Hi all. I am planning on applying for the 2024 fall semester. I will appreciate your time and feedback on my chances:
STATS:
Female/White
First American Generation
Attends Public School in Nashville TN
IB - International Baccalaureate Graduate
UW GPA: 4.00/4.00
W GPA: 4.95
APs: 1
Honors: 13
AP/IB: 15
Dual Enrollment: 1
Spanish Honor Society (11-12)
National Honor Society (12) - offered only in 12th grade
The Seal of Biliteracy
Extracurriculars:
Hospital Volunteer (3 years)
Habitat of Humanity - house building for the people in need
Red Cross Blood Drive
HOSA Club Member (3 years)
*3 Research projects in medical field from two universities in Nashville (Belmont and Vandy)
Additional community involvement (support children with motor and cognitive disorders, food drives)
Shadowing a doctor (dentist)
Work - office assistant for a local company
Major applying to: Health and Science Path / Biology Major / Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
You didn’t mention budget. Current estimated cost of attendance for OOS students for the UCs is $73,626. UCs provide little/no financial aid for OOS students.
UCD and UCSD are very different. Why did you choose them?
seems to me you are a strong applicant. I don’t think the shadowing is a hugely impressive EC, but research projects and work experience prob are. and your grades and course rigor seem great.
I think you will get into UW and GW and UCD for sure. Probably with merit $ from GW.
UCSD is still a match but not guarantee.
And UNC is a reach OOS for anyone but you never know- might depend on your high schools track record with them.
It’s great that $70-80k is doable for your family (is it doable without loans)? If you are interested in pre-med, you may want to think about higher education costs on an 8-year timeline rather than a 4-year timeline. For instance, estimates for the cost of medical school are expected to be close to $100k/year by the time you’re in medical school. So, if you have $300k for undergrad ($75k/year for 4 years) plus $400k for medical school ($100k/year for 4 years) then you’re looking at $700k in costs. Although merit aid is available for undergrad, the main way to afford medical school is via loans or through financial help from your family.
Thus, I would urge you to have a conversation with your family to see if they’re willing to pay $700k for your higher education. If they are not, ask if they would be willing to use any “savings” from your undergrad to help you pay for medical school. You can get to medical school from any accredited college in the country. They will care about your GPA (especially in your prereqs for med school) as well as your MCAT scores and health-related experiences. The name on your diploma will count for relatively little, so it’s a good place to save some money, if it’s needed.
This article might be helpful for you to read and is designed for high schoolers thinking about pre-med. Though I disagree with its idea that history is an easy major, the general gist of the article is helpful in pointing out common misconceptions: High School
Merit is more likely at colleges you are “overqualified” for.
Also, medical or other health professional school is expensive. If you choose a lower cost undergraduate school, will you have more money for medical or other health professional school?
These are for the whole campus. Different divisions or majors may have different levels selectivity (usually, engineering and computer science majors are more selective).
Adding to the COA is that UCSD only guarantees on campus housing first two years. Areas around UCSD will be quite pricey. You may end up miles from campus needing a car. Good luck.