<p>Grinnell is the only one on your QB list that waives the app fee whether a finalist or not, so you might as well keep that on your list as it is basically a freebee. Withought raising your ACT score significantly, you should forget Caltech.</p>
<p>Regarding the summer research and award, that is not a hook. Only things such as URM, legacy, recruited athlete and developmental case are considered hooks.</p>
<p>Unless you score a lot higher this fall, take off the top 4 schools. You don’t have a hook, and since you’re Asian, you actually have a disadvantage for these top schools…they have more than enough Asian applicants with much higher stats. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about LACs…they have pre-med advisors, too…don’t know why you thought that they didn’t.</p>
<p>You need to add…</p>
<p>Western Washington…likely merit for your stats and a very well liked school. Also, Washington State. UWash isn’t a safety…especially since affording it is a question.</p>
<p>@GA2012MOM: Even if it isn’t a hook, wouldn’t it benefit me at all? I know that colleges look for depth in a field and not just an “all-around” student nowadays.
Should I take out Whitman if I keep Grinnell?</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: Are you sure UWash isn’t a safety? I’ve seen many people with 3.5 GPA and 28-29 ACT get into UWash without much else. I’ve got a connection with a Professor at UW already as well. Also, I’ll commute there.</p>
<p>NJsue…“there is no such thing as a pre-med major” i totally agree with you …until yesterday… there are actually a few schools that offer a "pre-medicine BS degree… a person posted this on the medschool forum yesterday… i had never seen it before. 
[Major</a>, Program Goals, Educational Planning Materials, & Forms — Eberly College of Science](<a href=“http://science.psu.edu/premed/majorinfo]Major”>http://science.psu.edu/premed/majorinfo)</p>
<p>^^Notre Dame offers a pre-health major…</p>
<p>But are there enough pre-meds who cannot think of anything else to major in (even biology) that colleges feel that offering a dedicated pre-med major will help them attract students?</p>
<p>ucbalumnus… at first i thought it was a bad idea to have a bs in premed… especially as so many students change their mind about medicine or cant get the grades needed to continue along that course…but it does say it prepares the student for continuing in a grad program. i wouldnt think there is a huge demand for it as med schools dont require a specific major… but i bet they get alot of hits from hs kids searching on google for schools with premed major</p>
<p>Yoshi, you may want to look more carefully at the midwestern LACs, where being Asian makes you a URM. They all have excellent sciences and will prepare you well for med schools (which are notoriously more interested in your GPA and MCAT score than the name of the school). </p>
<p>In addition to Grinnell, take a look at Carleton, Oberlin, and Macalester. Lots of cross-applicants between these schools.</p>
<p>Also, do a search on this site for threads with ‘pre-med’ in the title. You will learn a great deal that will be helpful to you.</p>
<p>@parent56: … which is why it may be a bad choice going for that premed major.</p>
<p>@M’s Mom: Thanks for the info, I did not know that. Is it true for all midwestern LACs? Yes, I know that med schools are all about GPA/MCAT, which is why I believe going to a LAC is as good as going to a well-sized research private Uni.</p>
<h2>Carleton+Oberlin are partner schools for Questbridge, so I’ll try applying. What does cross-applicant mean?</h2>
<p>After going through net price calcs for all the colleges on my list, I’ve decided to take out Whitman. Carroll College seems way too expensive as well for a safety, so I will probably take that out as well. Unsurprisingly, Stanford’s net price is very low. Surprisingly, it’s even lower than UW (By 2k)!</p>
<p>Yoshi, Agree, Asians amay get an admissions boost at Midwestern LACs and also in the South (like Rhodes) and rural colleges in the Northeast (like Williams, Amherst, Hamilton, Middlebury). All of these have excellent academics and good medical school advising, though the NE schools only offer need based aid.</p>
<p>Because you are not an American citizen and need substantial aid you shouldn’t narrow your list too much. Maybe even double in quantity. Cast a wide net and include different parts of the country.</p>
<p>‘cross-applicants’ means kids who apply to say, Grinnell, often also apply to Oberlin, Carleton and Macalester. These schools are similar enough that if you liked one of them, you’ll probably be pretty happy at the others. There are lots of these little ‘clusters’ where people who apply to one school of a particular type, will usually apply to the others in that ‘cluster’ because they are similar in some meaningful way.</p>
<p>Ah, I see. Thank you.</p>
<p>Yoshi, </p>
<p>If you’re certain that UWash will accept you, then that part won’t be a problem</p>
<p>And, since you can commute to UWash if you get in then it sounds like cost won’t be too much of an issue. </p>
<p>I think commuting to UWash will still have a COA of about $15k (tuition, fees, books, transportation/parking). If you and your family can pay for that, then great. If not, then that’s a problem.</p>
<p>Are your parents limiting the number of applications? Apps take a LOT of time (essays, etc), but the process is also costly once you add in sending scores and paying for CSS Profile. Figure about $100 per school. </p>
<p>Again, if you need to eliminate schools, take out those top schools (Stanford, Emory, etc) unless you raise your scores. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that as a pre-med student, you don’t want to be the student who “luckily got in”. If so, your classmates will be much stronger than you and you’ll have a much harder time emerging with the GPA needed for med school. The other pre-meds will have perfect-near-perfect stats and will be grabbing the A’s. If med school is the GOAL, then why set yourself up to a situation where your GPA may suffer? What’s better…a 3.2 GPA from Emory (that will likely keep you out of med school) or a 3.8 GPA from, say, UWash?</p>
<p>.</p>