I’m an African American female from GA who goes to a Title 1 school.
Intended Major: Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry (pre-med)
Class Rank: 1 out of about 600
GPA: 4.0
SAT: 1350* (will take again this fall) Will take Subject tests in US History, Biology, Chemistry (all will most likely be in 770-800 range)
APs:
9th: None
10th: Biology (4), World History (4)
11th: Language, Physics 1, Seminar, US History
ECs:
-President of HOSA (Healthcare club)
-Sophomore Ambassador of BETA
-Member of Environmental Club, NHS, Student Council, African Student Union
-Volunteered 100+ hours
-Volunteers regularly at Gwinnett Medical Center
Awards:
-Student of the Year in APWH, English, Chemistry, Biology
Spikes:
-Finalist in HOSA State competition in Medical Terminology
-Finalist in International HOSA competition in Medical Terminology
*I get that I don’t yet have the SAT score for the elite colleges yet (I’m retaking it after studying), but is everything else sufficient?
You might want to take a Math SAT Subject Test instead of Chemistry or US History.
I would not advise applying to Princeton as a pre-med as it has the reputation of being a grade deflator and you want a high undergraduate GPA for medical school. Johns Hopkins is also considered a grade deflator as well.
I’m assuming that you’re a junior as you don’t list any senior year classes. You will eventually need to take Calculus and for most of your reaches, a foreign language up to Level 3/4.
You didn’t mention finances. I’m assuming you’re qualified for Zell Miller and that’s important. You don’t want to incur much undergraduate debt since medical school is extremely expensive.
Are you a junior now? Maintain your perfect grades, get your SAT up a little - hopefully into the 1450 range - and achieve those projected subject test scores and I think you will have an excellent shot at Columbia in the ED round. Something to work for!! But prepare yourself because pre-med will not be easy there! Best of luck.
(I disagree about the math subject test. If you can get a 750+ on math level 2, then take it. If not, don’t worry about it - it won’t make or break your application at Columbia.)
HOSA isn’t a tip to a tippy top college. And you’ve got that 4 on AP bio. What volunteering is it? It will matter.
Getting in is a lot more than stats. Plus, CC needs to get away from quoting score totals. It matters what’s M vs CR. You need to aim closer to 750/750.
I suspect your school standing is making you think tippy tops. Your chances of doing superbly in college and qualifying for med school will be better a tier down. Many most-competitive colleges actively weed out premeds. It’s brutal. You want the right college for you, not focused on a prestige name.
10th grader getting a 4 on AP Bio is pretty impressive. The test is one of the hardest to get a 5 on and since OP goes to a Title 1 HS, that’s quite the achievement.
The University of Chicago could be a viable option since they are test optional. It has some grade deflation but they are trying to diversify enrollment.
I’m not sure I agree with this. Depends what you mean by tippy tops I guess, but I think you will find increased competition for high grades at schools ranked, for instance, top 50 through 20 on USNWR than at the very tippiest tops. Maybe competition two tiers down would be easier…
If possible, I would stick with Ivies or very elite LACs. Brown (not on your list, why?) and Harvard would probably be the easiest to get great grades, with Columbia somewhere in the middle of your list. I wouldn’t advise premed at MIT.
Of course, it’s very difficult to get into any of them, but OP has a lot going for her. 1350 SAT is a 10th grade score. Plenty of time to prep to retake, which, in my opinion, would be time very well spent. 1450-1500 would put an already impressive application in a whole different league.
I am going to tag poster @ChangeTheGame because he will probably have some valuable insight and experience here.
I agree that UChicago would be a good choice, esp if you can’t get your scores higher. You would make a good candidate for a test-optional profile. However look carefully at the UChicago curriculum. Grade deflation is on its way out in Chicago, but still not entirely gone yet. So if you need a stellar GPA for med school, it might be tough. But for all other paths besides pre-med, UChicago has wonderful options.
Right now, we only have the stats OP reported. Let’s see if there is a change, before assuming. And a 4 is a 4. She’s talking Columbia and HYPSM, with their fierce competition.
And for med school, don’t forget the competition isn’t just for an admit, but also once there.
Hey @Victoria40156. I normally stay away from the Chance Me threads because it is hard for any poster (unless they are actual admissions officials) to truly know what elite level institutions are thinking, but I can give you some advice and input. I am guessing from your information and school size that you live in the same county (Gwinnett) as I do and I know all of the Title I High Schools in Gwinnett well (my wife taught at one of them for 6 years and I know kids that go to all of them through my large church). Congratulations on such a stellar start to your high school academic career.
Your 1350 SAT score as a sophomore is a great score and I have no doubt that you can see improvement with prep targeting your weaknesses (my African American son had a 1390 PSAT score as a sophomore and prepped the summer before junior year and got 35 ACT in September of his Junior year which ended his test taking). He took one more timed practice SAT right before getting back that ACT score result and got a 1550 (760 EBRW/ 790 Math) so you can make a big jump. My advice is to continue to do things that you love for extracurriculars, keep preparing for standardized testing and above all keep those grades up. Every year for at least the last 10 years, I have seen where all of the vals and sals in Gwinnett County choose to go to college and if you finish #1 in your class, you will get into some selective schools (from recent history) with GT being guaranteed.
A 4 in Biology is pretty darned good in my book, especially if it was earned sophomore year. I would not look down on the score. My son’s Top 20 school has Bio majors from well off families who would kill for a 4 in Biology. And it’s good that no credit is given at his school for Biology.
Another factor we have here is an African American female student who has done very well so far in what could be considered a school that has few students going to a 4 year college. As a STEM major too.
If the grade trajectory holds true, there will be several Ivy/Top 20 acceptances for sure.
Also remove MIT from your list. Your GPA will be thankful-there is a reason why freshman year is pass/fail.
Look into LACs with good pre-med programs as well. The classes will be smaller and OP will benefit from more personalized attention.
I would also add Tufts and Brandeis to the list. Tufts seems to be in target plus they have a program where if you maintain a 3.5 GPA, you’re assured a spot in their medical school. Brandeis is test-optional and highly ranked in the biological sciences. Plus there are plenty of opportunities in Boston.
@Hamurtle the issue is targeting Columbia and HYPSM. Plenty of the competition won’t have a 4 in soph AP bio. The concern will be the premed intentions. She’ll compete against other strong kids from Georgia. And at those colleges, OP should be aware how many kids get weeded out of premed.
Position in the hs class is not an assurance of an admit to those tippy tops. Nor coming from an underserved hs. And nothing tells us, yet, that her SATs will improve significantly. She needs to come back when she understands more about what they look for, has self matched to what they want, and has new stats.
There’s a lot we don’t know here, about how activated she is.
Agree that UChic, JHU & MIT are brutal for pre-meds.
Suggest building out your list with some LACs where you will be a star, and where you will get a lot of support (v weeding) for being pre-med. I’m partial to Vassar for that (which is need blind & meets full need), but there are others that would do that for you as well.
Does Columbia’s Core get you excited? if not, consider Barnard, which would give you everything Columbia offers, without the Core requirements.