Not sure about the assumption that going to a top college will “kill your GPA”. Some of the best students are getting those A’s. No reason to think OP is not one of them.
I also believe the “quality” and experience of the undergrad education is important for some high functioning students. For example, close friend went Yale undergrad and then Yale medical school. His elite private college education didn’t seem to hurt his chances going to medical.
If you’re considered an international student, your chances diminish by quite a bit - especially since you need aid. Much of the financial aid at the aspirational schools goes to US students. While you have great stats, the international pool is even more competitive.
Whatever your situation, you do need to have some idea of how much all this is going to cost your family.
You’re assuming Rutgers and SUNY Buffalo will just hand out money to you - but since you’re international, that may not be on the table. Remember: international students = full pay cash cows for the university, especially the state ones. Sounds like you and your family need to meet with someone knowledgeable about college finances so that you are all aware of what can be expected.
@momprof9904 thank you. I actually sent an email a couple of days ago to a financial aid director that my school recommended as the know all expert. waiting to hear back from them soon. also one of my closest friends who is actually with the same situation and just as qualified as me, recommended me to apply to SUNY Buffalo, as he was quickly accepted and given a scholarship. I hope I’m eligible for one too.
I also really do have other universities that rank very highly for aid to internationals that I am also applying to (Skidmore, Wesleyan, Georgetown, Cornell, Rice and others) but I simply made this post to judge my chance of getting into my dream school, Princeton University, which would give me full tuition.
@socaldad2002 yeah thats what I thought as well, thanks for the advice!
OP, I’m glad to see you’re also applying to a few LACs. LACs are your best bets as an Asian male, even though many of them should still be considered “reaches” for international students.
@1NJParent Yeah, I mean at this point my best bet is to see where I am eligible for the best aid with my credentials. Thank you so much for all the advice. Praying for Princeton though lol
@iiRoMii Princeton is one of the few that are both need blind and meeting full need for international students. Another college in that category is Amherst, which you may want to consider adding to your list. Good luck!
For LACs that might be particularly suitable for you with respect to pre-med support and biochemistry, you could search “15 Best Value Small Colleges for a Chemistry Degree.” Swarthmore, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Colby and Union offer some of the country’s most generous financial assistance and might be no more difficult to get in to than several of the schools you’ve listed.
@merc81 I have identified Skidmore, Wesleyan, Georgetown, Bowdoin, Amherst and Rice among a few more. (yes im applying to a lot of universities lol) do you think I would have a strong chance of admission at these universities, particularly Georgetown, Rice, and Amherst, as they are competitive?
At the moment, I can only offer a few statistics, @iiRoMii. Amherst, for example, fairly recently accepted 22% of applicants with a verbal SAT score in the 750-800 range. This indicates that your application would be appropriate for Amherst, though the school remains a reach even for most applicants with scores such as yours. The rest of your profile will matter a great deal, but this should give you an idea of what to expect.
No.*
The first cut is #s: GPA & MCAT. Then experience, recs and interview. Fwiw, most of the pre-med students that I know who go to JHU (including several current & recent BME types) end up going the PhD route, not the MD route. The most recent JHU grad that I know of who is now in Med school is at UMd. Although she is glad that she went to JHU, she would be the first to tell you that a fair % of her classmates went to UMd for undergrad as well.
there are a couple of exceptions (Yale & Harvard in particular seem fond of their own grads- but if you actually work the #s, most Yale grads who go to med school *don’t go to Yale; dk about Harvard as they are more parsimonious with the details).
@collegemom3717 Oh, I thought a lower gpa at more elite institutions would be accounted for. Glad to know this isn t the case, thank you for all your help.
@merc81 alright, I will definitely apply and see how it goes. Thank you for all your help!
@iiRoMii I don’t know a lot about financial aid (my D went after merit)…but I did not think it was likely for international students. Go for as much merit and/or as low a Cost of Attendance as possible (a top 200 school-ish, perhaps?), and work your butt off.
@bigmacbeth : Even as an international, if the OP earns acceptance to a top school, his financial aid will (generally) be awarded on a basis equal to that for domestic applicants.
@merc81 yeah that would be the dream, im hoping to gain acceptance.
If your dream is to eventually go in to med school, I wouldn’t recommend Princeton. As another poster said, GPA and MCAT comes first, and if you didn’t already know, Princeton is infamous for its grade deflation (especially when compared to its peers–Harvard and Yale–which are infamous for heavily inflating grades). And also, if I’m not mistaken, New Jersey has the highest PSAT averages, and is a very competitive state overall. Many of my friends in college are from NJ and from their stories, it seems Asians have it very rough with grades, many with 4.0’s and 1600’s end up in Cornell and those under don’t even get into ivies (though this account seems exaggerated I don’t think it misses the mark by far). Also, I’d cross NYU off that list since (as previous users have said) it is notorious with financial aid, and a 4.0 isn’t exactly easy to maintain at that school either. Emory/Vandy/JHU would be good choices.
All things aside, it would still be great if you got into Princeton because it provides the most opportunities outside of med school. Best of luck.
@RedStopSign Thank you so so much for the advice. I know about the Princeton grade deflation, but I thought this was common knowledge among all medical schools to know differently about the GPA of the student from different universities. Besides, the Princeton admission counselor at my school assured me over 90% of their Pre-med students go to top medical schools.
Yeah, I’m dropping NYU and focusing my efforts on JHU for now.
Princeton is my dream school for all reasons because it is actually affordable, gives great opportunities, and focuses a lot on undergraduates (along with being a top institution)
This is not true and it’s totally misleading. It does not account for the many Princeton premeds that got weeded out over the 4 year period. Half of their premeds got weeded out. And of those who do apply, maybe 80-90% get at least one acceptance, but not to “top med schools.” Most Princeton premeds end up attending their states’ med schools.
No.
Med schools don’t care about a school’s name. They care about GPA and MCAT scores, volunteering, and medically related ECs.