College GPA (I take local college courses over summer): 3.54
Class Rank: 92/347
ACT/SAT Scores: test optional
Coursework
9 honors, 8 AP, and 3 courses taken at local college (2 English and 1 Spanish course)
MBA Research Business program and will get 6 college credits upon completion
Highest Math- AP Stats
Highest Foreign Language- Spanish 3 in HS and 1st year Spanish 2 in college
Awards
AP Scholar with Honor
Business Program Presentation Skills
3x 1st place at HOSA State
10th at HOSA Internationals
2nd, 7th, and 8th at FBLA State
President’s Volunteer Service Award: 1x Gold and 2x Bronze
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
HOSA State Officer- lead 2500 members through health-career-focused initiatives and Guatemala public health service project
HOSA Chapter Treasurer- led members through meetings, service events, and prepared them for competition
FBLA Member
NHS member
Culinary Club founder and president
NBHS (National Business Honor Society) member
Visiting Student Ambassador and Orientation Leader
LLS Student Visionaries Candidate (led team to raise $39k) and Co-Chair (lead mentors and plan cultivation events and workshops): >170 hours
Hospital Volunteer (>95 hours)
English Tutor at local college
Medical Assistant at private practice
Essays/LORs/Other
Common App essay about being targeted for not being Christian in conservative Christian school
UC essays: above, my passion for cooking, the impact with LLS volunteering, and growing patience through working with NICU babies at the hospital
LOR- AP Human Geo Teacher (strong personal relationship and one of the best performers in class), Business Teacher (awarded me with best presentation skills and urged me to compete in FBLA), LLS staff member (my personal mentor and strong relationship)
Cost Constraints / Budget
I will need only merit-based scholarships
Schools
Acceptances
University of Nevada Reno: 5.4K/year and 10K one-time
What does this mean? Do you need to receive a merit scholarship in order to make schools affordable, or is your family willing and able to pay the full cost of any school on your list?
Merit scholarships at the UCs are very limited and competitive. The most likely scenario is that it will cost $75k+ per year to attend one of the UCs on your list. (OOS on-campus COA is now listed at $76,436 here: Tuition & cost of attendance | UC Admissions)
And while I do not know your family’s financial situation…If you are indeed considering med school in the future, $300,000+ is a lot to pay for your undergrad before taking on the financial burden of post grad education.
Congratulations on your acceptances.
The number next to colleges in the “Acceptances” column : does it refer to net cost of attendance, ie. (tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarships, grants), or does it refer to the amount of scholarship you got?
If it’s the scholarship amount, can you calculate net cost of attendance for them?
What budget did your parents give you (or what range did they tell you they could afford without loans, ie., from income&savings?)
Thanks! I’m new to CC so I’m trying to figure everything out. I can afford all the schools on my list so cost is not an issue. If I do get any money, it will be through merit scholarships only.
BTW UA and UNM are well-known for Anthropology.
A less well-known school that’s specifically excellent for Anthropology and solid for psych is Beloit, WI.
Cal Poly SLO and UCD would be great choices (if your parents can afford them). You should know though that OOS premed in CA is typically not advised because there are SO MANY incredibly talented CA students who want to become doctors.
@tigerlilytocollege, congratulations on all of your acceptances so far! The schools that you’re still waiting on are extremely competitive for admissions and it won’t be too much longer before you hear the actual decisions from the colleges themselves. It’s hard to be patient, but I think that’s your best best.
At this point, however, you have some great acceptances. I would use this time to revisit the schools’ websites and look more in-depth at their programs, school newspapers, social media accounts, etc. Look at your six admittances and see which ones you prefer over others. Look at the course requirements to graduate and which school has classes that interest you more. Look at what kind of clinical options are nearby for you to do observations. Look at clubs, living learning communities, and anything else that will help you to figure out which school will be the best fit for you.
Additionally, as you are premed, talk with your family about finances. It’s terrific that all your schools are affordable for your family. But is your family willing/able to pay for your medical school as well? Many estimate that med school will cost around $100k/year by the time you would be in it. So you may want to think about the higher education budget as an 8-year expense rather than a 4-year one, and see if any schools fall of the list due to affordability.
I think that OP has already applied to schools and has a number of acceptances in hand already.
ETA: If Loyola Marymount is offering you a $50k/year scholarship, that is a HUMONGOUS scholarship. It seems likely that it may be part of a program with special opportunities. Is it? Also, have you been invited into any special programs at the other schools you’ve been admitted to (whether honors colleges or a special scholarship cohort, etc)? That is also a definite factor to consider, because not only can it mean a financial difference, but there can be additional bonuses added on to that status that may make a school even more attractive to you.
Yes, I believe so - OP already has several acceptances and is waiting for several decisions, among which I think Cal poly SLO and UCD would be great (for psych/anthr with premed intentions). YMMV. I would have put UCLA too but not for premed.
Beloit may still be (is?) taking apps and OP has probably never heard of it so i thought I’d throw it in, but OP definitely has excellent options already.
I agree the LMU scholarship sounds like a special scholarship/program -is it the Arrupe or the Jesuit scholarship?
Congratulations on the acceptances and merit awards you have received. They are great and you have some great options there.
It is very unlikely that you will receive merit scholarships at any of these reach schools. All of the CA publics give no need based aid and very very little merit aid to OOS students.
BU gives primarily need based aid with the exception of some highly competitive merit awards.
I believe BC also gives need based aid only.
Since they are all affordable without merit aid…just wait and see what happens for acceptances.
As noted above, if medical school is a possibility, that will be over $100,000 a year most likely by the time you start.
Thank you ahhaha. I’ve some research. My favorite school that I already got into is Santa Clara. I haven’t looked into USD yet as I got in two days ago, but I’ve heard it’s really religious which is a con for me. What do you think?
Neither is super religous like an evangelical college would be.
At USD student may be practicing Catholics, 45%went to Catholic school and at SCU it’s more mixed Catholic/private school but about 50% identify as Catholic (+ of course public school students at both!)
Both are very open-minded and see religion not as dogma but as a way to learn about other cultures, important factors in history, or think about your own spirituality.
Both are friendly.
You can contact the LGBTQ club(s) and ask questions about LGBTQ students being welcome or not at parties, if people feel safe holding hands/kissing in public, if there’s a general assumption everyone is or should be straight (or not), if LGTBQ historical figures are avoided or mentioned in history (same thing for writers/literature, politicians or policy makers/political science, etc).
BTW UA and UNM are well-known for Anthropology.
