Coursework
AP: world history, calc ab, Spanish language & culture
Dual enrollment - I started an early college program this year (11th grade) so all my classes are at local cc and I will graduate with over 60 credits and an associates
sem 1 - English 1, personal finance & economics, calculus 2, career success skills elective (required)
sem 2 - calc 3, microbiology, English 2, African American history
next year (planned)
sem 1 - gender studies literature, intro psych, college chem 1, cell/molecular bio
sem 2 - honestly have no idea rn, probably: gym class, anatomy and physiology?, genetics?, journalism?
Awards: will probably only use top 5, maybe #7 if I don’t use skating awards
US figure skating 2x gold medalist (might not use idk?)
seal of biliteracy
national merit (commended at least, 50/50 shot at semifinalist)
state science entrepreneurship comp top 10/finalist
hosa state qualifier
AP scholar
speech competition grade representative (or amc 10 best score in grade?)
deans list at cc
NHS and phi theta kappa
Extracurriculars - in an early college program so in school ecs are kind of limited (will put in additional info section)
synchronized skating & figure skating (might be captain) - 20hrs/week - national champion and 2x national qualifier (synchronized), state champ, us figure skating double gold medalist (based on passing tests - kind of like black belt in karate), featured ~6x on local/state news
varsity and club soccer (might be captain)- 12hrs/week - 3rd in state 20XX, 5th in state 20XX, 9th in state 20XX, varsity starter, regional travel club team
job as pharmacy technician - 8 hrs/week - self-explanatory
research project - 6 hrs/week - nothing fancy literally just a literature review on a drug that could be used for cancer treatment that I’m writing with english prof at cc
figure skating coaching job - 4 hrs/week - self-explanatory - coach in group lessons and private lessons. also coach adaptive (for kids with disabilities) and I’ve coached and choreographed for groups in my rink’s yearly show
public health type club - founding member (does that even count tbh?) - helped advocate for an successfully pass school board policy surrounding school lunches and water access
hosa - state qual in one of most competitive events
math team - placed 4th in city as sophomore, highest varsity team
school newspaper - write articles? idk what else to say
THIS IS ME MANIFESTING THAT I GET ACCEPTED TO THE CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAM I APPLIED TO its literally so good - paid, at local (pretty good) school, kind of unknown so i think i have a good chance but i did already get rejected from one program so expectations are kind of low. if i don’t get accepted hopefully i get accepted to one of the other 4 programs i applied to - most are virtual tho
things I applied to and am waiting to hear back about
girls state
cancer research program paid in person
virtual unpaid research internship (more public health)
in person public health internship (paid)
online biology research program (free)
Essays/LORs/Other (Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
LORs:
Teacher 1: calc 2 prof - really nice and she liked me a lot, wrote my lors for 3 summer programs (100% will use her if i get in to programs)
Teacher 2: mentoring my research project! also participated in her class a lot and she likes me
Teacher 3: microbiology prof - i don’t participate that much in class but it is a large class and short lecture period (literally an hour once a week cause its technically hybrid) but i might be doing a research project with her over the summer so that would def help
Other 1: skating coach - known for like 10 years, very close
Other 2: if i get a research internship this summer ill prob get an LOR from my advisor
Cost Constraints / Budget (High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Estimated EFC is ~40k so most OOS publics are off list unless they give good merit aid
parents haven’t decided on budget yet but I’d be expecting close to 40k-50k Schools
Safety: Michigan state, loyola Chicago, Miami ohio (presidential scholarship would likely make this a reach), simmons (kotzen scholarship would likely make this a reach)
Likely: UW Madison, sarah lawrence, uconn
Match: brandeis, bryn mawr
Reach: tufts, barnard, Wellesley, Dartmouth, northeastern, brown, boston college, boston university (maybe)
Other info
Would like to go to a smaller school or larger school with honors college for smaller learning community. not too small tho, def has to be larger than my high school (2k students). I’m also interested in womens colleges and liberal arts schools.
Would like a couple more matches so please suggest some.
I also would like to be within 1.5 hours of Boston (the closer, the better) or 3 hours of NYC or 1 hour from Chicago (I’d like to continue synchronized skating and these locations are where the teams I’m aiming for are at.
I think you have a good mix of schools in terms of selectivity. Academically, your safeties should be safe for you - if you have a $40k budget Miami of Ohio should be affordable for you even without the Presidential Scholarship (even OOS as you should be eligible for very generous merit). For your reaches, I would run a NPC at each school since the amount it comes up with is often different than the EFC from FAFSA (sometimes it’s a lot more) - I’d only apply to those reaches where the NPC shows that you will come in around budget. Among your reaches I say your chances would be greatest at BC, BU and Northeastern – ED would help at any of these.
I would definitely include the fact that you’ve been on a national championship team (2x!). It shows your commitment to your sport. Also, you will want to have one recommendation from a STEM teacher (science, technology, engineering, math) and one from a humanities teacher (think English, social studies, etc). Most schools don’t want two recommendations from the same overarching umbrella.
Although you expressed your willingness to be up to 3 hours away from some of these metros, I kept all of my recommendations within 50 miles (minimize the commute). Some are low probability admits for everyone while others are extremely likely admits. I’m hesitant to term any as a “match” for a number of reasons, including because admissions are becoming increasingly competitive at a rapid pace. For instance, at the College of the Holy Cross, it had a 43% acceptance rate for the fall of 2021, a 36% acceptance rate for the fall of 2022, and a 21% acceptance rate for the fall of 2023 (source).
CHICAGO (distances are from the 60618 zip code and I think you’d get generous merit from all three)
Lake Forest (IL): You can take public transportation to get into Chicago, but it’s in a lovely area with a strong neuroscience program and a major in biochemistry and microbiology. It’s a little smaller than you’re aiming for, as it has about 1700 students, but as you’re probably going to visit schools in Chicago anyway, I would definitely give this one strong consideration. This one’s 22 miles from 60618.
North Central (IL): This school is slightly larger, with about 2400 undergrads. It’s 26 miles from 60618 and I think would pair well with your interests.
Valparaiso (IN) This is another smaller school, and this one definitely tends to lean toward the STEM-y fields, though there are certainly many other options here. This school is 45 miles from 60618.
BOSTON (distances are from the 02062 zip code)
Stonehill (MA): About 2400 undergrads and 10.9 miles from 02062
Providence (RI): About 4200 undergrads and 27.6 miles from 02062
Clark (MA): About 2300 undergrads and 31.5 miles from 02062.
College of the Holy Cross (MA): About 3k undergrads and 31.5 miles from 02062
Merrimack (MA): About 4100 undergrads and 34.8 miles from 02062
NEW YORK CITY (distances are from 10011 zip code)
Columbia: If you’re thinking about Barnard, this is another way to get a bite at the apple, as the two schools are extremely integrated. 5.4 miles from 10011.
Seton Hall (NJ): About 6100 undergrads and 13.6 miles from 10011
SUNY Purchase (NY): About 3400 undergrads and 25.5 miles from 10011
Rutgers - New Brunswick (NJ): I’ve heard it’s very difficult to get into their honors program, but if you do, this would be an option to consider. About 36k undergrads and29.4 miles from 10011
Princeton (NJ): 5300 undergrads and 44 miles from 10011
Fairfield (CT): 4600 undergrads and 48.3 miles from 10011
Sorry, I forgot to clarify that I will be 100% putting it in my EC description so I wasn’t sure if I should also include it on my awards list. Another clarification - this is actually referring to a gold medal in moves in the field and ice dance, both earned by passing tests (kind of like a black belt in karate). I am, however, a national champion in synchronized skating (team sport).
Thanks for clarifying - assuming an AO might be as ignorant in your sport as I am, I agree.
If the “Gold-Medal” level is a non-competitive “rating”, then I would probably use the National Championship status. I’m in no way discounting the Gold-Medal achievement and the excellence for which it is awarded, however, I’m a little worried that a reader could be taken aback, if they realize only later that the meaning of “US 2x Gold Medalist” wasn’t what it had implied to them.
PS - I do think given your strong STEM factors, having the Seal of Biliteracy does speak to your diverse, strong abilities in other areas. And, possibly being selected by your school for Girls State adds yet another facet.
I don’t think awards are overly important - but in this case I would list it - and you can clarify your accomplishments in the EC. Not many can say they are a 2x time gold medalist.
I like it - but you have small and then huge - which do you prefer, etc. I would say huge with Honors is still huge. So a Miami might be better than Michigan State. A Delaware or UVM or Binghamton or Pitt or Nebraska might be better than Wisconsin or Michigan State.
But then you say you want bigger than 2K and list Sarah Lawrence with 1529, Bryn Mawr with 1,425, and Wellesley with just over 2K.
This is especially true if OP does turn out to qualify for National Merit, which would put her in the running for their full tuition scholarship. Not all NMS will receive the full tuition scholarship, but about 70% do, and I think being from the Midwest might help. And a few even get the Cuniffe (full tuition, fees, room, board, plus a stipend.)
This is a very significant accomplishment. This shows an ability to focus over a long period of time and to work very well with a team of people. Focusing over a period of time, committing to goal and accomplishing it, and working well with others are all skills that will help a premed student significantly. If you end up getting accepted to and graduating from medical school, these skills will have helped you just as much as your academic strength.
As a premed student certainly try to watch the budget for your bachelor’s degree. If you can get a bachelor’s degree with no debt that will help quite a bit in the long run.
Premed is a huge commitment in two ways. One is academics – premed classes can be very demanding and tend to be full of very strong students (both daughters had majors that overlapped a lot with premed requirements). Also, premed students need to get quite a bit of experience in a medical environment. You would need to be very energetic and very committed to keep up with this and also have time to continue synchronized skating while you are in classes.
Wouldn’t AP Spanish be the highest level? You can top it off by passing your biliteracy exam - but the next step is college?
My daughter did both, tested out of the 101 class for college, and any subsequent courses she took were no longer about Spanish “language skills”, they were courses taught in Spanish about “arbitrary” hispanic (social, cultural, historical,…) topics.
I’m thinking yes. If that’s the case, and this was completed in 10th grade, there is no reason this kid needs FL in grades 11 and 12 for college admissions.
I’m sure OP aware but Miami of Ohio has one of if not the best Synchronized skating in the country. Doesn’t meet the geographic criteria but it has a great Ice facility and a national championship caliber team. I know they competed in an international competition this year.
The campus is absolutely gorgeous and and as a median size public has pretty much every major you could want. They also take AP credits which allows you to satisfy Gen Ed requirements and/or double major etc.
As @Thorsmom66 says The also provide great merit money. Tuition and room and board stay the same every year.
My Sophomore daughter is currently attending with a Tuition plus scholarship ($38,000 a year). Because of the flexibility with the AP credits she has been able to switch majors 2 times and is now majoring in Data science with a double minor in Finance and CS. Most importantly she loves it.
I would strongly encourage you to take a serious look at Miami of Ohio