<p>So where to apply...I want to become a doctor (possibly Pediatric Oncologist) so I want to go somewhere with a good Biology/Premed program. Ideally, I'd like to get into a top school, but I don't know if my stats are good enough and what I need to do to improve them. In my religious circles (Jewish), I'm considered unique. I'm not just a cookie cutter student, I'm an individual and I think I'd have a better chance at a school that recognizes individuals and does not just look at stats. But again, I want to go a top school!! (I'd love to get into an Ivy) Looking to stay in the Northeast, but other than that I'm very open to different places. Any suggestions?? Thank you!!</p>
<p>A lot of this is theoretical and I have not yet achieved it, but I hope to do so by the end of high school.
*GPA- 3.9 or 4.0uw, around 4.5w
*SAT- At least 2200
*APs- I will hopefully have a 4 or 5 on the following:
-USH
-Human Geo
-English Lang
-Calc AB
-Pysch
-Bio
-Enviromental Science or Gov (possibly)</p>
<p>*ECs- My school doesn't really offer, so it's all on my own time. I don't get home from school until 6:30, so I don't have a lot of time anyway.
-Book Club- 11
-Creative Writing-11
- Volunteering/Hospital Respite for kids with cancer
-3x runner of the Miami Half-Marathon to raise money for kids with cancer- will have raised approx. $10000+ by the end of high school.
-Cooked meals for sick people in my community
-200+ Community Service Hours
-Organized blood drives with the Red Cross
-Summer internship at a hospital
-Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth- I'm planning on taking some courses with them.
-Tutoring younger students</p>
<p>How much is your family ready, willing, and able to pay each year? Will they pay for an extra year if you need it? Will they help pay for med school if you save money on your undergrad be attending a cheap school?</p>
<p>I may be doing med school in Israel and because I’d be moving there too, there’s a program that will subsidize the cost. Financially, we’re middle class, but I’d be willing to take out loans for my undergrad and med school if I end up doing it here. If I can get into a top school, (as naive as this sounds) tuition is not going to stop me from attending. I just need options of where to apply. Thanks!</p>
<p>There are many fine schools for pre-med preparation throughout the Northeast-ranging from the Ivy League school to state universities to private colleges. It is too early for you to be worried about medical school in Israel when you graduate from college- you haven’t yet taken any science on a college level yet including organic chemistry. It sounds to me as if you are first semester junior year, attending a day school. Did you take the PSAT this fall? You should be concerned now with the upcoming SAT tests for spring and meeting with your guidance counselor/college advisor and attending the junior college planning and college fair events that most high schools or regional groups of high schools organize. You can certainly begin to review possible schools to create a reach/match/safety list but you should also be making some decisions about the size of the school you want to attend, urban vs. rural or suburban, are you open to single sex schools, your home state university or if NY, the SUNY system schools. You should spend some time organizing school visits - the Boston trip, the Philly trip, the DC trip and so on as well as considering what your summer program options might be.</p>
<p>Go on school visits and find the type of school you like. You will find a big difference in Ivy, LAC, Public/Private Unis and everything in between. The most important thing is to find the school that is right for you. Nearly every school has sent someone to med school and if you do well you will get there too. Find a good school that you are happy spending four years with your head down.</p>
<p>Ok Consolation, I’ll clarify In my religious circles, there’s a lot of cookie cutter kids who just follow what everyone else does. Dress styles, ideologies, beliefs, they’re all very similar. So many kids blend in and you have to work hard to stand out. I chose not to go “the conventional way” but I’m still a part of the religious circle I want to be in. In my religious school and in my community, I’ve made it clear I’m different and I stand out. A little example- a lot of kids in my school wear all black. Not because they have to, but because feel it helps them preserve their modesty, which in turn caused it to go in style. They’re happy and ok with that- but I’m not. I hate black and so yeah, I might stick out in electric blue, but I don’t care. Most of my friends will be attending Touro- a pretty religious college, but as you can see from my post here, that’s not my intention. On a non- religious level of uniqueness, I’m extremely motivated and ambitious and I’m also very clear about who I am and my goals in life. I don’t do things to go with the crowd- EVER!!! Other than that, I can’t explain myself. Too complicated But I don’t mean I’m unique in that I’m Jewish. I mean that in my school and community, I’m unique. But I don’t know how much that means to colleges…</p>
<p>Being unique in your small group and community may just make just like everyone else in another community. Don’t give too much weight to that. It isn’t uncommon for kids to think they are one of a kind or completely different from those they knew in high school just to go to college and realize that they are more like their high school peers than they thought. </p>
<p>Pick a school that you feel comfortable at and can be yourself. A school where you are happy is most important. But in all reality, any school will have a diverse mix and be very different than what you came from. Well… Maybe not Yeshiva.</p>
<p>LOL about the Yeshiva. I’m in a Bais Yaakov school, so I guess the fact that I’m posting here about regular colleges says something about me! I get that in regular circles I’m pretty normal. I meant that in my circle (school, friends, community, etc.) I’m not. My principal and some teachers are discouraging me from taking more than one AP this year because they think it’ll add to my stress level. But because they don’t necessarily approve of me going to a regular college, it’s very difficult for me to differentiate between what they think is best for me academically and what they think is best for me religiously.</p>
<p>If you are coming from a school like Bais Yaakov then really you and your parents need to spend some time talking about school options. I get what you are saying in that you are different than most of the girls you are in high school with, the issue will be your comfort level and your family’s comfort level in where you go to college. Many schools offer kosher dining options, some more extensive than others. Many schools will have Hillel or other campus organizations for shabbat observance but your family would need to understand very clearly that going to a secular college whether it be Harvard or SUNY Binghamton will provide you with very different life experiences than what you are used to. Very few schools will not have classes on Rosh Hashonah or Yom Kippur. You can be in a dorm in which you are the only Jewish student on your floor or even in your dorm. Some schools no longer offer single-sex housing options, while others do. </p>
<p>We are not Orthodox but have many close family members that are, including a great-niece who is a freshman bio major at Stern College. My older daughter attended Brandeis which by the way does close for Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur as well as Passover and so she was able to either come home or celebrate with friends. She did have Orthodox friends as well as many non-Jewish friends. Younger daughter attended University of Rochester and classes were always in session for all those holidays. Sometimes she was able to come home, sometimes she wasn’t. She too had Orthodox friends at school, but much more of a minority situation than at Brandeis. I believe that SUNY Binghamton with a very active Hillel and Chabad does possibly not have classes on Rosh Hashonah or Yom Kippur but not sure. University of Maryland and BU offer kosher dining options.</p>
<p>Several years ago there was a lawsuit filed against Yale by Orthodox students from the five towns primarily that went up to the Supreme Court and was denied in which the Orthodox students brought suit stating that Yale’s residential housing with co-ed facilities violated their religious principles and accommodations should have been made. They were denied in that Yale’s residential housing was in existence prior to their acceptance and they made the decision to attend school there. It was not Yale’s responsibility to change their housing to fit their particular needs.</p>
<p>College is more than academics… and you really need to address all of this with your family. Of course Brandeis, the University of Rochester, SUNY Binghamton and the others all offer outstanding science and pre-med opportunities as well as good med school placement.</p>
<p>I understand that the University at Buffalo has a decent population and is more accommodating than most schools (probably on par with Binghamton, but I don’t know)</p>
<p>Ideally, I’d be able to live at home or in a nearby Jewish community. I don’t think I would feel comfortable dorming anywhere besides for a religious college and I don’t want to go to one anyway. My parents are fully ok with me attending a regular college considering that I’m the more religious one in the family. I chose my school because it was a good combination of the religious level I wanted and it’s very academic (yes, shocking for a Bais Yaakov!) Running into some problems now with the school because I’ve chosen my path in life and I’m not interested in them forcing their ways on me. Parts of me are BY and other parts definitely aren’t, but I do fit in as a whole. I knew I wasn’t going to Touro when I applied in 8th grade, but I didn’t really think about the fact that it may be opposed in my school. But because I’m a strange combination when it comes to my religious views, I fully plan on attending a regular college even if they may not be too thrilled. They don’t understand that there are different paths to take and mine will not necessarily be exactly BY or what they expected. But that doesn’t mean the religious goals that they instilled in me have in any way been pushed aside (or will be pushed aside by going to a regular college). It just means that I can achieve both religious and academic success synonymously. For me, it’s about becoming a Dr. and the experience that I’ll have saving lives, not the experience I’ll have in college.</p>
In my religious circles, there’s a lot of cookie cutter kids who just follow what everyone else does. Dress styles, ideologies, beliefs, they’re all very similar. So many kids blend in and you have to work hard to stand out. I chose not to go “the conventional way” but I’m still a part of the religious circle I want to be in. In my religious school and in my community, I’ve made it clear I’m different and I stand out. A little example- a lot of kids in my school wear all black. Not because they have to, but because feel it helps them preserve their modesty, which in turn caused it to go in style. They’re happy and ok with that- but I’m not. I hate black and so yeah, I might stick out in electric blue, but I don’t care. Most of my friends will be attending Touro- a pretty religious college, but as you can see from my post here, that’s not my intention. On a non- religious level of uniqueness, I’m extremely motivated and ambitious and I’m also very clear about who I am and my goals in life. I don’t do things to go with the crowd- EVER!!! Other than that, I can’t explain myself. Too complicated