Kids like you in our feederish HS would definitely be chasing merit at colleges like Case and Rochester. They really hit all the big criteria and have merit.
I’d endorse taking a shot at WashU, but while they have a little merit, it is much harder to get.
I agree Pitt is an obviously public to consider (and to apply to soon). I’d personally suggest checking out Minnesota as well–strong in your areas, nice location in a fantastic metro area, and they offer some merit.
Finally, I’d agree about checking out some of the liberal arts colleges that offer merit. Rhodes is definitely a top suggestion, and I’d also suggest looking at Oberlin and Macalester (although they can still be pretty pricey even with a good merit award).
I would also suggest looking into the women’s colleges. D23 attends Mount Holyoke with a large merit award (plus financial aid). I would also suggest Clark University in Worcester, MA which also has merit and awards 5 full COA scholarships yearly based on merit and not financial need. Worcester is the home to UMASS Chan Medical School.
Thank you. I prefer more coed and was also thinking that I might want to go to a bigger university, since our high school is one of the largest in the state with ~5000 kids and am used to that pace.
Just as an FYI, many people consider schools in the 3-8k range as mid-size schools. In the future you may want to indicate that you’re looking for medium to large schools with at least 5k undergrads, if that’s a floor for you based on your high school.
With your size preference, you may want to consider Marquette in Milwaukee with about 7500 undergrads and would be an extremely likely admit.
Lots of good suggestions here- I’ll throw in a couple of considerations- demonstrate interest at Case Western, if you apply. My kid got rejected at CWRU but into an Ivy (he didn’t visit Case). I got my Masters at SIUC, and really loved it- beautiful part of southern IL, lots of outdoors stuff to do and friendly campus. Think about where you can shine. A friend’s kid who just graduated selected Pitt over an Ivy- their parent is a dr and told me that they knew kids who went to UNC and got Bs (of course, it’s super competitive) then struggled to get into med school without a super high GPA. So if med school is in your future, might be worth being a ‘big fish’ and a standout student wherever you land. University of Rochester, Pitt, and small LACs all seem like good fits, too. You’re definitely competitive for T20s- you will do well wherever you end up!
Lots of good points and suggestions raised here. My opinion (I’m not a college counselor so this is just a personal opinion of a parent and someone who went to college ) is that you should go to the best school with the strongest community and alumni engagement that you can. I know others disagree but I believe that not all degrees are equal and people who hire people know that. Given that you aren’t 100% set on premed, and are considering business as well, and given that even if you were dead set on premed, things can change in life, I wouldn’t make your undergraduate decision based on what you think you’ll want to do four years from now.
All that said, I visited Wake Forest with my rising senior this summer and we both really liked it. Strong community and school spirit, great study abroad options, etc.
I know others have mentioned WashU and I would agree with that recommendation!
I agree with this generally, but CogSci is a mixed bag because the emphasis can very so much. For example, CogSci students who get the necessary skillset(s) to break into UX or NLP, for example, seem to be able to launch into those areas with just an undergrad degree.
If the OP is willing to take on the relatively-modest CS requirements, the BSLAS major at UIUC might be worth considering, as it offers plenty of opportunity to focus on neuroscience, but also has the flexibility to lay the foundation for some non-medical career paths too, as that decision process evolves.
And it seems to me that UIUC in-state sets a pretty high bar, as a top-notch university at well under half the price of the no-merit elite private U’s under consideration. It seems that the OP’s financial resources are finite, and could be reallocated toward paying for med school, rather than pushing the financial envelope and ending up with undergrad debt before med school even begins.
Clark University is something I am currently exploring but the chance of scholarship seems very very low. Fingers crossed! Thanks so much for your kind suggestions!
Thank you sooo much for your kind and encouraging words, very grateful! “Big fish/afforadable school” is definitely on my mind, both from a tuition and GPA perspective. Hoping & praying that I will have a choice. Thank you, again!
Thanks a million! If I am fortunate enough to get a T20 admission, thinking it would help me keep my options open for both paths. If not, the targets/safety recommendations from here with hopefully COA/scholarship would be a blessing.
Looking at this aggregator, 30% of Clark’s undergrads without need received merit aid, averaging nearly $20k. I strongly suspect you would be in the top 30% of the incoming class at Clark, thus likely to receive merit aid.
Of course, it’s always best to check the information in an aggregator with the actual source. In this case, take a look at section H2 of the school’s Common Data Set (CDS). You can find a CDS via an internet search for “Name of University” and “Common Data Set.”
I thought you didn’t want a school with less than 5,000 students? Colorado College has about 2200 students, and last year’s acceptance rate was 19%…so I would still call that a reach, best case a high target. Make sure to apply early action. CC loves full pay students (about 60% of students are full pay) and not many receive merit aid. Average merit aid is $10K ish according to 2023-24 CDS with a COA around $90K. If you want suggestions for other smaller schools, let us know, you will likely get big merit at some, and they can be excellent for pre-med.
You can go into management consulting from basically any school in the country. If you are limiting yourself to MBB, then yes, better opportunities from more elite schools. No need to limit yourself to MBB though…there are plenty of great consulting jobs out there for undergrads. You can always go into consulting…even after you finish med school if you continue on that path. I know plenty of MDs who became consultants, some never even worked as an MD.
For pre-med think about at what type of school you will be able to be at the top of the class and get top grades. Is that more likely to happen at a T20 school? Another thing to research is whether or not a college’s pre-health department writes committee letters/packets, and if so, do they give those to all who apply to med school or do they limit them to only the top applicants?
For targets/highly likelies, I like Pitt (get your app in ASAP). You will likely get sizable merit at Creighton, Loyola, Marquette, SLU, U Dayton, DePaul, Iowa, and Iowa State. Like wayoutwestmom, I am concerned about the changes impacting pre-meds at UIUC now, it’s tough to recommend that situation.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights. Based on a few college visits and given my experience in a very large high school, I am thinking going to a larger college with 7K+ students and more options that would help me explore.
I really appreciate targets/highly likelies list . It is very very helpful. I am working to get the UPitt app in ASAP also.
There’s a reason that Illinois is the third most heavily represented state at 'Bama, after Alabama and Georgia. Illinois in-state prices aren’t super-affordable, and the auto-merit at UA is excellent. 2/3 of the students in the Honors College are from out of state. Their premedical scholars program might be worth looking at: About – McCollough Scholars, and the business school offers several minors for undergrads.
I believe IL used to participate in the Midwest Student Exchange, but it no longer does, so that has reduced the reciprocity options. There’s Utah, which has a great honors college, allows students to take the path to residency after the first year, and has its medical center and med school right there, as UNM does also.
Basically, you should have a range of good options that vary widely in cost. Hopefully it will be evident what hits the sweet spot for you in terms of value for for a workable price that hopefully will avoid undergrad debt. Good luck!
) is that you should go to the best school with the strongest community and alumni engagement that you can. I know others disagree but I believe that not all degrees are equal and people who hire people know that. Given that you aren’t 100% set on premed, and are considering business as well, and given that even if you were dead set on premed, things can change in life, I wouldn’t make your undergraduate decision based on what you think you’ll want to do four years from now.