I am a senior in high school applying for colleges with an interest in going into the medical field. My stats are:
Ethnicity: Indian
Income level: middle class
1530 SAT- 790 math 740 reading
Bio sat- 770
Math sat- 760
Taking total of 9 AP’s including Bio, chem, physics; I’ve gotten AP scholar with distinction
Ranked #5 in my class
EC’s
-President of FBLA
-Treasurer of NHS
-Captain of the Tennis team
-Went to India for a volunteer medical internship for a month where I observed surgeries, shadowed doctors, learned small medical procedures, etc. I also organized a free medical camp for the community (writing my common app essay about that). Also went to a diagnostic lab and worked under a pathologist while I was there.
-Research assistant in India; work got published in an international research journal. (Work was about renewable energy and crop cultivation using the same piece of land)
-Shadowed a pulmonologist at a hospital
-Over 250 volunteer hours at a hospital working in patient transport
-Went to a one-week summer biomedical science program at Rutgers
-Active in a leadership position at my local temple (educating youth, organizing events, doing stage performances)
Does anyone think these stats are enough to get me into a BS/MD program or perhaps a top tier school like Johns Hopkins, Cornell, UCLA, Brown, etc.
Why is it so important for you to get into a tippy top school if you plan to apply to medical school in the future?
My opinion in terms of BS/MD. How long did you shadow this pulmonary care doctor? Have you done any work here with underserved populations? Trips abroad for medical service are not high on the list of things adcoms look at.
The acceptance rates at BS/MD programs is 5% or less of applicants. Apply and see…but realize that the odds are not in your favor.
It could happen, of course. Just be realistic. Browns pleme requires admission first. Pitt accepts 10 students. Georgetown and others are applications after first year.
Penn state etc are really hard too.
If you move down a supposed tier or two you could find some options, although tough admits would be target-Ish.
The top schools and most selective programs will be reaches for everyone and you are in the mix.
It will take some good fortune and great recommendations and a good personal statement. Supplements too. Make sure they well thought out and specific to that school. You’ll have to do a little research.
There are an awful lot of Indian kids who have a similar path in mind. So when it comes to college admissions, you will be lumped in with them. From a college adcom perspective, you look a lot like your peers.
Your grades and scores look fine, but I would suggest to highlight something interesting about yourself in the application. Something that makes people want to read more. It could be anything really. I would think twice about your essay topic. Mission related summer trips – these have become rather cliche lately. If your parents are doctors, this could come across as nepotism. Show another side of yourself that will make people take notice.
@sgopal2 I have tried to think of something else for my college essay but I’m afraid most of the topics that I could write about come off as cliche or boring as well. I’ve tried to lean towards addressing more of my personal growth, getting out of my comfort zone, and learning how to manage projects/events in my essay rather than focusing on the actual “medical mission trip” part as I am aware of the cliche that seems to have developed with those types of essays. Also my parents are both work in IT.
Yes. It is possible, but no sure thing. The most selective schools are just that—selective. And the top kids tend to apply to them. You certainly are right up there with them but, look at the acceptance stats.
Same with BA/MD programs. Even the ones without the name recognition you seek are highly selective in admissions. A friend’s son who was accepted to the likes of Harvard and Dartmouth was not accepted to such a program at Youngstown University.
You also might want to think long and hard about going to some of those combined programs if you don’t care for the undergraduate college involved.
Just make sure you have some good schools you like that are certain to take you and that are affordable along with such lottery tickets