Help with safety and match schools, please

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I want to go to schools in the Northeast. I am not sure what to put down, so I will just list everything.</p>

<p>GPA - 3.56 (uw), 4.13 (w)</p>

<p>SAT 2080 (740 CR, 700 M, 640 W)</p>

<p>EC - Swimming - 4 years, varsity. joined USS club last March.
Music - Marching band, Orchestra 4 years. Section leader for two
Wrote for school newspaper junior year
Joined Green Team, a recycling program at my school.
Volunteered at tutoring service summer of 2009, 100+ hours community service, promised a job next year
Started a tutoring business for kids in my school.</p>

<p>I am looking at schools that have pre-med and swim teams. I am not sure about safety and matches because my guidance counselor says I am practically set, but I can't believe that because nothing I have is ridiculously outstanding, merely slightly better than average. Can anyone suggest some safety and match schools in the New England area?</p>

2

<p>Will you need financial or merit aid? Are you looking for a large/small school? Urban/rural?</p>

3

<p>Large or small doesn’t matter. I will apply for financial aid and merit aid, but it is not needed desperately. I’d prefer a small city, or relatively rural (like in the suburbs).</p>

4

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-nice campus 1 hour from Boston. HC has great Pre-med program and new science building.</p>

5

<p>What are your reach schools? Maybe from those we can get an idea.</p>

<p>you’re lucky that your parents can afford the $50k+ per year for your choices.</p>

<p>Providence and Fordham are good (is Fordham too far away)?</p>

6

<p>I know I am lucky, but price will be the last factor in my decision. I am applying to Amherst, BU, Cornell, Dartmouth, JHU, Middlebury, Umass Amherst, UVM, and Yale. I know the Ivies are a crapshoot, but there is a chance so I will take it.</p>

7

<p>Isn’t UVM your safety?</p>

<p>Can I ask you this…since you’re applying to JHU, are you going pre-med? </p>

<p>If so, can your parents also pay $250k+ for med school? If not, you should go to very good, but cheaper school for undergrad, so you can use their money for med school. I’m not suggesting going to some crappy undergrad. Just an idea. :)</p>

<p>What is your home state? Mass? Vermont?</p>

8

<p>Mass. UVM is a safety. I am going pre-med at JHU. I do not want to be a burden on my parents and want to support myself as much as I can during undergrad and grad. On and off campus jobs are one of the first things I am going to look for.</p>

9

<p>*I am going pre-med at JHU. **I do not want to be a burden on my parents **and want to support myself as much as I can during undergrad and grad. On and off campus jobs are one of the first things I am going to look for. *</p>

<p>OK :slight_smile: I don’t understand something. </p>

<p>How much do you reasonably think you can earn in summer? How much do you think you can earn during the school year (Keep in mind that a few grand per year - a least - will be needed as pocket money, entertainment, transportation, dating, etc)?</p>

<p>Since undergrad at JHU is about $55k per year, and JHU med school (or similar) will be about $70k per year, how much do you expect your parents to pay each year for undergrad and med school? </p>

<p>Now, also realize that really only summer-earned money can be used towards school expenses, since the school-year-earned money will be used for personal expenses. Also, it’s doubtful that you’d be able to earn that much during med school since so much of your time will be “spoken for.”</p>

<p>Now that I realize that you don’t want to be a burden on your parents (which is admirable :slight_smile: ) that also begs the question: It sounds like your parents can’t reasonably afford the $40-60k per year that you’d need in addition to what you can reasonably earn. So, your plan has a bit of a financial hole in it. :slight_smile: You’ll have to borrow too much money for both undergrad and med school. You’ll “max out” on loans long before you finished med school.</p>

<p>As for your safeties…are they financial safeties? I imagine that you have very good stats :slight_smile: Did you apply to any schools that are strong in Bio, chem, math, and physics that will give you lots of merit money? Any ranked school that is strong in those subjects can prepare you for med school. As long as you have excellent grades at a good school and a high MCAT, you’ll get accepted.</p>

<p>(BTW…just to give you an idea of student earning power…my older son is a senior in college. He works full-time as student engineer. He gets a higher salary because he’s NMF (weird that his salary is higher because of that.). He works for 8 weeks in the summer and nets about $5500. That wouldn’t go a long way towards $55k per year.</p>

10

<p>I think you have a pretty big gap between your reach schools (which are really top tier) and your back-ups. What about someplace slightly easier to get into than your reaches like Colby or Hamilton? Colgate?</p>

11

<p>^^^</p>

<p>True that he needs some matches (that aren’t too pricey), but first he needs to figure out his money issue. </p>

<p>The worst thing would be is to ignore the money issue during the application season, and then find out in the spring that none of his choices are financially feasible when considering that med school will also require a ton of loans.</p>

12

<p>mom2collegekids, thank you for your concern about the money, but right now I am looking for schools, and will narrow down based on prices and other factors later. I know I will not make that much money. Please understand, my intent upon making this thread was not to have a discussion about money, but about what safety/match schools I could consider because as Hitch123 pointed out, I have a large disparity in where I am applying.</p>

<p>Hitch123, thank you for your suggestions.</p>

13

<p>PENN State has a great swim team and awesome pre-med program! its a “public ivy”</p>

14

<p>OK :)</p>

<p>Fordham, Holy Cross, Providence, Rutgers, U Delaware, George Washington U, U Maryland, William and Mary, Syracuse.</p>

15

<p>Thank you!</p>

16

<p>Do you have any idea of your class rank? Will your GC check maximum rigor in terms of your course selection? Have you taken all honors and AP where available?</p>

17

<p>Yes GC will check max rigor. rank is 4/157. I should have 3 by the end of the year.</p>

18

<p>Union College in NY. Not in New England, but close enough to Mass. and Vermont that it might as well be.</p>

19

<p>Muhlenberg, Ursinus, Juniata, Franklin & Marshall are all strong pre-med and may offer you merit $</p>