Hey you guys, I’m a fairly new member to CC but I’ve visited this site via Google many times as a non-member.
I am currently a high school sophomore and my class rank is 2/20 (I go to a really small school in the Northwest). My UW grade point average is 3.96. My freshman year GPA was a a 3.86 UW. My school doesn’t offer AP classes until junior year and has very little clubs. I am a member and Vice President of my school’s NHS and a member of FCA as well as a tutor for special ed kids after school. I volunteer 6 hours a month at my local homeless shelter and I do varsity track and currently know 3 (studying 4) languages. I am also a daughter and first generation American citizen from West African immigrants.
My question right now is, what should I start doing before junior year? I’m stressing myself out because my goal is to get into a higher tier school in the US (not necessarily Ivy League but like Georgetown, UCLA, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, John’s Hopkins, etc.) before I attend med school. My worry is that I will have little to put down for ECs. Should I start interning at a hospital?
My main goal is to start at least 4 clubs and start playing another instrument or doing something more eccentric that will make me seem more attractive to colleges I apply to. As I have said before my school is very small and the highest ranked uni attended by alumni is Washington University in St. Louis. My Dean said that I need at least 5 members and a teacher sponsor to start a club but I’m still deciding what kind of club to start. Please help! Any advice is needed!
Why on Earth do you want to start four clubs? Is it because you legitimately see a need for each and every one of those organizations? Or because you want to claim you started four clubs?
If you have to choose what to focus on, it might be better to stick to one or two and make them exceptional, rather then four that are average.
First of all, don’t start 4 clubs. You should not be trying to impress university admissions officers. You should do what is interesting to you. If you are going to start any club you should do it because you are legitimately interested in participating in that club and you believe that there are other students who want to participate and you believe that the club can be a success. However, there are going to be a lot of things that need to be done to grow a club and make it successful. If you start a club without a good reason it will probably fail. If you start 4 then there is a good chance they will all be duds.
If you want to go to medical school, then you need to first go to a university with a good premed program. There are at least HUNDREDS of them in the US. You then need to get a very high GPA and a high MCAT score. You should try to find an affordable undergraduate school because you will want to save some money for medical school. However, you don’t have to go to the academically most challenging and difficult undergraduate program that you can possibly get into – premed classes will be very challenging at any of the very many very good schools. You current high school GPA is solidly on track to get you into a university that has a very good premed program.
If you want to be premed, then interning at a hospital is a very good idea.
By the way, Washington University in St Louis is a very good school. I visited once and was very impressed by the school, the location, and the students in the small seminar that I participated in. However, you don’t have to go to Washington University or equivalent for undergrad to get into a very good medical school.
4 sounds like a lot, but a really successful club at my school that was started this year is Conspiracy Club. The members meet once a week to discuss conspiracy theories and their corresponding supporting evidence. A lot of people have joined, and it’s really popular. If you really want to start a club just for the sake of starting a club, that’s a suggestion.
Create one club - HOSA. Then, through that, arrange for shadowing and volunteering in health settings for others as well as yourself. I’m sure you’ll find at least five people in your school who want to be doctors, nurses, physical therapists… Don’t forget that quantity doesn’t matter : do whatever you do very very well.
Be recruitable at the D3 level on your sport.
Most of all, train for the PSAT like for a championship (official scholarship competition is October junior year). Practice on Khan academy.
Take the most rigorous curriculum you can : it means math though precalculus (preferably calculus - see if it’s possible with your math sequence), foreign language through level 4 or AP, bio/Chem/physics +one more science, and of course 4 units of English and social science. Among all these classes, there should be 4-8 APs (but not at the expense of core classes, as described above - IE., taking AP stats rather than precalculus is NOT a smart move.)
My suggestion is to get an SAT tutor and get the very highest SAT score you can. With high scores it will support your class rank of 2 and the fact that you have little competition will become mute. Remember, schools are looking for diverse classes. Coming from a small area and super small school is a level of diversity. Kids from suburban competitive schools are a dime a dozen.
Thank you so much you guys! Conspiracy Club sounds actually really interesting to me because I love reading about that stuff and watching true crime documentaries. I’ll keep that in mind.
Also, regarding the SAT, would it be okay to take it junior year? That’s what I heard someone in my class say that they would do a couple of days ago. Or should I wait until senior year? Also, what are the benefits of the ACT if I considered taking that?
The state of Idaho pays for all juniors to take the SAT each April, so I’d say it’s normal to take it your junior year. A lot of people find either the SAT or the ACT to be easier than the other. I took both on the chance I might do better on one, but as it turns out, the concordance tables say my scores are equal. I would take both of them to find out which one suits you better.
Agree completely with the advice of @DadTwoGirls. It’s natural that as a 15/16 year old you are focused on named universities – a lot of marketing dollars and a lot of media-driven society has worked hard to make sure that these are a goal for you at this point in your life. Unless you are very low income, so you won’t be spending your own money anyway, or so high income that not only your family has the money, but doesn’t care how it is spent, then I invite you to question your reasons for wanting these schools. Doing well in a quality undergrad is often a better path to medschool, not killing yourself in an overpriced and highly competitive four year program that isn’t going to impress med school admissions.
That and study hard for the PSAT your junior year. Take both the SAT and ACT when you are comfortable that you have studied and taken enough practice tests for them…second half of junior year and/or early senior year. You can just use whatever scores are better. and if needed retake the one that was easier for you.
One thing you should start doing before your junior year, is finding out about the money. Sit down with your parents, and help them run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of several of the places you are interested in and at the website of one of your home state public universities. Your parents will probably whine and fuss and say that it is too soon to worry about money, but be strong. Bring them tissues and adult beverages in case the numbers induce emotional responses. Med school will total upwards of $300,000 by the time you get there. You and your parents need a long-range plan for covering all the costs of your undergrad and med school education.
You are not in a stressful situation. You are unnecessarily creating a stressful situation for yourself.
Instead of grasping at straws and trying to do a bit of everything – think about what you really care about and follow that passion. If that is starting a (one) new club at your school that you can put your heart into then do it, if it is assuming a leadership position in an existing club and transforming it for the better then do it, if it is volunteering in your community then do it, if it is music/sports then do it, if it is getting a job and helping out financially then do it etc. Pick the activities you care most about and delve into those.
I would also agree that studying for and doing your best on standardized tests and considering finances will be important.
Ok, telling you to take UCLA “off your list now” is ridiculous advice. If you want to go to move to CA, live in LA, and attend UCLA, then you should apply. I knew many happy out of staters there when I attended. It all depends on financial aid and your financial situation.
As for applying, the very best insight I could give you is this: elite colleges want a well-rounded CLASS, not well-rounded applicants. You don’t need to have started four clubs and volunteered at a shelter and at a hospital and play an eccentric instrument. Spoiler alert - admissions folks see right through that!
Find one or two things you are truly passionate about and dedicate your time wholly to them. Top colleges want to produce leaders in their fields, not Jacks-of-All-Trades.
@KTJordan78 :… except these happy out of staters had parents who could afford the 250+k price tag (or their happiness ended when they had to pay back this kind of loans - as a reminder, the amount a college graduate can reasonably pay back over ten years is 31k, the amount allowed in federal loans with interest ).
Second, this student wants to be premed and California doesn’t admit OOS stusents to its med schools, it already has too few spots for the many qualified residents.
Considering that to optimize college premeds must have close to zero debt and an environment that is supportive of their goals, UCLA would be a horrible choice for this particular student.
You’re 100% correct regarding colleges wanting a well rounded class rather than well-rounded students, that was a great distinction to make.
We have no idea of her financial situation, it’s entirely possible that her parents could pay med school out of small change.
But I will echo what everyone else here is saying. Figure out who you are and what excites your intellectual passions, and then start or join a club that focuses on that. Why do you want to be a doctor? Is there a medical specialty that fascinates you?
So some ideas, since you asked. Only pick one or two. Contact local hospitals or practices and see about volunteering there. Maybe there’s something in your heritage you can get passionate about learning about and celebrating. Your parents and older relatives might be thrilled to help you explore that. I can see how stories about learning West African music or dance as a first generation American could help you stand out among the application crowd.
@MYOS1634 We are talking about a high school sophomore that thinks they want to be premed. Half the college sophomores I knew that thought they would be premed didn’t end up going to med school - they went on and did myriad other amazing things in a variety of fields from music to law and beyond.
I wouldn’t make college-level decisions about graduate and doctorate-level school choices. So much will change for you in the coming 6-8 years…
Well so regarding my financial situation my older sibling is applying for college right now and my parents are a little bit focused on that. My sibling will probably go to our state school and combined my parents make a little under 90k a year. One of my parents is still paying grad school loans.
Was it a really bad idea to list those schools I hope to apply to? Like what you guys said about UCLA, if it will stress my family out in the future then I won’t even consider it.
There’s two reasons I’ve wanted to become a doctor: 1. Growing up I really liked and excelled at science, and took an interest in the human body which I’ve carried for a while now. 2. I’d love to be a doctor because when one of my parents immigrated to the United States, they really wanted to become a doctor, but they were unable to achieve that dream because of finances. The speciality I’d kind of want to take an interest in would probably be either Neuro or Orthopedic.
While it isn’t set in stone yet, it’s what I’ve wanted to do for a long time. If I don’t end up going to med school I’d love to do political science or international relations and go to law school. That’s my “back up plan”
Because you intend to go to law school or med school, focus on a solid education at an affordable school for undergraduate degree. While your UG school can help with admissions into Law or Med schools, your grades and test scores are going to be more important the prestige of that college, and both will be expensive. Don’t set yourself up to face the same problem as your parents - minimize the undergrad loans. Your first 2 years, we can probably assume your sibling will be in college too, and their choice is going to impact finances. If you both attend schools that try to meet need, you will each get more aid those 2 years (family contribution is split between you as calculated using the FAFSA), but if not that has to be considered as well. As it is, your parents should expect to pay around $20,000 each year that one of you is in college - so for the next 6 years - maybe more depending on financial aid (or possibly less if you apply to schools with great merit aid).
First, you’re doing great! Keep it up. Second, you’re probably putting the cart before the horse. Just take classes and get through high school. Third, choose a school you can afford. Unless your parents are paying a huge chunk of the 250k degree, or are willing to co-sign large loans on your behalf to go to a private school, the prestige and cost is not worth it. Medical schools know better anyway. They get applications from students from a large variety of schools, mostly from schools in their own state. There is no correlation with school prestige and preparation for medical school. They look at the individual accomplishments, grades and MCAT scores. Also, choosing a less prestigious school can give you an opportunity to really stand out. Going to Duke is one thing, but being in the NC State honors college is a big accomplishment.