<p>I think you could get into Cornell. Check the stats. So I would apply ED to a bigger reach–say, Williams. IF you are pre med, why not consider Wash U.-St. Louis as a reach/high match? ITs a beautiful school with the best med school in the country. Your have kick ass stats, but you are right about your EC’s. Remember to make your essay really stand out. Talk about your passions, and what is unique about you, your experiences, etc. Especially at the LACs youre applying to, getting to know you as distinct really matters.</p>
<p>ekmom - Hmm… statistically, how does my chance of getting into Cornell change based on ED or no ED? Cornell really is my first choice, and I would much rather be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>Also, I was under the impression that going to Wash U. for undergrad doesn’t help with med. school admissions. Would it be good because of the opportunities on campus or is there some advantage for med school? I’m afraid I really don’t know much about the school. I guess I’ll just have to do some research! :)</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice about the essay. I’m still attempting to come up with half-decent ideas, lol. I don’t have any life-defining experiences, but I do have a passion that is completely unrelated to science: singing. It’s frustrating, to say the least. Another thing that’s frustrating is my EC’s. I wish I could turn back the clock to freshman year. Too late, I guess. Ah well, it could be a lot worse. :D</p>
<p>The most frustrating thing just happened. I finished typing this entire post, and then accidentally hit the back button. When I hit the forward button, my post was gone. 
<em>knocks head on wall</em> Note to self: Don’t do that again. Ever.</p>
<p>Updated List</p>
<p>High Reach</p>
<p>Harvard
Stanford</p>
<p>Reach</p>
<p>Boston College
Cornell (First Choice) (ED?)
Davidson
Pomona
Swarthmore
Williams</p>
<p>Match</p>
<p>UVA</p>
<p>Safety</p>
<p>What I Changed</p>
<p>I replaced Harvey Mudd w/ Pomona.
I struck off Pepperdine.
I added Davidson to my Reach list.
I promoted Boston College to Reach status.</p>
<p>What I Need</p>
<p>Safeties (Possibilities: CNU, JMU, VCU) < Please Evaluate
Matches
Balanced List
Less LAC’s</p>
<p>What I Want</p>
<p>Beautiful Campus
Excellent Academics
Liberal
Med School Placement
Prefer Suburban
Prestige</p>
<p>Misc.</p>
<p>I am currently evaluating Wash U.-St. Louis as another possible reach. However, I only have one match and no safeties. This needs to be addressed. Another concern is that my list is too LAC heavy. I like large public universities as much as I like small LAC’s… but in different ways.</p>
<p>All suggestions and advice are welcome. And another thank you to the posters so far… You’ve been a huge help!</p>
<p>Do you have to apply as international? that makes everything A LOT harder.</p>
<p>I have a green card, and so am a permanent resident of the United States. Doesn’t this mean that I can apply as a resident of VA? Could someone please clarify this? It would suck if I had to apply as an international. :(</p>
<p>Definitely consider WashU! In addition, consider Northwestern and Johns Hopkins for reasonable matches (both are great for premed, JHU obviously more slanted towards premed than NU, but NU is great for premed just the same). </p>
<p>In terms of premed, I would actually say that WashU and JHU are very similar in that the majority of their undergrads are aspiring premeds as the premed programs at both universities are exceptionally strong; and though premed is extremely competitive at WashU, it’s not at the level of competition among premeds at JHU. </p>
<p>Also, Duke may be a match/low reach, but their premed is superb as well–85% med school placement. </p>
<p>Oh, and consider Rice too 
Last year Rice had 90% med school placement and is literally across the street from Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical complex. Lots of undergrad opportunities for research and internships there.</p>
<p>So, add these schools to your list for matches/low reaches: WashU, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Rice.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>if you’ve got your green card in hand, i think you’re safe… but it <em>could</em> depend on the school. i’d get a second answer besides native-born white american here. </p>
<p>i know a kid whose parents applied as soon as they could, and because there was a massive backlog, he doesn’t have his green card and was denied almost everwhere with stats like a 4.0 unweighted and 35 on the ACT. (he was still competing against the whole of india, despite going to a US high school)</p>
<p>Agreed on Wash U. And you CAN do research at the med school as an undergrad, with PhDs or MDs. My dad went there–he’s a surgeon and he says Wash U. got him into med school when it was impossible to get in… Cornell’s stats are not as high as most of the other ivies, and they are better than swarthmore and Williams! That’s what I meant… Also, Wash U. is suburban, while Cornell is in the boonies. If you are applying to some LACS, you might find Cornell too huge, although I hear people do get individual attention there from profs…Wash U. is a fairly small University, and really beautiful. Lots of gothic architecture. Also, Davidson is NOT liberal–it has a strong religious affiliation and is known as fairly conservative. As a match, what about Carnegie Mellon? U of Michigan? Your safeties seem good…</p>
<p>PS- WHen I say Cornell’s stats are not as “high” I mean its easier to get in, and easier than Williams and Swarthmore, at least on paper…sorry for any confusion. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Reconsider reaches with Wash U and Johns Hopkins, both are among the top premed programs in the country. Excellent research opportunities at both school. Both are ranked pretty high on the US News list, Wash U #12 and JHU #14 respectively. Both have gorgeous campuses and prestige your looking for.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I really like WashU, JHU, Duke, and Rice. Will add them to my reach list. Is it acceptable to have sure safeties, one good match, and a whole bunch of low-to-high reaches?</p>
<p><a href=“he%20was%20still%20competing%20against%20the%20whole%20of%20india,%20despite%20going%20to%20a%20US%20high%20school”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Ouch. Did he take a gap year to wait until his green card came through?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip. Davidson is off my list. Also, I’m not really interested in paying out-of-state fees for a large public university unless I absolute LOVE it. I don’t love U of Michigan, lol. Carnegie seems good as a match.</p>
<p>New List</p>
<p>High Reach
Harvard
Stanford</p>
<p>Reach</p>
<p>Boston College
Cornell ED
Duke
John Hopkins
Pomona
Rice
Swarthmore
WashU
Williams</p>
<p>Match</p>
<p>UVA
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>Safety</p>
<p>CNU
JMU</p>
<p>What I Need</p>
<p><10 schools (12=max.)
Evaluate Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Rice, Swarthmore
Two safeties necessary?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance! :)</p>
<p>Note: Correction on spelling above. Spelt ‘Johns Hopkins’ as John Hopkins.</p>
<p>why isn’t U of Chicago on your list? It should be. It has ALL the qualities you are looking for :
Beautiful Campus
Excellent Academics
Liberal
Med School Placement
Prefer Suburban
Prestige
It should be considered a reach.</p>
<p>and an fyi, if you DON’T apply apply ED to Wash U [and I am NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU DO] your chances of acceptance are greatly reduced. They have a long time reputation of wanting students to “show their love” via ED applications, and many, many qualified students end up on the Wash U wait list.
I suggest you apply EA to Chicago, and any other colleges on your list that accept EA [only] applications.</p>
<p>I’m removing BC, Duke, and Swarthmore from my list.
I’m adding U of Chicago to my list. (thanks menloparkmom!)</p>
<p>I believe that Chicago is the only one on my list that offers EA. I still have to decide which school I should apply ED to… Any suggestions? Should I pick my first choice or something that’s harder to get in (on paper)?</p>
<p>Just curious–what are your reasons for removing BC, Duke, and Swarthmore from your list? And Northwestern fits all your requirements as well.</p>
<p>Just wondering.</p>
<p>Are you going to be able to make any visits before application time? I’ve also been curious about some of the adding and dropping logic…just make sure to take all our advice with heaps of salt…your own opinions are what really count here ;)</p>
<p>I think you have a good chance at Cornell although the College of Arts and Sciences is more selective than the other colleges at Cornell. Be sure to visit the campus and meet with someone in the Admissions Office. You may want to meet with someone in the Biology Department. If you walk through a bio departmant hallway during your visit and you see a faculty member in his/her office, knock on the door, introduce yourself, and say hello.</p>
<p>Cornell is spending $400 million to build a new bio building and improve their already excellent biomedical sciences programs. You are applying at the right moment in history.</p>
<p>Bring a bicycle to campus or buy one in Ithaca to shorten the half hour walk from North Campus freshmen dorms to your buildings, although the walk past Bebee lake is pretty.</p>
<p>You’ll love Cornell.</p>
<p>Adding/Dropping Logic:</p>
<p>I think at this point, even though I’m saying I’m adding/dropping schools, I’ll probably take some back or take some out. Because I haven’t visited any of these (except UVA), I can’t really make a definite decision yet. My feelings about the schools are fluctuating a lot every day. I hope they stabilize soon. :)</p>
<p>All the schools I’m considering right now include: Harvard, Stanford, Pomona, Williams, Swarthmore, Cornell, WashU, Northwestern, JH, UVA, Duke, BC, U of Chicago, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, CNU, and JMU.</p>
<p>I don’t believe there are any other schools that I’m interested in. However, there are 17 schools on this list. I feel like 12 schools is my absolute max, preferably 10. Of these, I’m very sure I’m applying to Harvard, Stanford, Pomona, Cornell, JH, UVA, and CNU. The ones I’m least sure about are: Duke, Rice, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon. I don’t dislike any of the schools on the list and love something about all of them.</p>
<p>Right now, my first priority is to narrow down my list. Please disregard my last post. I’m only going to be able to visit colleges near VA. I’ll be visiting my safeties, Duke, and that’s about it. How much of a picture of the school can one get from their website, etc.?</p>
<p>Note: My question about which school to ED still stands. Thanks! :)</p>