Where to apply- please advise! [NJ resident, 3.5 UWGPA, 34 ACT, 1450 SAT, biochemistry/premed, $30K]

Applying to College
41

Great advice- thanks!

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Thank you. These are all excellent points.

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43

I do think my son has an unrealistic idea of how much he could make as a doctor
 might need to dig up some numbers on that!

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44

Or if you have family/friends willing to talk to him, let him hear it from them. We know a lot people in healthcare and some were kind enough to have frank conversations with our kid
 about the financial realities and also the realities of day to day responsibilities.

Her bestie’s parents (doctor and lawyer) were especially helpful with telling her how long it took to pay off their loans and how it impacted life decisions early on.

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45

Actually, right now, he can not possibly have any idea how much he could potentially earn as some of this is specialty dependent. Specialties happen during residency
which for him would be about 8 years from now. Lots dependent on strength of grades in medical school and Step scores.

What does he think he will earn?

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46

You’re describing your in-state flagship. Has everything he wants, at the right price. He won’t find what he wants at a 3rd tier LAC, which MIGHT give him enough merit money to bring the price down to 30K/yr.

Less prestigious in-state flagships might give him enough merit money to bring your price down, but probably not to 30K/yr. He could try the SUNYs, Pitt, U Del, UConn, UMd, UMass, but I don’t know if they’ll match what his tuition could have been at Rutgers. Would TCNJ work?

Probably not on your radar, but is a skiier? If so, maybe U of Utah? Has everything he wants academically and research-wise, he can become in-state in one year, and they offer a lot of merit money for excellent students.

There comes a point where you have to tell the kid, “This is what we can swing, and Rutgers offers everything you want. It is probably where you will go.” Especially for a kid who is considering medical school, there comes a point where you have to explain the financial facts of life to him.

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47

He can apply to the SUNY schools that are part of the flagship price match. They will match Rutgers.

There is a list, but I do know that SUNY Albany and Geneseo are on it.

I agree that Rutgers has what he wants and it’s a good school. He can shadow during breaks. That’s what my daughter did (pediatrician and NYC teaching hospitals).

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48

I’m seeing 20K in aid for OOS early admits to George Mason with only slightly higher GPA / lower SATs

49

Except op’s student wants warm weather

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I don’t think those will come down to Rutgers tuition with merit, my daughters got merit from some of them to bring costs down but they had higher GPA’s.

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51

And he doesn’t like the warm weather location where he has already been accepted and likely is within budget.

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52

Part of the issue is the student wants medicine. They think. And with a 3.5 in hs, unless they motor up, they’ll be like most and won’t get there. It might be academics. It might be in a year they just change.

Then I think it’s $30k now but how about in four years ?

More costs.

Given the academic uncertainty, maybe the student should look at the LECOM assured entry list. There are some publics and third tier privates - maybe one can get to budget.

U of Hawaii is warm :slight_smile: there are low cost publics in Florida like UWF or Florida Gulf Coast in beautiful Fort Myers.

Or cold weather like Akron or Slippery Rock, closer to home - but again we know it’s warm the student wants.

But maybe a stetson or Jacksonville make budget ? Don’t know but they might assure the medical degree.

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53

If the primary (or even secondary) interest in med school is the financial upside- he needs to have a couple of conversations with some actual MD’s really quickly. See if there’s a hospitalist (an increasingly popular model for primary care docs), someone still in private practice (becoming more rare as big healthcare systems buy up the small, 5 physician practices we all think of as “doctors office”), and someone in an allegedly high income specialty.

They will ALL tell him the same thing. Doctors do not make anywhere NEAR what people think they make. If they are employees of a big hospital, then they don’t have expenses but they also don’t have an opportunity for the big bucks. If they are in a small practice, even if their gross is high-- their expenses (employees to process insurance claims, malpractice, rent, leases on diagnostic equipment) are higher every year.

Etc.

There are many ways in healthcare to earn a comfortable living (pharm sales, data analytics for a device company, analyst at a PE or VC firm that focuses on pharma, hospital and practice management). But becoming a doc is a lengthy and expensive process- and the only good reason to become a physician is that you cannot imagine doing anything else.

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54

UMD doesn’t fit in that list. It is a highly sought after school, not less prestigious than Rutgers. It’ll be a reach for OP’s son and their COA is twice as much as Rutgers (and they provide very little merit aid, typically to high stats kids).

UDel, UConn and Pitt are better bets.

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55

This. This more than anything else.

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56

There is no way that Pitt will come down to $30k with the OP’s stats. He would get in but wouldn’t be able to afford it.

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57

It’s ok to apply to Pitt, UDel, and UConn, but I would not count on getting enough merit. These schools will likely be unaffordable.

At some point this student will have to accept the choices put before him and choose one.

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58

UDel is not going to give a top merit award to a 3.5, Pitt offered my 3.95 $8000 a year (UMD $3000), anything but the top merit award at UCONN won’t bring costs down to in state. All of my kids were similar, it was either in state (in their cases Rutgers and TCNJ) or enough merit to bring costs down to near in state (UDel and Clemson, although not the best merit offer, but with her major she should be okay paying back some loans). One of them was nuts and applied to 20 safeties/targets, so I’m familiar with what they offered a couple of years ago. The two who went OOS had almost the exact same stats/EC’s.

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59

You misunderstood. In addition to less prestigious in-state flagships 
 he could try
 Umd. I didn’t list any of the less prestigious ones. I listed flagships possibly comparable to Rutgers, but they might not give him enough money to make it 30K/yr.

60

Yep - and UMD is a rejection and Uconn potentially too.

He needs the South (because he wants warm) for flagships or a W Carolina that’s $20K all in - or if he wants to stay regionally - which the parent has already said isn’t the case - but some of the PA second tier (Millersville, Slippery Rock) or perhaps less competitive SUNYs.

Few schools meet OPs need - but given the budget, OP shouldn’t apply and then dismiss. In fact, given the desires, he’s limited.

I’d suggest @Audreyma a trip down south.

But in one chunk over two days - you can do:

UAH - 10K kids - all majors but science heavy

UAB - downtown Birmingham so night life, etc. Well known for health care, etc. Has hospital, etc. About 20K+ kids.

Alabama - this is where your son got in with big merit - it’s ginormous.

Mississippi State - a manicured, very nice campus.

All four have aspects of what he asked for - socially, weather, etc.

If you had extra time, maybe you can get to Louisiana Lafayette and LSU.

Or on the other side, Georgia State College and University - 7,000 kids in Milledgeville.

Why these schools?

They’ll all make budget - and it’s a wide variety to really see if he wants what he thinks he does.

He can’t give you a criteria - and then turn his nose up at what he’s qualified for.

So while a trip isn’t cheap, it’d be worth the investment (in my opinion).

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