Why? A doctor is a doctor.
I think if they’re on the insurance plan matters. I don’t know anyone who looks to see where their Dr went. They look to see if they’re in network.
Given the student has $0, they need to look at schools like Troy and Prairie View. I know from the residents at Vandy, Duke, JHU, who come from schools like N Illinois, SE Louisiana, Lipscomb, Luther, Murray State and many other non household undergrad school names, that the where just isn’t that important.
Where a doctor does their residency is a key ingredient. And that doesn’t necessarily tie in with the medical school they attend which doesn’t necessarily tie in with the undergrad they attended. Their Step Scores plus other test scores matter when residency offers are made. Oh…and interviewing skills which are very important. And what the student did during medical school that was not just classes and grades (although those are important as well).
@thumper1 is right.
In medicine, no one cares where you went to school for undergrad or med school.
US medical education is flat–that is all med school teach a standardized curriculum and all med students must take and pass the same national standardized exams so whether you went to Harvard or San Juan Batista SOM for med school is only a smaller consideration when it comes to matching into a residency.
Where you went to residency is only important for getting your first job. After that nobody cares.
This is what you should focus on right now. Without help from your parents you will need a full ride merit scholarship. As I wrote above, prep for your tests and apply accordingly. Your list will need to be revised.
Have your parents told you how they expect you to pay for college?
Deleted.
Guys, I think we totally overwhelmed already stressed kid with way too many details for 16/17 years old.
All this kid wants at this point is be like his classmates, become a doctor and attend the best school possible.
All he/she needs to know:
Since my DD is premed and we went through pressure in our area I would advice student not to over stress.
I would do what I mentioned above.
UMBC will give this student great scholarship (not necessarily full ride).
I wouldn’t go to Alabama (has nothing to do with Alabama).
I would either try to stay instate, or do Montgomery College route, or attend UMD and live at home. But I would not go across country for free and be miserable. OP even doesn’t know 100% about being a doctor. You need to go doctor route only if you are interested at this point to live in the middle of nowhere to treat patients and not make much money and treat everyone (as primary care.) If this is attractive and student did a lot of volunteering in underdeserved area only in that case I would even consider medicine.
At this point in life you need to keep as many doors open as possible. What if you will become interested in something very different?
I remember at graduation of one of my kids from elementary school, every kid was going up the stage and telling that he wanted to be a doctor or lawyer. It was ridiculous! (Mine wanted to be Aerospace Engineer at that time, and not going to be one 
). But in our area there is enormous pressure to be at the very top…
So there’s no appreciable difference between the quality of doctors - or are we speaking of the perspective of the ‘general public’ and the immortal joke - “do you know what the call the (guy) who graduates last in his medical school class? No. They call (him) Doctor.”
Are you all suggesting that there is no difference in either the education or opportunities provided by the actual medical school - no difference between Harvard / Johns Hopkins / Stanford… and others?
Yes, There are plenty of folks who didn’t go to a ‘prestigious’ medical school but were top of their class / high scorers who Match Well. Does that mean that on the whole these programs are all equivalent?
You don’t believe the school has any impact on outcomes in these areas either? That is an interesting observation.
Sorry I went on a tangent. Deleted my post.
Per this post, Tulsa modified its NMF scholarship- its no longer a full ride. National Merit Discussion Class of 2026 - #166 by JinLA98
Given your situation and the overall stress of junior year, I recommend having short term goals.
I sound like a broken record and I apologize, but anything beyond this is just too much right now…imo.
Good suggestions.
And also to (hopefully) reduce stress, UMBC is an excellent option for this student. Scholarship should be substantial, and if the OP lives close enough, could commute if need be. I personally know a few UMBC grads who have done extremely well.
Please don’t apply ED if you can’t afford it.
As an aside, in all my years on cc, I have only once read of a student who got a full ride to (a very well respected) medical school. But that was 17 years ago, and there were unique special circumstances that made that student stand out.
Yes, I suggested alternatives such as competitive scholarships or automatic full rides.
Exactly. The money talk should happen BEFORE any ED applications are sent.
That is really a shame.
Still dang good - no food and visit required. Given 25%+ of kids are NM I’m not sure how they afford it.
And student fees are not covered.
Although looks like it fully covers tuition and housing. I’m not sure what meal plan and fees would add up to, but likely within reasonable limits to be covered either by work-study (or off campus job) or minimal students loans (which personally I’d try to avoid, but sometimes that’s not possible, so at least they’d be fairly small?). It might still be doable without parental support, even if not 100% ideal.
Yes, but just helpful to provide updated info about the change in their scholarship.