit ramp for a career in CS if she decides against med school.

Take a look at the net price calculators for some of the private schools you’re considering. If you feel you can afford 50K/yr, the schools are likely to think you can afford the full cost of attendance. If you have business or real estate assets (other than equity in your primary residence), colleges are likely to expect you to pay full fare. OTOH, if you have only employment income, and no significant assets other than your primary home, you might get some fin aid from private colleges.

Your best bet is probably going to be your in-state flagship U. She should plan for a tutor right from the start for general chem, which she should take first semester. No matter how good she is at bio, there are two years of chem in the pre-reqs, and orgo is really very tough. So if she cannot hack gen chem, even with a tutor and a relatively light load first semester, then she might want to consider a different direction.

Your being an adjunct prof will have no bearing on the process.

Keep in mind that students who go to their local 4 yr public college (and get A’s there, because the level of competition is lower than that at the flagship and at highly selective private colleges) do get into med school. Yes, a med school is likely to take a 3.8 from Yale over a 3.8 from a local state college, with the same MCAT and similar ECs, but your daughter will probably find it much easier to achieve that 3.8, or even a 4.0, at your local state college. And the MCAT score is as much a reflection of the prep that the student is willing to put in, as it is of the level of instruction at the college they chose. Also, a high SAT score predicts the potential to get a high MCAT score (with prep, of course). So she really might wind up more likely to stay on the premed track and actually get into med school if she goes to your local state college, (not even the flagship), than if she were to go to a highly selective college.

So I suggest that you and she have a very serious, very frank discussion about how badly she wants med school (and from what you describe, it sounds as if she would make a GREAT doctor, because she is bright and competent, but most importantly, very caring and wants to help people), and take it from there. She should try to arrange to do as much shadowing of docs as possible now and over the summer, in the office and in the hospital, so that she can get a better idea of whether this is really what she wants to do. If she still wants it, then honestly, you and she would be better off getting out of the competition to get into the most highly selective college she can get into, and seriously consider her in-state flagship and your local state college.

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@ucbalumnus, @twogirls @WayOutWestMom @tsbna44 @parentologist appreciate your valuable suggestion and quick feedback on D29 profile.

I will take some time to review this information and discuss with my D29 about her career interests. if she wants to be 100% in in health care as doctor, or PA or Nurse etc, or be open to other career options.

With my two kids, I have to consistently pay 50k per year for next 10 to 12 years and at the same time taking care of emergency needs and travel budget
4-7 years for D29 and 4 years for D34. so, any college cost above 50k will go to kids’ student loan and they have to pay off themselves once they get the job.

I will also explore UF and UNC as options.
NYU is a costly option as it cost more than 100k per year

Below are some of the points I have summarized as part of my next steps.

  1. Recommendation letters from her fav teachers
  2. Focus on shortlisting Major subjects
  3. Explore teaching opportunities after BS or while doing BS as Teaching Assistant
  4. TFA is another opportunity to teach @twogirls can offer more advice
  5. Teaching is time consuming
    6.State colleges can be a good option for premed
  6. State college are best options for pre-med, so that you can save for MD
  7. AmeriCorps is a good option to teach after graduation, while working on your MCAT
  8. Bioinformatics can be good choice to blend mathematics, computers with biology
    10.ExploreHealthCareers.org is a good website to explore more about health care jobs
    11.SUNY Genesco is another choice for pre-med.
  9. LACs are another option
  10. https://mccolloughscholars.as.ua.edu/ is another choice
  11. UDel
  12. Shadowing other doctors

One open question, how do you calculate NPS with in-state vs out of state vs college ranking?

Once again, I appreciate @ucbalumnus, @twogirls @WayOutWestMom @tsbna44 @parentologist 's valuable inputs. This has provided me a different perspective on how to approach college admissions.