Sound like weeder courses at those schools. OP, I wouldn’t let that turn you off from those schools if they interest you for other reasons.
“Still, the acceptance rates [at Bates and Middlebury] are only 15% at best.” (#14)
Bates recently took 31% outside the top 10% of their HS class; Middlebury recently took 9% outside the top quarter. These are good schools, but for the OP with a near perfect GPA, 7 of 9 APs, 33 ACT (at least 7 points higher than their outside range) and national recognition for her athletics, the 15% figure should not be part of the conversation.
Bates is not quiet. Nor is it easy.
When any college tells you its med school letter/endorsement or acceptance rates, it is not the number of kids who started with pre-med ideas and got into med school. It’s those who survived weeding and other standards.
And for some of these you need to get a deeper read on what they’re about, what they like, and for extra measure, you can often see what sorts of current students they highlight.
When med school is in your sights, look for a college where the early pre-med classes are more cooperative than competitive. In this respect, maybe Mt Holyoke or Smith come to mind, both part of a consortium with Amherst, UMass and Hampshire.
@merc81 Sorry to disagree, but students with higher scores than 33, especially females, are rejected by both of these schools routinely. My daughter’s school had a girl two years ago rejected by Middlebury with a 34 and 4.0 UW. She is at Columbia.
You are right, however, that admission rates change substantially on both sides of the average but what you don’t understand is that both schools have much higher proportions of recruits and legacy than many schools, so the published acceptance rate overstates a regular applicant’s chance with such a small class.
Class rank statistics are not very reliable when more than 50% of some of these classes are very selective high schools.
TCNJ for example says over 90% of its class is in the top 10% with an average ACT score of about 28. That seems impossible.
@merc81 thanks for that vote of confidence! This website and the whole admissions process make me feel vastly under-qualified sometimes. @lookingforward I went to a local Dartmouth info session the other day, and the admissions rep said that they do not purposefully weed out their pre-meds, does anyone know if her statement is true? And is that what you mean by cooperative at those other schools?
“My daughter’s school had a girl two years ago rejected by Middlebury with and 34 and 4.0 UW.” (#23)
I don’t doubt this at all, but this is exactly the type of single case that often gets cited as being relevant to the data as a whole.
“what you don’t understand is that both schools have much higher proportions of recruits and legacies than other schools”
I’m not sure what I posted that would make you think I don’t understand this. This could impact the OP, but not to the level where her odds “are only 15% at best.” (#14). Candidly, if it’s the case that a student with the OP’s exemplary academic achievement does only have this limited chance, then Middlebury should shelve their academic departments and become a sports camp.
I honestly don’t know what a rep saying “not purposefully” really translates to. You can try for feedback on the ore-med/med forum. See what range of info you get.
Weeding is classes/testing being discouragingly difficult.
Denison, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan
I’d add Grinnell to your list. Very similar to Carleton. Offers merit aid (one of the only top 20 LACs that does). Great school if you are pre-med: The smallest class sizes of any of LACs we visited (including many on your list). Beautiful facilities and the highest endowment per capital of all the LACs which goes into those aforementioned merit scholarships, facilities, and funding for student activities.
S was pre-med there and had a great experience. Not to many places when the O-chem class goes out for dinner on Thurs nights together. Your lab crashes? Students share their results with the faculty’s blessing. You miss class because you’re sick - students share their notes without hesitation. Being pre-med is hard enough without having to contend with weeder classes, sharp elbows and anxiety over whether the faculty know you well enough to write that critical committee letter.
She said they won’t tell anyone they can’t continue on the track, they just try to help them keep up with the work. I kept telling myself I didn’t want to go to Iowa, but everyone speaks so highly of Grinnell on these threads that I might have to go take a look. Thank you for those personal details, it sounds like a good deal!
ScaredNJdad- as you must certainly be aware of , many applicants op for the SAT over the ACT so it’s not surprising
I wonder where you got that from? Here is the CDS: https://cie.tcnj.edu/files/2014/07/TCNJ_CDS_2014-2015_FINAL.pdf
It shows 49% in the top 10%ile and the 75%ile ACT is 29. The SAT score is about the same from the concordance table (1970).
Try to remember not all high schools rank (or release rank info.) At some colleges, they tell the percentage of applicants whose hs do- and at some it hovers around 50%.
might try Holy Cross