Public universities generally do not give any financial aid to out of state students, so I would remove those from your list. CWRU meets full need and is excellent for biology.
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I’m just chiming in to agree your best options will likely be either Ohio State or a private that meets or beats their cost of attendance with some combination of need and possibly merit aid.
I also think you will be quite competitive for such aid at a variety of excellent colleges for your interests, and I agree that could include some great LACs.
If you like, we can help you explore such options. That works best in an interactive process where you give us some feedback on what you would really like in a four-year college experience.
But just for example, Mount Holyoke is a women’s college with a gorgeous campus and an excellent Bio department, and it is particularly strong in “green Bio” (whole organisms and up in scale), including things like animal behavior:
I can’t guarantee anything, and I don’t know your gender identity, but my sense is if appropriate they might love your profile.
Anyway, let us know if you want suggestions like that.
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Have you considered Otterbein? It’s an LAC in Westerville, OH, has a super interesting partnerships with OSU, zoos, and horse farms for students with pre-vet intentions, AND with your stats you could qualify for their highest merit award which should bring you close to your budget, and that’s before need based financial aid.
We know some Otterbein grads and they had a wonderful experience and outcomes.
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I’m not sure that will fund even your instate publics in full in Ohio.
But I do think you are a strong applicant. tOSU scholarships are very possible, in my opinion, although not guaranteed. So apply early!
I think your budget issue comes down to whether your family actually qualifies for need based aid.
And…for the record, most college applicants don’t have a “spike”.
I think the SUNY in Buffalo is worth looking at @aunt_bea can provide more detail.
Just focusing on the “reach” schools: I would replace UC Berkeley with UPenn since Berkeley doesn’t offer any institutional aid or scholarship to OOS applicants. Cornell CALS offers a pre-veterinary concentration, not sure about UPenn even though it also houses a vet school. I think you have a good shot at Cornell.
I would save Ohio State University for vet school as the in-state option.
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Just a note about Cornell…their pre-vet program is one of the most competitive in the country. And CALS gives a preference to NYS residents. The OP has it right that Cornell should be considered low probability.
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Are you suggesting this student should not apply to tOSU for undergrad? If so, I disagree. They have a chance at a decent scholarship there, and the instate cost with a scholarship could easily meet a $20,000 a year price point for undergrad.
And this doesn’t prevent this student from applying to their veterinary school in the future.
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Lots of publics in Ohio - some with great s holarships and sounds like OP would prefer non city - to be by more nature. So maybe Ohio U, BGSU, and Miami might get a looked for low income aid or Hail Mary type scholarships.
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No, that’s not what I’m suggesting, but I should clarify. KP17, I believe, has a decent chance of getting into at least one “reach” school. I wouldn’t make OSU a priority for ugrad given that it houses the only vet school in-state. Plus, KP17 later on might not be interested in attending OSU for vet school (a future decision to make).
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Our daughter attended a DVM program at a public university, and there were a significant number of students in the same DVM program who had done their bachelor’s degree at the same university (this was a minority of the students, but a significant minority). I am not sure whether all were in-state students, but some certainly were. It was not tOSU, but I think that the same is very likely to be true at tOSU. I agree that doing undergrad at tOSU and a doctorate again at tOSU should be entirely possible and reasonable for a very strong in-state student.
Also, my understanding is that tOSU has both merit based and need based financial aid for in-state undergraduate students. This seems likely to make it affordable.
With a total income of $75,000 per year, and no income at all on the part of the other non-custodial parent, I think that need based financial aid is very likely at the various private universities that meet full need (if accepted of course). Thus Stanford and Cornell are likely to be worth an application. While acceptance might be a reach, affordability seems likely. While both Stanford and Cornell are great universities, I doubt that the probability of eventually making it to veterinary school will vary much if at all regardless of whether @KP17 attends tOSU, Stanford, or Cornell. Pre-vet / premed classes at any of these schools will be challenging.
I expect that admissions is very likely at Colorado State, Oregon State, and Washington State. I have no idea how affordable they will be. This might be a case of “apply and see what sort of offers come back”. All three of course have very good DVM programs and very good pre-vet programs. NC State is in the same category.
@KP17 I like your ECs, your stats are great, you have clearly put in a lot of work through high school and done very well. Plan to put in a strong effort when you get to university. I think that this is going to work out one way or another.
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Yeah, I spent a week learning vet things at the college for Buckeye Vet Camp, so I’ll def apply there no matter where I go, undergrad if I end up sticking with this path.
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I heard as well that your undergrad didn’t matter too much when applying to vet school. It seems like the best option for me is to get rid of the schools that will offer little aid and compare them all to OSU. I will be applying for the Morrill, so that will pay a lot if I get it.
Thank you again for the kind words and advice.
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Maybe I missed it, but why is Questbridge not an option for you? With your mom’s income, as long as you don’t have a ton of assets, I would think that Questbridge or applying to colleges that meet full need would be the most affordable route, and you have the stats to do it. Our income is a bit higher, and my daughter is at an Ivy that does not require any parental contribution at our income level. It would have cost us MUCH more for her to go to Ohio State as in state residents.
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I strongly believe this. Yes, it matters some but not as much as people think. I’ve seen nothing specific to vet school acceptance rates, but long-term quantitative studies say it’s primarily the individual (the student) that determines long-term career success, not the college they went to. Everything else is anecdotal. If someone shows me some quantitative studies, I’m open to changing my mind.
Anyway, as mentioned, a $20k/yr college budget is very tight, and likely a heavy burden on your Mom. Here’s what I suggest as an overall game plan:
a) apply to tOSU as your “safety” – run NPC so you know the cost
b) look into Questbridge
c) drop most public/state universities outside OH – too expensive
d) there are colleges with 100% Need-Met / No-Loan Policies, but they are “reaches” for everyone, hyper competitive, very low acceptance rates – if you want to give it a try, maybe include one or two in your list. OK to do zero.
e) identify private colleges with acceptance rates in the 20-70% range that have biology programs and appeal to you, and run NPC on them to see if any come close to $20k/yr. These are your “matches”.
f) from (e), pick ones that seem super appealing, especially with extremely low net costs – contact their financial aid office and see if they will give you a “preliminary financial aid assessment” (they have different names). If it confirms your NPC, and you love the school, apply early decision.
Overall, the idea is to look for that sweet spot where net cost is lower than $20k and the college appeals to you and has a strong biology program.
My two cents.
p.s. It seems you may be within commuting distance to tOSU. I’d strongly consider going there as a commuter (i.e., live at home). You could apply to their Honors Program, if you’d like the extra challenge & prestige. If you excel at tOSU and continue your various involvement in the veterinary field, I have no doubt you’ll get into vet school. I have a friend whose daughter did just that and got into a top medical school.
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No question - if not QB and it may be an option - the $65K isn’t a hard cut off but I also put a list of meets needs schools above.
OP can find that low cost, in state safety - as the floor - and then apply to meets need schools with a nice looking NPC - and hope to get into one.
There are also schools like W&L (Johnson), Davidson (Belk), Providence (Roddy), UNCC (Levine) and East Carolina (Brinkley Lane) that are full ride merit scholarships - if you have the time to do the apps, one might come through. The UNCC and ECU ones might be smarter - less competition at your academic level.
No doubt other colleges have them too.
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Thirding Questbridge- at least inquire ASAP since if you qualify financially the app is due soon.
Private colleges (instate or out of state) that meet need may be your most affordable choices: Denison, Kenyon, Mount Holyoke have already been listed here - run the NPC to see if they’d be affordable.
Wheaton (MA, not IL) would be a safety and has a solid Bio program with animal-related options.
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Another LAC that could provide strong merit would be Oberlin. They have a great Bio program, and with your ECs being strongly centered around music, it would be a good fit- even the non-conservatory students there are heavily involved in their music scene. They are known to be a a strong STEM/Bio feeder into PhD programs, too. If you like horses, they have an equestrian team that practices at a barn very close to campus.
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If your mother earns 75K/yr, and no income from other parent, and they’re both willing to fill out the financial aid forms, your safety is Ohio State (30K/yr in-state), and then you’re applying to the liberal arts colleges and more selective private colleges that promise a full ride to families with incomes as low as your family’s.
Don’t bother applying to any other public universities, out of state. None of them are going to meet or beat the 30K/yr or so that Ohio State will cost you. Plus if you’re willing to be in the marching band (on tenor sax), and can audition into it, they’ll give you a 3K/yr stipend for that, but it’s a big time commitment.
You have an excellent academic record, and some really nice long-term ECs. Don’t sell yourself short! You definitely do have a chance at some of the private colleges that have committed to full ride for people with family incomes like yours (and typical assets, meaning a car and a house, not business property or rental properties or second homes). Ask about a common app waiver, and apply to Ohio State and all the schools that give full rides to people with family incomes like yours.
Ignore your mother having said not to worry about money. She’s doing the best that she can, and she wants the best for you, but don’t you dare let her borrow a penny for college for you, or cosign loans for you. With your impressive record, you should be able to get into at least one school that offers you a full ride. You can get into vet school from any college, as long as you do extremely well. Worst case scenario, Ohio State and you take the federal loan, work in a vet’s office part time during the school year, and full time during the summers. This is the only scenario where I would say it’s justified to take private loans to close the gap, if necessary.
Your next step is to identify all the private colleges that automatically give you a full ride for your family’s income, all the schools which guarantee full tuition for families with incomes of <75K/yr, and also to come up with a fantastic essay. You’ve got all the rest!
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I would add not to miss out on Ohio U - it’s more around nature and for low income or those in the Honors Tutorial program could get free tuition.
Young kids seem to think top students go to Ohio Stare, then Miami, then Ohio U.
I promise there are kids at each Ohio public that could have or did get into Ohio State but chose not to go - so while the overall school won’t be as accomplished, many will - and because of your achievement, you can be rewarded. It’d be worth a try to see if it goes lower cost wise than tOSU anyway - as they might matter.
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OSU seems to give full ride to in state kids with 1600 SAT or 36 ACT. Higher chance to get 36 ACT. Not sure you would like to try one more for ACT.
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