I'm not sure if I'm looking at the right colleges and undergraduate Neuroscience programs/majors...

Sorry @“aunt bea” I’ll do that from now on. I apologize for mentioning those colleges even though I knew my chances
@MYOS1634 I thought that you should only do ED if you definitely want to go to that college as a first choice? Also, is that the list of all of the colleges which you recommend me to look at/apply to?

Yes, this is a list of colleges with neuroscience and financial aid that you have a shot at.

ED, especially at highly selective LACs, gives you a boost wrt admission chances. Some of these LACs fill almost half their class during the ED phase.

I think initially you may be best off if you avoid large “neuroscience” universities (i.e., those at which reputations have been largely developed through graduate school departments).

LACs strong in neuroscience will offer you ~15+ available courses in neuroscience, significant research opportunities and, often enough, top facilities. In any case, now that you have some potential options to consider (esp. those offered by @MYOS1634 in reply #18) you can read through course descriptions to see what appeals to you.

I’d say though that you will want your ACT score to roughly comport with those of your schools of interest (whether university or LAC) irrespective of whether you plan to submit them, so wishing you success with your next result.

Is your ultimate goal a PhD degree? If so what you major in as an undergrad won’t really matter a whole lot. Where you do your graduate degree will mean a lot more. So just focus on finding a school that fits your needs. Even degrees in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, cell biology will be fine. You can apply to Neuroscience PhD programs from a number of different majors.

If your ultimate goal is an MD degree, then the neuroscience major matters even less. Med schools don’t really care what you major in, as long as you do well in the pre-req science classes.

Bowdoin is such a great school and has an excellent neuroscience program from what I hear! It is also test-optional, so you don’t have to send the 25. Your grades are good; its your testing that’s the problem. Bowdoin also has amazing financial aid and your chances will be pretty solid if you apply EDII.

Seconding the idea if Bowdoin ED2.

You should check with your school’s naviance to see what are the range of schools you can get in. I am all for those top test optional schools suggested here such as Bowdoin and Wake Forest, but with a 3.81 GPA you should find out your chances easy enough with your school naviance. Unfortunately, of all the test optional schools, Bowdoin is probably the only few that provide full FA to low income support and it is always a reach for anyone.

@EsketitDP48 my daughter had a 3.75 weighted GPA and a 30 ACT, is majoring in neuroscience and the majority of the schools she applied to had this major. She loves it and she’s pre-med. She received great scholarships from a few of the schools and one school offered a full tuition scholarship along with another scholarship to cover room and board. Another school offered scholarships and grant money and my EFC was kind of high. NYU offered a generous scholarship as well and that’s where she chose to attend. She also received outside scholarships as well. When running the NPC some of the schools said we would get very little in monies which was true for some of the schools, but once we received the financial aid packages we were blown away with their generosity. So my advice is to apply to the schools that interest you and see what scholarships/grant money will be offered. Never let anyone deter you from applying and with your situation your app feed may be waived. Good luck.

@MYOS1634 I appreciate the advice but I would prefer to avoid Early Decision because I just don’t know if any one college feels right.

@merc81 Thank you for that! I’ll be taking that into account from now on.

@sgopal2 I do wish to get my PhD in the long run. But from what I’ve learned from my research and neuroscientists I’ve talked to is that if I really know I want to go into neuroscience, I should get a major in the and not one of its more generalized component subjects. Also, I’m looking to do undergraduate research in Neuroscience so I can get experience in the field to give me an edge in grad school. Lastly, I don’t wish to go into med school at all, but thank you for the advice!

I’ll look more into bowdoin now that more of you are recommending it specifically. Thank you guys for the suggestion!

@artloversplus I checked with my counselor and she said she’s heard of naviance, but she has never used it.

@VANYU2021Mom I’m glad to hear your daughter got through it all successfully! I am/have been applying to many schools already and I’ve yet to hear back from them. Thank you for the encouragement!

UPDATE: My ACT scores came in today and I got a composite of 27! My categorical scores are as follows
Reading: 32
Math:28
Science:28
English: 22

I may have gotten a 22 this last time, but my first was 26 from April so my superscore would be 28. I didn’t improve too much from last time but hey, at least it’s better.

Also, I’m taking the SAT in December and, although that’s a bit later in the game, do you guys know if I could update the schools that I’ve applied for on that score once I get it if they’re still in the application accepting process?