help me with college list (Please)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm planning to major in biology and go into med school</p>

<p>state resident</p>

<p>My stat: 3.9(unweighted) / 4.5(weighted) GPA Rank- 19/429</p>

<p>taking 4 AP classes in 12th, 3 AP in 11th</p>

<p>ACT - 24 (I know)</p>

<p>Extra curriculars - average or below (I think) captain in swimming, hospital,library volunteer
mission trip, other activities</p>

<p>I prefer small schools(LAC), but it's not necessary.
I need financial aid
So far here's my list</p>

<p>Macalester (so far my top choice)
Carleton (not so much info about school but interested)
Colby
Denison
U of Michigan or Washington in St.Louis
Wisconsin Madison
San Diego
Minnesota Twin cities
UNC- Chapel Hill
University of Washington (my sister goes here)
Creighton (safety)
UNL (safety)</p>

<p>can you help narrowing down my list to 6-10?
new LACs and other colleges are always welcome</p>

2

<p>State resident of what state?? Can your parents afford a LAC? You have very little chance at Carleton, Macalester, UNC-CH.</p>

3

<p>I’m resident of NE
My parents have low income so they can’t afford it much
I hope to get scholarships, and loans
I figured UNC-CH, Carleton as reach but why is Macalester reach?
and what schools do you think I can get in?
Any more LACs?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

4

<p>Your ACT is going to make many schools a reach… It’s actually much lower than a typical pre-med student. This is just my opinion, but anyone who scores lower than an ACT 28 (91 percentile) is going to find pre-med classes too hard.</p>

<p>Your low ACT score makes it look like your school has major grade inflation. An ACT 24 is in the 75 percentile.</p>

<p>Have you retaken it? Have you take the SAT - some do better on the SAT.</p>

<p>Which San Diego? Your ACT is too low for the UC’s, WUSL, WI-Mad, UNC-CH, Carleton, and really for most top ranked schools.</p>

<p>BTW…how is your sister paying for U Wash since she’s an out-of-state student, and your family is low income? Did she have to take out student loans? </p>

<p>You say that your parents are low income…that can mean almost anything here on CC…do you know how much they earn?</p>

<p>You say that you need F/A…are you talking about student loans? If you are, then you’ll also need student loans for med school. If you take out $200K+ in undergrad student loans, and then take out another $200-350K+ in student loans for med school, do you realize how much you’ll have to pay back each month?</p>

5

<p>then, what school seems to be right match for me?</p>

6

<p>Obviously, I made some dumb choices deciding which college is right for me</p>

<p>My sister is on student loan ( I think)</p>

<p>for the ACT, I’m just bad test taker. All of my friends who are not even top 10% have ACT scores above 25</p>

<p>I’m sure SAT is not going to help me. I’m retaking ACT in Oct. </p>

<p>I’m appreciating your honest opinions</p>

7

<p>Competition to enter med school is lessening every year. Go to any school where you’ll be at the top of your class and not waste money on an undergraduate education. It will be much easier to get accepted to a med school if you have great grades at an average ranked college. If you do it right you should have no problems getting in…your undergrad college is meaningless.</p>

8

<p>what specific school do you think is a match for me? from my list or other colleges</p>

<p>I somehow really like Macalester so what ACT score would help me to get in Macalester or other colleges on my list?</p>

9

<p>I think you should sign up for the SAT in November for a couple of reasons…</p>

<p>1) It doesn’t have Science Reasoning ( many kids score low on the ACT in that section) What was your SR score? </p>

<p>2) Some find the SAT easier, and therefore get a higher score than the equivalent ACT. </p>

<p>3) Some schools will only use the Math and Critical Reading sections for determining admission, so if you are likely to score higher in those sections (rather than the writing), you’ll possibly improve your chances.</p>

<p>What were your individual ACT scores…Math, Science, Writing, Reading, English?</p>

<p>BTW…you say that you’re a bad test taker. Are your scores lower in the Reading sections of the ACT? Are you a slowish reader? If so…when you silently read, do you kind of “pronounce” the words in your head? (Slower readers do this). Get something to read and test yourself. </p>

<p>If you find that you are “pronouncing” the words in your head while reading, force yourself to stop by quickly moving your finger under each sentence…this forces you to quickly move to the next word without the pronouncing problem. You need to kind of “skim” the words…kind of “absorb” each word…without “sounding it out” in your head.</p>

<p>It is usually pretty easy to bring up the Writing score portion of the ACT. Do you have a practice book? If not, go to [ACT</a> Test Prep : Sample Tests](<a href=“ACT Test Prep | ACT”>ACT Test Prep | ACT) Go to the “Practice Questions” line and click on “Writing”. While you’re there, do some of ther other practice sections, too. </p>

<p>As for college suggestions…let me keep looking for you :slight_smile: I’ll have some suggestions, soon.</p>

<p>I agree with WaitingDad. It’s better for you to go to a decent state school and get top grades. Since your family can’t pay, and most F/A is student loans, it’s not a good idea that you rack up a lot in student loans, since you still have medical school to pay for. </p>

<p>But, there is still some competition for med school. While one friend’s child was accepted to 4 of the 5 med schools he applied to, another friend’s child didn’t get accepted at all. And, the second friend’s child had good grades (3.7) from a great school. But, I don’t know what either kids’ MCAT scores were.</p>

<p>Anyway…you’re in Nebraska right? I’ll start looking there. </p>

<p>Do you know what your parents’ income is? I want to know to figure out if you’d qualify for any grants.</p>

10

<p>My ACT score was English 22 Math 26 Reading 21 Science 26 Writing 9</p>

<p>I had 24 composite two times in row (lack of practice)</p>

<p>and the test that I took before above score, I got English 25 Math 29 reading 20 science 22 writing 6</p>

<p>mom2collegekids, you are right. I’m slow reader. During the ACT, I only have time for 2sections of reading. So I pretty much guess the half …
I will try to take your advice by skimming the words</p>

<p>The reason I’m not taking SAT is that PSAT that I took in 11th grade turned out horrible- 140 which is below 24 in ACT
I generally suck at English, so SAT doesn’t seem right test for me </p>

<p>If I’m staying in NE, I’m pretty sure I will choose between UNL and Creighton.
I also agree with WaitingDad too, but, this might sound arrogant, I want to get out of NE and attend schools on my list (especially LACs) </p>

<p>I’m not sure about my parents’ income but I’ve had free/reduced lunch for 3 years (2yrs free)
This is late time to ask my parents so as soon as I ask, I will try to post</p>

<p>Isn’t there colleges that take tests less seriously? and is colleges on my list hopeless?</p>

11

<p>There are many schools that are test-optional these days, however most probably aren’t the right choices for someone trying to go pre-med. I would try taking the ACT again and doing many practice tests in the meantime. If you could raise your score a few points you’d have a much better shot at many of these schools. Good Luck! :)</p>

12

<p>then, can you help narrowing down my list ro 6-8?</p>

13

<p>I think that you should look at this list of schools that are test optional and pick one or two more test optional schools [Optional</a> List | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]Optional”>ACT/SAT Optional List for Fall 2025 - Fairtest) </p>

<p>I don’t know whether you can receive merit aid without submitting test scores and I also don’t know whether any of these are need-blind, but I would recommend taking a look at Franklin & Marshall, College of the Holy Cross, Wake Forest, Mt. Holyoke (if you’re female), Gettysburg, Lawrence and Goucher.</p>

14

<p>You might want to look at University of Scranton in PA. With your stats you would probably qualify for a scholarship. I have friends who are physicians and their son who also wants to go to med school choose this school.
Since 1999, the acceptance rate of University of Scranton applicants to medical, dental and other health professions schools has averaged 80%, with acceptance rates for individual years ranging from 73% to 100%</p>

15

<p>You may want to go to collegeboard.com and look to matches based on your SAT / ACT / GPA. (your list shows the need for some guidance). Also you may want to check a little deeper into any test optional school that you are thinking about. Because you may be able to get in test optional, but my understanding is that they look at SAT / ACT if you require finical aid. So you may find yourself in a school that you can’t afford.</p>

16

<p>Yes, try skimming the words…just “absorb” the words in a sentence…don’t pronounce them.</p>

<p>Don’t let your PSAT score decide anything. Take the SAT…take it!!! :)</p>

<p>Is English not your first language? Your Writing score is so low. But, that is also the easiest area to increase. :slight_smile: What are you doing to improve that area? </p>

<p>Seriously, with some help (perhaps an English teacher at school might provide some help) you could easily boost that score up 10 points - at least!!! And then your ACT composite would rise. IF you’re not comfortable with talking to an English teacher, then go to the library and get an ACT (or SAT) practice book and read the beginning sections on Writing. They will teach you how to improve that section. Then, do the practice sections. (And practice reading faster, too! :slight_smile: ) You could buy these practice books, but the library would be free. :slight_smile: Or, your school couselor may have some that you can borrow!!</p>

<p>Even though your parents income is low enough for free lunch, that doesn’t mean that it’s low enough for grants. So, please ask them.</p>

<p>University of Scranton is a private Catholic U. I don’t recommend it for you. While it will likely give you an F/A package, it will mostly be loans. I went to their scholarship page, and they don’t give big dollar amounts in merit money - and you would need a lot of money. The problem is the Scranton doesn’t have a big endowment, and it’s the endowments that fund their merit money.</p>

<p>OK…now I’m going to look for schools for you… :)</p>

17

<p>Because of - Collegebound Nebraska [UNL</a> | Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/financial_aid/assistance.aspx]UNL”>http://admissions.unl.edu/financial_aid/assistance.aspx) - You definitely need to apply to-</p>

<p>UN-Lincoln - your state’s flagship… [University</a> of Nebraska–Lincoln](<a href=“http://www.unl.edu/]University”>http://www.unl.edu/) Admission info: [UNL</a> | Information for Prospective Students](<a href=“http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/prospective/]UNL”>Admissions | Nebraska)<br>
It will likely be one of your cheapest options. Cost to Attend: [Estimated</a> Tuition & Other Costs](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/cost/index.aspx]Estimated”>http://admissions.unl.edu/cost/index.aspx)
Scholarship info… [In-state</a> Freshman Scholarships](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/scholarships/freshresident.aspx]In-state”>http://admissions.unl.edu/scholarships/freshresident.aspx)</p>

<p>Plus, med schools are likely to look favorably at a student who went to his flagship state. 41% live on campus, so that would likely provide a “well rounded” college life of academics and weekend social life. :slight_smile: This school would also have the spirited sports aspect to it. Even though you may not have a high interest in following college sports, I know that kids often “get the spirit” once on campus and find that aspect is a fun part of their college years.</p>

<p>Department of Biology… [Major</a> Details](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/majors/seemajor.aspx?MajorID=34]Major”>http://admissions.unl.edu/majors/seemajor.aspx?MajorID=34)
Pre-Med info - [Major</a> Details](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/majors/seemajor.aspx?MajorID=68]Major”>http://admissions.unl.edu/majors/seemajor.aspx?MajorID=68)</p>

<p>Red Letter Days… [Red</a> Letter Days](<a href=“http://admissions.unl.edu/open_house/red_letter_days/index.aspx]Red”>http://admissions.unl.edu/open_house/red_letter_days/index.aspx) UN is having a special preview day for health field majors on October 26th. You should try to go that day!! :slight_smile: If you can’t go that day, you should schedule a campus visit on another day that campus is in class or on a general “red letter day” (see link above). Look at your HS calendar and find a day off or a low-academics day and schedule a tour for then.</p>

<p>If your income is low enough, you should get some grant money (and possibly the SMART grant for junior and senior year since you’re taking a science major). </p>

<h2>Even if you had to borrow some money for UN-Lincoln, you wouldn’t have to borrow as much as you would at most other schools. Don’t forget, you’ll also be borrowing $250k+ for med school, so you’ll want to minimize how much you borrow for undergrad. </h2>

<p>It looks like UN-Omaha also has a good bio program - and 6% of its students are in biology/medical science majors…so that might be a good “match choice” to apply to. Plus, it’s a bit cheaper than the flagship U. :slight_smile: It looks like the annual cost to attend (tuition, room, board, etc) is about $16,000 - not bad - especially if you’d get aid for most/all of that. This U is smaller, so maybe that’s important to you?</p>

<p>If you live within a short drive (couple of hours) to UN-Omaha, then it would be a good choice for you. Many kids probably go home on weekends, so you’d have that option, too. It looks like about 10% live on campus. I don’t know what % live in off campus housing or how many commute from home. </p>

<p>I think that UN-Lincoln is your best choice - best school for your academic needs and circumstances, and best school for your financial circumstances. Let me know what you think… :)</p>

18

<p>thanks for all the replies (especially mom2collegekids)</p>

<p>My parents’ income is $29,000 (5 family members)</p>

<p>Is ACT only reason why I’m not good enough for the colleges on my list?</p>

<p>so if I raise my ACT by 3-4 points, would it change a lot of thing?</p>

<p>To be honest, I want UNL, creighton to be last choice…</p>

19

<p>I have to disagree with mom2collegekids about The University of Scranton. Yes, it is a private Catholic (Jesuit) college. But we have found their financial aid to be very generous, both merit and need based. Both of my kids go (have gone) there and loans were not a part of their packages. With your class rank, gpa and geographic diversity, you would be an attractive applicant. Plus, Scranton can be SAT/ACT optional. To qualify for that, you must be in the top 30% in class rank (not a problem for you), and submit 2 graded papers from high school. An interview may be required. You may not apply SAT optional if you are applying for PT, OT or nursing programs.</p>

<p>As scoutmom9 mentioned, they have an excellent track record for medical school acceptances. The academics are rigorous and the core requirements make for a well rounded student.</p>