<p>Hey, everyone!</p>
<p>I'm a Junior this year, and starting out the college search process.</p>
<p>As of right now, this is what I want in a school:
1. Biomedical Engineering (I'm absolutely sure on this)
2. Medium ~ Big size
3. Lots of school spirit/sense of community
4. Near an urban area, or a lot to do
5. East of the Mississippi/no further south than NC
6. I love watching football, so a D1 football team would definitely be a plus, but it's not absolutely necessary. Basketball is super nice, too.</p>
<p>These are my stats:</p>
<p>White female, RI, only child.
Current SAT: 2080 (660 CR, 690 M, 730 W 10 Essay). I say current because this was just a test run, I took it completely cold. I know, with preparation, it will go up.
I haven't taken SAT IIs yet, but I'm planning on taking Italian, either Bio or Chem, Math 1, and US History (should I take Bio or Chem?)
GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.7 W
High school: Extremely competitive large public, one of the best in the state.
Class rank: top 10%, unsure of exact number. Top 20.
Class load: very rigorous compared to my classmates. Especially freshman year, when I took an honors senior science compared to everyone else taking a non-honors freshman science. (I doubled up sophomore year and took sophomore science and the freshman science.) I've taken 2 APs so far (that's all that is offered for juniors) and am planning on taking 4 next year. I'll double up on sciences next year, as well.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Field hockey team (10, 11, will be 12) (state champions 10, 11)
Rec softball (9, 10, 11, will be 12) Anderson award - sportsmanship, leadership, determination, attitude
Italian club (9, 10, 11, executive board 12)
Student ambassador (9)
JV softball team (9)
Yearbook (9)
Photography club (10, 11, will be 12)
Model UN (10)
Students for Justice VP every year (10, 11, will be 12)
NHS (11, executive board 12) (not in 10th grade because I transferred and my guidance counselor forgot to check my grades to see if I was eligible, which I was)
Coaching a youth field hockey team (10, 11, will be 12)</p>
<p>Recs: I haven't gotten them yet, since I'm only a junior, but I probably will get them from my AP US History, AP English Lang, and Honors Chem teachers. Maybe my Honors PreCalc teacher.</p>
<p>Hook: Does female engineer count? Other than that, nothing really.</p>
<p>Work: ~10 hrs a week during the school year, ~20+ during the summer. I absolutely adore my job & I'll probably write an essay on it.</p>
<p>Volunteer: about 100 hours, many for a foundation that means a lot to me. My neighbor's son died at age five of epilepsy, and they started a foundation for epilepsy research. Also, I've done hours for my rec softball league, which has literally changed me in so many ways. This league means the world to me. When I go to college, I'll come back and coach during the summers.</p>
<p>Schools that I like a lot are:</p>
<p>Reach: Duke. I know it's a super long shot, but I think if I can get my SAT up, with excellent recs and essay, I may have a shot.</p>
<p>Match: UVa, U Pittsburgh, Boston U.</p>
<p>Safety: UVm, UConn. </p>
<p>I'm wondering if Pitt and BU are more safety than match. Looking at the results threads I feel super confident about them.</p>
<p>I absolutely refuse to go to URI.</p>
<p>I love UNC - Chapel Hill, but their BME department is weird. It's a BME track, and I'm fairly sure it's not accredited. I'd love some input on this, though. If anyone could clarify, that'd be lovely.</p>
<p>Money is also a concern. I doubt we'll get any financial aid, me being an only child. My parents have good jobs. That said, we think we can afford ~30,000$ a year, total. Merit aid and scholarships that don't take income into account are really my only hope, so I'm wondering if that rules out reach schools, where I probably won't get as much merit aid.</p>
<p>Thank you all so so much in advance :)
Good luck to everyone getting results/applying!</p>