Chance! I need your honest opinions!

Student Lounge African-American Students
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<p>Hello all!, Let's get started!</p>

<p>First semester of freshman year I didn't do too hot( how may times have you heard that?). I got 2 Cs(Gasp<em>), a D( Super gasp</em>), and 4 Bs.</p>

<p>There is a story behind this( my counselor wrote about it in her recommendation) The second semester of my freshman year I got straight As and one B.</p>

<p>Sophomore year, straight As</p>

<p>Junior year I got straight As. </p>

<p>I'm expecting the same for senior year, but the obvious concern is with the first semester of freshman year. I do have some pretty good extracurricular and community service hours 1000+ and some rewards here and there.</p>

<p>Basically I want you all to tell me what do you think my chances are of getting in a top school, it doesn't necessarily have to Ivy leagues. </p>

<p>I am an African american( like all of us lol)
First Generation
Income about 20,000 with 6 in the house hold(me included, not sure if that's a hook or not)
I go to what would be considered a "bad" school, so I don't know if i'll be looked down upon because of that.
School's average ACT is a 15( I know...)
I am taking dual-enrollment and PSEO( I know this isn't a hook)
My GPA uw is a 3.7( I am ranked 1 in my class of 114)</p>

<p>I will be taking SAT2s soon. I would have already but my counselors don't inform students of this because, well, look at my school's average ACT score again. So I'm just now finding out about the test.</p>

<p>Alright, that's about it. The story behind those bad grades is a rather simple one. I had an abusive Uncle. I was going to just give up ( as you can tell from my grades) but I knew if I didn't man up then my siblings would never have a positive role model in their life and I couldn't let my circumstances affect their future, so I did what I had to do and got my grades together. I know no one here will be able to tell "exactly" what my chances are, but I am still interested in hearing your thoughts.</p>

<p>And last but not least, I ask to be chance for top college only because I don't want to go to another below average school. Throughout high school I come to realize that there are other high schools out there offering more advance classes and a better education. I want courses that are actually hard to get an A in( I got A's doing dual enrollment and I felt that those As were the first REAL As that I've ever gotten; I enjoyed the challenge). I'd like to hear where you think I'd fit in( I do have colleges in mind but I want YOUR opinion). And please, be as honest and brutal as possible. I want only the truth.</p>

<p>I applied to OSU(accepted), UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard(SCEA, so I will find out next possibly), Miami-Oh, University of Miami, and Howard so far. Do you all have any "match" colleges I should consider looking into( I'm interested in majoring in Biology)? Thanks in advance! </p>

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<p>Congratulations on what you have accomplished. You did not mention an ACT or SAT I score which is necessary before anyone can offer any substantial advice. Also, what is you home state, CA?</p>

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<p>@planner03‌ I knew I was missing something lol. I scored a 27 and my home state is Ohio.</p>

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<p>For UCLA/UCB, you need an ACT of 31+ and a weighted GPA of 4.2+ to be a competitive applicant. UC’s do not take race into consideration. Also they give little to no financial aid to OOS students, so you will be expected to pay around $55K/year if you are accepted. You have accomplished much but you need to look at some more realistic schools in your home state, where your Stats would be above average.</p>

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<p>@Gumbymom‌ Ah I see, I had thought as much. Do you have any recommendation? I applied to OSU( accepted) and Miami-Oh( I’m sure I’ll be accepted). So far I may be going to OSU if I can’t get accepted to a better school( I visited there a few times and had a “ehh” sort of feeling). I may able to case western also.</p>

<p>Money-wise, I’m applying for a load of scholarships, but that in itself is unpredictable also. </p>

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<p>@Jalaquan: I am sorry that I cannot give you any recommendations for schools in Ohio. I am a California native and most of the research I have done on colleges have been in California for my sons. I am sure there are several posters on CC that could help. Good Luck to you.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information! </p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>First of all congratulations on your “stick-to-it-ness” You are a strong candidate for several schools. It seems like the key is your financial Aid package. Are you happy with OSU? If you tell us more about what you are looking for in a school we can be more helpful. Also I would not get caught up in “Chance Me”. I am guess your “bad” school of 114 does not offer as many academic opportunities as larger school districts. This is taken into consideration by admissions. The fact that you strive for excellence and reached #1 in your class speaks well of you. </p>

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<p>@justice66‌ Thanks! I am not completely excited about the idea of OSU, but I would not be completely unhappy if I went there. </p>

<p>Per request, I will tell a little about me. My ultimate goal is to become a physician specializing in pain management( so probably an anesthesiologist or internal medicine physician). I want to major in biology! I would prefer a suburban type of campus, but I do not mind urban( I have yet to visit a rural college campus, so I am not sure about rural as of right now). So basically, I would like to attend a college with a strong biological science program and a medical school nearby for internship/research opportunities( which is a reason I applied to OSU). I just feel that there may be a better fit somewhere else. I will continue searching in hopes that I find that fit, but I would still love more opinions! </p>

<p>Also, I will be applying for many scholarship. So a school with great aid is ideal also!</p>

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<p>Hey @Jalaquan‌! We have similar situations grade wise. I would make sure you found a way to weave your story into your essays. Also for schools to look at…I’m not sure how comfortable you are with a smaller school size but in Ohio I think Oberlin would be a great place to look at. It’s an excellent school (top ranked liberal arts) and I believe they give very generous financial aid packages and might even be 100% match.</p>

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<p>@midwestbandie‌ Thanks for the suggestion! I have heard about Oberlin before but didn’t look into it. I will be sure to do that today!</p>

<p>Anymore?</p>

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<p>@Jalaquan If you compose a new thread and post it over in the Parent’s forum your questions will be exposed to a much wider audience and I bet you will get a huge response. You will find very knowledgeable posters over there that can help you find appropriate schools academically, financially, and geographically. There are also biology/premed “experts” over there. You are really in a time crunch, so I suggest you give it a shot right away. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Try this link</p>

<p><a href=“Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;

<p>You may want to look at Vanderbilt, Fisk, University of Richmond, and Hampton. I believe you have a good shot at merit aid from some of the HBCUs. </p>

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<p>I’m a parent, and I have one. It is good to consider top colleges, but when financial aid is a concern, I agree with looking at the possibilities in your state. In general, state colleges can be expensive for out of state students. </p>

<p>The exception is when a student qualifies for merit aid. For this, a student needs to be at the top of the application pool. If you would consider other HBCU’s in addition to Howard, I have two suggestions: NCA&T and North Carolina Central, both in NC. According to the website at these colleges, you would be eligible for merit awards, but you need to apply soon because I think they are awarded until funds run out. Some are automatic but some require additional applications. Check the website or contact the schools for more info. </p>

<p>You can reach your goals of becoming a physician at either one of these colleges. They both have honors programs for good students and they are strong in the sciences and research. NCCU has a biomedical reasearch program. </p>

<p>Since time is of the essence, it would be good to apply to both ASAP. Once you have applied you can look at them further. You can also apply to any other colleges that interest you. In the end, you will see your choices and the final costs. You don’t have to choose until then. </p>

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<p>@Pennylane2011‌ I will apply to both universities tomorrow for sure! Thank you for the information you have provided! I hope my app will make it in time for the scholarship money(I might just submit them today instead because of the first come first served basis). Thanks again!</p>

<p>@justice66‌ I applied to Vanderbilt today due to there scholarship deadlines approaching so quickly (December 15), so thank you on suggesting that! However, I know Vanderbilt is a a hard school to get into, so I don’t know what to expect. I will look at the other colleges you have listed tomorrow as well. Thanks for the help and that link is great! lots of automatic scholarships. Thanks again!</p>

<p>@planner03‌ Good idea. I am going to do that right now!</p>

<p>If there is anyone watching this thread, please feel free to post. All the help is welcomed!</p>

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<p>I am glad that helped. Some of the NC A& T scholarships require an additional application. You can still apply as soon as you can to be considered automatically for some scholarships and then work on the others:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ncat.edu/admissions/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/fresh-students.html”>http://www.ncat.edu/admissions/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/fresh-students.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s great that you have Ohio State acceptance already. Also consider Berea College- it is a college that does not charge for students who qualify academically and financially- students work while attending. </p>

<p>You have worked very hard, so I hope you will have some good choices. </p>

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<p>@Jalaquan. I am proud of you and I wish you well. </p>