I think you completely misunderstood what I expected and wanted people to tell me. I never asked for help picking individual schools. The only reason for this thread was for CCers to tell me where i’d be a competitive applicant at based on their PERSONAL experience in college admissions. I’ve used college board big future as well as super match, i don’t want to be referred back there like you are doing. I want to know what real people think, get it. I did not include all the details about what I want because they are entirely irrelevant to the question at hand, I am looking for a RULER to measure where I should look, I do not nor did I say I want you guys to figure that out for me.
In your orginal post you asked "where can I apply? "What are some match,safeties and reaches?
Sounded like you wanted specific colleges???
Here is the criteria I used when helping my son’s:
Safety schools: Academic Stats at or above the 75th percentile and high acceptance rate >60% along with BEING AFFORDABLE.
Match schools: Academic Stats at or above the 50th percentile and a good acceptance rate >40%
Low Reach schools: Academic Stats at or above the 25th percentile, acceptance rate <40% >20%
Reach schools: Academic Stats below the 25th percentile, acceptance rate <20%
Again, some schools are easier to predict since they may only use GPA/test scores as their main admission criteria. Others will include EC’s, LOR’s and essays.
Overall, any Ivy’s and/or Top 30 schools are probably a Reach.
You should talk to your parents about how much they can really spend on your college undergrad and med school. Unless you are really rich or have a huge trust fund then money IS an object.
Your SAT scores and GPA will qualify you for some automatic merit scholarships which, if you like the school, ypu can put on your safety. They would not automatically get you merit at Pitt which is subjective, and it’s very competitive getting into PSU Honors.
Subject tests are different from APs. Buy the prep books and practice. Your current class average has little to no bearing on how you will do. Your stats are fine but they are also just like a ton of othet aspiring premeds. Do you have any ECs that set you appart? Can you convincingly answer the why question? You might look at SUNY Stony Brook. Very strong in sciences. Also univ. Of Rochester. Know for pre-med. Pitt is another good one. Good luck.
Thank you @Gumbymom , thats very helpful.
ECs are basically gifted, NHS, golf, Relay for life (cancer fundraiser)
Does your HS use Naviance? We found it very helpful for getting a sense of matches and reaches. If you have access to it, type in non-ivy schools with good BME programs in PA and nearby states (unless you want to go further) and see how your stats compare. I agree that Penn State, Pitt, Rochester, & Stony Brook are all good suggestions. Also CWRU, Carnegie Mellon, Rensselaer…
No they do not @profparent , and do you think CWRU and CMU would be reaches or matches?
CMU might be a reach. I’d guess Case as a match depending on major.
CMU is always a reach unless you’re applying to one of the few less-than-highly selective programs (which are still very selective). Case Western, if you apply EA, would be a good match.
I’m intrigued by the fact you’d be the first student to pass the AP Chem exam at your school: do you attend a lower-performing school? What’s your school’s average? Is your SAT score well above that average?
In any case, the fact you live in PA means two things:
- Apply to Penn State, Pitt, and Temple as soon as the app is up. Apply to their respective honors colleges (note that Schreyer does not look at GPA or test scores, but rather course rigor and essays, whereas Pitt’s factors in heavily test scores and likes scores in the 2200’s. In addition, you’d get an automatic scholarship from Temple.) All three will admit you if you apply in September, and you do have a shot at the Honors College.
- Expect lousy financial aid. The State has a sorry combination of very high in-state costs and bad state and institutional financial aid. :s They DO NOT “meet need”, ie., they may admit you but how you pay isn’t their concern.
What’s your EFC? How much can your parents pay?
BME is tricky because it’s one of the few engineering programs that doesn’t automatically lead to employment, it often requires a Master’s degree. If you want a degree that leads to a job yet can include premed prereqs, look at Bioinformatics and Biostatistics.
Adults here can suggest many schools but we need a few details, including answers to the questions above.