I just got into UMass Amherst’s Honors College BioTAP program!!! Only 48 students picked per year. I’m shocked… /in awe what the heck
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Congratulations, that’s great! UMass looks Iike a really fantastic option for you.
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Thank you so much! I think both UMass Honors + BioTAP and NEU are wonderful, and I’m just hoping NEU gives me a response before the 17th, since that’s when I need to respond back to BioTAP by. /happily
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That’s wonderful! Congrats!
So…grades. A+ (Biotech 2 HN), A (ASL 2 HN) and two… cough B-s (specifically 81 and 82) in Precalc + Capstone (listen!! i’ll get it up. trust me I beat myself up over it already and precalc is hard for me, and my capstone started off a bit rocky plus this is PhD level work i’m doing) —this is still decent enough for the schools, right? please say yes. /listen i am a good kid okay these two classes are ROUGH and I just need to make sure I haven’t screwed myself over
also just any unsolicited advice for college would be helpful. I am starting to make my decisions, slowly, with the toss-up between UMass + NEU. Also any encouragement or stories about your children going to college for the first time and how it turned out, or just little things would be really nice. life is hectic and stressful and I would like some positivity. /warmly and seriously needing something other than school stressing me out (riding is coming up so i’ll have that but anyways)
Since you asked 
, UMass bioTap plus honors would be tough to give up. What qualities do you find attractive about NEU that keeps it in the running? (that might help posters better answer your question)
Senior year is hectic and stressful and you are doing great., your grades don’t change the person you are. Keep working on the B-s and take care to not let them fall to C’s. Are you talking to your pre calc teacher about how to study better/more efficiently? Have a tutor? Using Khan Academy?
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I am, I actually need to speak to my teacher tomorrow… thank you for reminding me! /warmly
The Capstone Project grade should be much better, so I’m very hopeful. May or may not have panicked because my gradebook showed a D- (NOT THE ACTUAL GRADE) - I think the gradebook was just being funky- and then I checked my “term grades posted” section and it’s an 82, so I’m super grateful I checked. /softly, sighing
NEU… well, it’s closer to home, firstly. I live in a nice part of Cambridge which means that 15 minutes is all it takes to get to NEU, and Amherst on the other hand is an hour and a half. So, proximity. I guess like, also, it’s smack in the city, and there’s so many wonderful opportunities in the city. (i’m a city boi anyways) /thoughtful
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Did I miss it? Did NEU come through for Boston? Last I saw you said hopefully you know one way or another by next Monday.
If it doesn’t come through, is it still an option for you so you can go the last three years in Boston?
UMASS does seem a very good program with added enrichment and growing with kids that share a common interest.
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NEU is making us go through a process groans in impatience so no, not yet but I will tell you guys if it does come through! don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything! /warmly
if it doesn’t come through, it would no longer be an option, and I would then commit- well, we all know where. /softly, thoughtful
UMass has me excited, and i’ll see how I like it. I don’t know if any of you are familiar enough with it, but if you are, what are the vibes like of the place? I’ve only toured once. /softly, curious
Personally I think it will be good for you or anyone growth wise in that - you live 15 mins from NEU in a somewhat urban place. It’s going away - but not really. It’s already your everyday.
Taking out the medical angle…as a day to day, how great would it to be in a different environment and to experience something new. And breathe some fresh air (well hopefully they have fresh air).
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I would certainly hope they have fresh air, haha! I think both schools are wonderful (and honestly I’m still in shock about BioTAP). /chuckling
I just don’t know if NEU can or will pull through. It really all depends on how everything plays out. /sighing, thoughtful
I’m glad that things are better than you first thought with your Capstone Project grade.
But with respect to college, I see/remember a lot of advantages to attending a state flagship:
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You’ve been living in a big major city…time to experience something new!
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You can start feeling a little more independent and emotionally free. Your parents can’t just swing by in 15m to see if you’re studying or doing whatever. You know that if you have some sniffles, that you’re going to be the one to walk to the drugstore and pick up some medication. You start to feel a bit more grown up.
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When else are you going to be able to rabidly cheer for your team, whether they’re winning or losing, including having a bunch of your friends come to root you on at an equestrian event, even if they’ve never even seen a horse in-person before?
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You get to experience a bunch of different colleges if you go to U. Mass. You get the big flagship experience, but you can also do a small elite liberal arts college in the same town (Amherst) or experience Hampshire and its very unique model of instruction (or see life in a women’s college).
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College can be a very special time, and if you are likely to live in an urban area your whole life, this is something different. It’s also nice to have a geographic separateness to your memories and have a special attachment to them that might not be the same if you’re gallivanting around the same areas you’ve done most of your life already.
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Love the school that loves you back. U. Mass has been showing you LOTS of love.
I guess I was supposed to talk about generally positive stuff about colleges and optimism, and I guess it turned into a bit of cheerleading for U. Mass. But as an experienced adult on this thread, I really love all the love that they’ve been sending your way. It is, of course, entirely your choice where you go and I wish you the best wherever that is. But since I’m not one of your real parents, I will say unabashedly that I am rooting for U. Mass.
/Sincerely and slightly sheepishly, but not really
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Thank you so much. It’s funny, because I can sincerely say that you and @DramaMama2021 and @Catcherinthetoast feel like the “parents” of this thread and I always, always look forward to your responses! You guys are incredibly warm and welcoming and I thank you, AustenNut, for just being so kind and supportive. Y’all are like parent figures atp on the thread. /warmly, chuckling, happily
I absolutely love all of the reasons you listed, and I will heartily keep those in mind. I can also definitely say many of my friends have never seen me compete before, so that’ll be super fun! /happily
This thread has become a tiny little family and it’s honestly something I never expected. Thank you to all of you who’ve supported me so far, and who I know will continue to do so as I go through internship apps, job apps, med school apps, etc. You guys are the best. /warmly, sincere, grateful
I should go study now. I’ll go do that before I get chiding remarks in DMs. /chuckling, lighthearted
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If you were my child, I would encourage you to value opportunity over perceived status. I know NE has more than perceived status, but UMass is offering you more opportunity. I don’t want to replay the “love the school that loves you” but NE is not being encouraging for transferring campuses, they are not offering you honors college, and they aren’t offering a specialized selective program.
Given that you plan on medical school, think about which school is offering better opportunities to prepare for that. Not to mention that you will save a significant amount of money that can be applied to medical school.
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You have a point. I’ve been telling my folks the same thing, but my folks definitely value prestige more than…well, opportunity because as they see it, “those with prestige often have better resources”- which, yes, and also, no.
I’m completely set on either school, but UMass will be more cost-effective and help me with long-term goals. My main thought is that I was told by someone that I wouldn’t get into a T5-T15 med school from UMass Amherst- I’m pretty sure that’s not true, right? /thoughtfully
But also it’s like, what, just 2 weeks before May 1st? Something like that? I was thinking of potentially transferring to Tufts/BC after a year at UMass, but realistically that would be either if I didn’t like the school after a year or if something else popped up that was significant enough. My train of thought right now is to go in to whichever school I go to with the mindset of “I’ll be here for 4 years! <3” and see how things play out. If I go in with a miserable mindset, I’ll feel miserable there, and vice versa with a positive mindset. So we’ll see. /thoughtful, musing
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I know you know your doctors more than the average person but I think most go see a dr because they are on the insurance plan.
I know where my dentist went because if his ridiculous (imho) school chant - woo pig sooie’ but no one else. To 20. Top 300. The Caribbean. No clue.
I think one becoming a dr is hard and for the 99% who don’t have special issues, the caring or try this for step one, if it doesn’t work try that…. are likely similar.
If you ultimately stay on that path, any med school will be a great school.
Ps. Get transfer out of your mind. A) it’s not easy and B) don’t walk in thinking I’m on my way out or you won’t enjoy your experience.
If it’s UMASS it’s a phenomenal opportunity. Others can only dream about.
Keep your mindset that I’m going to love it here and others are jealous of my program !!
Absolutely, I appreciate the advice. I’m definitely going in with the 4-year mindset, and I literally even have a playlist now. And the BioTAP program only accepting 48 HC students a year just blows my mind because I’m like, “whoa! they wanted me! that’s crazy.” but i’m super excited for what the future holds. /warmly
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I don’t know anything about applying to med school, but I doubt that’s true. I suspect a T5 - T15 med school will have a more brutal admissions process than the one you just went through. Going to a “prestigious” undergrad is not enough to get you there, you need to be at the top percentage of that undergrad. For a variety of reasons, my gut says you are more likely to have academic success at UMass.
I did a similar program to BioTAP, at a flagship public (lower ranked than UMass). It was incredible and I loved my experience there. Most of my cohort were premed and every single one of them were admitted to med school on their first try, most to multiple schools. I’m now a professor at a med school. Med schools do not care where you do your undergrad. They do care that you have distinguished yourself. You should go where you will be nurtured and can really shine.
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Wow. That’s amazing. i’m glad you had such a wonderful experience! I will absolutely take all of your advice. /warmly, happily
Y’all are so sweet and helpful and it makes me so happy!! /happily
okay i’m gonna stop getting distracted and get to work okay bye- /softly, sheepishly
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