College Search for future Sorority Girl

[Titchou]

My next door neighbor has 3 daughters. All 3 were told from an early age that they would have to get scholarships to go to college. (The dad has a PhD in Chemistry and is the CEO of a chemical mfg company). They all danced, entered pageants, made excellent grades and accumulated many scholarships. The oldest went to a nearby small state school Montevallo on a full ride. She now also has 2 masters degrees - all paid for. The middle one went to Alabama on a full ride and got her JD/MBA - also on a full ride. The youngest one - the really smart one - got 3 full ride offers and went to South Alabama because they also gave her early med school acceptance. Bright girls, hard workers and very sweet lovely ladies. The middle wasn't Greek but the other 2 are.. and both were officers in their respective groups. Go where they give you the best deal.

[Munchkin03]

To the OP:

My recommendation is to pay attention to great schools with good biology programs, but understand that majors, and career plans, change ALL THE TIME. Allegedly half of the kids at my undergrad enter as "pre-med," and approximately 20% are medical school bound at graduation or within a year or so. Not all doctors were science majors, either. I have a friend finishing up med school now who was a fine arts major, who just took her pre-med requirements (and aced them).

Her top choices are great across the board, so this is less of a problem than if she went to a science-heavy school and decided that she didn't want to pursue that as a career.

Also, there's this program: http://www.mhec.org/MSEPFAQ

The Midwest Higher Education Compact allows students from one midwestern state to attend a state or private school in another midwestern state at a discounted rate, instead of paying the full OOS tuition. It's not quite in-state, and in my opinion, Michigan is probably the best of the bunch, so it might not be that great of a deal.

My final recommendation is go to the best school that you can afford comfortably without taking on substantial debt. Going to the regional college (as opposed to a flagship or a well-regarded private) is fine if you know for sure that you're going to remain in that same region for the first few years of your career. I knew that I never wanted to live in Florida ever again after my 18th birthday, so I applied to schools with great national and international reputations. I find now that my undergrad and grad school affiliations open doors for me, both professionally and personally, that I would never had known about if I had attended my regional college.

Good luck!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Also, there's this program: http://www.mhec.org/MSEPFAQ

The Midwest Higher Education Compact allows students from one midwestern state to attend a state or private school in another midwestern state at a discounted rate, instead of paying the full OOS tuition. It's not quite in-state, and in my opinion, Michigan is probably the best of the bunch, so it might not be that great of a deal.

Because you brought it up, I'll drop in to plug my alma mater. It is the obvious #2 in the MHEC bunch, behind Michigan, and Champaign-Urbana is not a bad place to spend four years.

I am super-biased, but I'd say it's one of the best Greek systems in the country. It's one of the largest outside of cutthroat SEC schools, and the sheer number of chapters means that virtually anyone can find a place where she fits.

Illinois is extremely well-respected, and attracts all of the top employers in the Chicago area. The associated medical school is the biggest in the nation.

[ColdInCanada11]

Off-topic- Are there actually still "pre-med" programs in the US? In Canada most of them disappeared by the mid 1960s (because anyone who has taken bio-chem and organic chem, and has fulfilled the other requisites can apply). Ditto for pre-law. If I had taken organic, I could still claim that I'm "pre-med" technically, so can most of my undergrad student body.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by ColdInCanada11

Off-topic- Are there actually still "pre-med" programs in the US? In Canada most of them disappeared by the mid 1960s (because anyone who has taken bio-chem and organic chem, and has fulfilled the other requisites can apply). Ditto for pre-law. If I had taken organic, I could still claim that I'm "pre-med" technically, so can most of my undergrad student body.

It is not a major in and of itself. Many different majors can lead to med school. If med school is the goal though, it is wise to take certain courses to do well on the MCAT.

[BlueOwl]

May I recommend to your daughter the spectacular UCLA in Los Angeles! Thriving sorority life and outstanding academics. The housing on campus is great due to the fact that all of the dorms have been renovated and several brand new ones just opened this year. Campus dining is superb. Good school spirit. Perfect climate. Hands down one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country.

The UC's are accepting more and more out of state students (they like that out of state tuition!).

[AGDee]

As I'm looking at booking tickets for Hypo to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'll just add a little reminder to keep those costs in mind too. You would think LGA to DTW flights would be fairly cheap, but NOT at Thanksgiving. Nothing is cheap at Thanksgiving

[DubaiSis]

I don't think anyone was saying rah yeah Caribbean Med schools. What I was saying is you can get a perfectly respectable job (and that is 100% the point) at a limited or even non-prestige school.

I'm also on the side of attending a school that is not just good for science, but in the liberal arts as well. Particularly if high school was pretty easy for your daughter, she may go running for the hills when she starts taking college sciences classes. Or not. But it's good to have some choices without having to transfer if she finds out she's made a bad choice in majors.

And putting on my travel agent hat, if you can have your daughter at a no-flight-required school, your life is going to be a lot easier and less expensive. Remember luggage isn't free anymore (in most cases) and the airlines are a quirky bunch. I really wouldn't want to rely on the airlines for whether my daughter was going to be home for Christmas or not.

[DubaiSis]

Originally Posted by AGDee

As I'm looking at booking tickets for Hypo to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'll just add a little reminder to keep those costs in mind too. You would think LGA to DTW flights would be fairly cheap, but NOT at Thanksgiving. Nothing is cheap at Thanksgiving

Don't forget there are 5 airports in New York!

[BlueCarnation]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Because you brought it up, I'll drop in to plug my alma mater. It is the obvious #2 in the MHEC bunch, behind Michigan, and Champaign-Urbana is not a bad place to spend four years.

I am super-biased, but I'd say it's one of the best Greek systems in the country. It's one of the largest outside of cutthroat SEC schools, and the sheer number of chapters means that virtually anyone can find a place where she fits.

Illinois is extremely well-respected, and attracts all of the top employers in the Chicago area. The associated medical school is the biggest in the nation.

I have to agree with this. The med school is in Chicago, as opposed to Chambana, but U of I is a fantastic school and wants to get out of state kids. Also, what about Wisconsin? The Greek System is strong here--but not crazy competitive-- beautiful houses (one chapter does not have a house), and great academics. Biology is the largest major here.

I concur with what AGDee said about coming home--that's something you don't think about until it comes up. I liked being a 4 hour drive from home so I could go home when I wanted--so many people at U of M lived in the Chicago burbs, so I could always catch a ride--or I could hop on a cheap, short flight on Southwest. I had friends who lived in CA who didn't even go home for Thanksgiving and it was really hard for them. If you think that your daughter is going to want to come home at all, keep that in mind. It definitely adds up.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

I concur with what AGDee said about coming home--that's something you don't think about until it comes up. I liked being a 4 hour drive from home so I could go home when I wanted . . . .

My mother's suggestion was that we should go somewhere close enough we could get home easily for holidays or when we needed to, but far enough away that we couldn't come home whenever we felt like it.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Don't forget there are 5 airports in New York!

5? What are these 5 airports?

I think that other than the big 3 (LGA/JFK/EWR), the savings of any other airport would be negated by the difficulty/expense of getting there and back.

As far as distance, I don't think it's a reason to discount a school. I had to fly from Providence to my dinky hometown airport in North Florida (TWO LAYOVERS!) and, while I was exhausted at the end of the day, it wasn't a reason not to go to my undergrad! I never missed Christmas. One night my flight was canceled, but I went back to the dorm and flew out the next morning. I even made it home for Thanksgiving three out of four years. Even on occasions when I DID have to fly home on shorter notice, like when my grandfather died, it's not as if it's impossible to get out. It's something to budget for and consider, but it's not worth discounting a school, especially if it's a good one.

If I had gone to a closer school I would have needed a newer car than the one I had, which probably would have been the same cost (including upkeep, gas, and insurance) as my 3 flights home each year. As it was, my undergrad didn't allow freshmen to have cars and very few upperclassmen did anyway.

[Go Alpha Gam]

The distance has definitely been a discussion-point with us. Staying in the mid-west would definitely be easier for the holidays! As far as Stanford is concerned, she has wanted to go there for many years, but with her stats and the fact that only 6.7% of the applicants were accepted last year, we know it is a very long shot. However, using that same mentality, you will not get in if you don't apply . . . : ) My daughter would like to come home at Thanksgiving, but depending on distance it may not be feasible every year.
Munchkin- I completely understand about the changing majors, I did it myself during my JUNIOR year! When I explained to her about the number of students planning on going to med school then changing, she barked that SHE WILL BE GOING TO MED SCHOOL! We will see! I wanted her to go into an engineering program for the "back up plan", but it's her decision!
What a roller coaster ride this is . . . when is the ride going to stop??? LOL

[AGDee]

It will settle down some once all applications are in and you are just waiting. But then it gets REALLY bad at the end of March until May 1st (deadline to commit somewhere).

[Go Alpha Gam]

Thanks, AGDee!! I am hoping for a miracle that somehow before April she just KNOWS where she wants to go! I remember playing "College of the week" when I was a Senior until that magical letter appeared in February with a full ride scholarship. My mind was made up! We are going on a Spring Break trip the first week of April, so that will make one week go by quickly in April!!