HELP! Which colleges should I axe from my college list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I need to narrow my college list by eliminating 1 or 2 schools. What schools should I get rid of and why?</p>

<p>Here are the schools I am applying to:
Yale, Stanford, Brown, Penn, Columbia, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Lehigh, UT-Knoxville, USC, WashU, UVA and GA Tech,</p>

<p>My parents are forcing me to apply to UT Knoxville, despite the fact that I consider GA Tech a safety.</p>

<p>Anywhoo- heres a bit of info about me.
If I were to describe myself in three words I would go with kooky, artistic, and driven. I am incredibly hard-working and ambitious. However, I definitely follow the "work hard, part hard" mantra. I love to have a good time and I want to go to a school were the student body actually has a chance to do things besides school work. I would like to continue dancing in college. I would also like to continue doing biochem/genetic research. I would like to go to a prestigious university, but I care more about the intellectual quality of my peers than the 'wow' factor. Since I plan to go onto med school, cost is definitely an issue. </p>

<p>And here are my stats/other information deemed pertinent.</p>

<p>Intended major: Biomedical engineering (Chemistry @ UChicago), plan to go on to get MD (and perhaps PhD as well)</p>

<p>From WV, 16 y/o senior (skipped a grade + started early), caucasian, both parents went to UVA, as well as grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents.</p>

<p>STATS
GPA u/w: 3.9
GPA w: 4.7
Class rank: 2/260</p>

<p>AP-Sophomore year
Bio-5, World-4, Stats-4, Human Geo-5
Junior year
Chem- 5, USH- 5, Macroecon- 5, Microecon-4, Eng. Language-5</p>

<p>SAT I
M-740, CR-800, W-760 = 2300</p>

<p>SAT II
Bio-800, Chem- 790, USH- 780, Math II-790</p>

<p>PSAT- 221
-will be National Merit Scholar for sure (WV's cutoff is about 204)</p>

<p>E/C
-danced for 9 years, numerous dance awards and scholarships (NCSA, ABT, SAB, etc)
- dance/community theatre 30+ hrs/week- leading roles, usually youngest in productions
-voice lessons
-200 hrs of community service at local hospital
-Pres of Young Dems, and Recycling Club
-Secretary of Beta Club
-involved with youth group and missionary work
-numerous academic awards for excellence in chemistry and math
-spent two months doing cancer research at Roswell Park (pretty good rep i think?), entering in siemens and intel, will be published for research in respected cancer journal</p>

2

<p>axe UChicago, I don’t understand why people who are possibly going into engineering keep applying to that school!!! (I know chemistry would be your choice if you went there but still, what if you go to UChicago and change your mind!)</p>

3

<p>gahh. i understand what you are saying, and I have thought much the same myself, but I simply adore UChicago. I visited it and fell head over heals in love with that school. I felt like I belonged there, which makes me hesitant to get rid of it. I appreciate your advice though!</p>

4

<p>If you liked Chicago, keep it. It’s more important that you like the school. There are enough paths to get to a MD or PhD that you would be well-served there.</p>

<p>This is obviously just my opinion, and others may differ.</p>

<p>Definitely Keep
Chicago (you liked it)
Georgia Tech (safe match)
UT-K (indulge your parents)</p>

<p>Probably Keep
Brown
Penn
Stanford
Vanderbilt</p>

<p>Maybe Keep
USC
WUStL
UVA
Yale</p>

<p>Consider Dropping
Columbia
Lehigh</p>

5

<p>I would say that you are well qualified for all of those colleges on your list, but I think only you can decide which ones you should drop. Look for patterns in the schools that you find most interesting.</p>

<p>For example, do you like schools with core curricula (Columbia, U Chicago) or open curricula (Brown)? What region of the country would you prefer? What size school? Of course you’ll have colleges that interest you that aren’t that similar to the others, but you should be able to find common threads among most of them.</p>

6

<p>“My parents are forcing me to apply to UT Knoxville, despite the fact that I consider GA Tech a safety.”</p>

<p>You are a WV state resident, where is the WV financial safety school on your list? How much cheaper is UT Knoxville than GA Tech? Your parents may consider it a financial safety.</p>

<p>Sit your parents down. Run the FAFSA and CSS Profile calculators at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How Much Will College Cost – BigFuture | College Board) and at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) Ask your parents just exactly how much money they will be able to contribute toward your education, how much debt they are willing for you to take on, and how much money they expect you to be earning during the school year and summer vacations. Be prepared for tears, but push yourself (and them) to be absolutely, brutally honest about the money situation. Until you know the truth about this, any college list is fantasy (even for a NMSQT finalist).</p>

7

<p>The statistical chance of getting into Yale or Stanford as an unhooked student from Chicago with some scores below the 75th percentile are small, probably less than 3%, so if you like all of your schools I’d drop one of those.</p>

8

<p>Other than what you’ve told us about yourself, what are the 3-5 most important criteria for you with regards to choosing college? I ask this because I don’t see an obvious pattern to colleges you’ve chosen, except that they are all very good.</p>

9

<p>Why do your parents insist on UT??? Sure, it’s a safety, but there are many other possible safeties with greater fit, or other advantages. Since you will be a National Merit Scholar, why not at least pick a safety that will give you a full-ride such as Oklahoma or Alabama in their honors college?</p>

10

<p>Well, Tennessee is closer to home. It’s also (arguably) better than Oklahoma or Alabama.</p>

11

<p>I would consider dropping GA Tech, Lehigh, Brown, and maybe Vandy. GA Tech, from what I heard, is basically “work all the time, play a little” (although the attitude towards work is up to you… i bet u can create a balance between work/play at GA Tech)… I believe that the quality of life there won’t be as good compared to that of other schools. Lehigh, Brown, and Vandy are not known for great biomedical engineering programs.</p>

<p>I strongly suggest that you apply to Duke and Rice if you are looking at doing biomedical engineering in college and going to med school. Duke’s biomedical program is often ranked #2 or #3 in the country (behind Johns Hopkins usually). Rice’s biomedical program also falls in the top ten. Rice’s location is excellent if you are planning on being a pre-med; Rice is next to the WORLD’S LARGEST medical center (about 5-10 walk on campus) consisting of 8-15 hospitals and 2 medical schools (Baylor and Southwestern I think). Rice usually boasts a 90 percent acceptance rate to med school; Duke usually has a 85-89% acceptance rate to med school (of course, you shouldn’t rely on these percentages alone in deciding where to go to school). Most importantly, Rice students are well known for “working hard and playing hard”- hence why we were ranked #1 by the 2010 Princeton Review College Guide for Best Quality of Life and #8 for Happiest Students.</p>

<p>Additionally, you can apply to an 8 year program that guarantees admission to Baylor Medical School (one of the best med schools in the country) after your graduation from Rice. Here’s a link: <a href=“http://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Rice_Baylor_FAQs.asp[/url]”>http://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Rice_Baylor_FAQs.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For these above mentioned reasons, I do believe that Rice is one of the best schools to do premed at.</p>

<p>In summary: I STRONGLY recommend applying to both Duke and Rice (they seem to be better fits for you) and eliminating Lehigh, GA Tech, and Brown. If you need to eliminate more schools, eliminate Vandy (not known for bioengineering), USC, and/or Columbia. Its up to you on how many schools to eliminate.</p>

12

<p>I would respectfully disagree with hmom. Of course you (the OP) don’t have a great statistical chance, but I would argue that you have better than most. Nearly perfect SAT scores and a clear dedication to dance (as one of many ECs) look very solid to me.</p>

13

<p>Also, I agree with IBClass06… if you love UChicago, be sure to apply!</p>

14

<p>

Er, what?</p>

<p>Vandy’s undergrad BME program is ranked #17. That’s pretty darned good – as strong or stronger than any of the OP’s choices except Georgia Tech and Penn.</p>

15

<p>

[/quote]
Nearly perfect SAT scores and

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A 2300 is a long way from near perfect at Yale and Stanford. At Yale more than a quarter of the class has 790 or above on each SAT section. The number is probably the same for the unhooked aat Stanford as they are allowed to bend more for athletes than the ivies. Considering 40% plus are hooked, the average unhooked admit has higher than a 2300.</p>

<p>Have no idea if the OPs dance awards/accomplishments are at the national level. If yes, chances go way up. If not, it’s just a nice EC and Y and S generally want more.</p>

16

<p>Keep: Chicago, Yale, Stanford, UPenn, Vanderbilt, WashU, UVA, GATech
Consider Adding: Duke, Rice, Emory, Cornell, WVU (In-state - you should be able to get into honors college with free ride if one is available)</p>

<p>One thing I’m confused about - if you’re looking for a work-hard, party-hard school, why did you love Chicago? Maybe you prefer a more intellectual climate than you suspect (hence why I kept Yale, I feel it is very similar to Chicago). The 4 privates I suggested fit the work-hard, party-hard description and have strong science programs.</p>

17

<p>“A 2300 is a long way from near perfect at Yale and Stanford.”</p>

<p>I mean, it sounds like a huge gap when you look at the cumulative score, but by section, the OP has one perfect score, and two that are within fifty points of the upper quartile. I think that Yale and Stanford would recognize that the OP is definitely qualified for admission based on academic performance, especially when you look at the other amazing test scores (four 780+ SAT II scores, three AP 4s, six AP 5s), independent research, and additional academic awards. Somehow I don’t think that an admission committee will look at all of that, in addition to sincere dedication to dance (30+ hours a week at times, nine years continuity) and community service (200+ hours, on top of mission trips), and think, “Oh… she’s fifty points short of the top quartile in math…” and reject her based on that criterion alone.</p>

<p>I’m not trying to be argumentative; again, I’m just trying to say that I would definitely give the OP better odds than 3%, or even 7% for that matter.</p>

18

<p>To be quite honest, I would give the applicant at least 50% chance at Yale or Stanford.</p>

19

<p>Wow! Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate all the feedback. I’m going to try to respond to everyone’s comments and questions.</p>

<p>I should explain my rational behind each of my choices. I really don’t have set guidelines for selecting a school. The only real requirement I have is that it not be in WV. Aside from that, I prefer urban locations, but it is not a necessity. My choices reflect mainly how I evaluated each school on its own merit. So, here are my thoughts on each school (ranked approximately by how strongly I feel toward each)</p>

<p>First Choice
1.Columbia- best fit for my personality, love NYC (great dance opportunities, culture, etc), good research opportunities
2.Penn- loved the feel of Penn, relatively close to home, seems to have good balance of work/play, respected engineering
3.Stanford- awesome engineering program, great weather, a real change in pace compared to east coast, have not been able to visit, so I am unable to speculate about the atmosphere
4.Yale- most traditional college experience (which could be good or bad), very good dramatic arts/dance programs, not sure about the research opportunities, I get told pretty often that I seem like a ‘Yalie’, however I have not visited yet
5.Brown- much more freedom in class choice, good fit for my personality, not sure about how respectable their engineering department is tho</p>

<p>6.UChicago- gorgeous, felt that students and faculty cared more about learning and less about awards, prestige, etc. , loved the teaching method, decent chance at getting $$
7.USC- good engineering, good weather, LA is sort of crappy from what I hear, haven’t been able to visit, gives $20k to NMS (which if it goes on top of FA would make it a very good deal)
8.WUSTL- gives good aid to NMS, awesome premed, haven’t visited so I cant really speak of the campus/atmosphere, but I have been told it is similar to UChicago, which is good
9.UVA- the family school, Charlottesville is my second home already (might be a bad thing), I have a lot of legacy (4 generations) so pretty good bet at getting in-state tuition, Charlottesville is the classic college town, most familiar
10Vanderbilt- very southern, good engineering, pretty close to home, gives good merit aid
11.Lehigh- I visited Lehigh and liked it a good deal, however it is pretty rural, good engineering and an ideal student body size</p>

<p>12.GA Tech- awesome engineering, good m/f ratio (7:3…I get along with guys a lot better than women), very southern, good chance of getting $$$
13.UT-Knoxville- parents forcing me to apply</p>

<p>I am NOT, definitely NOT going to go to WVU. To start with, they do not offer BME on an undergrad level. Secondly, I would be stuck with all the kids I went to high school with, not that I dislike them, but I want college to change and challenge me. I feel like if I went to WVU I would be forced to stay the same. WVU is also plagued by academic scandals and has a horrible reputation. Additionally, the math and science departments are dominated by non-native speakers that are notorious for being difficult to understand (not trying to be racist, I have nothing against foreign profs, but there is a major communication problem). Also, WVU is a cultural wasteland; the intellectual quality of the majority of the student body is abysmal. Basically, I would sooner work at Starbucks for 4 years than go to WVU. It is probably worth mentioning that I already got in….without applying….yes, seriously. I received an admittance letter last May.</p>

<p>This brings me to the reason why I AM applying to UT-Knoxville. WVU has a program called the Promise Scholarship, which covers tuition at WVU for qualified in-state students. However, since WVU does not offer my major, this scholarship can be applied to another state school within the conference (not sure which conference this is, my dad did all of this research). UT Knoxville has the best BME program within this conference and is pretty cheap to start with, hence it is my financial safety.</p>

<p>I have considered Duke and Rice pretty heavily. I decided against Duke because I have known several other students in almost identical situations as mine who applied and received no financial aid or scholarships at all. I know for certain that I would not pay full ride there, so I decided not to apply. Rice I am more on the fence about. I only recently took it off my list. I have heard great things about it so I may add it to my list once more.</p>

<p>And perhaps this is arrogant/naïve, but white girl engineer + publication in cancer journal = hook, no?</p>

<p>Ballet really doesn’t have national accomplishments in the terms of national competitions or recognitions (at least not on a high school level). The programs I have attended are the best in the nation (ABT, SAB) and I was selected from a pool of national applicants. </p>

<p>Anyways, I think that answers pretty much everything. Sorry for the length.</p>

20

<p>I think your parents should take a look at the US News engineering rankings to get a feel of how prestigious the engineering programs in the US. They come out next week along with all the other US News rankings in the US News Best Colleges or whatever that magazine is called. In engineering, a school like Texas A&M, Purdue or Illinois is ranked higher than Yale, Dartmouth or Harvard. Just letting you know that engineering rankings/prestige are different than the general rankings/prestige.</p>

<p>Are you sure the WVU Promise Scholarship can be applied to UT-Knoxville? I took a quick look at it and there wasn’t anything saying about out-of-state stuff.</p>