If Rutgers is out, I think Monmouth is your next best bet if it is affordable. You should check the net price calculator.
Don’t get caught up in finding a “target” based on selectivity. MOST schools are either reaches or safeties for most strong students. There just aren’t that many “sweet-spot” schools admitting 25-50% of applicants.
A TRUE target is a school that meets all your requirements: you stand a strong chance of being admitted, it is affordable for you, it offers the programs you want to pursue, you would be happy to attend it (satisfactory location, student body, vibe), and — in your case — you can commute.
It is rare for a school to meet all those requirements and also be very selective but not a reach. So forget about collecting and applying to more hard targets — if they are too far away or too expensive, it won’t matter if you are admitted. If a “safety” school meets all your requirements, hooray — it’s a perfect match.
Sample of one. My younger kid applied to four safety schools and one reach. That’s it. Actually, initially she only applied to three safety schools. In November she asked to add a reach, and we agreed if she would allow a parent pick. Really, those last two were a waste of time…and money.
If you’re close to home schools offer what you want, I don’t think you need to add schools just for the sake of having target schools.
Find a place or two or three or however many…that you think you can do well, will like, and can further your education that are affordable. That’s what matters.
So what do you think should be my max number of applications? I also have to apply to the ones my parents choose, like NJIT, Rutgers, Monmouth, TCNJ, etc.
If I applied to NYU, Kean, Montclair, Columbia, and Princeton, in addition to my parents’ choices, is that good enough?
One school you can afford to attend ahd would love is all you need.
Still confused - why at Rutgers you must do pharmacy ? But at other schools just pre med ? Why is Rutgers different ?
All I know is my son majored in one thing but u didn’t watch what classes he registers for. Had me told me he majored in one thing but didn’t bcuz he took different classes (another major), I’d never have known.
Are your parents going to mange your class schedule ?
Columbia is. I’m not sure about the others. Unfortunately I don’t think I have much chance of getting in anyway, and NYU would be my first choice if I went to college in that area.
Two of my siblings did/are doing Pharmacy in Rutgers, and my parents like us to do similar things. They’d want me to do something healthcare-related, but especially Pharmacy if I went to Rutgers. It’s just their thing.
They ask for it. I’d have to say what I’m taking, and even sometimes my schedule for the day, because they don’t want us going off and partying or whatever when they think we have class. It’s a sore point for them. They like managing our academics, despite there being so many of us and the fact that we can manage it ourselves.
However, since I did take a lot of Humanities-related courses in high school, I’m holding out hope that they’ll let me do the same in college.
Columbia University in NYC is NOT rolling admissions. There are other Columbia Colleges…make sure you are looking at the right one. I believe the one you should be looking at is Columbia University on NYC…not any other.
No I don’t think so. He lives in the med dorms, although that might change next year. I do know he’s going somewhere else in his last two years of med school. Again, it’s not very feasible… but I’m willing to try telling them.
His last two years of medical school, he will be doing rotations at various hospitals…and with various doctors in different specialties. I don’t know what his school does, but perhaps they place their rotating students in closer proximity to where these rotations are happening.
So if he won’t even be there after your first year, this doesn’t sound like a viable option.
Your SAT, combined with your fantastic U/W GPA is more that good enough to make you a competitive candidate at any college of your choosing. No need to take the ACT or retake the SAT - your “enemy” won’t be your own scores, but the colleges’ acceptance rate of everyone else having similarly great scores.