Decisions, decisions

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As a senior in highschool trying to get into a good college i've been pretty stressed out lately trying to think of where to go.</p>

<p>I have a 4.25 GPA and 1300 SAT. 1910 with writing. </p>

<p>I want to eventually go to med school too. </p>

<p>The main schools i've been looking at are TCNJ, Villanova, Bucknell, Lehigh, and Cornell</p>

<p>some i've ruled out but haven't done a ton of research so please tell me if you think this is wrong or i should reconsider certain things</p>

<p>Villanova I pretty much ruled out because its about twice as much money as TCNJ and for med school it doesn't seem like a much better option. I'd feel a little more accomplished i guess but i don't think I'd personally like it any more than TCNJ and I don't think it's as good for going to med school (not 100% sure though)</p>

<p>Lehigh my dad is telling me is mainly an engineering school. Is this even true? I liked the campus a lot from what I've seen.</p>

<p>Bucknell I've heard is very small and honestly I'd probably just choose TCNJ over it anyway since i like the campus and both aren't all that prestigious</p>

<p>Cornell is the main other choice because it's very prestigious and i'd definitely feel like i did great getting in. However, there are definite drawbacks
-Much more money (although it will probably give some assistance)
-bigger class size (i like a moderate size class but not where i can't even know my professor or ask questions
-4.5 hours away
-Will probably be one of the lower level students/more kids i don't relate as well to
-need to take 2 SAT subject tests (smallest factor probably because it's something i should do if everything else is right)</p>

<p>TCNJ probably clear that this is the main one I've been thinking about. In one sense it...
-has many classes of 20 or so, so i could get to know people and my professors
-great campus I've been to. pretty close too (30min.)
-More kids i could probably relate to/ seems more fun
-less expensive
-i don't know how it is with Cornell but there is an 84% acceptance rate into med school, compared with a national average of 45%</p>

<p>the only problem with TCNJ is i feel like I'm kind of "settling" because I've worked really hard in school and in my mind picture TCNJ as just another school that no one knows about. I guess thats a small factor and overall it is pretty good (average about 1300 SAT and 4.0 GPA).</p>

<p>Sorry for how long this is, any help would be greatly appreciated</p>

<p>Thanks,
David</p>

<p>ps: I plan on taking the ACT's on the 25th because if i do try to go to Cornell my SAT's aren't good enough.</p>

2

<p>.Anything?</p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

3

<p>I'm not sure whose stats you're looking at. TCNJ doesn't have an average SAT anywhere close to 1300. According to USNews, it was 1235 last year. Bucknell is far and away a better school between the two - much more selective (29% admitted vs 47%) and much more prestigious. It's average SAT is 1330 - almost 100 points higher than TCNJ. Also a much better acceptance rate into med school.</p>

<p>BTW, a recent study showed Bucknell grads at mid-career make the most money of graduates from any liberal arts college, and more than the graduates of half of the Ivy League schools including Cornell.</p>

4

<p>really? online i saw TCNJ had an average SAT around like 1250, and when i went to the campus they said they had most scores at 1300</p>

<p>Do you know the acceptance rate into med school from Bucknell? I've heard it's just so small</p>

<p>i was pretty impressed with this from TCNJ
US News and World Reports ranks The College of New Jersey as the top master's degree level public university in the Northern United States[7], while Barron's Educational Series Profiles of American Colleges lists the college among its 75 "Most Competitive" institutions[8][9]. The college is also notable for its quality of life; it currently ranks 7th in The Princeton Review's "Happiest Students" list[10], and features a first-year retention rate of 95%[11].</p>

5

<p>Bucknell and Lehigh are more prestigious than TCNJ.</p>

6

<p>why care so much about prestige? Go to the school that you like the most.</p>

7

<p>well for me its like "I've worked so hard, I want people to recognize the school i've went to"
HOWEVER, if both schools can get me where i want to be (graduating from a good medical school) then i'd much rather choose the school i like better/am more comfortable with (TCNJ most likely) than the one thats more prestigious (Bucknell and Lehigh)</p>

<p>the main question then would be..can TCNJ get me into a good medical school if i get the good grades (which i know i will)? It seems like it could but i'd like to find a list of the med schools people went to after it and how good those med schools were (There was an impressive list at the tour but who knows how many went to each of those)</p>

8

<p>Here's a PDF about Bucknell's premed program.
[url=<a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/Documents/Admissions/Fact%20Sheets/Health1.pdf%5DPDF%5B/url"&gt;http://www.bucknell.edu/Documents/Admissions/Fact&#37;20Sheets/Health1.pdf]PDF[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>Quote: "Bucknell has averaged 80–85 percent placement in medical schools for students who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher."</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the link, the thing is if its acceptance rate to med school is the same as TCNJ thats not really a reason for me to go to it over TCNJ</p>