<p>wow, that's impressive, collegehopeful.</p>
<p>and can't fail.. meaning.. i have a good chance of getting in EA or those colleges suit me well?</p>
<p>I really dont see how people can label these schools as "reaches" for her. Honestly, 4.0 unweighted, 2350 SAT, tough courses, female. I know she's asian but honestly how many people have much better stats than her? Im guessing there are more than 10,000 freshmen spots available for the schools she listed. I can't possibly see her being an "average" applicant to these schools. When you say reach do you mean that she has a lesser chance than the average applicant to said school? Good luck</p>
<p>It would be a mistake to label certain schools as anything but reaches for basically any applicant, regardless of how impressive the stats. At the very best, such schools as Yale and Stanford could be something along the line of "risky matches," i.e. technical academic matches, but never to be assumed, simply because of the high number of exceptionally qualified applicants (plus cross-application). I think it's been made clear to the OP that she has great chances of getting into a school of such high calibre, but that's about all that anyone can say.</p>
<p>To the OP: I don't think that it will hurt you at all to begin a med-related internship 'late in the game.' You can also probably find a place in your apps to touch on this concern--finding new interests, the blessing/curse of having such broad interests, exploring new fields, and so forth. And for the record, it's not at all unheard of for college students to pursue a pre-med track while completing a totally unrelated major (I know pre-med students who are classics, history, dance, and foreign language majors). It shouldn't be at all difficult--especially not among highly-respected schools--to balance and explore both pre-med and the humanities. And here, because it's logical, I'll reiterate looking at the Claremont consortium in general, and at Pomona and Scripps (both seem fitting and the latter offers merit aid) in particular.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>About your activities- I think that you should do what you want to do. You have a great background. No need to restrict yourself to look as if you have more focus. They should be happy to see that you are curious to try new things. About your list. If your parents do not want to pay a lot to send you to an Ivy, don't waste time applying. Yes, I think that you will be admitted to Ivies and top schools. But, if you can't go, then what? If you are going to end up at a pretty good school that offers a lot of merit aid, spend time researching schools that do that. Many LACs give great merit aid. USC, George Washington, Boston University, U Rochester do. Boston College might. Most of the top schools, including Ivies and MIT, give NO merit aid. I think that you need to talk to your parents. If they understand that the top schools do not give any aid to people in your income bracket, they may tell you to apply anyway, and they may begin to look at their possibilities for paying for it.</p>
<p>Listen, you'll get into a good school. The problem is, since you don't have a hook (URM, legacy, recruited, developmental, etc.), you probably won't be able to be picky.</p>
<p>I think volunteer work is always very nice. If working in a hospital interests you, go for it. However, if it doesn't interest you much and you're worried about seeming too typical, find a different program to join that matches your interests. There's a lot out there.</p>
<p>She is above average for those schools based on gpa and test scores. However, the college process is quite random now. People with higher stats might get rejected in favor of someone with lower stats if that lower stats person seems to be more interesting. Don't worry though. I am sure you will get into somewhere good. Try for lower ivies though also (Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia).</p>
<p>Honestly HYPS is difficult to assess. You absolutly have a shot. But I think you'll have alot of success in the Duke, Dartmouth. Brown, Columbia, Penn range.</p>
<p>When I read these messages, I feel more confident AND more nervous.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice about starting an internship at a hospital.. I guess I've been developing trends throughout most of my high school career. I've already shown that I could be committed.. but I also want to follow new interests. </p>
<p>Yep to snack, I don't have a hook.. I'm hoping overall hard work will make up for it</p>
<p>I'll look into the lower ivies for sure. </p>
<p>And OneMom.. I haven't discussed anything with my parents yet. I do need fin aid but I will definitely still apply to some Ivies in hopes of good offers. </p>
<p>So most importantly, about fin aid: what can I be doing right now to help myself in the future?</p>
<p>As a pre-med at an Ivy you can pretty much major in what you want. My 3best friends who went to the top 5 med schools (Harvard, Penn, WashU) had majors that literaly ran the gamut from history to philosophy to biology. </p>
<p>All of them did extra science research with a professor (regardless of major), had great grades (3.7+), and great MCATs (33+)</p>
<p>All the Ivies will prep you well as a humanities major for med school. Personally, however, I think Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Brown are the best among the Ivies because of the access to professors and the more undergrad focused settings. That's not to say that the others aren't amazing (although I would avoid the cutthroat environment at Cornell).</p>
<p>If you think you like medicine, but want to study the humanities right now, study the humanities. Every school on you original list is wonderful in ANY subject, so shoot for them, and decide on your major later. </p>
<p>Congrats on the hard work. Stats like those get people into anywhere they want. Good luck!</p>