<p>Wow! Thanks to everybody for the replies. I have a lot of responses to get through.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard in this thread, from 2 or 3 PMs I received, and from re-reading some info Rice sent me a few months ago, I’ve been persuaded to apply there. And it’s not just as another school to send an app to; the more I read about Rice, the more interested I become. And as dragonmom said, the Chem+BioM Engineering degree would be good if I end up going to med school.</p>
<p>I’m also thinking more about Washington University now. I know I have some letters from them that I have to dig up from the big-box-o-college-letters in my closet. And “cheers”, what do you mean by “WUSTL is a good one but you’re too close to their geogrpahic draw circle.”?</p>
<p>abasket, yeah, I know Miami has a good reputation and gives a lot of merit scholarships away, but from what I’ve read about the campus life and people who go there, I don’t think I’m interested.</p>
<p>mother<em>of</em>perl, I just visited CWRU last Friday and like it a good deal, so I’ll definitely be applying there. And I’ve heard that anybody who does good in their undergrad program is almost a sure-thing into their med school, which is a plus.</p>
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<p>Now, a more specific question. If my parents’ combined income jumps to around $100,000, I just did the EFC calculator on FinAid.org, and it said my EFC would be around $13,000. Would it be stupid to bypass something like Princeton or MIT to go to a college where I can get some merit-based aid? I think I’d just be better off taking out a student loan and paying back the $40,000 or $50,000 and graduating with a degree form a better college.</p>
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<p>Many thanks to all of you,
Ray</p>