A person on loaned money needs to watch her budget because she’s going to have to repay her frugal parents or the government.
Costs and weather delays will affect travel to and from home. As soon as our daughter got her schedule, we booked her December Travel and Summer travel. Although we were on Southwest Direct, it added up for all three kids.
OP- I just want to reach out to tell you that I think you are going to do well in life wherever you end up. You are demonstrating a lot of grace with so much information being thrown at you by all of us, and seem to be finding a way to respect your parents AND get your educational needs met. Kudos to you. People like you do really well in life. You’ve got this!
Most medical schools do not allow students to work. Some even put language forbidding all jobs into the matriculation contract. (Meaning if the school finds out you have a job, they can expel you.)
As other posters have said, you’ve exhibited grace and maturity under stressful circumstance. That bodes well for your success in life.
And let me assure that you don’t need to attend a Top 50 undergrad to become a doctor. Almost any college will work. Even starting at community college will work.
The Tale of Two Daughters (abbreviated version)
I have two daughters. One attended UNM; one attended a top 30 undergrad well known for its pre-med program. Both were able to get and do everything they needed to be successful med school applicants and both ended up with multiple med school acceptances. Both are now doctors in their first choice of specialty.
The moral–It’s the individual who makes a successful med school applicant, not the school.
Find a college you can afford without borrowing too much from your parents. Then plan on working for a year or two after graduation to pay off your debt to your parents.
Gap years are very common for med students. More than 2/3rd of med students have taken 1-3 gap years after college.
Plan on this because after med school, you will need to continue your training for another 3-10 years. Medical residents are rather poorly paid, work terribly long hours and don’t get to choose where they will do the residency training–a computer algorithm assigns you. All of this means it will be a very long time after college before you will be earning a doctor’s salary.
Thank you. I was actually planning on taking one or two gap years before med school so that I can earn some money and study for the mcat. I’m glad it worked out for both of your daughters. Thank you, once again.
Yes, please email me if I can offer you any help. On a 20K budget and your academic merit, it is entirely possible you’d qualify for enough scholarships to attend.
Even as an international student?
Maybe! if she qualified for the Presidential Scholarship (about 20-30 a year) the costs as calculated for an int’l student would be in that range. The trick of course is you have to show money in your bank account to get the right immigration paperwork, and she’d have to show 22K or so if she got the Presidential Scholarship.
I believe the student is international but is living in the US and is hoping / expecting to get her green card soon.
@not , can you confirm? And also, I have see @PresCarsonTulsa, who is the president of the University of Tulsa, be super helpful to other high stats students in the past. Hoping that the University of Tulsa is a good option for you!
President Carson, the listed COA is $73.6k.
If the student was awarded $20-30k in merit, how would they get to $20k all in ?
Thanks
https://utulsa.edu/tuition-aid/tuition-costs/cost-24-25-undergraduate/
The Presidential Scholarship pays all tuition. You took (I think) 20-30 to mean the $$. It is the # of scholarships awarded.
You are correct. I 100% misread.
Thank you for responding to my initial connection.
This could provide another affordable opportunity for the student if awarded the scholarship. Of course it seems competitive so not automatic. Just so the OP is aware.
I’m not sure how U Tulsa is doing all this but the # of high merit awards is astounding!! It’s pretty awesome for resource constrained, high achieving kids.
Go Golden Hurricanes !!
Yes, that is correct
Don’t underestimate your ECs. A 10k YouTube channel looks pretty good in today’s age.
I know very little about how merit aid would work in your situation. Putting aside costs, you certainly would have a chance at admission to some Top 50 schools. Including places like Lehigh University, University of Rochester. But again, I really can’t speak to affordability.
Here is the financial info for Lehigh. Limited funds for international students. Please read:
View Application Requirements >
All non-U.S. citizens who will need financial aid during any of their years enrolled at Lehigh are required to submit the Lehigh University Certificate of Finances form (PDF) filled out for all intended years of undergraduate enrollment and to submit it by the application deadline. This form can be uploaded through your checklist once you’ve submitted your application and established your applicant portal. To be considered for need based financial aid, you must also submit the CSS Profile through the College Board.
Both the Lehigh Certificate of Finances and CSS Profile must be submitted by your application deadline. For instance, if applying Early Decision 1, then the forms are due November 1, and if applying Regular Decision or Early Decision 2, then the forms are due by January 1.
Please note that if admitted to Lehigh, there will not be additional funding awarded beyond the initial financial aid offer outside of adjustments made based on increases in cost of attendance. We are unable to provide additional financial aid due to changes in the value of your home country’s currency during your enrollment at Lehigh.
*Note: Tuition, room and board at Lehigh can cost upwards of $87,000 USD per year. If your family cannot support this amount for all intended years of undergraduate enrollment, your application will not be complete without a CSS Profile and Lehigh Certificate of Finances form. A bank statement/certificate is not required with your Certification of Finances form and will be collected if you are admitted and decide to attend Lehigh.
And from University of Rochester. I boldfaced the part to pay attention to:
International applicants who require need-based financial aid
If you are unable to meet the full cost of attendance for Rochester without need-based aid or sponsorship from the University, you must submit the CSS Profile.
The CSS Profile is used to determine your potential eligibility for need-based University of Rochester grant funding and must be completed each year of attendance. The CSS Profile can be submitted beginning October 1.
Due to limited resources, only a small number of international applicants will qualify for need-based financial aid from the University.
Applicants unable to secure the needed funding to cover the cost of attendance either through private funds or sponsorship cannot be admitted to the University.
We recognize that the CSS Profile Fee may be a financial barrier for some high-need international students. As a result, we have purchased a limited number of CSS Profile fee waivers to provide to eligible students. To submit a CSS Profile Fee Waiver Request, students must:
(1) Have submitted a Common Application or Coalition for College Application to Rochester
(2) Attest that the CSS Profile Fee will present a significant financial burden.
The deadline to request a waiver is January 15 for first-year applicants and April 15 for transfer students. Spring applicant’s deadline is November 15.
Once the request is submitted, International Admissions will follow up directly with the waiver credentials.
I think OP would benefit from stating her green card is expected to be granted Spring 2025 (in the ‘additional info’ box). Colleges will know how to read this -ie., not granted yet therefore no guarantee but not over represented group therefore good shot at being right, time-wise, even if this is an optimistic estimate, and therefore potential access to federal loans Jr/sr year or even soph, and thus not solely dependent on institutional funding; OP will STILL be considered international but it would likely be considered useful information by adcoms when considering 2 similar applications. If it doesn’t help it will certainly not hurt.
Ohio State Marion does award merit to visa holders that qualify for in state tuition. Marion has a different pool of money to pull their scholarships from and has some good funding for students.
I noticed their merit aid does not have the qualifier of US Citizen or permanent resident that the merit awards on the main campus page (like Maximus, Morrill, etc) do, so I reached out to Marion directly to ask and this is an excerpt from their email:
We do grant merit scholarships to students with VISAs that qualify them for in state tuition and graduate from an Ohio high school as long as they meet deadlines and the criteria. However, you may not get any federal aid such as FAFSA. Please let us know if you have any additional questions!
Ai’Layshia
Sincerely,
The Ohio State University
Ai’Layshia Randle-Williams
Enrollment Services Counselor
OP, I want to point out that this would be an excellent safety for you. I think it will come in budget for you. The pre-med classes are very standardized with the departments running the exams for introductory classes. There is no difference on your transcript if you take Chemistry at Marion or Columbus. The difference is that at Marion you won’t be in a huge lecture hall and your recitations are very likely to be led by your professor. My S had classmates that drove up from Columbus specifically to take some of the Marion classes on the smaller campus just for that reason. Marion offers an honors program and research opportunities as well. As long as the majority of your classes in the semester are taken at Marion you can still get regional campus pricing.
One of his engineering classmates commuted from Cincinnati twice a week for a semester. The student had been accepted to a great university but his outside aid did not stack as expected and he had to find an alternative at the last minute. Just like there are students at flagships because of financial reasons, there are some at regional campuses, too.
If you are able to increase your budget in a few years you can complete your degree at main campus. If your budget remains tight there are degrees you can complete in Marion. The Marion campus also has good ties to OhioHealth, a large non-profit healthcare network in central Ohio.
Please apply directly to the Marion campus so that you will qualify for their merit and meet their financial aid deadlines.
Unless your parents are willing to pay the full in state cost of Ohio State main campus in Columbus, I don’t see the point in applying until you have a green card. All of the merit I have looked at there requires US citizenship or permanent residency.
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