What do you all think about wagner college? I am thinking of going there (on an athletic scolarship). Is it a good prestigious college? And does it have a good reputation? I am not interested in the sports aspect, only academic. I couldn’t find much of info online, just that it is a small private liberal arts college which offers higher education. So, any thoughts? I am thinking of doing pre-med, and then going to med school.
anyone who went there maybe could tell me what its like?
It’s a great school if it’s the right school for you - so you are getting to play sports, getting a discounted or free education.
Are you comfortable there? Will you get to study what you want? Do you like the environment.
Prestige and reputation are in the eye of the beholder.
Premed is not a major but an advising. What will you major in? Have you reached out to the pre med advisor and asked about their success with med school, etc.
I would suggest you ask the coach to put you in touch with future teammates and if possible any current aspiring doctors. I would use the coach as a resource. Wagner appears to be a very specific experience and environment and as an athlete your circumstances are unique.
The only prestige to worry about is if they can provide what you need, in this case the experience/knowledge to get into med school. Try to schedule a call or visit with somebody on their pre-med (or pre-health, or pre-professional, or pre-whatever they call it there) advisory group. Ask questions like:
If you feel good about the answers to those questions, then it is a good school.
To the extent that this may be relevant to you, note that Wagner College is categorized as a Regional University by U.S. News (not a liberal arts college): https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wagner-college-2899.
I think it depends on how it fits your budget. If you can afford it with or without scholarships, it’s a nice little college. Despite its USNews designation, it’s much more like an LAC in vibe. A small number of century old buildings pinned to a handful of modish dorms and classroom buildings gives it a kind of hybrid quality. It’s quiet Staten Island location adds to its End of the Universe serenity and the view of the Manhattan skyline from your dorm could well be worth the price of admission.
This info may be helpful in determining academic fit:
Congratulations on your acceptance 
and on focusing on the academic aspect (mature and forward-thinking outlook 
).
It’s a solid, well-respected regional college.
Do you like the idea of studying near NYC?
How much does it cost
(To figure it out, try calculating this
(Tuition, fees,room, board) - (scholarships, grants) =$…
Is it within your parents’ budget?
What are your other options?
What are you looking for in a college?
I don’t really know the difference between a regional university and a liberal arts college. But im guessing that they both offer higher education and just have slight differences 
Thank you! Yes I do, and it does fit within the budged. Im getting a full sports scholarship. I really appreciate the info!
Thank you! Everything would be paid by the scholarship, just wanted to know the feel and opinion about it. Glad I didn’t get bad reactions about the college 
Do you have other choices with which we could compare?
That being said, a full scholarship is awesome. 
Academically it’s solid, not brilliant ie., it’s not Yale or Williams, so it’s not crawling with kids who got a 1500 SAT and tried to cure cancer but lots of B/B+ students. The classes are small, hardly any has more than 30 students. However a lot of faculty are adjuncts or short term contract (from NYC or NJ). They’re really good at incoporating NYC into student learning. Wagner offers housing but roughly 50% live with family and commute with the other half living on campus. You can check out the dorms.
You’d have to contact students on the team to see whether the coach places restrictions on your major or classes, the coaching style, etc.
What would your major be?
(Premeds can have any major. Avoid biology unless you pair it with computing/data science or statistics as there’s an oversupply of them.)
I also talked with coaches at drake university and university at buffalo. Not sure which one of these three is the best.
You asked about Wagner - Staten Island.
Now you put in a larger public and a small school in Des Moines.
It’s really - where do you want to be? For track, Drake has the Drake relays.
Drake has a very good academic reputation. It’s also very regional. It’s just a question of fit (which includes finances). Buffalo is a entirely different animal in size - just as Des Moines will be very different than Staten Island.
Have you been to all three?
The one that’s best is where you feel most comfortable and confident that you can have a successful four years - both athletically and academically.
They can all get you to the same place.
Suny Buffalo or Buffalo State?
(There’s a big difference academically).
Are all 3 affordable without loans?
Do you want big sports or more personal attention/interactive classes?
Does weather matter to you, ie., do you care if it’s super cold,grey, and snowy?
Drake is a very good regional school, probably better academically than Wagner.
Wagner’s strong point is its ability to leverage NYC. It would be supportive for a premed/pre health athlete.
SUNY university at buffalo. I don’t care for sports at all. Just academics to be honest :). But i would prefer the uni to be in a bigger city and i would prefer it to be a but on the colder side.
Im an international so I didn’t have the opportunity to be at all three. I would just prefer to be at a school which is in a larger city and has a good academic reputation.
Sounds like Buffalo then.
All three will be cold.
Drake is in Des Moines - which is a mid size, very nice city. Buffalo a bigger city, on the Canadian border - but also a big (and very good school).
Wagner is in Staten Island…so it’s near the biggest city but not directly in (address wise, yes it’s NYC but actually wise - it’s a tad away).
All will be fine choices. I’d say Drake and Buffalo reputationally would stand higher but that means little. You’d likely get a great education at all three.
I don’t know that any of them has international clout.
Have the coaches committed to supporting your application at all 3 and/or have you received a firm offer at all 3?
A full ride at Wagner would be very enticing.
However if your parents can afford something toward the cost of Drake or SUNY Buff, would either one of those be affordable (even if they’re not free)?
What’s your current academic standing (ie., IB 32 with Biology, Math, English HL? Or French bacc spé PC/SVT with 14 expected? Alevels with predicted AAB? Etc.)
What would you want to major in?
Premed isn’t a major and unfortunately internationals shouldn’t be premed (most US med schools won’t admit them).
@WayOutWestMom : do internationals stand a chance at DO schools (* @flatrestaurant : MD and DO are 2 paths to becoming a doctor in the US. Many general practice/family medicine physicians attended a DO school)?
What about PA programs, are there restrictions?
DeMoines is relatively large (230,000 ppl within the city itself with many college students, population 700,000 with the attached suburbs). It’s considered one of the most livable cities in the US, with lots of walkable neighborhoods and things to do, especiallywith the universities nearby. The weather is cold and snowy in the winter (-5/-10°C is common in Dec-Feb) with mostly dry cold/blue skies, Spring and Fall are chilly but pleasant, and temperatures are 25-28°&humid (imho unpleasantly so) in the summer.
Buffalo is not a very “nice” city and I wouldn’t move there from abroad (unless I wanted to study Engineering and/or had a very good financial aid offer.) The weather is not just cold, but gloomy. It’s cloudy with something called “lake effect” which makes it quite unpleasant to be outside. The icepack on lake Erie doesn’t start melting till Mid April and temperatures remain chilly through most of May, often 20 degrees Fahrenheit below the regular NYS temperatures. The city itself is a bit rundown. That being said, SUNY Buffalo is well-known for Engineering and the city is rather cheap, it’s an excellent choice for NYS STEM residents. Did you get into the Honors college ?
What sort of scholarship did you get at either compared to Wagner’s full ride?
In any case, congratulations, it’s really a feat to get significant money as an international.
Some osteopathic med school sdo accept international students. The number of internationals accepted is not large, but it’s not zero either. Probably fewer than 90/year.
Here’s the list of osteopathic med school that will consider international students for admission:
However, internationals will face issues with getting financial aid to attend a medical school (MD or DO) since international students are not eligible for federal student loans which is how nearly all US students pay for their medical education.
Internationals are expected to be able to fund 100% of their medical education. US medical schools will require placing 2-4 years of tuition & fees into an escrow account in a US bank before the student will be allowed to enroll. So about $250K minimum. Could be as much as $400K-$600K, depending on the school. Many schools also require students to show they have the funds to pay for their living expenses while attending medical school since med students are not allowed to work while attending school.
Scholarships and grants for med school are rare and for the most part international students are not eligible for them.
Another issue is that an international student will have difficulty with is finding opportunities to do physician shadowing and clinical volunteering/employment. International students typically cannot clear the require background check to volunteer/work in most clinical settings.
Lastly, even if an international student does attend and graduate from a US medical school (MD or DO), they will be limited in their choice of specialties and locations for their medical residency simply because most residency programs do not offer visas for residents. Those that do offer a visa typically only offer J-1 visas which require the individual to return to their home country for at least 2 years at the end of their residency training period before they are allowed to re-enter the US to work.