I am posting for my son who needs help in College Admission.
Grade: Rising Senior Class of 2020
Location: Northern Virginia, Race: Asian
Current GPA: 4.09/5.0 (Weighted) and 3.71 (Un Weighted) 4.3 by the end of senior year
Total A.P Courses Taken:7 Registered for 7 A.P in Senior year
Current SAT: 1430 (M: 760, English: 680) and Retaking in August to get above 1500
Subject Test: Chemistry and Math 2 ( Taking )
EC: 3 years of Voluntary at federal hospitals in various departments (ER, OR, Pharmacy). Research position from same hospital this summer. Additional Voluntary participation from School Honor Societies, Dental Camp, Red Cross and County Medical Emergency activities.
Intended Major: Premed or Computer Science
Please suggest any Ideas to improve College Application and Which colleges will match the credentials either In-State or
Out-State.
Also, what are my chances for any low-tier BS/MD programs in any state.
What is the chance regarding Scholarship/ Financial Aid?
Appreciate your valuable guidance to make right decision.
If you are Asian or Indian, then BSMD chances are pretty low for those stats (GPA and SAT).
Can you manage 7 AP’s in senior year and maintain high GPA ? Something to consider, as you don’t want to overload on classes, and also have to spend a lot of time with college applications.
Financial Aid depends on parents income and assets (run the Net Price Calculator on college website)
7 APs are a lot for senior year. Seniors spend quite a bit of effort on university applications.
I don’t understand the GPA scale used. Did your son get all A’s for the first three years of high school? If not, then how many A’s and how many B’s and how much of anything else?
What is your budget? Have you run the NPC on any schools?
The SAT is low, but as he’s retaking it I think you’ve got that down already. The rest of this response is based on his major being Pre-med, as the chances for anyone getting into high-profile colleges in CompSci are significantly lower. Your son doesn’t have any CS-related extracurriculars, so that’ll also be a hindrance in his application if he chooses CS.
The main suggestion I have for upping his credentials at this stage is try to get another research opportunity at that hospital, and make sure he writes about that in one of his essays. Research is being looked at very highly lately for college admissions, and it’s his highest selling point.
The chances for financial aid at all of the colleges below get higher the less prestigious the college is.
Instate
College of William & Mary (match)
University of Virginia (bit of a reach)
University of Richmond (match)
George Mason University (safety)
Out of State
Georgetown State (reach)
U Wisconsin (match)
Boston College (bit of a reach)
I didn’t include enough safety schools on this list, but definitely apply to at least three. I’m being optimistic with the match/reach/safety. Virginia has good universities even as backup safety schools, make sure you’re not putting too much pressure on your son and let him write about himself in his essays. Colleges want to see students’ personalities to see if they’re fits for their schools, not robots who cultivate resumes upon order.
UVA has a somewhat lower admit rate to W&M but the actual stats are pretty much the same. W&M is though to give some more weight to standardized tests than UVA, so it is good you are looking to bring that up. Some also think there is an advantage for males in applying to W&M. I don’t see VCU on your list, which has a BS/MD program (very selective). It may not be a fit for your son, but if you do want to look at those in-state private options like Richmond, you might want to take a look at Washington & Lee. It is a very strong school. You should have backups beyond W&M and UVA in-state. VCU often gets picked by pre-meds because it has the medical school, but if you are not in the BS/MD, I don’t think there is much advantage over GMU, VT, JMU, etc. W&M and UVA are going to have a higher percentage of pre-med students than the other state schools.
If your son is serious about medical school (and many prove not to be after they start taking typical pre-med classes), he may want to avoid majors that won’t enhance his chances. Medical school admission is so difficult that it needs planning throughout college. Specifically I have in mind engineering, which can be too much of a grind to produce the high grades needed for medical school. It also doesn’t directly address MCAT topics. Not sure how CS would work there.
@NCKris@DadTwoGirls@daunt18@IzzoOne Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the help and advice you guys have given me to help pursue my dreams in the med-line.
@Sai1031 Have you looked into your son taking the ACT? Sometimes students do dramatically better on one exam over the other. My son got a 1250 on the practice SAT, and a 32 on the practice ACT. It became a no brainer for him to study and take the ACT (he ended up with a 34 on the ACT).
Look into local tutoring centers, and see where you can sign him up for a practice ACT. In Southern California, my son used Sylvan Learning and they were great. I’m not sure if they’re National or not.
What does his own high school guidance counselor recommend? If he is attending a high school in N VA, the counselors can tell him exactly where students with his profile have been admitted in recent years. They also should be able to tell him where students landed merit-based scholarships, and the amount of those scholarships. What they are less likely to be able to help you with is need-based aid. For estimates of need-based aid, you need to run the Net Price Calculator at each college/university website.