List of Colleges?

College Search & Selection
1

I’m planning to start visiting colleges soon and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions of colleges to add?
Major: Premed
Reaches:
John’s Hopkins
Princeton
Yale
Northwestern

Matches:
NYU
UMich Ann Arbor
UC Berkeley
UCLA

Safeties:
University of Arizona
University of Oregon
Rutgers

2

Good list! I wouldn’t say UCB is a match, though – it’s quite hard to get into OOS, even with great credentials. The same goes for UCLA, but to a lesser magnitude. But regardless of how you categorize the schools, it’s still a pretty balanced list. You don’t necessarily need to add any more schools – 11 is a pretty solid number. However, perhaps you could add some more private schools that could be more of a “match” or “safety” for you, just so you’re not stuck making a decision (in the worst-case scenario) between only large public universities (unless you love those a lot). I’d also say go ahead and knock your least favorite safety off the list; doesn’t seem necessary to apply to three. Maybe even add a couple more of your favorite reaches instead.

3

There are many hundreds of colleges in the US where you can be a successful pre-med. Please answer the following questions, and we can then give you some specific suggestions:

  • What is your home state?
  • What is your financial situation?
  • What are your stats (GPA, test scores) and EC activities?
  • What will your actual major be (pre-med is not a major, it is a series of classes you take in college, but you can major in anything you want – including stuff like history, English, etc)?
  • What is your preference in size? Have you visited any large or small schools yet (tours, sitting in on a class, etc)?
  • Do you care about location?
  • Are there any extra curriculars or other things (sports, weather, etc) that you care about?
4

For additional ideas, some of the colleges on this list might be suitable for you: “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs” (online).

5

You have public Us from multiple states (and NYU) on your list. I hope your parents are independently wealthy. You’ll likely be full pay at most of them.

6

Bear in mind that the cost of attendance for OOS public schools tends to be pretty high since most do not give very much financial aid to admits from other states.

7

Well, I wouldn’t recommend applying to more than what you already have. I’d have to know your info to suggest alternative schools though.

8

I’d put some underrated and fun Midwestern colleges on there as safeties: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and a real bargain with an almost-automatic $14,000/year out-of-state scholarship if u have a 29 ACT: Nebraska. These schools all get a ton of the very top students in their states, so don’t assume that just because they are fairly easy to into that there aren’t a lot of very sharp students attending them.

9

Sorry for the late reply:
My home state is Michigan
Middle-class, cost is not a problem but I will probably apply for financial aid
GPA: 3.9 UW
ACT: 30 (retaking in october)
JV/Travel Softball, on state board for Key Club
My actual major will be biology or neuroscience
No preference in size
I want to go to a college in a city-ish type place

10

Every college has a net price calculator (NPC for short) on their website. You need to go run that for every college on your list, and make sure your parents are okay with the numbers that come up. Far too many parents think they can handle the cost of top colleges without realizing that it now costs over a quarter of a million dollars to send a student through many of the schools you have listed. And when April comes, sometimes they change their mind if they haven’t really looked at the numbers. So go out and run those as soon as possible with your parents. You will get an idea if you are eligible for FA, and how much you might get. Some schools on your list are notorious for not giving as much aid as you would hope (NYU). You will get no aid from UCLA or UC Berkeley, so you would be paying full price out of state. You won’t get need based aid from AZ, Oregon, or Rutgers, although they might have a few merit scholarships for OOS students.

That said, your ACTs are currently very low for all your reaches. For example, Princeton ACT range is 31-35. Same at Yale. You would need to get to at least a 33 to hit their midpoint, and as an unhooked applicant, your odds would still be really slim,as they have many more applicants with high test scores and high grades apply than they can accept. Michigan’s range is 29-33 - you are below the 50% mark at this point. So even though you are in-state, it may be a high match/low reach.

I’d suggest you look at Michigan State as a safety (you should be able to get in AND know you can afford it). Ohio State has some good scholarships that OOS students are eligible for if you can get your scores up a little, too.

What about a smaller school like Macalester? There is a benefit to smaller classes and more personalized attention in the classroom to help with pre-med preparation. Mac is right in St. Paul. They give merit aid – again, you would need to get your scores up some for it, I think.

11

@intparent I know my ACTs aren’t strong, that’s why I’m going to retake them this october. I’m shooting for a 34. Thanks for all of the advice!

12

Unless you have a lot more or a lot stronger ECs than your posts are showing, you will have a hard time getting into your reaches even with higher test scores, unless you are good enough at softball to be recruited.

Csn you comment more specifically ion your financial situation? What you said didn’t really make sense.

13

I will probably apply for financial aid, but if I don’t get any my parents can afford the cost

14

If your parents can afford it then you likely won’t get any (except perhaps at Yale). Do study for that ACT retake. Going up 4 points is quite the jump

15

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1885908-chances.html#latest
I would appreciate any chance/school suggestions/opinions.

16

^Not cool to hijack someone else’s thread to point to your own.

17

AP classes, IB?

18

@MaroonDaddy
Freshman:
AP World History (5)
Sophomore (current grade):
APUSH
AP Bio
AP Psych (self)
AP Euro (self)
Junior:
AP Lit
AP Econonics
AP Gov
AP Chem
Senior:
AP Physics 1
AP English Lang
AP Calculus BC

19

Maybe some small liberal arts colleges where you can get lots of attention, recommendations, and research. Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, NESCAC schools like Bowdoin, Middlebury. A couple of others Vanderbilt, Rice, Washington University in St. Louis. Whitman in Washington State. Davidson in North Carolina

Test wise have you taken an SAT? or PSAT? Did you have a higher percentile? Your APs look great. Congrats on your great GPA. This summer study and practice for your ACT/SAT between drag bunts.

20

@MaroonDaddy I just took the PSAT 10 at the beginning of April and haven’t gotten my scores yet. I looked into some of those schools and they look pretty good. Do you think that I would be able to get a good degree in biology or neruoscience at a liberal arts school? Isn’t that where people go if they want to go into art/acting/media?