Maybe you are right - I think he is caught up in prestige because of some of his peers and possibly even myself - but I think he would prefer these BSMD or BSDDS programs if he had any in - I have heard they are super competitive though.
I will look into notheastern since it has been mentioned a few times here!
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With those stats and willingness to ED, I very strongly recommend Lafayette College. They have an option of turning regular applications into ED2 by Feb 1. You will get the Duke tuition benefit too. They take ~50% of the class through ED and very strong in health sciences. Very supportive environment too. Checks all your boxes. Close, prestigious, small, strong health program, good diversity, etc.
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Would he have any interest in an HBCU? They do very well in medical/dental admissions. Youâre about halfway between Howard and Morehouse, geographically. Howard is quite selective, with a 30-ish% acceptance rate, but theyâre more forgiving on stats than comparably-prestigious PWIâs. (ED acceptance rate is over 60% fwiw) With both a med school and a dental school on site, plus all of the other opportunities in the DC area, it could be great for his goals. Theyâre also need-aware, which would be an advantage in your case since his tuition benefit dollars wouldnât come from their financial aid budget.
(Thereâs also NC A&T, in-state, which is not in the reach category, but is very strong in STEM and not as daunting in size as UNC or NCSU, and ticks the âclose to homeâ box.)
Northeastern might be bigger than he prefers, but the alternate-entry programs also have the advantage of a smaller cohort than transitions to the main campus together.
If he likes the idea of CMU, it does seem like a good fit in terms of STEM-focus, size, de-emphasizing freshman grades, and less-terrifying acceptance rates for the Mellon College of Science (although 22% is still pretty low) vs. the CS school (7%). Theyâre also DIII for sports, if soccer recruitment were a possibility. (So is CWRU.)
If you like Richmond, how do you feel about W&M? Smaller size, strong math & sciences, and they do have both ED1 and ED2. (Also a higher acceptance rate for men than women)
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I will look into Lafayette - never considered it before or know much about it.
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So many good options, thank you, thank you, thank you! Canât wait to research.
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I would look at Lafayette and the University of Rochester.
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Lafayette, Bucknell and Lehigh are all in the same category. Lafayette gave my family the best vibes. Lehigh is a bit larger. Bucknell is stronger in engineering.
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Thank you for so many suggestions all - I donât know why I am paying for a college counselor I get more out of CC lol.
Lol, the college counselor is a third party / âbad guyâ to take stress off the parent- child relationship.
Yep you are good. Not sure about State but the other three will be ok.
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I got a ton of very useful info here. We didnât use a paid counselor at all, and kid got into a tippy-top.
Is there any way that your son could be a recruited athlete for soccer for a good small liberal arts college? That would give him smaller classes, individual attention. His academics are probably good enough to pass a pre-read anywhere that might want him for soccer. You might be surprised to find that places like Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette, Vassar, Haverford, Washington and Lee, Davidson, Wesleyan, Hamilton, U of Richmond, Bucknell, etc. would want him as a soccer recruited athlete. Some of them might very well want him without soccer, too.
A lot is going to depend for him on how he finishes up this semester. That very strong upward trend with a credible background story is compelling, especially if he gets straight Aâs in the fall for RD apps.
He can go anywhere for premed and a math or science major. He can major in anything and be prehealth. Most schools would have a major that he would like, and most schools have perfectly acceptable premed/predental pre-req science classes.
Have him meet a few times with the guidance counselor, and let her tell the story of the struggle early on, and the extraordinary improvement to stellar academic performance once ADD was diagnosed and treated. His own essays should not be making excuses, but if he mentions it by working it into his essay that shows who he is, what his hopes and dreams are, why they should want him, so be it.
If the supreme court doesnât rule in time to affect this upcoming cycle of admissions, he would get a strong boost in his application. But even if they do rule, and the colleges scramble to change their criteria in time for this admissions cycle, he still is a strong enough candidate, especially if you can go the soccer recruit path, that he should be able to get into a good liberal arts college.
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I would not even KNOW where to start with soccer recruitment. We briefly considered this option in the beginning of his sophomore year when he was doing BOTH travel and school varsity soccer team but he/we were so overwhelmed with his diagnosis that fall that we put it on the back burner, stopped outside training and travel soccer, but kept varsity school soccer so that he can focus on his academics. He LOVES soccer and is very good at it, but I just donât know where to start to consider recruitment.
He has nothing to lose by filling out recruitment questionnaires at D3 schools. For example:
CMU: Men's Soccer Recruit Questionnaire - Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
Emory: Emory
Lafayette: Welcome to ARMS
Recruitment could certainly make the difference between getting in and not, at schools like this.
I keep going back and forth about suggesting College of Wooster, as Iâm not sure itâs above the curve for you in terms of prestige+distance⊠but itâs really excellent for STEM and pre-health - particularly strong in student research - and it could be a nice environment for him (small, supportive). Recruiting Form - The College of Wooster
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I had a 3.3 UW GPA in freshman year but had a solid 3.8- 3.85 UW GPA by my senior year (it was 3.9 UW 1st semester junior year but dipped due to burnout)- Northeasternâs alternate-entry options is how I originally was accepted (later was accepted to Boston campus- see my thread for more details)- but I think OP could have a decent shot at getting in through NU.in or Global Scholars if thatâs their vibe. Boston campus is much harder to get into and more competitive as a whole since thatâs the big pull to NEU for a lot of applicants. /musing
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Also NCCU, which has somewhat more of a liberal arts (including science) focus than NC A&T, but does not have engineering like NC A&T. In terms of âclose to homeâ, it is about 4 miles away from Duke.
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Cannot thank you enough!! Will see if he is still interested in the recruitment process. Will definitely look into Wooster as well!
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Thanks for the personal input - that is very helpful!
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Saint Louis University has a cool program for those who are very interested in Medical School. Medical Scholars Requirements : SLU
SLU is about 6k students in an urban campus but with a designated campus. They give decent merit money.
My daughter was accepted into the program but decided it was too small of a school for her.
She also wasnât sure she wanted medical school and the Medical Scholars program was the main reason she applied.
I think itâs a great option for someone who knows they want medicine. Check it out.
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Hey @Durham1972, this episode of YCBK profiles Guilford College.
(01:55:25) Lisa does a College Spotlight on Guilford College in Greensboro, NC
Two things that stood out to me is the very high acceptance rate into medical schools as claimed by the college (~75%) and support for kids with learning differences and needs. The host was raving about support and advising. Definitely worth a listen.
While rank and prestige are important to a lot of kids and parents, fit is often overlooked. Where a kid goes to college has no bearing on medical school admissions based on surveys of committee members. So, if medical school is the goal, I would look for fit first.
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