Chances!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Background info: Asian Female, class of 2007. New York resident, moved to the US as a child, citizen now.</p>

<p>PSAT: 237 (so National Merit Semifinalist/likely Finalist?)
SAT II's:
Chemistry - 800
Math IIC - 790
US History - 780
SAT I: 1540/2330
AP courses: I've taken three already (World History, US History, Chemistry) and will have completed eight by the time I graduate (Physics B, Calculus, English, Spanish, Art), as well as 2 college level courses with credit from Syracuse University.
AP scores - Chemistry & US History: haven't received yet, very likely to be 5.
World History - 5
Courseload: most difficult available at my school, all honors and AP during Junior year, all APs/SUPA the upcoming senior year.
Ranking: Top 1% or 2% of my class of ~350. Our school doesn't believe in ranking students numerically!
Competitive public high school featuring one of the top Science Olympiad teams in the country (consistently top 5 in the nation the past few years), and rigorous AP programs (2nd highest number of art portfolios in the nation, 90% of AP Calculus students receiving 5's and very high AP results in other courses as well, etc.).</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Cumulative GPA - 5.28 (unweighted, out of a 5.5 scale where a 5.5 = A+, 5.0 = A, etc. - basically, if your grade in a major subject, say English, goes from an A to an A+, your GPA changes .07 points)
Straight A/A+'s in all subjects.</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Cumulative GPA - 5.42 (again, unweighted, out of 5.5 scale)
Straight A+'s in all subjects other than physical education.</p>

<p>Junior Year:
Honors English courses - A+
AP Chemistry - A+
APUSH - A+
Spanish 4 Pre-Ap - A+
Advanced Art II - A
Precalculus Honors - A+
Physical Education - A
Photography I/II - A+
Cumulative GPA - 5.40</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Science Olympiad C Division B Team member (sophomore and junior year; one 2nd place, one 1st place, one 3rd place finish at regionals)
Science Olympiad B Division team member (freshman year; two 1st place finishes at regionals, two 2nd place finishes at states)
AMC 10 (sophomore year, highest scorer)
AMC 12 (junior year)
AIME
Math League member
Writer for the school newspaper (sophomore and junior year)
Photography editor for the school newspaper (junior year)
National Honor Society member
Science Honor Society member<br>
120 volunteer hours at a University Hospital (more planned this summer)</p>

<p>CNY MUN: Best First-Time Delegate Award for General Planary
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards:
Regional Level: 1 Gold Key, 3 Silver Keys, 1 Honorable Mention
National Level: 1 Silver Key
2nd place in the painting category in a university teen art contest
Art Award and Social Studies Award (school awards)
NCTE Writing Contest - School Finalist (one of three)
Poetry published in Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans (ahaha, I know this really is not a big deal at all, but I thought I would just include it since I love writing)</p>

<p>I'm trying to be more goal-oriented than school-oriented at this point. Of course I would love it if I could get into the top schools, but I want to go into medicine and I'm heavily looking into the combined undergraduate/medical school programs, such as the HPME program at Northwestern. It's going to be extremely difficult, I know, but what do you think my chances are for a top 20 university or one of the seven year medical programs? Decent or slim? I have a lack of blatant leadership abilities based on my resume, which is a bit too late to remedy now, but one of the teachers writing my recommendation letters has strongly emphasized that I'm a 'quiet leader', the kind that leads by example and hard work in the classroom. Hopefully that helps? </p>

<p>Some outside perspective would be great, since I'm an only child and both my parents are immigrants, so no one I know has gone through the admissions process before. Merit based aid is also very important to me, since I won't qualify for need based aid. My family earns $200k+ a year, but this is only a very recent occurrence.</p>

<p>I've been researching a lot of schools and will be narrowing down my choices from this list, with heavy consideration towards a balance between top universities and universities where I might actually get merit based aid/scholarships.</p>

<p>Cornell
Columbia
Case-Western
UPenn
University of Rochester
John Hopkins
NYU
University of Michigan
Duke
Carnegie Mellon
Boston College
Harvard (hey, might as well ;))</p>

<p>Accelerated Medical Programs:
Brown PLME
Northwestern HPME
Penn State
RPI/Albany Medical College
Boston University
Drexel (through Drexel University or Lehigh)</p>

<p>I realize these threads probably get tedious after a certain point, but thank you in advance for any input; sometimes it's ridiculously hard to judge your own academic profile accurately and any feedback would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Does your school have some serious grade inflation or what? cause know one gets many A+'s in APs and honors.
NYU, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and such seem like matches for you.<br>
The only reaches include Harvard, and all those accelerated med programs. I think u could get into atleast one of the med programs.</p>

3

<p>Honestly, I don't think so! Both APUSH and AP Chem at my school are known to destroy quite a few GPAs and a lot of people I know got B's and C's in those courses. If this helps at all, around 15 kids in a class of ~360 of the graduating class a few years back had an A average. And thank you; Cornell state-line is probably my most viable/preferred option right now if I don't get accepted into any of the medical programs.</p>

4

<p>Bump! Also, my SAT score is not composite, it was taken in one sitting. 790 CR, 750 Math, 790 W (80/11e) - I don't really want to retake it; the math score bothers me a little, but are an extra 30-50 points going to significantly improve my chances?</p>

5

<p>OMG . . . amazing grades, SATs . . . Most ivies would probably take you if your admissions process goes well. I think the medical programs look for interest in the medical field though they are known to be picky, but you will definitely get into at least one medical program.</p>

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<p>Asian from NY is what hurts you. You should still be in good shape at most of those schools, except maybe Harvard, where there will be another 2-300 apps that look just like yours, Columbia and Brown to a lesser extent.</p>

7

<p>harvard=coin toss</p>

8

<p>pinstriped - Case Western also has an 8 year med program. I'm a rising undergrad junior if you have any specific questions. You'd likely receive a good bit of merit aid from Case for undergrad so that would help the financial situation.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Merit based aid is also very important to me, since I won't qualify for need based aid.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Pin, There's nothing in your profile that would keep you out of any of the colleges on your list; however, your comment about your financial needs may lead you a very specific focus.</p>

<p>You need to be very clear about your family's financial situation. If merit based aid is a MUST HAVE not just a would-be-nice, then you should be focusing exclusively on schools that offer merit and, unfortunately, ditching those that don't.
I'd suggest that you ask your parents to experiment with an on-line aid calculator to figure out how much need based aid you would likely to receive. If they are able to make up the difference, then fire away at a wide range of colleges. You can weigh the importance of merit aid after you get actual offers and aid packages. </p>

<p>However, if your parents are unable or unwilling to come up to with what you require, then narrow down now!You have a whole lot to offer and would be, I think, a catch for a lot of colleges, but there's no point in getting accepted if you can't afford to attend.</p>

<p>Either way, I'd also suggest that you investigate a few smaller liberal arts colleges. Many of them have excellent science department and amazing track records for getting kids into top medical schools. As an Asian female who excels in both science and the arts, you would really stand out. I would look at Smith, Kenyon, Grinnell, Macalester, Hamilton for possible merit awards. At Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan if you do not require merit aid.</p>

<p>Take a look at the threads on the Parents Forum titled "Master List of Merit Awards" and "Schools Known for Merit Aid" for some more ideas.</p>

<p>Also, don't unestimate the value of your art and creative writing accomplishments. These can be the value-added assets that can really make you stand out among other applicants with similar academic accomplishments. If your work is good enough, consider submitting supplemental materials like an arts resume, a portfolio or examples of your writing along with your application.</p>

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<p>If merit aid is that important (and it may well be), I'd ditch your current list and find schools that will give you merit aid. On top of undergrad, med school is going to cost you $200k +, and you don't want to be hamstrung by undergraduate debt.</p>

<p>The good news is that someone of your caliber is going to have no trouble getting into med school wherever you go - in fact, in might be easier at some place which is slightly less selective, and you are top of the heap. Being top of the heap, you will have more research opportunities, more mentoring, and better recommendations than you would being in the middle of the pack at a place that only offers need-based aid.</p>

<p>"Harvard (hey, might as well)"</p>

<p>No - might as well, NOT. There is no merit aid, and there are hundreds of potential pre-meds. If you got in - without aid - you might be tempted to go, and that would be a big mistake.</p>

11

<p>honestly, if you have no interest in Harvard, just don't apply.</p>

12

<p>Thank you for all the feedback, guys - I talked it over with my parents for a while, and basically, we've narrowed it down to three ideal situations. 1) A school such as Case-Western offers some merit aid and guaranteed acceptance into graduate school (with GPA standards, etc. of course). 2) We pay full tuition for 4 years at a top school that fits me best. 3) I get into Cornell and go the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - ~$17,000/year for an in-state student. So after a lot of discussion, scholarships would be an important factor on deciding which schools to go to, but not the deciding factor, if that makes sense. </p>

<p>mini - What you said basically echoed my parents' sentiments! They think that I can get into one of the top Ivies (I'm not quite so confident on that), but also believe that it would be in my best interests to go to a lower ranked school that offers some money so that my undergrad experience will be slightly less stressful/competitive both academically and financially. Financing education at, say, a school like Harvard or Princeton is definitely feasible but also not preferred, so. The major question mark right now is what kind of aid I will actually be able to get at other schools, so I'd like to cover all my bases, I guess. My ideal situation would be to go to a very solid college, do extremely well there, and then be accepted into a more prestigious medical school. Anyway, thank you for the advice! </p>

<p>momrath - Wow, thank you so much for the in depth comment! I appreciate it a lot. The thing about our financial situation is that our family has started earning well, well over the need-based aid cut off only extreeeemely recently, so we are able to afford to pay for 4 years of college at an Ivy, but probably just barely, and I would rather not have my parents do that (although they are willing to if it's the best path for me). I'm definitely going to do more research about smaller schools, but you're right, it's all mostly conjecture at this point! I'm going to apply to a fairly wide range of schools and then measure everything up when I actually receive the decisions. At that point, I think scholarships vs prestige/resources will become much clearer. And, yes, I am definitely sending art slides to some schools - I'm not some amazing teenage talent by any means, but I have won quite a few awards and such for my art, so. The writing portfolio suggestion is a great idea - I wasn't sure if schools would accept that sort of thing!</p>

<p>seattlechica - Case Western is pretty high on my list right now, particularly because of their PPSP program. Thank you for the offer; I might take you up on it some day! :)</p>

<p>bandit_TX - Man, do I know it. The competition between Asians is truly intimidating most of the time. </p>

<p>schrizto - That's my biggest concern about applying to the medical programs, frankly - there are all these high school students who have published research papers and done similar activities, and it's a bit intimidating. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, whatever happens happens. :)</p>

<p>sr6622 - Oh, don't take my comment in the wrong way - I'm very interested in the school, I just said that because I don't think I have much of a chance for being accepted, but, hey, I might as well see, you know? Instead of not applying at all because of the competition. I definitely wouldn't apply to a school I don't intend to go to, which is why I've been working on narrowing down the prospective list quite a bit.</p>

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<p>Take a look at Rice, and in particular the Rice/Baylor Med option. Rice has some very good merit scholarships as well as being about 30% cheaper than most of the top 25 schools.</p>

14

<p>Update: I am officially a National Merit Semifinalist, and got 5's on my APUSH and AP Chem exams.</p>

15

<p>For the medical programs, is the Bio SAT II not required? That's just me wondering aimlessly.</p>

<p>You're obviously intelligent and hard working, but nothing sets you apart, i think. You should have a decent shot at all, but for those accelerated Med Programs, i have no idea...</p>

16

<p>Since you want to be a doctor, undergrad school matters very little. Why would you even think about paying $180K for 4 years when you could get considerable merit aid at tons of schools? What if your parents don't continue to make $200Kyr? Many schools won't give you aid in the future if their income falls.</p>

<p>With your stats you will get a great merit package, maybe even a full ride, by researching schools that give good merit aid where you are in the top 10% of the applicant pool.</p>