Chance Me? (2022, Ivies and Others)

Demographics

  • US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: IL
  • Type of high school: Public (selective enrollment though)
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian (Jewish) Female

Intended Major(s)
Biology/Biochem/Molecular Biology/etc.

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 5.27
  • Class Rank: unknown
  • SAT: 1490 790M/700ERBW (Taking again in October though and hoping to improve ERBW)

Coursework

  • 11 AP Classes Taken/Taking Now: AP Human Geography (5), AP U.S. History (4), AP Statistics (5), AP Lang (4), AP Bio (5), AP Gov (5), AP Calc BC(5)- (5) AB subscore, AP Physics C: Mechanics (IP), AP Lit (IP), AP Computer Science Principles (IP), AP Studio Art (IP)

Awards

  • 2nd Place Math Award at Regionals
  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Honor Roll (4 years)
  • Art Publication in Blick Book

Extracurriculars

  • Math Club (Team Member)

  • Science Olympiad (Event Leader)
    *Ice Skating (no real awards or events though, mostly just for fun + not many opportunities bc Covid)

  • Art Club (President)

  • Illustrated 2 Children’s Books for a Published Author

  • Camp Counselor

  • Babysat full time during Covid

  • Volunteering(~100 hrs)

  • Should (Hopefully) be shadowing a physician senior year

Essays/LORs/Other

  • Essays: strongish?
  • LOR: probably average. Did all my work well + got A’s but didn’t talk a lot.

Cost Constraints / Budget
None

Schools
Brown -ED
Duke -RD
UPenn -RD
Cornell -RD
NYU -RD
Columbia -RD
MIT -EA
UMich -EA
UIUC -RD
Mcgill -RD
Northwestern -RD

UMKC -BS/MD program

Note: I am kind of legacy at Duke. My dad went his first yr of undergraduate but then transferred for financial reasons. I am definitely applying to a lot of reaches, but I’d be interested in hearing about what anyone thinks!

Just a few questions…Will you be submitting an art supplement? What level in foreign language have you reached? Are you taking a math class this year (this will be important for MIT)?

I’m not sure, but is it okay to ED to Brown and EA to MIT?

I think your odds are slim everywhere except UIUC and that’s ok. I’d add another “safety” to ensure you have options. Next I would say are Michigan and then NYU - likely. Not sure about McGill. The SAT is an issue but even if it wasn’t it’d be tough. At least the math is high. You might apply TO to the Ivies - but maybe not. It’s borderline but again the math is strong.

You’ve done a great job and will have great opportunities.

While you have no cost constraints, are your parents desiring to spend $80K a year - vs. say an Arizona or Alabama that are getting tons of Ivy Caliber kids and you can spend $22K, etc.?

Looking at your list, I’d add a Purdue or OSU or UMN or a Miami Ohio which is strong for pre-med and has great merit. - just another “comfort” to go along with UIUC. Pitt is another with wonderful medical facilities nearby. Well if it were me, I’d take advantage of what you’ve done and go for the money because after college you’ll have grad school…and bio majors - are not highly paid…so the ROI isn’t there otherwise.

As it sounds like med school may be in your future, you might want to look at some LACs that are strong in prep as well - and you might see some merit…such as a Macalester or a Kenyon or Dennison.

Good luck.

I would add a safety or two and maybe a low match.

Maybe look at University of Rochester, Wisconsin, and Purdue?

Agree with the other posters above. Look for colleges which are cheap, and you can get as high of an undergrad GPA as possible. This will set you up for medical school apps.

Unfortunately Duke will not consider you to be a legacy. They only consider kids whose parents have graduated from one of the undergrad or graduate divisions, or residency. I used to be an alumni interviewer, and they will not flag your application as legacy unfortunately.

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