College Suggestions

Parents Forum
1

<p>Alright, I know I post here on the parents forum waaay too much, but I just can't help it, you give better advice than the students can and do. I posted this somewhere else and wasn't getting very man responses, so I decided to post it here. Feel free to give any suggestions without notice of any financial concerns/in-state concerns I've had in the past, I'm just trying to find some ideas.</p>

<p>Okie, I'm a junior, and I'm not sure what some good schools are for someone with my stats are. First, I am a black female who resides in suburban Ohio. I go to an average public high school, which offers 10-12 AP courses. I will take 8 or 9 by the time I graduate. I have taken 1 so far, and am taking 2 this year. (10th-AP US, 11th- AP Bio and AP Euro, 12th- AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Gov, AP English, AP Spanish 5, and possibly AP Physics C, both parts) I am taking the hardest possible courseload. My uw gpa is a 3.80 and my w gpa is a 3.86. I will have a 3.80-3.85 uw gpaby the end of this year, and a 3.95-3.99w gpa by the end of this year. I have 1 C on my transcript, for second semester of algebra 2 (My parents split, a B for the year average) My B's are in Algebra 1 (B+), geometry (B) and precalc 1 (B- I know this is my grade, though I'm taking it this year) (precalc is split into semesters). I am ranked 73/447 (16.3%). I am involved in very few EC's- by choice. Freshman Year- lacrosse, sophomore year- lacrosse, future problem solvers, junior year- nothing. For out of school I am involved in my church choir and I am the secretary of the Sunday School. I am starting fencing in the near future. I worked for 3 months at Target as a seasonal worker. I hope to be a pharmacist, though I am also interested in geology and would like to double major or minor in a lanagauge (Russian or Asian). I have won 2 awards, both by Ohio State for my minority status and my academic achievement. I am the 2nd best black student in my class. Where would you suggest I should look at? Both instate and out-of-state. PSAT score of 185 w/o prep, so about a 1300 SAT or a 28 ACT, though probably higher with preparation</p>

<p>Also, feel free and please do comment on these suggested colleges by other members:
Kenyon, Skidmore, Drew University, University of Rochester</p>

2

<p>What kind of college do you want to go to? What kind of colleges do you not want to go to? How much of a factor is money? What are your geographical preferences and restrictions?</p>

<p>If you are serious about pharmacy, Florida A&M has an excellent pharmacy school, and there's a good chance that you'd get major merit aid. The Pharmacy School attracts high achieving, black students from all over the country and has an excellent job placement rate. I don't think, however, that FAMU offers classes in Russian or Asian languages.</p>

<p>You may want to do a summer program this summer to help narrow your interests. There are many excellent free or cheap summer programs for minorities considering science careers. These include programs offered by MIT, University of Wisconsin, Southern University, Carnegie Mellon and Union College. Check their websites or use Google for info.</p>

<p>Are you a Ventures Scholar -- the organization for URM and first generation college students interested in science careers. Check their website because your scores and interests qualify you for their free services. This includes waived application fees, scholarships and summer programs.</p>

<p>You have many college options, but we need to know more about your interests and restrictions in order to give good advice. Financial considerations are very important, so let us know any limitations.</p>

3

<p>whoops sorry forgot some stuff
-My dad wants me to go through by first picking places that interest me and not to worry about the financial part quite yet, so that's what I'm doing</p>

<p>I prefer medium to large schools, and nothing under 1200 students at all.</p>

<p>I prefer suburban, than urban, but I'm not a huge fan of rural schools at all</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure I'll take at least a few langauge classes (anything but the Romance langauges) if I don't minor or major</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure I want to major in a hard science, but I'm not sure of what yet</p>

<p>I really would like to avoid Southern schools, especially anything south of N. Carolina, I prefer northeast and midwest, but Western/South West could work as well</p>

<p>I like both LAC's and Unis, so I'm looking for both kinds until I can take some college visits this summer</p>

<p>anything else?</p>

4

<p>Take a close look at University of Wisconsin and Carnegie Mellon, including at their summer programs for URMs. Grinnell also has a summer scie program for URMs.</p>

<p>I suggest that you participate in a summer program because that would give you a good idea about what kind of campus atmosphere you would like to enjoy in college. Simply visiting colleges in the summer can give one a distorted idea about what the colleges are like because they are mainly filled with summer students, many of whom are high school students. </p>

<p>However, if you are living on the campus for a couple of weeks during the summer, you'd get the opportunity to see what professors are like, what the dorms are like and to get to know some college students well enough there to understand what that kind of college offers and doesn't offer. That's much better than simply taking a tour and doing an info session.</p>

<p>Your grades and stats are high enough that come fall, you will be able to get all expense offers to visit colleges that may interest you. These offers will allow you to spend the night to see what the college is like. Macalester in Minneapolis, for instance, makes such offers to students like you. It's an excellent LAC. Amherst, Wesleyan, Wash U, Rice and Dartmouth are among other colleges that do this for top URMs.</p>

<p>Also consider Johns Hopkins as a place to apply. It has excellent science programs and because of its international school, also I think would have the languages that interest you.</p>

5

<p>University of Rhode Island has a great pharmacy program. It's not in the prettiest part of Rhode Island, but that particular program is good.</p>

6

<p>If you want to be a Pharmacist and want to get into the PharmD program (which is 6 years long) these are my suggestions: U of Wisc, U of Michigan, U of Connecticut, Rutgers. Among these U of Wisc is the highest ranked, I think; and even if it currently isn't, it is the best known for biological sciences and for Pharmacy.</p>

<p>I don't know if Carnegie Mellon has Pharmacy. Probably not.</p>

7

<p>I personally think that if you are sure about Pharmacy, going to an LAC for a liberal arts degree is a waste of time. But I could be wrong about what you want.
With a PharmD, you have a wide variety of choices: from Pharmaceutical research to working as a practicing pharmacist in a drug store to even med school.</p>

8

<p>With your stats, I don't see why getting into Wisconsin, U Mich or Rutgers would be a problem for you, even in the PharmD program.</p>

9

<p>Celebrian, It might be a bit far for you, but have you looked into USC? They have a great pharmacy program and good programs in your other areas of interest. You might qualify for some merit scholarships there as well. And, Los Angeles can be an exciting place to be. ;)</p>

10

<p>I agree with NSM that you would be eligible for numerous fly-in programs/ weekends that will cost little or no money. It will provide you an opportunity to see spend time on different campuses, attend classes and help determine what you want/don't want in a school.</p>

<p>The ones that my D were interedted in and attended were:</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr Preview Days / Mosaics (which is a fly-in Program)</p>

<p>Stay overnight with a student,
Attend Alumnae panels
Visit classes
Speak to Professors
Talk to coaches
Meet student leaders
Experience it your self
Campus tours
Sessions on the admission process and financial aid
Alumnae panelist discussing life after Bryn Mawr
Students offering insights into academic, residential and cultural life
Dinner and student entertainment
an Overnight stay in a residence hall with a student
Breakfast in a dining hall
campus tours
An interview in the admissions office
The opportunity to attend classes with current students and meet professors
Farewell lunch</p>

<p>Tufts University TELESCOPE</p>

<p>The Annual Fall Overnight Program (Held in October) </p>

<p>TELESCOPE is a part of Tufts effort to increase diversity and offers an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at Tufts University. Explore the campus spend an evening with a student, connect with faculty, visit classes, and hopefully discover that Tufts might be the perfect match for you. Contact Darrell Tiggins </p>

<p>Amherst has the Student of Color Open House Weekend (2 weekends, usually late September/ October) Contact the school. They will send you an application, Submit grades, write essay. Amherst underwrites the majority of the cost of the trip Your out of pocket may be $25 if that. Students who are selected for SOCOH weekend will have their application fee waived should they decide to apply and have a 75% chance of being admitted. Contact Joy St, John, Director of Multicultural Recruitment</p>

<p>Dartmouth has a weekend in the summer- Destination Dartmouth. You apply for the weekend, Grades, essay, Sat scores. If admitted, also increases chances of being admitted in the fall. Contact James Washington Jr. Director of Minority Recruitment</p>

<p>Williams has a Fall Fly- in Program- Contact Gina Coleman Director of Multicultural recruitment </p>

<p>CMU has a fall sleepover program</p>

11

<p>It's a city school but U. of Pittsburgh has a good pharmacy program where you could be admitted as a freshman. They also give good scholarships.</p>

12

<p>Purdue has Pharmacy as well..</p>

13

<p>Oh...btw Swarthmore has a program for minorities as well. I don't know if it is all-expenses paid; probably not.</p>

14

<p>Celeb, In one of your other threads I was going to express regret that you have given up lacrosse but I sympathize with your reasons. Our kids have done so well with lacrosse it is amazing! I am talking about ok athletes who would not be intramural stars in football or basketball but are recruited by fantastic schools to play..........lacrosse! And an African American female? You could go anywhere! But even without lacrosse I think you will do very well. I agree with your father - nix to Ohio State. For some reason (I know you said not urban) I see you at Penn.... yes, that's my only suggestion, U of P.... check it out.</p>

15

<p>Celebrian, I know you have considered several different careers. I would hate to see you choose a pharmacy program at this point unless you are really certain this is what you want. As someone who went to college from a background that had not given me a lot of exposure, I learned that I didn't even know what my career choices were until much later in the game. You have good stats and will be offered lots of opportunities at good colleges. If you are not certain about pharmacy, choose a college where you will have lots of counseling and choices--a good LAC or top university.</p>