Critique my college list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As my junior year approaches, I am starting to put together a college list. I'd like to know if my list is reasonable based on my stats, ECs, etc.</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.94 UW, 4.06 W (These only include core courses)
Class Rank: 8 of 341
ACT: 34 (35 E, 36 R, 32 M, 32 S)</p>

<p>I took AP US History during my sophomore year. Next year, I will be taking AP Government, AP English Literature, and AP Physics. I will likely take 3-4 AP courses during my senior year.</p>

<p>ECs:
I play the cello in the school orchestra. I will continue this until graduation.</p>

<p>That is actually the only EC I have as of now. I am currently in the process of coordinating volunteer hours at my local soup kitchen. Also, I will likely get a job very soon.</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements:
Academic Awards from school (Both Freshman and Sophomore years)</p>

<p>I don't have any other awards as of now. I think that I am capable of winning an AP Scholar Award and possibly even a National Merit award.</p>

<p>That's all I can really think of right now. If I left anything important out, feel free to let me know.</p>

<p>I have posted my list below. I probably won't apply to all of these, as I would take any of the in-state (Michigan) options if I were accepted.</p>

<p>My list:
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
Central Michigan University
Ohio State University
Case Western Reserve University
Iowa State University </p>

<p>I haven't finished this list yet. I'm looking to pursue a pre-med track. Would there be any other colleges that would be a good match for me?</p>

<p>Also, would my lack of ECs significantly hurt me at any of these colleges other than the University of Michigan?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>It seems like a quite reasonable list. Where are you resident? what do the net price calculators tell you about affordability?</p>

3

<p>Most of these schools are matches/safeties, based on your scores and grades. It is a reasonable list, and these schools are relatively strong. Are there any schools outside the midwest you would consider? Will you require a lot of need-based aid? Some additional factors would help me make a better recommendation. Your ECs shouldn’t be a major issue. While they can enhance a strong application, they are only a small part of the equation. If you can commit to volunteer hours and/or find leadership opportunities, it might strengthen your application</p>

4

<p>@jkeil911 I am a Michigan resident. Judging by the net price calculators, these colleges would be pretty affordable for my family.</p>

<p>@sw0206 I would definitely consider schools outside the Midwest if they meet what I’m looking for in a school. I forgot to put what I’m looking for in my original post, so I’ll elaborate on that now.</p>

<p>Cost is an important factor. I’m strongly considering a career in medicine, so I’d like to get through undergrad with as little debt as possible. Financial aid will be important, since I will need quite a bit of it. </p>

<p>I’m not majorly concerned with the size of the college as long as the class sizes aren’t too large, there are plenty of research and employment opportunities, etc.</p>

<p>I’d like a college to have as many extracurricular opportunities available as possible. Whether it be volunteering, intramural sports, or clubs, I’d like to be much more involved in college than I am currently in high school.</p>

<p>Overall, I’d like a school that would allow me to become a competitive med school applicant (not extremely difficult to get a high GPA, many extracurricular/leadership/research opportunities, etc). </p>

<p>Hope this helped!</p>

5

<p>As long as you’re dedicated to your EC and it reflects on your app, you don’t need any more. Colleges would rather see commitment to a couple of EC’s rather than a long list of random clubs you don’t care for much. Volunteering is a good idea, though, since some colleges separate it from regular EC’s; however, you should do it because you care about the specific cause, not just to impress colleges. Since you’re pre-med, you do wanna minimize undergrad costs, so you need colleges that will either meet need or give you generous merit for your stats.</p>

6

<p>I see a range of costs in the schools on your list, OP. I also hear you say that these schools are pretty affordable for your family AND debt is an important consideration because you want to go to med school. </p>

<p>So I’m interested in further clarification. If I were going to med school, I would want to minimize my u/g debt, keep it no more than $25K unless I was expecting a grandparent to die and leave me more :D. I assume that’s why there are three good schools on here that will cost a MI resident 22-25K. That’s a good COA for a lot of students who are pre-med. </p>

<p>But what about the other schools? what do the npcs tell you about them? Can your family meet the EFC at each of these without your having to take out more than 5500 in loans (the most you can borrow first year), work and save 3-4000, and distribute over four years any savings you already have?</p>

<p>Your ACT score is good, a little weaker in math, for a school like CWRU, but is it enough to earn you enough merit to fill the gap between CRWU’s Cost of Attendance and what your family can afford to pay (plus 5500, savings, etc.)? That’s less likely, but still possible. </p>

<p>So I have these questions. Please try to answer them so that we can have a better picture whether we need to look at schools where costs are low enough that a 20-30K scholarship would make it possible for your family to make up the difference between merit and costs.</p>

7

<p>Alright, I will give some other schools to consider. I will try to offer up a few where I know merit and/or need aid would be good, but you will have to run a net price calculator to determine an approximate cost. And make sure you do run a net price for all schools you have interest in- don’t be turned away from a reach school just because of advertised price. Check out Purdue, Notre Dame, Loyola, Boston University, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Ohio Wesleyan, Cornell. These schools are very different, in terms of selectivity and atmosphere, but some of them may be good matches for you.</p>

8

<p>I wonder how Penn State got on your list @sw0206. To my knowledge they don’t offer good merit or need based aid.</p>

9

<p>@erinsdad That is true. I was just trying to supply a variety of schools, including some with good aid, but of course some of these schools are more pricey than others. Penn state would probably be comparable to OSU in terms of need-based aid and other factors, but it offers fewer merit opportunities. only the OP will be able to determine what exactly can be afforded, and can run a net price calculator for an estimation.</p>

10

<p>Good chances to get into Case by EA. Many admitted students get a merit scholarship of $20,000-$30,000, which makes it comparable with many in-state schools. But CWRU’s FA often includes a lot of loans, too. Their scholarship + grant money is lower than many schools meeting 100% financial need can offer. This is speaking to those students with EFC less than $15,000.</p>

11

<p>Good Stats!. There are lots of Pre med programs out there. Did you know that Pre Med isn’t even a major? What type of environment are you looking at? You can major in basket weaving and still be on a pre med track. Don’t short change yourself and just limit yourself in only State school. State school are large and you don’t get the intermit environment. If money is the issue, I would suggest going to community college for your basic course and than transfer into the bigger schools for the last 2 yrs. Most States school accepts core or basic classes from community college. My son attended IU and he took 1 yr of classes in Ivy tech and this saved me over 43k. </p>

12

<p>Med schools frown on community college courses since they’re typically less in-depth than “regular college classes”. There are some exceptions but AFAIK, not for Michigan cc’s.
In addition, with OP’s stats, s/he could get automatic merit aid or compete for full tuition scholarships at many schools - and going to community college would bar him/her from getting those, as financial aid for transfers is limited (see the thread: “did I cost myself thousands of dollars?”)
CWRU is known for good merit aid but your family would need to contribute.
You may want to look at smaller colleges where premed is less competitive.
In Michigan, Hope is known for excellent premed preparation but it’s a conservative, religious (Christian) college so it may not fit what you want. Also in Michigan, Kalamazoo and Albion have a good track record.
In PA, rather than Penn State (which is extremely expensive and does not have financial aid/merit, unlike OSU - even Shreyer Scholars only get $4,000 off 46k OOS/31k IS) look into Juniata, a safety with a good record of premed preparation and strong likelihood of merit aid, or Pitt, strong relationship to hospitals for premed internships/research and with scholarships attached to its honors college, which is super competitive (but you have the stats and the profile they want). If you want to live in a thriving city rather than a town that’s focused on OSU football, Pitt may be a better choice than theOSU, but you’d qualify for Honors and scholarships at tOSU too.
For a match, look at St Olaf (meets 100% need and has a merit scholarship competition), strong in the sciences and offers summer internships at the Mayo Clinic. Haverford would be a match for stats but a reach due to selectivity (top 10 LAC in the country), its premed students tend to be more cooperative than competitive and their rates of med school admissions are quite high; they meet 100% need without loans.</p>