Chance an URM rising junior for a few schools :))

Chance Me / Match Me!
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You need to continue to take the most rigorous classes offered as a Jr and Sr as well, if you want the best chance at your matches and reaches(which are essentially all reaches anyway, and could be out of reach completely if you forego your school’s hardest classes). Just because DE classes are commonly taken at your school does not make them a good choice for colleges where acceptance is uncommon.

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If you are low income, pick your public schools carefully. Your in state and maybe UVA and UNC.

If $65k or below, take a look at questbridge. And schools that meet full need.

You listed many but there are more.

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A few things to be aware of:

  1. Women are not underrepresented in biology.
  2. College courses taken while in high school are included in your college record when applying to medical schools. So A (or A+) grades in them will preload your college GPA favorably, but B+ or lower grades will preload your college GPA unfavorably, for medical school applications.
  3. Medical schools may dislike taking pre-med science courses (like biology, chemistry, physics, math) at community colleges, though if you are a biology major, you should be mitigating that with upper level biology courses.
  4. However, if you have to repeat those college courses because your eventual college does not accept those college courses taken while in high school for subject credit, you will have to mark “repeated” on the medical school application, which looks bad there.
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I agree your matches are reaches in this new environment. Do yourself a favor. Talk to the Michigan AO for your school. Ask about your plan for taking cc courses VS your schools most rigorous classes. They will know your school well. Get an opinion on that plus it’s a nice early reach and contact. Your schools dynamics might be much different from then people here think. Also taking just Michigan as an example how many students get accepted to Michigan yearly and how many go? Find this out for each of your schools your applying to. Your schools history does count.

You will need higher then 1400+.Your goal is a 34 Act or Equivalent. Regardless of being URM you want to use that as an add on not a crutch.
Ecs won’t make up for grades etc. You have to take the most rigorous classes that you can do well in. You are judged by others in your school. If your avg student gets a 1380 sat and your getting a 1500+.That makes you stand out. Taking more then the minimal classes offered, makes you stand out. Working is more important then some of your Ecs actually. Your essay counts. Knowing your story can actually help you.

Good Luck

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Around 10 students get into Michigan per year, and most of them have 3.5-3.8 gpas. As for the SAT, I plan on studying more for it and raising my score, but it’s harder to do that since I won’t know all of the math the test until the end of august. Thanks for your reply!

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Could anyone comment on my chances for UChicago, or NU? Currently, they are both one of my top choices.

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Are you from Michigan? Look at State, Western, etc.

You’d be TO at both Chicago and Northwestern.

As others have said, your matches are reaches so these two are highly unlikely. But we are not AOs.

The only match I think you have a solid chance at is Mac. Maybe NEU or BU with an ED.

Have you looked at Questbridge? The average SAT is far lower for these same schools. Also some schools offer fly in visits for URM students.

You should look into these.

Shoot for the stars but make sure you have two safeties that you can afford and could be happy at.

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That’s a good number but do you know how many actually accept and go? That number is more important. What State are you in? This all helps to help you. I would confirm from a counselor those accepted unweighted gpas. Don’t use Naviance. Most schools don’t update it.

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I live in Chicago both are hard gets for instate kids, so again, what are the stats history of your schools acceptance to these schools? Also my sons school is a feeder to both (or used to be…)

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For Chicago and NU, typically 3-6 people go there from my school per year and the admits/people who attend have very similar grades to mine- (3.8- mid 3.9). My school is pretty grade deflated.

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That’s good. The commonality between these 3 schools is that they expect you do do well with the most rigorous classes. They are also high interest schools. They want to know you want to go there. Chicago is extremely different then those 2 others. Each campus is really different also. Culture and fit are really different also…
…

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In the end, nothing anyone tells you on here regarding your odds matters. Only what the schools say matters.

Thus is why you need a list of match, target, and safety. Most on here have said your match are reach.

I’d heed that advice and ensure you get ‘safety’ schools you can afford and thrive at. That’s most important.

Then you apply to your desired schools and hope.

But no one here can truly answer these questions. But if you get the same response from many, I’d assume it’s a likely outcome.

You could over analyze to crazy levels but it doesn’t change anything regarding your likely situation and that’s what you are hoping for.

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Financial screening is crucial here. OP, have you run the net price calculator for UMich? They do give need-based aid for low-income OOS students, but we don’t know whether the aid would be sufficient for your particular profile until you run the numbers. The “chances” conversation is moot if you can’t afford to go there.

Same with Northeastern. They meet full need, but whether the family contribution that their formula produces is actually viable for your family is an absolutely critical question. If the NEU EFC is too high, merit aid won’t help, because the merit award will not “stack” with need-based aid - you will have to pay your EFC. For some families, that is fine, and for others, NEU’s formula just isn’t generous enough.

The even bigger financial screening question, with regard to the overall process, is whether you qualify for Questbridge. If you do, and if you can get accepted as a Match candidate, it changes the whole nature of the application process. You submit a ranked list of up to 12 of their partner schools for the Match process. This would encompass most of your preferred reach schools all in one shot. (And the aid package if you match is the most generous, no-loan aid out there.) If you don’t Match, then you can apply to as many partner schools as you like through QB RD, and just being a QB applicant gives you an advantage above and beyond the URM hook.

Current QB Partners:

So, would you meet these criteria?: QuestBridge | National College Match: Who Should Apply

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Hi everyone,

I think that the replies have been very informative.
I’ll definitely consider applying to QB later this year. I had another question: are community college classes difficult? In addition to the courses I am taking (listed above), I am taking Spanish at my school and an act prep class as an elective. I also have a bunch of things going on during that semester (fall 2022) like extracurriculars, sports, my campaign, and being named to join a national council (didn’t list all of my extracurriculars because I felt like I listed too many things). Thanks again!!

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Assuming normal courses at the college (not “college in the high school”), then they will be like college, because they are college. Expect less class time (other than lab courses) but a greater expectation of out-of-class work and time management, compared to high school. Also expect fewer larger assignments, projects, and tests, rather than the almost daily homework and frequent small quizzes in high school. In other words, it will be practice for the transition from high school to college, because it is college.

Whether the rigor level of the community college courses is high or low depends on the community college. You may want to look up the transfer credit listing for your state flagship university to see if they are considered rigorous enough to get subject credit there.

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As has been suggested already, that is not a “definite” for reach schools - they have to turn away 90-95% of applicants, most of which didn’t have to hope to compensate with ECs.

But, in that context, and since you are including Ivy Leagues in your lists, let me emphasize Barnard College at Columbia University, which has already been mentioned to you on the QuestBridge list.

Barnard is expressly seeking out exceptional young women, recently has been working to increase the share of women in sciences, is proud of its diversity, and does have a holistic admission that will look beyond grades (in fact, every year many best-grade applicants are surprised when not being offered admission, while otherwise outstanding young women with lesser stats are).
While “technically” a woman’s college (and first-year housing reflects this), the campus, classes, facilities, faculty, are all co-ed. You’ll be attending classes at Columbia University with the students of the other three undergraduate colleges, and making friends with them - except that you’ll have the backing of a college community, advisors, professors, who actively support strong women.
(It’s a little like being in a super-sized sorority in a co-ed University - without having to “deal with” greek life.)

If you get admitted to a reach school, your AP credits and college courses will likely not result in significant savings. They are worthwhile, because they will help getting you placed in a higher-level instead of entry class. They might help with fulfilling some general education requirements, but will not change the classes you’ll have to take for your major(s).
But, they will give you the freedom to take further/advanced classes towards your major, instead of trying to juggle the classes you want to take with the general education classes you still have to fit into the schedule.

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