<p>Okay, so I'm not the smartest person ever. I do make straight A's and have a 3.9 unweighted GPA, but for some reason I only made a 1200 on the SAT (610-Reading/590-Math). I just took the ACT, so I do not know that score yet, although I'm hoping for a 26 or above. </p>
<p>Everyone on here seems to be geniuses (32-35 on ACTs/ 1400 on SATs?? geez.) ... therefore they basically have the ability to get into any college they desire. THIS brings me too my question.</p>
<p>I know I will not be able to get into any Ivy League Schools; What are my best options?
The colleges need to be in the South/Southeast area of the US with pretty good premed/biology/science programs, I know UNC is probably my biggest reach (almost a dream), are there any schools I might be overlooking?</p>
<p>Should we assume you are in-state for Texas schools? And with your GPA an auto-admit? Lots of pre-meds get great educations at UT and A+M and Tech. Those are the obvious choices. </p>
<p>Depending on finances …Austin College, Southwestern, and Trinity have good pre-med programs or if LAC’s are too small …bigger Texas private schools like Baylor, SMU, and TCU get lots of kids into med schools. </p>
<p>Lots of choices at your stat level and maybe you’ll surprise yourself with the ACT.</p>
<p>Actually I have residence in Texas and in South Carolina, so either would be in-state. I am considering UT at Austin and Baylor, I figured there might be a few colleges that were not well-known yet have good pre med, but I was overlooking. I haven’t heard of Trinity surprisingly so I’ll look into it.</p>
<p>All are good. Go to the cheapest one where you would feel comfy, continue getting your straight A’s, participate in EC’s, get decent MCAT and you will be all set. The name of your UG school will not be significantly important. Having great 4 years at college that matches your personality will make you happy for 4 years of your life.</p>
<p>Okay so, say I went to the University of South Carolina; How likely would it be that I could get into UNC or Duke Med school? Because I’m mainly worried about where I can get accepted into Medical School.</p>
<p>Depends chiefly on your GPA, MCAT scores, and extracurriculars. The name-branding of your school (or lack thereof) is usually not a critical factor in helping (or hurting) you.</p>
<p>With that said, almost nobody gets into Duke or UNC’s medical school anyway (their admissions percentages are probably around 4%), whether or not they go to a state school.</p>
<p>So what’s the big deal about getting into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, etc. for the pre-med path? If it doesn’t matter where the undergrad diploma is from then why such a big emphasis on it? Wouldn’t it make sense to focus on med school…</p>
<p>I recommend that you stay in Texas for college. South Carolina has two med sch: USC and MCSC. Texas has nine and the acceptance rate for instate residents is very favorable. Due to the size of the schools, the highest number of students in any med sch class would be from UT and A&M. But there are lots of students from smaller Texas colleges. These schools may not be known at UNC or Duke.
My wife went to University of Houston for a full ride. She chose it over Rice and ended at Southwestern. I have a friend who went to Trinity, then Baylor Med and got into Opthalmology.
The difficulty getting into colleges in Texas is not that great: UT Austin, El Paso, Dallas, Arlington vs. Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, HBU, SMU, Trinity, Austin College. I have friends who went on from Lamar and Hardin Simmons to UT Houston. I know guys who went on from Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin to UTMB.
The medical school acceptance rate can be skewed: some schools discourage less qualified students from applying. Rice includes everybody in their statistics. One problem in big schools is you may not be able to get the classes that you want. Honors Program like at U of Houston corrects this. But your GPA may be lower due to advanced classes you are required to take, while getting a degree from the same institution.
So stay in Texas. Tuition is cheaper, competition is less intense and the med sch are outstanding (particularly Southwestern and Baylor).
Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Might be difficult burden of proof for med school admissions…and some undergrad schools that will ask not only where you reside but if from a divorced family, where does the primary source of income reside?</p>
<p>I fully agree with the statement about utilizing Texas residency for Med school applications…SC only has two schools and neither is as highly rated as the top Texas schools. You can go to school anywhere and it won’t hurt you for admission to Texas schools as long as you do all the things necessary to be a competitive applicant for most schools.</p>
<p>This is the list of undergrad schools for the current group of M1s at UTSW; it’s pretty geographically diverse but remember that 90% of those on this list are Texas residents by law.</p>
<p>Austin College
Baylor University
Brandeis University
Brigham Young University
Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Emory University
Harvard University
Hendrix College
Houghton College
Howard University
Johns Hopkins University
LSU Baton Rouge
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mercer University
Princeton University
Rice University
Sarah Lawrence College
Southern Methodist University
St Mary’s University
Stanford University
SUNY Binghamton
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University Commerce
Texas Christian University
Texas Tech University
Trinity University – Texas
United States Military Academy
University of Alabama
University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
University of British Columbia
University of California Berkeley
University of Connecticut
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii at Hilo
University of Houston
University of Illinois-Urbana/Champagne
University of Kansas – Lawrence
University of Montana
University of North Texas
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma – Norman
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of St Thomas
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at Tyler
University of the South
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Washington University – St Louis
West Texas A&M University
Wichita State University
Willamette University
Yale University</p>