Where did you hear that a school such as Penn only gives As and Bs?
Pitt is a great school for premed.
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I have read a lot of things about grade inflation in the Ivies.
Apparently I can’t link, no idea why since other people seem to be able to, but if you google grade inflation Ivy you see a lot of articles, including one from the New York Times.
I am not reading that for Penn, but who knows.
Have you visited Pitt? It’s a great school.
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I am confused. There are opportunities to work with urban populations, or shadow doctors working with these populations immediately off the VT campus? How is that possible?
Why would VT, which costs $2K more than Pitt be a better option than Pitt which you say is a bad option?
I will look at the LECOM schools. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t feel comfortable with Alabama as a black woman in the current political climate.
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I was joking about the basketball list. 
So my friend’s here are really missing on this one 
…
Since I am a day late for the University of South Carolina which you would most likely be in the honors program…
Did you say basketball , with a med school??? We will throw in Honors and merit to boot.
https://admissions.msu.edu/academics/honors
I forgot all you get but at least half tuition so like instate pricing. A mentor. Research opportunities, think it’s still $5,000 for study abroad and hopefully they throw in a T-shirt. They also play some serious basketball.
I have read it generally about “Ivy League” schools. I don’t know if I’ve read it specifically about Penn.
I loved Pitt when I visited. I know people who have gotten good merit aid there too.
I think it is going to be hard to get the cost of some of these schools down (Syracuse, BU etc). Apply and see.
I also love Pitt.
I’m not black so hard to say. Both UAB and the state are a tad over 1/4 black. I believe most people are more concerned with lgbtq but I’m not you and that’s fair.
I work in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana with many high paid people. I’m in the car business and $300k to $800k salaries in dealerships aren’t uncommon. Many I deal with are black and most have lived their lives there but some have moved there. I never hear racial issues from them and I saw more confederate flags in ny in a week than I see in the south in a year.
But I’m not black so I don’t have your (or their) perspective.
Pitt a better because you like urban. But then you switched the definition to be able to get to places. I made the comment because Va Tech offers on campus shadowing.
Pitt or others may but I’ve not seen programs like this. I personally would research opportunities at each school. I wouldn’t assume being connected to a med school allows for this. Even Va Tech may have limited slots. I do know kids at Charleston, where you may qualify for Fellows, work at MUSC next door. It’s an urban school. If you get Fellows it can bring the cost way down.
Temple - people say the outskirts are rough but I don’t know - VCU sounds great too.
Just ideas……
Sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear.
When I said this
I meant locations that are close to places where I could work or volunteer or shadow in medical related roles in under-resourced urban communities. Not just any place where I could work or volunteer or shadow, but opportunities that connect to my specific interest.
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Then Bham - if you get comfy would be great on cost. VCU may be on cost. Charieston potentially. Temple scares me just from what I read on here.
Pitt pricey but some get merit. UMN could work in the low 40s. How about Ohio State or U of AZ? Both strong merit.
UMD, Pitt, Wisconsin etc tend to all be pricey.
And if you have concerns with a state, maybe ask admissions to sit you can chat with a student advisor or two or three to hear the truth on the ground (whatever it is). Sometimes all you hear isn’t the truth - it may or may not be but given your goals, it’s worth a few chats to find out.
Best of luck
Virginia Tech has several special pathways for undergrads interested in medicine:
https://medicine.vtc.vt.edu/inclusivevtc/undergraduate-programs.html
Carillon used to have several outreach and special early exposure to medicine programs from those from UiM (underserved in medicine) populations. These program included research at the med school starting the summer after sophomore year. Mentoring of UiM students by UiM med student and faculty. And prep materials for the MCAT. Unfortunately VTCSOM’s DEI webpage has been scrubbed. 
So the status these program is unclear.
However, there is still is a special mentoring program for VATech undergrads and VTCSOM students
Although Carilion’s (VATech’s med school) medical campus is not in Blacksburg (it’s in Roanoke), there is a medical school in Blacksburg–VCOM{Virginia College of Medicine}.
Late edit:
What specifically where your concerns?
In the article below it is evident that the University of Alabama and the state are fully aligned. In fact the schools lawyers are the ones defending it implementation in court.
“Attorneys representing the University of Alabama board of trustees and other state officials argued in a 33-page response to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law, known as SB 129, that universities have the authority to regulate classroom instruction.”
Worth noting these changes at the state level took place over the summer prior to the presidential elections suggesting this trend predates the current administration.
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I would like suggest UMBC and its pre-med programming. I believe you’d get a merit scholarship, possibly full tuition.
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I don’t know about Alabama specifically, but I know some colleges have shut down their DEI offices entirely, and others have shut them but quietly opened something else with a different name that does the same thing. So maybe worth looking into (at all colleges of interest). Reddit college pages might be a good insight as they tend to have a lot of student participation.
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Yes, companies and colleges and shutting down DEI offices - the where doesn’t matter.
That’s not a southern thing. That’s a state and now federal politics thing.
And it will continue to happen daily, especially where federal monies are involved.
UPenn (eliminated references), USC is reviewing because they don’t want to lose $1.3 billion, Ohio State and more.
If you get federal money, there’s a good chance it’s going away if you don’t. It’s about nothing more.
My daughter’s school, a blue school/city in a red state, eliminated it but came out with a statement saying “while these changes may be difficult for many, but I want to reassure everyone on campus that we remain focused and committed to making this institution supportive, inviting, and welcoming to all”.
I would not use removing DEI in today’s society as a reason to attend a college or you may not have a college to attend at all - by the time the feds threaten to dry up your finances.
OP has a great profile - and once finds the right schools - in an urban environment, will do very well. Her struggle will be desired spend vs. she wants a big name too just in case - and will have to figure out that balance/tradeoff.
Please move on from discussing DEI and back to the OP’s chance me. TIA
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I definitely think you should apply. Keep your options open.
OP, I agree with @AustenNut’s decision to move some of your schools into likelier categories. (And as an FYI to the OP, AustenNut tends to chance conservatively, so don’t worry you are over-reaching. You are a viable candidate for any of these schools, even the low probability ones.)
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If Tulane’s not too far from home, then you should also consider Xavier (LA). It’s an HBCU with a great premed program, and though it doesn’t have a med school yet, one is in the works. It’s also part of a consortium with other New Orleans schools like Tulane, Loyola New Orleans, and Dillard whereby students can take classes at a different school for the same cost as at the home school.
Closer to home, Morgan State is also opening up a med school. It’s part of the Baltimore Collegetown consortium with Johns Hopkins, Loyola Maryland, Goucher, and Towson, among others.
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