<p>I used to have a 3.73 GPA but now it's a 3.55 and I really have no idea where to apply. My list used to consist of Duke (ED), Vanderbilt and Emory, but now I just have no clue.</p>
<p>SAT: 2020 (CR:620, Math:680, Writing:720)
SAT II: Will take in the fall
GPA: 3.55
HPA: 4.53
Rank: 89/371 (top 25%)
AP: Not sending most of my scores haha but I've taken AP Physics B (dropped second semester), AP US GoPo (2), AP Calc AB (5), AP Human Geo (4), AP Lang (2), AP Macro (?) AP Lit (?), AP USH (?); taking AP Psych and AP World next year
IB: Haven't received any of my scores but these are all my exams: IB Chemistry (SL), IB Math (Calculus- SL), IB Spanish (SL), IB HOA (HL), IB Psychology (HL), and IB English (HL)
- Taken 5 community college classes</p>
<p>ECs:
- Student Council: Secretary (9th), SGA (11th and 12th)
- Debate (9th)
- MUN (11th and 12th)
- Red Cross (10th-12th, president 11th and 12th, raised $1,000+ last year)
- started a foundation that collects donations to be sent to impoverished schools (raised $5,000+ last year)
- NHS
- Volunteered at the hospital the past 2 summers
- Shadowing a few doctors this summer
- 300+ community service hours</p>
<p>School type: top 10 in national ranking, very competitive
- not applying for financial aid (does that even help?)</p>
<p>I REALLY want to go to Notre Dame or Emory (either one would be amazing). I'm applying to ND early action no matter what, but do I have a shot of getting in? Emory will probably be ED 1 or ED 2, haven't decided. My mom wants me to apply to Duke ED... </p>
<p>I have a list of 29 schools which is waaay too much. My big question is: what major universities do you recommend I apply to? What range of acceptance rates should I be looking at?</p>
<p>Honestly I am probably not as qualified to answer this but I think your chances of Duke are not that good! Your SAT’s and GPA do not seem high enough especially for ED.</p>
<p>Unless you are URM, those schools are all very reachy, except maybe Emory ED. Look at schools like Tulane and Miami. Better fit for your stats, and still awesome schools!</p>
<p>URM = underrepresented minority, which usually refers to having black or hispanic hertage. Asians, though minority, are not underrepresented in colleges. Since most colleges care about ethnic and cultural diversity, it can help your chances significantly if you are a qualified applicant from an underrepresented group.</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? What type of campus interests you (small school / big city)? Other schools you may want to consider - Colgate, Trinity University, SMU and Tulane. Just be sure to give yourself a good range of schools. My son knew he was in at one of our big state schools and that was his one safety. He then applied to several reaches and a few matches. He then received a nice scholarship from one of his matches that made it just a little more expensive than the state school. The opportunity to really get to know his professors, and be in small classes convinced him to attend the small school. Be sure to look at graduation rates. We made a spreadsheet with the following columns Tuition / Room & Board / Aid / Total Cost / 4 yr grad rate / 5yr grad rate / 6yr grad rate / # of students / # of students in your intended major / SAT Range for mid 50% / Percentage of students in the top 10% in high school / US News ranking. It was very helpful to be able to quickly see how schools compared. In TX - A&M graduates about 45% in 4 years where Trinity University graduates around 70% in 4 years. More extreme examples - Cal Poly (good engineering program) graduates only 25% in 4 years while Carleton graduates 89%. We found the graduation rate along with cost to be the most helpful in choosing a school, because your ultimate goal is to graduate with a good degree with as little debt as possible. Good luck!</p>
<p>SAT II: Will take in the fall
GPA: 3.55
HPA: 4.53
Rank: 89/371 (top 25%)
AP: Not sending most of my scores haha but I’ve taken AP Physics B (dropped second semester), AP US GoPo (2), AP Calc AB (5), AP Human Geo (4), AP Lang (2), AP Macro (?) AP Lit (?), AP USH (?); taking AP Psych and AP World next year</p>
<p>Your mom may not realize that schools don’t really use the Writing score on the SAT, so your Math + CR is only a 1300. That’s not good for these top schools. </p>
<p>Your rank also is going to hurt you.</p>
<p>Apply to a couple of schools that your mom wants, but be prepared for rejections. </p>
<p>Are you retesting? Take the ACT as well, since you’re strong in Writing. </p>
<p>How much will your parents pay? That will largely determine where you should apply.</p>
<p>You need to be looking at schools where your M+CR score is at least in the upper 50% of the frosh class. Again, your GPA and rank will hurt.</p>
<p>What are your safety schools (schools that will accept you and you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered.)</p>
<p>AP: Not sending most of my scores haha but I’ve taken AP Physics B (dropped second semester), AP US GoPo (2), AP Calc AB (5), AP Human Geo (4), AP Lang (2), AP Macro (?) AP Lit (?), AP USH (?); taking AP Psych and AP World next year</p>
<p>You can’t pick and choose. All AP scores get sent.</p>
<p>Cost isn’t an issue for me at all (so blessed), so it all depends on my stats. I’m really not sure what would be a good safety school for me. Here are my criteria though:</p>
<ul>
<li>good medical advising (NEED to get into med school)</li>
<li>medium sized school (small classes, but large enough to be meeting new people all the time, definitely not as big as UF)</li>
<li>premed or biology major</li>
<li>MUST have a good social scene - only in college once!</li>
<li>has to have a beautiful campus</li>
<li>diversity is preferable </li>
<li>clean dorms are also preferable
*not in FL lol (UF is the only FL school I’m applying to… or maybe I shouldn’t even bother? CONFUSED!)</li>
</ul>
<p>@CanuckHorn - I was thinking about Colgate, but I’m not sure if it’s good for premed (then again, I’m not sure about the majority of my list…). I don’t really follow the “top 10%” part because at my school, kids every year from top 40% get into places like Emory and Notre Dame. On Tulane, I just do NOT want to go to New Orleans! Not my type of city haha. I prefer a suburban or rural city, unless it’s Los Angeles. The spreadsheet sounds like a nice idea, but I’m just so confused as to what range of colleges will accept me!</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids - I’m still waiting for my SAT scores from June, so hopefully those will be better. My rank will definitely increase to at least the mid 70s after I take the 3 college classes I’m signed up for next month. Unfortunately/fortunately, I’m definitely preparing rejections… I’ve never taken the ACT so I only have one shot at it in the fall (if my SAT scores aren’t good enough) for early apps :(. My parents are covering the total cost. Not sure about my safety schools! AP scores don’t get sent to colleges unless you put the code, which I never do.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross very good school similar to Boston College. Holy Cross has fantastic pre-med program and very high med school acceptance rate. HC ALSO HAS VERY GOOD ALUMNI NETWORK WITH SEVERAL alumni clubs in Florida. Like ND, Holy Cross seeks diversity and the Holy Cross website is very informative.</p>
<p>Just to help you pare down, you can take Berkeley and UCLA off your list. Because they admit only a tiny sliver of OOS students, they take only the tippy top gpa’s. No chance.</p>
<p>AP scores don’t get sent to colleges unless you put the code, which I never do.</p>
<p>I agree. But you said that you’re not sending “most of your scores.” That means that you intend to send some of your scores. Once you try to send “some of your scores,” at that point, all of your scores will get sent.</p>
<p>UCLA and Cal have lousy premed advising and they don’t do Committee Letters. None of the UCs do CLs and none have good advising. These schools have way too many premeds and only about half of their med school applicants get accepted to a US MD med school.</p>
<p>What do you mean by: “have to get into med school?” You have to WANT to get into med school. </p>
<p>Frankly, since you’re not a very strong student, if you have hopes for med school then the last thing you should be doing is aiming for top schools. Your classmates will be stronger students than you are. </p>
<p>Premed prereq classes are WEEDER classes. They limit the number of As. So, guess what that means? If you’re not one of the strongest students in those classes, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get the A’s. </p>
<p>To get accepted to med school you need a very high GPA and a strong MCAT score, along with good LORs, medically-related ECs, etc. </p>
<p>I’ve seen too many premeds strive for top school admissions, but their stats are average for the school. Later they’re complaining that their GPAs aren’t med school worthy. Well, that’s because to many of their premed classmates were much stronger students and grabbed all the A’s.</p>
<p>Colgate is a great school but very small and in a rural area. My daughter’s old boyfriend goes there for Pre-med. Your other list has a great deal of good options for you. All that matters is how well you do in college for Pre-med. Maybe you are better off applying to one of these schools and getting great grades while there. Your mom needs to be realistic about your chances with a 1300 SAT score. I guess you can apply to a few reach schools and appease your parents. Good luck!</p>