Chances for Case?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Case Western Reserve University
1

<p>Gender: Female
Location: suburban Michigan
Intended Major: Double major in Biology & Psychology. I'm also going pre-med, and if I have any classes left over, I'll try to minor in music and/or history (doubtful, I know).</p>

<p>School:
A crappy public, with a magnet math/science oriented program that only accepts 30 kids a year (yep, I'm in it). Rank unknown, but definitely top 10%, out of 500+ kids. I have definitely taken the most challenging course load possible at my school.</p>

<p>GPA:
3.935 weighted (+1 for AP, Advanced, Accelerated classes)
3.463 unweighted
Slight grade dip in junior year, mostly due to AP Calc & AP Bio. (I did do well on the AP tests, though, which should help, right?)</p>

<p>ACT:
34 composite
English: 35
Math/Science/Reading: all 34
essay: 10 (combined English/Writing score is a 33)</p>

<p>SAT I:
CR: 770
Math: 750
Writing: 740
(1520/2260)
Case DOES take your best individual score, not your best composite, right? If not, my writing's only a 700, making my best composite a 2220.</p>

<p>SAT II:
US History: 780
Biology E: 750
Math Level 2: 790</p>

<p>AP scores:
US History: 4
Biology: 5
Computer Science AB: 5
US Government & Politics: 5
Calculus BC: 4
- AB subscore: 5</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Lifeguarding @ a summer outdoors swim club. Job includes cleaning, etc. as well. Worked from July 2006-Sept. 2006, and will have a job there next summer from May 2007-Aug. 2007.</p>

<p>Swimming:
I've been swimming since 2nd grade, only taking 7th & 8th grade off. I've been on the varsity team all 4 years, I'm captain this year, and I was Rookie of the Year my freshman year. I qualified for MISCA last year & this year, and I will go to states this year as well. I've been a scholar athlete since 10th grade (not available in 9th). I have Y Zone cuts in 3 events. I will pursue swimming in college if I go to a Division III college. Other related activities include lifeguarding and scuba diving.</p>

<p>Music:
I've been playing flute since 6th grade. I've been in the top band since 10th (very rare), and I was first chair 9th & 11th grade. I've done Solo & Ensemble every year since 7th grade, and in 10th grade I qualified in all 3 events to go to states, and got one 1 and two 2's there. (Junior year I didn't have much time to practice with my 4 AP classes + 1 accelerated class). I did flute choir in 9th & 10th grade before it was disbanded; I've been taking lessons since 7th grade, I went to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for 3 summers, I was in the honors orchestra this year, and I'll be in the pit orchestra for a total of 3-4 musicals, as section leader. I have my Wind Ensemble activity letter.</p>

<p>Community Service:
Early Literacy Volunteers (ELVs) for 4 years. After school, once a week for about an hour, I go to an elementary school & help 1st graders improve their reading skills. I also participated in the summers before 11th & 12th grade.
I'm a member of NHS and have also done volunteering through there. I really wish I had more for this category, but I don't. :P Got a meaningless Youth Making A Difference award in 11th grade, probably for NHS.</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Semi-Finalist (got a 233 on the PSAT & MI's cutoff is ~210)
Summa Cum Laude (9th-11th)
Academic letter (11th)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Michigan Math Prize Competition Finalist (10th)
Outstanding Achievement in MSC Chemistry, MSC Physics, and MSC Computers (need any form of an A for the entire year in a class to get this).</p>

<p>Other schools I'm considering, in no particular order:
University of Michigan (safety)
University of Miami (safety)
Carnegie Mellon University
Tufts University
Wesleyan University</p>

<p>I'd also like to know how likely it is that I would get a merit scholarship. Cost is a very big factor in where I will end up going to school.</p>

<p>Thanks muchly! :)</p>

2

<p>If you are looking premed you might also consider Johns Hopkins and University of Rochester.</p>

3

<p>I've looked into Johns Hopkins and it didn't appeal to me much. XD I'll check out University of Rochester though, thanks. Still, I think my list is mostly finalized because I'm limited by application fees.</p>

4

<p>I think you will be admitted to Case, and you have a great chance for a merit scholarship of $20K/yr and possibly even $25K/yr. They also have music scholarships (although you must audition on campus to be considered). </p>

<p>The UR application fee was free if you applied on line (2 years ago anyway). It is worth your effort, as UR does offer merit money to a large percentage of applicants (although the amounts may not be as high as Case). </p>

<p>UR, like Case, also has a hospital on campus. Both schools have a lot of premeds, and this motivation and interaction will no doubt rub off on your experience.</p>

<p>BTW, both schools also have programs for direct admission into their med schools (ie, as a high school applicant).</p>

<p>You would also be a good candidate for some scholarship money at CMU.</p>

<p>Tufts and Wesleyan do not have merit scholarships.</p>

5

<p>You could apply for the preproffessional scholars program at Case:</p>

<p><a href="http://admission.case.edu/admissions/academics/ppsp.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admission.case.edu/admissions/academics/ppsp.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Basically if you're accepted to the program (which is highly selective) you are admitted to the med school if you fulfill the course requirements and have an overall GPA of 3.6 or better. There is a similar program at Rochester. Both Rochester and Case have top 20 Med school program so thats something to consider...</p>

<p>If you want to do premed, Case W, Rochester, and Johns Hopkins make a lot more sens than University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon University, or Wesleyan University</p>

<p>And yea I think you have great chances for admission to Case although I have heard stories of people with higher scores than you that were rejected.</p>

6

<p>


Wow. I hear that a lot in regards to Tufts, but I've never heard that about Case, or UR for that matter. Case doesn't seem to be driven to "engineer" their admit rates or yield, which is one of the great things about the school IMO. Case is parent's dream IMO.</p>

<p>If your comment was about the PPSP Med program, well, then I agree. Those type of programs are incredibly competitive; no one could predict their outcome. I think at UR they get 600 applications for 10 slots (!).</p>

7

<p>aphoticmelody, one other thing, you should apply EA to Case. It's non-binding and you may apply to as many other schools as you want. You do not need to commit until April 30, but you'll have your answer in December. There is more merit money available early.</p>

8

<p>aphoticmelody - I'm a case undergrad jr in the ppsp program if you have any specific questions. Rochester 2 years ago capped their merit awards at 14k, Case gives merit awards up to about 90% of tuition and there are also upperclassmen awards. I don't know if Rochester's policy has changed since then. You definitely could fit in a history minor with a BA in bio & psych, you'd just need 4 more history classes w/your AP credit.<br>
sebma - U of Rochester med school is a good med school but is not ranked in the top 20 in research in the US News rankings (#36 for 2007 vs. #22 for Case, both are tied in primary care for #21) whatever little weight those rankings are worth.</p>

9

<p>"sebma - U of Rochester med school is a good med school but is not ranked in the top 20 in research in the US News rankings (#36 for 2007 vs. #22 for Case, both are tied in primary care for #21) whatever little weight those rankings are worth."</p>

<p>Sorry for missing the ranking by 1 or 2 spots....bottom line they're good med schools</p>

<p>Out of the college mentioned thus far, for premed the best options are (in no particular order) :</p>

<p>Michigan
Tufts
Case
Rochester
Johns Hopkins</p>

10

<p>When picking schools, also remember to consider "what if premed doesn't work out", ie, what would the options be like at a given school if you don't stay in premed. I went on the Tufts tour lead by a SR premed student. He said 300 students were premed when they started, and it was down to 100 by SO year. So think about the school in terms of what happens if you change your mind along the way; whether they have other programs you would be interested in.</p>