I am addicted though. CC is my drug of choice.
I don’t know what you expect us to do about that. We can’t help you if you don’t want to be helped.
This will be my last post on this thread…
If you are looking to better yourself and eventually get into a 4 year college then the time you are spending here as a rising sophomore is completely counter-productive to your desired outcome. There is zero value to developing a list of schools after your freshman year and there is zero value in obsessing about how you might get into Columbia. The fact is that the best way to achieve your goal is to get off of CC and start doing something constructive – get a job, volunteer in your community doing something that interests you, etc.
Oh please. You just are entering 10th grade. You need to keep a very open mind about colleges…especially since it seems you will need significant financial aid to attend.
For the record…you don’t need to go to a top 20 undergrad school to get accepted to medical school.
Also, in my opinion, it’s impossible for you to have a “short list” for colleges now…as you have only one year of high school grades…and NO SAT or ACT scores.
In a way I can understand where @futurecollege00 is coming from. When you come from a low income family situation, you see education as your way out to a better life especially if you’re from a small rural town. I get it. Heck, if CC had been around when I was in college I would’ve been obsessed with it too. It’s ok to have dreams and goals and it’s not too early as a rising sophomore to have an idea of where you want to study to reach your goal. So dream on futurecollege00, work hard but make time to be a kid and enjoy your teen years. It’s good to be a planner but be flexible and open to your options so you don’t have a meltdown when things don’t go the way you plan. Life is full of surprises! Find a mentor who can champion your dreams and best to you!
Thank you @CALSmom. The world definitely needs more people like you 
Thanks @futurecollege00 and I really hope it all works out for you! I know other posters mean well on here, but sometimes it can come out as harsh over text. I have a rising junior and he hasn’t made his list of colleges yet. I’m a bit worried but I know he’ll end up where he’s supposed to be just like you will. FWIW, my oldest son made it into an Ivy and he never had any of those schools on his list. He just wanted to find the best opportunity at the best price with the best fit for him…it just happened to be an Ivy. I wish you all the best
I think everyone hopes @futurecollege00 finds a great college when the time comes.
But the reality…it’s a shot in the dark to prepare a “short list” without SAT or ACT scores.
It’s good to find a range of colleges that one might eventually be interested in applying to. In addition, it’s important to try to find characteristics that one might like in a college.
This student needs to look at a wide range of colleges and plan to cast a broad net. He or she needs significant financial aid or so it seems. Plus the student currently thinks medical school is in the future (which may or may not end up really happening for any number of reasons).
I applaud this student for thinking about this. But really…he will only be a pig farmer if that is what he chooses to do at the end of high school…and frankly, I find that comment insulting.
@futurecollege00 think outside of what you currently know.
And as I said earlier…one can be accepted to medical school from any college in this country of the MCAT and GPA are excellent, the student has relevant related activities, good letters of reference, interviews well, etc.
@thumper1 I’m sorry for coming off as offensive. I was hyperbolizing when I said that. and I’m not trying to be picky here, but I’m a girl. It’s ok though; you didn’t know. I understand that it is unrealistic to create a “short list” before I have more grades/test scores. What I meant to say was those are the colleges that I would enjoy going to and I used the wrong terminology.
My opinion is that anywhere that is 100% need met should be on your list if you are low income. I have a rising senior who is smart but isn’t as academically inclined or test savvy as his younger brother. My guess is that I will end up paying the same or slightly more for him to go to the state flagship as for little brother to go to an elite private school. And I’m not really that low income. But enough to bring down the cost to below $25,000, which is what the state school will cost.
Use Columbia as your ideal if that’s what it is. But there are many other schools that have comparable programs that you can be successful at. And especially if med school is in the future, undergrad prestige doesn’t matter anyway.
Plus unless there is a new $50m science center (or whatever) with your dad’s name on it, no one is better than 50/50 at a place like that, even with perfect test scores. Getting into college is critically important. But Columbia not so much. Don’t make yourself unnecessarily stressed about that detail. Good luck and enjoy yourself in high school!!
My opinion…this is only true if this student gets a SAT or ACT score that is competitive for admission to these schools. Many of these schools that meet 100% of need for all are highly competitive for admissions. The first hurdle is to get accepted. At some, 95% of applicants are denied admission.
This student needs to cast a broad net…a very broad one.
Agree ^^
@futurecollege00 if you haven’t already done this, now is the time to try and get your hands on some SAT and ACT study guides and study. Test scores are so important and I would go as far to say a bit more important than GPA if you’re shooting for elite colleges. For Columbia, 1450-1590 SAT, 32-35 ACT
Ok. Do you have any specific recommendations?
You need to make a list of your criteria…the things you would like to have in a college.
Columbia is urban, private, not religious, not huge but in a HUGE city, has a wide variety of majors.
Is that what you are looking for?
See if your high school will let you take the PSAT as a sophomore. Use that to get an idea of where your preparation needs to be focused.
@thumper1
I’m also looking at NYU, Stony Brook, University of Rochester, RIT, Cornell, Syracuse, Clarkson, St. Lawrence. All are private, not religious, relatively small, and have a wide variety of majors, too. Some of them are in more rural/suburban settings, but from what I’ve found each one has something different that I like about it, and I would enjoy any of them no matter where I attended. I’m looking at location (all NY state), strong curriculum, majors, research opportunities, study abroad options, and a strong campus community.
@Snowball City
Yes, I am taking the PSAT in the fall.
I don’t have recent first hand experience, but NYU had a reputation for bad financial aid. If you are lower income you should be able to find somewhere with a good financial aid package. Don’t underestimate the importance of that. If your scores are not good enough to get into a 100%need school, you can still probably find somewhere that will help you more than NYU. (I’m an NYU grad school alum, so I’m not meaning to trash them, but I don’t think their undergrad is something you should go massively into debt for).
Why do you care so much that the college be in New York state?
yeah, I looked at NYU’s financial aid. It’s certainly not the greatest, but I’m gonna give it a try anyway.
I want to stay in NY so I don’t have to be too, too far away from home. I know that’s contradictory considering that I live upstate and yet I two schools on my list are in NYC, but then again, it’s hard to explain how salt tastes without saying that it’s salty.
When you do start getting enough info to look seriously at schools, expand your range into Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. There are a LOT of good schools in those states, and many meet need. They likely wouldn’t be much farther away that New York City, if not closer.