help help help help help! i have no idea what i'm doing

<p>So I've heard that the undergraduate degree school doesn't matter if you want to attend grad school. I do. I want to be a lawyer, doctor, or pharmacist. I currently have two full tuition scholarships to the University of Louisville that I can stack to give me room and board and a stipend. I have a full tuition scholarship to the University of Kentucky and I feel as if I could finagle room and board there. I also have a full tuition scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University (but I don't plan on using that one). Is it really worth busting my butt to go to a higher level university. I feel like I might be selling myself short by not, but would it really make that big of a difference? I am going into my senior year. </p>

<p>Past classes p.s. Advanced is the highest level you can take at my school next to AP
Freshman Year
AP Human Geography- A-4
Advanced English- A
Advanced Geometry- A
Advanced Spanish I- A
Advanced Biology- A
Gym/Health - A
Sophomore Year
Visual Art I- A
Advanced English- A
Advanced Algebra II- A
Advanced Chemistry- A
Advanced Spanish II- A
AP World Civ- A-4
Junior Year
Advanced Precal- B
Photography - A
AP English- A
AP Biology- A
AP US History- A
Advanced Spanish III- A
Senior Year (planned)
AP English
AP Art History
AP Spanish Language
AP BC Calculus
AP Physics B
AP Psychology</p>

<p>ACT- 30 (but i want to retake for around a 34)
SAT- idk yet : /</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars
Science Research (won many awards)
Science Olympiad
Chem Club
Spanish Club
NHS VP
Beta VP
Class VP
Student Council
Academic Team (we got top 50 in the nation)
National Art Honor Society
Mu Alpha Theta
I tutor and helped organize a dance fundraiser for cancer.</p>

<p>HELP ME COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL!!! :P what do i do? where should I apply?
Financially I'd be eligible for A LOT of financial aid from ivy and vandy. at other schools i'd probably compete for the full tuition scholarships, i'd hope...
scholarship/aid suggestions would be helpful as well. i think my family makes around 50k/yr.</p>

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<p>No one can answer that question for you except yourself.</p>

<p>There are many reasons to go to an elite college or university, however:

  1. The peer group. You can find smart kids at any school, even a third-tier state school, but you won’t be surrounded by them the way you will at an elite. I think my Yale interviewer put it best when he said that you can take any kid at Yale and find that kid at, say, the University of Georgia, but you can’t take any kid at UGA and find them at Yale. Almost everyone at an elite will be like you: smart, focused, towards the top of their classes. You learn a lot that way, and the competition motivates some people–not all, but some.
  2. The faculty. You’ll find a lot of big famous names at the elites–you’ll have a chance to sit in classes with the best and brightest, people doing groundbreaking work in every field. Some people find that very attractive. In addition, elites tend to have smaller classes earlier, so you get more of a chance to interact closely with professors (important for those grad school recs!) and have class discussions.
  3. Job placement. Maybe not too relevant to you, but who knows? The elites have very good job placement because of a) prestige and b) extensive alumni networks.
  4. Grad school placement. The elites have great placement into top medical schools, top law schools, etc.–although this won’t help if you’re in the bottom half of the class. Which you might be! Someone has to be.
  5. The pseudo-Gothic architecture. So pretty! Um, I mean…how did that get here… [shifty eyes]
  6. Resources/level of attention. The average Elite U student has more individual attention, opportunities, etc. coming their way than the average state school student. Of course, you won’t BE an average state school student, and special scholars programs do a lot to close that gap.</p>

<p>There are more, of course, some individual to a specific institution. On the other hand, the value and extent of each of the things I listed has been disputed on these very boards, and hotly. Hopefully someone else will come in to do that, because I’m tired.</p>

<p>You are definitely competitive for the elites, right up to HYPMS if you raise your scores, and you’d get a full ride or near full ride at a lot of them with your income level. On the other hand, you can certainly be successful if you go to Kentucky and I don’t know that you’d be significantly MORE successful going to Harvard. It’s really up to you: what are you seeking in a college, both for the four years you’ll spend there and for what it’ll mean afterward? An elite college may or may not be in line with those goals.</p>

<p>*I want to be a lawyer, doctor, or pharmacist.</p>

<p>I currently have two full tuition scholarships to the University of Louisville that I can stack to give me room and board and a stipend.</p>

<p>I have a full tuition scholarship to the University of Kentucky and I feel as if I could finagle room and board there. </p>

<p>I also have a full tuition scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University (but I don’t plan on using that one). </p>

<p>Is it really worth busting my butt to go to a higher level university. *</p>

<p>How could you finagle room and board at UK at this late of date? However, if you can, then go there.</p>

<p>Since your goals involve professional school (which is expensive and will likely cause big debt), you need to minimize debt for undergrad.</p>

<p>If you can’t get a better deal at UK, then probably U Louisville is your best bet (but get something in WRITING that you can stack those scholarships. Email the question to the FA/Scholarships office and then SAVE the response. Print it out and save it!)</p>

<p>I am a junior not a senior. I have a year left of high school to work UK for room and board. It is in writing that I can stack them, right on the scholarship offer.</p>

<p>If you’re a rising senior, how have you already been awarded scholarships to UK?</p>

<p>I’ve gotten my UK UofL and EKU scholarships from various competitions throughout my high school career. I actually have five to UofL but you can only stack two of them.</p>

<p>Ah…I see…These might be scholarships from science fairs or what-have-you. :)</p>

<p>Well, since you’re a rising senior, you don’t have to decide just yet. You may even have some other offers from other schools. :)</p>

<p>What are your stats? GPA and SAT or ACT?</p>

<p>Will you be a NMSF? What was your PSAT score?</p>

<p>noooo definitely no national merit.</p>

<p>GPA is 3.94 unweighted and 4.21 weighted
ACT is 30 but I’m hoping to take it again after serious studying in Sept and get a 34</p>

<p>My extra curriculars are listed above but some are
Class VP
Beta VP
NHS VP
Mu Alpha Theta
Tutoring
Science Fair</p>

<p>I think you should apply to very good schools since these 3 schools you’ve listed are obviously safties. See what FA these other prestigious schools give you and see if it is worth going. If not then go to UK, UoLouis, or East Kent.</p>

<p>You should save your money and go to one of those schools. You’ll be in a lot of debt if you go to a professional school. Not being in debt to start out will be a good thing.</p>

<p>You are more likely to get higher GPA at those schools. When it comes to Law/Pharm/Med, GPA and LSAT/PCAT/MCAT are the key to entry. Going to a better school will not improve your test scores.</p>

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<p>The OP is competitive for full-need school where he would be likely to get a full ride or near-full ride. The OP is also likely competitive for a variety of full tuition/full ride scholarships at certain state schools and lower-tier private schools, some of which may come with additional benefits. There’s no need to cut off the OP’s options at this stage of the game.</p>

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<p>Do you have any evidence for this assertion?</p>

<p>Whats an OP?</p>

<p>There are two points to be made here imo. First the quality of education you get is based on how much work you put into it. Second if you go to HYPMS you have a much higher chance of graduating that institution with a lower gpa than you would have a UK or one of the others. I base this statement on the fact that you are already questioning whether it is worth it to put in the work to just to get in. Have you considered that the work only gets harder once you are there?</p>

<p>OP=Original Poster</p>

<p>If you can get an ACT 32-34 or so, then you can broaden your list to include some top schools that meet need.</p>

<p>USC (calif) probably doesn’t get a lot of applicants from Kentucky, so there’s an idea.</p>

<p>IF you do get an ACT 32+, you will have more options for full need schools and schools that will give you big merit like you already have.</p>

<p>Take the SAT, too. Sign up for the October test.</p>