1st Gen Minority College student, lost in a forest. Please HELP

[amd123]

High school stats:
1860 Sat
87-88 GPA
Top 33%
No extra currics.

I got into a nice state school but couldn't afford it (I got 20K but still came short by 10-15K). Now I am at a Community College. I am taking Bio 102/Pre Calc/Engl 101/Speech 101. I want to finish my 2 year Associates in Biology and transfer out. Can I transfer to any school or just schools that have articulation agreements? My biggest concern in getting into a college is the cost, I'm trying to find colleges that are generous in financial aid (Small/Large private liberal arts colleges) but getting in is a bit harder.

Before going to CC, I took AP Bio/US Gov/Psych and got a 3/3/4 respectively. If I transfer out to a school that requires a 4+ in a test will I be given credit at all? For example a 3 in bio let me skip 100/101 and get into 102. If I transfer out to let's say Bucknell, will they give me credit for 100/101 even though I skipped via AP but my AP score does not match their requirement, AND what about all the subsequent classes I'll have taken with that lower AP score (Bio 102 and higher)?

I didn't do ANY extra currics in high school, should I be doing them in CC? I only ask because the extra currics here are "useless" (Philosophy club, student environment agency, democratic nation, anime club, etc). There is a Phi Theta Kappa but that's invite only and it's my first semester.

I am interested in getting into med school and a lot of people have said that for extra currics I should do volunteer/shadow/research/internships as extra currics. How can I get involved in these? Also, I know I need to take MCATs, when should I start studying for these?

 

[General_Sax]

anime club

Useless?
*harumph*
Good day sir, good day!

 

[kramer733]

I entered this topic believing you got lost in a forest and had a computer.
..

Son, I am disappoint. =_="

 

[jtbell]

Different schools have different policies about AP credit and transfer credit from other schools such as community colleges.

Purely as an example, I can tell you how we handle transfer credit where I teach (a small liberal-arts college). If the course closely matches one of our own courses (based on a reading of the official catalog description), then we give credit for that specific course. If it doesn't closely match one of our our courses, but it is above the introductory level, then we give "major elective credit" for that particular department, that is, if it's a physics course the student can count it as a physics elective towards a physics major. Otherwise, if the course is at an overall level comparable to other courses that we teach here, then we give "general elective credit" which means you can count it towards the total credit hours required for graduation. There is a limit on the total general elective credit that can be transferred in.

Before going to CC, I took AP Bio/US Gov/Psych and got a 3/3/4 respectively. If I transfer out to a school that requires a 4+ in a test will I be given credit at all? For example a 3 in bio let me skip 100/101 and get into 102.

You will probably not get any credit, but again you need to find out about the specific school's policy.

 

[Phyisab****]

EDIT: Sorry, the fact that the school you got into was a state school eluded me on the first pass. Maybe you should move to NY I can't believe a state school is that expensive.


You can probably transfer to most schools, there does not need to be an articulation agreement necessarily.

Why didn't/don't you look at state schools which usually have pretty low tuition before financial aid if you are in state? You are essentially saying you are looking for a full ride to an expensive private college, and you have mediocre grades at best and nothing else to make you desirable. The chances of that seem very low to me.

 

[Jack21222]

Did you get accepted to a state school out of your home state? 30k is a ridiculous number. Four years at my state school will only cost marginally more than that for an in-state student.

 

[amd123]

I got accepted into the University of Pittsburgh and the costs came to around 35K (15K Tuition, 9K Room and Board, 1K for fees, 6K for meal plan, 4K for books and personal and travel expenses). I got 20K but I still came short by 15K.

I'm currently working and studying hard in community college, striving for atleast a 3.7 gpa.

Oh and yea I hear that Suny and Cuny are really cheap and a lot of schools down south are cheap as well. I heard Florida residents can get into Florida state for under 10K.

I'm planning on transferring to a small LAC with that will take students with SAT scores as low as 400-500s and offer substantial aid. :D

 

[G037H3]

I'm planning on transferring to a small LAC with that will take students with SAT scores as low as 400-500s and offer substantial aid. :D

...what

 

[Mathnomalous]

From what I have observed, the two main factors that determine medical school admittance are the highest possible undergraduate GPA and the highest possible MCAT score.

If you are truly interested in medical school, my advice would be to major in biology, biochemistry, or biophysics; other majors to consider are history and philosophy. Your main goal during undergraduate should be to acquire a good set of quantitative skills and scientific knowledge. Avoid debt at the undergraduate level because medical school will be very expensive.

If the option of transferring to a SUNY or CUNY is available, take it. These two systems are comparatively affordable and will get you far enough.

Use this charts to make an informed decision:

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table18-facts09mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf (undergraduate major)

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table24-mcatgpagridall2007-09.pdf (GPA + MCAT score)

 

[fss]

From what I have observed, the two main factors that determine medical school admittance are the highest possible undergraduate GPA and the highest possible MCAT score.

This is what I've experienced as well. Grades make medical school applicants crazy.