My daughter (HS class of 2024 from Bay Area) wants to be a doctor specializing in Dermatology/Immunology and she has the following options to pick from. I’ve given the total cost of attendance after scholarships.
UMD Microbiology (48K/year) - Pros: Medical Research/Volunteering opportunities, Location since extended family is close by. Cons: Distance from home
UW (PreSciences - her interest is Microbiology - 60K/year) Pros: Proximity to home, Good ranking for biology courses. Cons: Getting the desired major is hard from what I hear.
CWRU (60K/year) Pros: Research school, Cons: Weather, Distance from home
Drexel BSMD - 8 year program (Honors college - 59K/year for the first 4 years). Pros: Direct entry to med school once minimum reqs of GPA and MCAT(513 with no section score less than 127) scores are met, Co-op/Research options
Cons: Not sure about the medical school ranking/matching or transfer options, 8 year commitment with no breaks, distance from home
We are first timers for US undergrad college admission process. From cost perspective, initially we preferred in-state schools but she has been waitlisted for the CA schools she wants to attend. She has some health challenges and as a parent, I was thinking of closer to home schools since I can visit right away if there is a need, but my daughter seems more confident to handle it on her own and probably the change of place/weather may help her too. She is leaning more towards the BSMD option but not completely sure. We plan to visit these schools in the next couple of weeks. We will check what more financing/scholarship options are available but we plan to support her if this is the best choice.
Can you please share your inputs about these colleges? Thanks in advance for your inputs and time.