Getting significant ugrad scholarships?

[Yadster101]

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Did any of you guys get significant undergraduate scholarships (>~50% COA)? If so what did you do in high school to earn these types of scholarships? Did you turn down a top ranked school for more money at a lower tier school? What were your high school grades like?

Medical school is getting more and more expensive which is why I think that high school kids need to start thinking about the financial issues associated with becoming a doctor (or any other professional). I am currently advising a high school student that has great grades (top ~5% of high school class) and good extracurriculars. I was a decent high school student but I didn't actually start working hard till college which is why I am a bit uncertain about what I should say.

Would you say that someone with a ~3.9 GPA, ~95+ percentile standardized test scores, and a health mix of sports, volunteering, etc. has a good chance at getting a significant scholarship at a good undergraduate school?

Thanks!

 

[Coupd'Cat]

Ditto the above! I chose going to my state school for free over a "top 10" university. I think it's great that your advisee is thinking about finances down the road, especially if they know they'd like to pursue medicine in the long run.

The caveat is that, my impression is that more prestigious universities have a higher concentration of students with what we tend to consider to be loftier post-grad goals (consulting, medicine, graduate school). This can be inspiring and motivating (but it can also distort one's viewpoint of the world). Some questions your advisee can consider are: 1) Would I be okay with being one of the few students in my dorm choosing to stay in on the weekend to study for that organic chemistry test? 2) Do I thrive when others around me are pushing me to stretch my academic limits--or am I okay with imagining and setting my own goals?

To be frank, I regretted my decision to go choose my state school for a year, because I met very few people who had gone on to work or attend graduate school out-of-state (which was my goal). Eventually, I found a solid group of friends who had similar goals, which made me feel a little less out-of place. Generally, I think lot of less prestigious, public schools are big enough that you'll find other students who made a similar financial choice as you and are just as determined to, say, go into medicine.

Looking back now, I'm glad I stayed in-state. It saved my family the amount of money that could have bought a house (leaving college funds for my brother and sister). I'm not as stressed about student loans for medical school as much as my peers are, which allowed me to choose a profession more solely based on my interests and not potential earnings (not saying that everyone chooses well-paying specialties for that reason--it just was less of a factor for me). And, I feel like the experience of going to a public university in the Midwest/South helped to ground me, especially now that I'm in medical school surrounded by folks who went to private high schools on the East Coast then Ivy League institutions.

In the end, any decision they make will be the right decision. It'll come with pros & cons, but, based on what your advisee has accomplished so far, and with the support they need, I'm sure they'll do well anywhere.

 

[Anti-PD1]

SAT scores. Ended up going to a great public school with a research/medicine footprint that rivals the big names. Lots of pre-meds, lots of opportunities, and a unique city culture.

 

[suninthesky]

GPA + ACT and sports got full COA including room and board for me.

Apply early, diverse. Don't dismis NAIA if sports are a possibility. With scores that hogh likely many apps will be free anyway. Apply to a lot and work hard on sholarship apps.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I was national merit and valedictorian. got a full ride at my state school, turned down ivy leagues to go. best decision ever. state schools, particularly large ones with strong science/engineering backgrounds, are great. don't discount them.

 

[Lannister]

I was much less impressive than some of the others in this thread, I had like a 3.7(4.4 weighted)/33 or something. No national merit scholarship, not anywhere near valedictorian, no special life experiences, and I'm definitely not diverse. I swam but not at the varsity level. Did some pretty boring extracurricular activities here and there. And I still ended up with a merit-based scholarship that covered half the CoA at a (ridiculously expensive) private school. I think the key to my success was that the school that gave me that scholarship was known to be very generous with aid (at the time, not so much these days, from what I've heard). So school list matters, because some schools are more generous than others. Also probably didn't hurt that my high school is a pretty highly-regarded school and I'm sure it's fairly well known at top universities.

So, moral of the story, if I got a scholarship, your advisee probably can too as they sound much more accomplished than I was.