Match Me: High GPA/SAT, mediocre ECs, applying to pre-med schools (trying to save money) [VA resident, 4.0 GPA, 1580 SAT (1600 superscore), <$30k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen)
  • State/Location of residency: Virginia
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Male, Mixed (white&asian)

Intended Major(s): Biology, computational biology, or neuroscience

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.21/4.3 (we have A+ as 4.3; on a normal scale it would 4.00/4.00)
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.74/5.3
  • Class Rank: School doesn’t do class rank but I think I am around 8/380
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1580 in one setting, 1600 superscore

Coursework
AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science A, AP Language, AP World History, AP Seminar, AP Calculus BC, DE U.S. History, 4 years of French. Senior year I plan to take take AP Economics, DE U.S. Government, Multi-variate calculus (honors), AP Chemistry, and AP Physics C.

Awards
Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award
Eagle Scout Rank

Extracurriculars
Boy Scouts of America - Senior Patrol Leader
Research Club - Club Founder and President
STEM education initiative - Vice president

Essays/LORs/Other
Essay will probably be okay, LOR will likely be strong.

Cost Constraints / Budget
Trying to pay less than 30k a year if possible. Would love substantial merit scholarships at a good pre-med school.

Other Factors: Prefer schools closer to home, but not a deal breaker. Volunteering/clinical experience opportunities are important. Overall quality as a pre-med school is also valued.

Schools
I want your suggestions/thoughts on my current list!

So far I have:

  • Reach - Duke, Swarthmore, WashU
  • Match - UVA, Chapel Hill, William and Mary
  • Safety - UMD, UPItt, University of South Carolina, George Mason
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Have you tried the net price calculator on each college’s web site?

In particular, with the out-of-state public universities you list as “safety”, they are unlikely to be assured to be under $30k (you may need large competitive merit scholarships to get to that price).

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Is there a reason Virginia Tech isn’t on the list?

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Congrats on your record. Depending on your impact at the Boys Scout and your club, I’m not sure you have mediocre ECs.

All that said - that you want to be under $30K is up to the schools on your list.

Swarthmore, as an example, costs $86K and has no merit. So if your family has need (as your folks will see after filling out the NPC), then great. If not, then you need to remove it off your list - as you’d have no way to get there.

So it’s GREAT you have a budget - but then you need to find schools to fit.

Good pre-med programs are everywhere. I posted yesterday that I was at Vanderbilt for one of their specialties and was reading about their residents and schools like College of St. Thomas, Colorado, Kansas State and medical schools like Kansas, etc. proliferate - in addition to the top schools. Med school is expensive - so it’s great you have a budget.

As you’re in Virginia, UNC is also a no go - except it and UVA are two schools that meet need. So with UVA at $39K, unless you have need, you can’t go. Find out if you do and if you don’t, take it off.

UMD, Pitt - very very little shot of hitting your budget.

You have U of SC and that works. You might put FSU there (it’s maybe too far) but you’d get an SAT waiver. And also Alabama - which has the Mccullough Pre Medical Scholars - and most importantly, you’d be $20K-ish a year with your stats - hence they’re loaded with smart kids. Ms. State is another where you’d go cheap but again it’s far. For mid size, UAH would be cheap.

In-state you obviously have great schools - whether Tech, W&M, UVA but also CNU and VCU.

So you’ll have options - but your need profile will determine if your list is ok or needs to be swapped out.

If you have little or no need, Duke needs to come off.

Also, WUSTL is not close to home - but does have merit. But Vandy will be closer or JHU even closer. Emory not so far either. WUSTL and Vandy have more merit aid than a Duke or JHU.

But you might do better financially (although not great) at a U Miami or a school where you stand above the crowd.

The $30K is your challenge and from this list I see maybe U of SC at $30K (maybe) and no one else - as UVA and W&M are $40K ish in state. GMU may come in at about budget so that could be n option.

So if you’re stuck on $30K and don’t have need, you need the Bamas, UAH, Ms State of the world. Closer to home Western Carolina would meet budget.

You could try a Miami of Ohio or Ohio U and you have U of SC already - they are "possible. FSU is “possible” but I think likely with your test, to meet budget.

GMU seems to work and CNU and VCU would likely work after merit.

After that, you’d need to choose (if you wanted an LAC) schools like Juniata, Ursinus, Allegheny, Wooster, Kalamazoo, or a SUNY (like Geneseo) vs. a Swat.

But again until you figure out your need profile, it’s all pre mature - so have your folks fill out the NPC below.

Welcome | Net Price Calculator (collegeboard.org)

McCollough Scholars – Pre-Medical Studies at the University of Alabama (ua.edu)

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Apply to Pitt early. Look at their med school GAP. It will be tough to get under budget unless you get significant merit but worth a try.

Have you run the NPC for your schools? If you’re eligible for FA maybe look at meets full need schools. Lehigh and Lafayette might work.

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You can fulfill the required courses for medical school admissions at just about every four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.

What exactly is a “good premed school”?

I would suggest you move Chapel Hill to the reach category as you are OOS.

UMD is only a safety if you apply early action as they accepte better than 90% of their class in the early round.

Will you be nominated for something like the Robertson scholarship? Otherwise Duke and UNC could be unaffordable if you are expecting merit aid.

Apply to Pitt as soon as the applications come out…which is soon.

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This must be a typo as this student is an instate resident for UVA.

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You are correct - thanks for the catch.

UVA is $39K for in state in Arts & Sciences. Right concept Wrong #. I will fix.

I meant to say - it’s not in OP’s budget - even in state. But other schools are and will have merit. OP - That’s the beauty of high stats - not just to get you into schools - but to get you into schools that you can afford!!!

Thanks for the correction.

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Agree with others that you should run the Net Price Calculator for any college bring considered. And VaTech seems like a good additional application (as long as you like the school). You can take premed coursework at virtually any college

Your ECs are very good - reaching Eagle Scout is a big deal and shows a long term commitment that colleges like to see. Quality is much more important than quantity for ECs.

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UMD isn’t a safety for an OOS student, particularly for computational biology which is within the highly competitive CS department. A target at best.
But more importantly: it’s financially unaffordable given OP’s budget, so should come off the list.

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If the OP is willing to do the extra essays and interviews, I believe they are competitive for named merit scholarships such as the Robertson.

OP, run the NPCs to determine if you can meet budget with need-based aid. If you cannot, your list needs to include schools that offer merit and drop schools that will not meet budget, like most OOS publics. We can suggest schools that offer auto-merit, “tuition-discounts”, and competitive merit (such as the Robertson, Morehead-Cain, James B Duke, Jefferson, etc) if needed.

Finding out if you qualify for need-based aid (and how much) is going to be key to refining your list.

I commend you for considering the cost of med school when developing your budget. Hopefully that will greatly reduce or eliminate med/grad school loans.

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OP could apply EA with the idea they could be in the mix for Banneker-Key, knowing if that doesn’t come to fruition, UMD would not be affordable.

OP, are you a national merit semifinalist?

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Think about JMU as a safety. Not only is under budget for a VA resident, but you’d be a strong candidate for the Dingeldine-Bluestone scholarship Dingledine-Bluestone Scholarship - JMU which covers tuition and/or the Madison award, Madison Award for Academic Excellence - JMU which covers 75% of tuition. It’s definitely not as prestigious school as the others on your list, but you could save a lot of money and I’ve definitely seen doctors who went to JMU undergrad (our orthopedic surgeon did JMU undergrad then Harvard med school, so sample size of at least one where it’s been a successful launching pad.)

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I’m not sure if I’m a national merit semifinalist… I know that my PSAT score (1490) qualifies me for Virginia, though.

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I did try, but I’m really uncertain about what I should put as my parents income. My dad lost his job last year so my household income went from ~225k to ~90k. If I put 90k in the NPC, a good portion of the schools have a net price under or near 30k. However, it is my understanding that they base financial aid decisions not on current income but on tax records from two years ago (prior-prior year system)?

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Maybe. What was your selection index score? The predicted cutoff for Class of 2025 is 221 for Virginia.

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I’m not an FA expert but if financial circumstances change I think schools will adjust. Might be worth a few phone calls.

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@happy1 @beebee3

This might me being ignorant, but I just assumed the VTech was a school for engineering and technology–not really the type of school that first comes to mind when preparing for med school.

Reading other people’s responses, it seems like essentially any school is fine for pre-med. Do you recommend I apply to tech because its likely affordable or a good fit?

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Run the NPCs with and without the prior prior year tax return data, so that will be 2023 for HS class of 2025 (entering college school year 2025/26.) FAFSA will automatically pull in this tax return, there is nothing you can do to change that. CSS Profile will ask for 2023 income data as well, for the schools that use CSS.

You will have to contact each school’s financial aid dept and ask for a professional judgment review (many schools have a form online to start the process), and share the new income details. Many will adjust, but not all will. Remember, assets are also a big piece of financial aid, not just income. NPCs may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own real estate in addition to the primary home, and/or own a business.

Did you check what your PSAT index score was?

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I got 225

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