I apologize for the length but I just really really need some help
Alright so I really just need some honest advice on my college situation right now.
I’ll give some background information about myself before I delve into my dilemma:
I am a female at the end of my junior year of high school and I am first generation (my mom is from Iraq and my dad was from the Caribbean). Since 8th grade I have moved around to seven different schools and two states because of financial issues. I want to major in Neuroscience and eventually become a neuroscientist or neurosurgeon.
Here are my current high school stats:
-4.8 weighted and 3.97 unweighted GPA as of now (I am taking seven APs next year and I took 5 this year)
- I got a 31 on my ACT ( which I took for the first time in March and plan to take again in June and hopefully raise it to a 32/33)
- I got a 2030 on my SAT (I understand that this is considered low but I definitely prefer testing with the ACT)
- I am class president, I play varsity girls basketball and lacrosse, I am in National honor, science national honor society, I participate in science olympiad, I am in interact club, future business leaders of America club, pre-med club, and I coach a youth team at the local sports complex.
Unfortunately, the highschools I attended my freshman and sophomore year offered very few APs to underclassmen and I took as many as I could (which was 1, while also taking all honors classes). This year, when I moved to a new school, many more were offered to me so I took 5 AP classes (which was the maximum number I could take), 1 dual enrollment, and 1 honors class.
As a senior I will be taking 7 APs so my gpa will most likely be around a 5.2/5.3 after my first semester.
so here’s my problem:
Ever since 6th grade I have wanted to go to Johns Hopkins University to major in Neuroscience. However, over the past few months, Notre Dame, Duke, and University of Miami (for proximity and this is my backup school) have caught my attention.
I was planning on applying ED to Johns Hopkins until my mom made it very clear that she cannot afford more than $11,000 a year for my education And most of these schools will be 60k+ without any financial assistance.
So now, I am afraid that if I apply early decision to Johns Hopkins and they do not offer me enough financial aid I will be blacklisted because I will be forced to break the binding agreement.
On the other hand, I realize that admission rates are much higher for ED at Johns Hopkins than regular admissions. But, I’m afraid that if I apply regular admissions to all of these schools I won’t get into any of them? I understand that the smart thing for me to do would be to apply regular admissions to these 4 schools (because I would be more than happy to attend Notre Dame, Duke, or Johns Hopkins) so I can compare their financial aid packages, but I’m terrified that because they are all so selective, I won’t get in unless I apply ED.
BUT if I apply regular admissions my gpa will be well over a 5.0 because of my first semester courses as a senior, so that may increase my chances at all these schools when I submit applications in early January
So my overall questions are:
-In your opinion, based on my situation, should I apply early decision to Johns Hopkins or regular admissions to all 4 of these colleges and why?(based on my financial need and the likelihood of me being accepted to these colleges)
-of these schools, which would you say has the most prestige and sense of community? Could you please rank them in your opinion?
Thank you to whoever decides to help me with this problem because I really need advice and am terrified of making the wrong decision