<p>Where should I start thinking about applying to college?</p>
<p>I know that there are about 42058 people asking this daily on CC, but I really need advice from you guys. Basically, I'm asking you guys this so that I can start putting in a word to my parents about REASONABLE colleges for me so that they won't be disappointed when I don't apply to Harvard or any other ridiculous Ivy (they have really high expectations). I'll need to have research when I try to convince them that X college is better than Yale, so I need to get some type of idea of colleges I can actually get in to.Well enough babbling on about my personal life. Here are my stats.</p>
<p>I have other things under my belt, but those are the main ones. I have not taken any SAT II's and I probably will not report AP scores because I got a 3 in Euro. (4 in Spanish though:)) I'm taking all AP's this year and hopefully the result is good. I have a couple more extracurriculars, but the four I listed were the main ones. </p>
<p>I hope that MAYBE i could get into Dartmouth, Cornell, UMD, UPenn, but those are serious reaches for me. More realistically, what should I be looking at? thanks :)</p>
<p>UMD is not a serious reach. That’s definitely a match (especially if you live in MD). And being a URM, you have an okay chance at making it to a lower Ivy like Dartmouth and Penn if you put your all into your application (and apply in the earlier rounds). What exactly are you looking to study in college, and what are you looking for in schools? That would help me give some suggestions.</p>
<p>I do live in Maryland! I’m excited now! My brother got rejected from there and now I feel that they are really selective. He had similar stats, but a much lower gpa, and hardly any extra cirriculars so maybe that is what the difference was.</p>
<p>I’m proabably going to do some type of pre-med /biology thing, but I’m not really sure about it yet. After all, I am still only a junior. I have some time (right?)</p>
<p>It would be pretty awesome if I could get into Dartmouth or Cornell, and because of your advice, I am now decided on applying. Hopefully I’ll get in, but I still feel pretty nervous about it.</p>
<p>What are are some safties that I can count on? I know nothing is a sure thing in college admissions, but what are some colleges that you guys are pretty sure that I could get into with a fair amount of ease?</p>
<p>“What are you looking at in schools?”</p>
<p>Currently, I’m looking at any school who is willing to accept me :). Maybe a good pre-med program, okay dorms. I was actually looking at St. Andrews in Scotland, because of their med program (starts right as you come out of high school), but I heard that their med school is impossible to get into. If you have any information on that, let me know.</p>
<p>UPDATE: my GPA is now official 4.6 W and 3.8 UW
<em>yay</em></p>
<p>For ideas on pre-med and direct admissions to med school, you should visit the Med School Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen and scroll down to find it.</p>
<p>Since you are in Maryland, you should also look at UM-BC for the sciences, and at St. Mary’s College of MD for a smaller college (but still at affordable public price) experience. Have you discussed your college list with your guidance counselor? That person should be able to tell you which colleges and universities have admitted students with your profile in the last few years. Even better if your HS has Naviance. If it does, find out how it works, so you can use it to look for good fits.</p>
<p>If you are serious about pre-med, you need to think carefully about how to avoid spending buckets of money on your undergraduate degree. Medical school is obscenely expensive, and there are almost no scholarships available. Most people pay for it with college loans which means that they graduate with med school debts in the range of 200k. You don’t want that if you can avoid it.</p>
<p>Also think about top liberal arts colleges which will have many pre-med students and strong science programs. Amherst, Williams and Middlebury, for example.</p>
<p>If you live in Maryland, and are considering a future in medicine, you should add Johns Hopkins to your list. I think it may be a high match-low reach for you. It has an outstanding reputation. Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>Yeah, after I posted this, I realized it was in the wrong section.</p>
<p>@ Hitch 123
Do you think that I could get in to Amherst or Williams? I heard that they are pretty selective.</p>
<p>@happymomof1
Thank you for that advice! That really puts everything in perspective. My high school is kind of small ( I would assume that I am number 1 in my class) and I feel like that all the advice that I get from college counselors and teachers is just ridiculous. They expect too much of me.</p>
<p>I know about Johns Hopkins. I actually was involved with its CTY program and spent a couple of weeks on its campus. Unfortunately, I also know about its reputation. I think it would be super hard for me to get in. For some reason I think I have a much better chance @ a state school. BTW, I am open to state schools. I was actually really considering USC, but then I heard something about OOS students not gettting in much.</p>
<p>^ you might be surprised about your chances at Johns Hopkins, most of your stats fall within their 50% range of accepted students. Your URM status also may help. If you liked the college, than apply. Don’t decide not to apply there based on your perception that you won’t get in. You should always check out a colleges Common Data Set to get an idea of the level of student each college accepts, it is a treasure chest of valuable information for prospective students.</p>
<p>When you mention USC, I assume you are talking about University of South Carolina and not USC in California?</p>
<p>You mention a sibling in college. Do you know how much money your parents have available for your education? Do you need financial aid to make your education possible, or would it just be a nice bonus? If you don’t know much about this, have your parents run the EFC calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board), and talk with them about the money situation.</p>
<p>If you expand your search to LACs in addition to the ones already mentioned, look into Rhodes (TN) and Ursinus ¶. </p>
<p>Both have very good rates of students going into Med School and both are known to offer nice merit pacakges. From what I’ve seen, both also want URMs. Both are also in the Colleges that Change Lives book. Even if you decide against these schools, CTCL is a worthwhile read and could aid you in approching your parents as to the merits of non-Ivy schools. The difference between the two is location (urban vs. burbs).</p>
<p>I don’t know how your family would feel about the very high OOS tuition at W & M - however, it’s a great school with an excellent record in med school placement for qualified applicants. You’d study for 2 years in Williamsburg and 2 years in Scotland. Only 4 majors are possible at this point: econ, English, history, and international relations. But you don’t have to be a science major to get into med school as long as you fulfill the science and math prereqs (and some say that not being a science major is actually an advantage when applying to med school). </p>
<p>I think you’d be a very competitive OOS applicant. There’s quite a bit of info available on the W & M board - one of the regular posters is a school adcom. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you’re interested in a place like an Ivy or Williams or Amherst (both of which also are highly competitive colleges), you have nothing to lose by applying as you would have a chance at those schools, which are reach schools for everyone. U Penn, Dartmouth other Ivies also are reach schools for you, but worth applying to if you’re interested in them.</p>
<p>Safeties: BU (which might give you merit aid), GW, Maryland, </p>
<p>School that might be a great match school and that might give you major merit aid: UMBC, which has marvelous programs for stellar science students, including African AMericans. </p>
<p>Your brother’s gpa hurt him at Maryland. Public schools make their decisions overwhelmingly based on stats and state of residence, with in-state students being preferred.</p>
<p>Most colleges in the country would be delighted to have you, and many would offer you merit aid.</p>
<p>I know that my parent will do whatever they can to help me through college, but I also know that they would prefer that I get scholarships so that the burden is not too much. My brother will still have 2 yrs of undergrad to go by the time I am coming into college.</p>
<p>Wow thank you guys so much for all the help.
Do you really think BU is a safety? I thought high match or low reach… It is pretty competitive. If what you say is true, I will definitely be applying.</p>
<p>I’m just so scared of getting rejected from good schools… :(</p>
<p>Read my thread on CC tonight about a topic of extreme importance. Its about people like you…someone I know about…and I have a very very heavy heart tonight. </p>
<p>To thine ownself be true, dear. DONT GO TO COLLEGE FOR PRESTIGE OR WHAT OTHERS EXPECT FROM YOU. Follow your dreams…go to college to explore and have fun and experience all that life has to offer. Not some dang blasted Honors Program or PreMed program because everyone expects you to be perfect. </p>
<p>I say this with all humility and seriousness. Go to a college that fits you…both academically and socially and whatever…where you can thrive and be happy. PERIOD.</p>
<p>If you have 1400 or more verbal + math (I don’t know how your 2130 breaks down and I think the writing is less important), you certainly have a shot at Amherst and Williams and being a URM will help. Amherst is about like Dartmouth in selectivity. Middlebury and Bowdoin would be slightly easier and definitely worth considering.</p>
<p>The problem with BU won’t be getting in, but getting the aid you need. It doesn’t guarantee to meet 100% of students’ demonstrated need, but it does have some excellent merit aid that you might qualify for.</p>
<p>One of the colleges with the best record of getting black students to med school is Xavier College in New Orleans.</p>
<p>Do check out UM Baltimore County and its Meyerhoff Scholars program, which gives excellent merit aid and advising/support to outstanding students in science, math, etc. majors, and has an excellent record of getting students – including black students – to doctoral science/math programs and med school.</p>
<p>Thank you. A girl that I know actually got into UMBC with the mentioned scholarship, but she was very intelligent (valedictorian of a magnet public school of 2500+). I will definitely add this school to my list because my parents have been talking about me applying there too.</p>
<p>Also, just something to throw out there, although I live in Maryland, I actually am in a boarding high school OOS. I don’t really have to go to school in Maryland, although that would be really cool.</p>
<p>@ Hitch 123 My </p>
<p>CR is 760</p>
<p>Writing is 700
and</p>
<p>Math is 680 (womp womp womp :'[ )</p>
<p>so my verbal + math is 1430… not much over 1400… do I still have a chance?</p>
<p>*I know that my parent will do whatever they can to help me through college, but I also know that they would prefer that I get scholarships so that the burden is not too much. My brother will still have 2 yrs of undergrad to go by the time I am coming into college.</p>
<p>CR is 760</p>
<p>Writing is 700
and</p>
<p>Math is 680 (womp womp womp :'[ )</p>
<p>so my verbal + math is 1430… not much over 1400… do I still have a chance? </p>
<p>although I live in Maryland, I actually am in a boarding high school OOS. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Since you go to a boarding school, should we assume that your parents’ income is too high to qualify for financial aid?</p>
<p>Try to get a specific budget from your parents. Find out the max they are comfortable paying each year. Obviously, tell them that you will try to get merit scholarships, but you need to know the max they will pay. </p>
<p>If the amount that they are comfortable paying is less than their likely EFC, then you definitely need to include some schools that will give you big merit for your stats.</p>
<p>Lucky for you there are some good schools that will give you good merit! :)</p>