Sorry for long post but can use some help with college selection process (junior in high school).
We live in Texas & my son is planning pre-med track with the aim to become a physician in future.
GPA: 3.97, SAT: 1580
Violinist in school orchestra, few leadership positions in clubs, and awards in science olympiad and other STEM competitions. Planning hospital volunteering and summer job after junior year.
We intend to keep costs low for undergrad so that we can use that money for med school and graduate debt-free. We do not qualify for need-based aid.
Currently, below are our list of colleges:
4 BS MD programs - but realistically we do not expect to get admission into any of them due to their low acceptance rate.
5 Texas schools – Includes Target and Safety. Would get into a few of them due to automatic admittance (top 10% of the class).
Apart of this, should we consider Emory, Johns Hopkins, WashU, Vanderbilt, and Duke as Reach? Do they provide any sort of merit-based aid? We do not want to pay full sticker price just for the brand name of the college.
Please advise if we should even apply to any of the OOS schools. It would be good to have a brand name but only if the cost comes to same as in-state with all the merit aid.
Significant merit aid at the colleges you mentioned is available, but only received by a small handful of admitted students. So you can take a shot at one or more, but you should be realistic about the fact it is very unlikely to work out.
Generally, these days getting a college offer you would plausibly prefer to a quality Texas option given your financial considerations is going to be very challenging. Like Pitt, for example, is a popular application among pre-meds I know, but without merit, OOS I think it is pushing $60K (and rising). They do have merit, but even then they are more likely to get you to, say, around $50K, and is that really going to tempt you?
The families I know using Pitt are either in-state, or they lack an in-state option they consider comparable. Texans are unlikely to be in that second category, so . . . .
And this is very common in my experience. If you are looking at future medical school bills and you have a quality, affordable in-state option, that may really be the obvious choice. And there is nothing wrong with that, it is a solid plan if you kid would be happy with it.
Duke for example gives merit aid, but only to 3% of their students.
They way to do this is to discuss a net budget NOW. That way you avoid the discussion of getting into a “dream school” (no school is really worth that moniker), but it blowing up the budget. The goal is a medical degree, not the undergraduate degree.
As for schools generous with merit aid, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Alabama are frequently mentioned, but there are many of them. I think @ucbalumnus started a thread, but I can’t find it.
Suffice it to say, he’ll have lots of affordable options.
Duke, Emory, Vandy, WashU, Wake offer competitive merit. It is fantastic for those who receive it, but it’s highly competitive and limited. If your S is interested and willing to spend time on the extra applications and interviews, it is worth a shot.
Of course, merit at less selective schools is more likely. Since he seems to be interested in mid-size, while in state he’d be very competitive for SMU Presidential. If he’d consider LACs, many offer merit “tuition discounts” to entice high stat students. Let us know if you want suggestions.
It sounds like you have a solid plan that will work for your family. I look forward to following his journey.
ETA: Our premed D had the same approach. She applied to a mix of competitive merit and tuition discount schools with our agreement to fund med school with the undergrad savings. Her safeties were in state where she had free tuition. With the changes in healthcare, completing med school with little or no debt was a priority for our family.
Thank you. My son feels strongly for STEM and wants to major in Bio or Chem. If possible, he wants to minor in business or music or humanities. So LACs are not in our list.
Biology and chemistry are liberal arts* subjects that are commonly offered at LACs, although the depth and breadth of upper level offerings at LACs and any other smaller colleges may vary or be limited at some of them. However, business is less common at LACs, although some do offer business majors or business-type courses in their economics departments.
These are not all-inclusive. If you search the college + merit you should find information on all merit offered. These are all competitive and are awarded to few students.
For easier admission and “guaranteed” merit, you’ll have to look at less selective schools, as someone mentioned up thread. I’ll add Miami OH as another to check out. It has a merit chart on the website so it’s easy to get an idea of what he’d be awarded.
Thank you so much. This gives a great starting point for my S to research and finalize the college list. I will also tell him to look into LACs as if we do not know anything about them.
One LAC that is often suggested to premeds chasing merit is Rhodes College in Memphis. It would be a highly likely admit and he’d pretty much be guaranteed merit. Most of their merit is in the form of tuition discounts but they do have a couple of competitive scholarships.
It’s suggested to premeds because of its proximity to St Jude’s and placement of students for shadowing and research. It also has an early assurance program to GW med school.
That may be a good place to get an idea, if he doesn’t mind its urban location.
As you are in Texas, you should check out Trinity University in San Antonio. They offer substantial Merit. The are strong in STEM, and offer minors in business or music. They also have a fantastic orchestra that students can be part of regardless of major and minor. My daughter is a current sophomore and we LOVE the school.
Why? Any college in the country offers the dozen or so lower-division science and math needed by premeds and is capable of teaching those classes. Whether a kid works for good grades, get to know some profs so they get strong recs, take part in appropriate ECs, and develops compelling essays is up to them.
Twenty years ago attending a college with a well-informed premed counselor could be of great help instead of relying on rumors from college friends, but these days there is plenty of info online as well as advice forums so kids can be equally informed no matter where they go.
Your son should be thinking about why he wants an M.D. When a lot of HS kids become interested in a career in medicine it becomes “I’m pre-med!” and they embark on a path that will take 11+ years of school/training plus enormous debt. Doctors are far from the only ones that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few. as you can see on http://explorehealthcareers.org Unless he’s carefully considered the alternatives and has spent time actually working in a health care setting (an unwritten requirement to get into med school BTW) its better to think of him as interested in exploring a career as a doctor rather than someone who has already made the decision.
I look forward to following his journey.