Chance for Penn, Duke, JHU, Georgetown, UNC OOS, etc?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I will be starting senior year.

Resident of Pennsylvania
White
Male
First generation and the first person in my family to not work in a factory nearby. Plan on using that, along with other struggles throughout high school in my essay. I believe they show a lot of personal growth, and how I have had to work for everything I have ever gotten.
My family income is around 35k. So I don’t know if that is low income, middle class, idk.

I have a 4.3201/5 weighted gpa
I have a 3.8875/4 unweighted gpa

Freshman year course: honors science, advanced computer tech, honors us history, honors algebra, honors English, honors Spanish, gym, and honors geometry.
Sophomore year course: honors bio, honors chem, honors alg 2, honors world history, honors Spanish 2, gym, honors pre-calc, and honors English.
Junior year course: honors Spanish 3, honors English, honors anatomy 1, honors chem 2, honors anatomy 2, honors psychology, honors government and civics, and gym.
Prospective senior year course: AP Calc, College English, College stats, College bio, AP Euro History, Honors economics, College history sem, College Spanish.
That is the most rigorous schedule possible. I am taking every AP and college level class my school offers.
Class Rank: I think I am around 7-10/354. Top 5%

SAT 1: 710 in Critical Reading, 730 in Math, and 610 in Writing, for a 2050 composite score. Writing was my highest in prep so that should rise. I also didn’t have a calculator for the math section and only got like 2/3 questions wrong so I think that should rise.
My practice tests have me getting about a 730 in CR 760 in M and 710 in WR for a 2200 composite score.
SAT 2: Haven’t taken yet…but I think I will take Math 2, Literature, and Biology (M)
ACT: Haven’t taken and don’t plan to take.

I have around 300 hours of volunteer work from tutoring and as a camp counselor for my school’s 6th graders. I also am a mentor to 9th graders.
Other EC’s are FBLA (2 years), Student Council (2), Science Olympiad (2), NHS (2), Varsity golf (4), Varsity Lacrosse (2) JV Lacrosse (1), black-belt in tae-kwon-do after 5 years, and People to People Student Ambassador Program, for which I raised $7,000 for my trip myself.

Recommendation wise I am getting the teacher who taught me for Biology, both Anatomy classes, and will be my teacher for College level Bio. He is the best teacher I have ever had, and is the person who has been a major motivating and influential factor in my interest in medicine. I will also get my counselor who can attest to how I have matured and grown up over my high school years. I fully expect both of their letters to be fantastic.

I would like to major in either Biology or Business management. I plan on moving toward either Medical school to be a surgeon or law school to specialize in corporate law. I don’t have direct experience in any debate club or anything, but I have shadowed my DA several times and am getting volunteer at my local hospital set up.

So here are the schools:

Penn
Duke
JHU
Georgetown
UNC (OOS) My aunt attended UNC Charlotte for her MBA and knows a lot of people at admissions for CH so hopefully that helps
Boston College
BU
Northeastern
Pitt

If you have any other suggestions let me know. Preferably schools that are either cheap, or have good financial aid.

Thanks for any responses guys.

Also for those who have already seen I did this same thread a few days ago but I already bumped it a bunch of times so I just decided to start a new discussion.

2

Good chances for all of them, given your hook. Apply ED Penn, and you have a very good shot of getting in. Make sure you tell your story in your essays.

3

Look at schools that are very generous to those with family incomes under 60,000.

4

Thanks so much puzzled!!! Yeah I am still deciding between Penn and Duke ED, but I think I will go Penn. And yeah I definitely will mention my story.

Thanks for the response ClarinetDad16. Yeah I love UNC and Penn because they are incredible for low income families. I had to get rid of NYU for that reason. Do you happen to have any suggestions for other schools to look at?

5

http://www.firstgenerationstudent.com/find/29-elite-colleges-can-actually-afford/

6

Thanks a lot Clarinetdad!

7

I’d take a look Rice University. Great campus and excellent pre-med preparation. Very good financial aid.

These schools will give great financial aid:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

I’m not sure you will get the financial aid you need at Boston University and Northeastern. Research their aid policies as policies do change.

Are you a possible NMSF?

8

To txstella, what is Houston like? I’ve never been and I don’t really know much about it. Thanks for the list of schools. I’m not really sure if I am a NMSF or not…

Thanks for the response

9

Houston is a big, spread out city. There are lots of suburban neighborhoods. Rice is located south of downtown in a very nice part of town and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. There are nice residential neighborhoods on two sides and an upscale shopping/eating area on one side. Rice is close to museums, too. There is a transit train that stops close to the campus and goes downtown.

Houston is incredibly diverse. And there are all types of restaurants. People from all over the world live in Houston and there is a very large Asian population. This diversity is one of the cool things about Houston IMO.

The weather in the summer is hot and humid…pretty terrible but the fall, winter and spring are nice. Houston is flat, and, while there are pretty areas, it is not known for being scenic. The coast is about an hour away.

Look at the photos of Rice online. It is a very nice place to spend 4 years.

10

@Jensen41 Why would you want to stay in Pennsylvania for college? Apply ED to Duke and experience living in a different part of the country.

11

Txstella,thanks for the review and explanation, I will definitely look into it more.

To nerdychica, I can see where you are coming from. But I also live in a really small town of a population of about 3000 so going to live in a big city like Philly would be a completely different experience.

12

@Txstella, Rice is a great suggestion.

13

your stats are so so so similar to mine lol im applying to s lot of the same schools you are; yes 35k is a low income my parents got an income cut to about the same level this year

14

That’s cool that we are so similar pearmetty. Any other schools you are applying to that I don’t have listed?

15

Did you take the PSAT as a junior - and if so what was your score (out of 240)?

16

186

17

As a sophomore I scored a 162, then a 186 as a junior, then a 2050 on my actual test. At that rate I would score around a 2250. And that is without any extra prep. This summer I have prepped a little every day.

18

Some people here recommend you apply ED to Penn and Duke, but because your income is a bit on the low side, I’d advise that you either apply early or RD if you wish to compare financial aid packages. Duke meets full demonstrated need for people accepted ED, but not sure about Penn.

19

I know Penn claims to meet full demonstrated need, and I assume it would be the same for early decision applicants. If I am incorrect please correct me. I don’t see why it would be different. And also if they don’t give me good aid I would be able to get out of the commitment wouldn’t I? I hope it wouldn’t come to that though.

20

@Jensen41 At your income, it is very likely that you will get a full ride. Also, ED agreements can be broken in cases of demonstrated financial need. Apply ED- it greatly boosts your admission chances.