<p>ACT: 24 (taking again in sept. expecting 25 to 28, taking a prep course)</p>
<p>ECs:
Captain of Varsity Wrestling Team
JV Cross Country
Internship in Michigan House of Representatives
Internship with University of Michigan Dearborn Professor
100+ Volunteer Hours
Student Council</p>
<p>Awards:
Honor Roll
Leadership Award
Science Fair Honorable Mention
Varsity Wrestling Award
Varsity Letter Award
Honors Courses: 3 </p>
<p>APs: 0</p>
<p>State of Residency: Michigan</p>
<p>Recommendations:
University of Michigan Dearborn Professor
A State Representative</p>
<h2>1 Teacher (very good recommendation and I can get more)</h2>
<p>I am looking for the best LACs I can get into with my credentials in the northeast and midwest. I plan to go pre med with a major in microbiology or cellular biology. I realize my stats dont allow much in terms of financial aid (im not considered in need) but if you could give me some schools that had a lower cost or offered grants (not too crazy about loans) id appreciate it.</p>
<p>Are you planning on wrestling in college? Gettysburg and Muhlenberg have teams and might work for your stats. Both in Pennsylvania. Getting a tap from the wrestling coach would help you, too.</p>
<p>Franklin and Marshall. Very string pre-med program, biology, and…wrestling (on the Division I level though all other sports are Div III).
Also in Eastern Penn. You can visit Gettysburg, Muhlenberg and F&M easily in one trip</p>
<p>The University of Scranton. Their med. school acceptance rate hovers between 88 and 91%. Excellent science departments. They have a D3 wrestling team, but they have not had a lot of wins in the last few years. So if you are a pretty good wrestler, I’m sure they would welcome you! If you can improve your ACT a bit or do well on the SAT, they are fairly good with merit money.</p>
<p>I have a question about your planned recommendations. Has the UMich-Dearborn taught you in class? If not, what is the nature of your relationship with that recommender? Same question wrt the State Representative.</p>
<p>If you have selected these recommenders because of their “stature”, but they don’t know you in an academic or work setting so as to comment in depth on you as a student/achiever… I would instead look to strong recs from your hs teachers.</p>
<p>Take a look at Creighton University in Omaha. It is a little bigger than a LAC but their premed is good and they have a medical school. Their 50% point on the ACT is 28. If you do get the ACT up, also check out St Olaf. I know of a couple of premeds there that are satisfied with the program.</p>
<p>If your ACT stays at 24 (can always hope it will go up, but you can’t assume it will) and your GPA stays where it is, you should look at your public in-state universities. The reality is that your stats are on the low end of the competition you’re up against. Make sure you have some reality based safeties. I can’t emphasize this enough.</p>
<p>Also, in the Northeast, an ACT of 24 will not get you any merit scholarships at private colleges. Generally speaking, you need an ACT score of 30+ to be considered. You must factor this in your financial planning. You have the stats to get into schools but don’t center your focus on private colleges. You have a better chance of getting into in-state public universities.</p>
<p>its not that my parents cant afford to pay it, its just my little brother is going to be in college in 2 years too so they are a little apprehensive about shelling out 40k - 50k a year, i am not looking for merit aid because i know i wont really get that. I am just looking for the best LACs i can get into.</p>
<p>These would be reaches, but you could look at Kenyon, Oberlin, Carleton in the Midwest, and there are tons of LAC on the east coast. Do a Princeton Review match thing or one on College Board. No one can predict what schools you’ll get into. Especially with LAC. Because they tend to be smaller than state schools, they generally accept really stellar students and students who are solid matches and have expressed a real interest in the school. They don’t waste offers of admission on mediocre students who just applied for the heck of it. You need to explore some LAC on your own and determine if they are a fit for YOU, not your scores or GPA. Then make it your mission to get in there.</p>
<p>Does your school offer AP classes? I’m just asking because most kids interested in pre-med have a few AP science classes and usually AP Calculus under their belts. You will have a difficult time getting into the private LAC’s in NY and PA. I’m not trying to be mean but I am trying to steer you towards a more realistic approach to your college search based on your statistics. Admissions will look at the rigor (or lack of if you chose not to take AP’s and they were offered), your GPA, and your SAT/ACT scores first. Then, they’ll look at your EC’s (did you maintain a high GPA while taking a rigorous curriculum and participating in Varsity sports, band, etc.). They’ll read your GC’s recommendation and your teacher recommendations. They won’t take much stock in recommendations from people outside of your school. Being on the honor roll is a given for anyone trying to get into a Northeast private LAC. Are you an AP Scholar, an all-county or all-conference Athlete, an Intel Semi-Finalist, etc.? This is what you are up against in NY, PA, New England.<br>
Good luck. Be realistic. Get your safeties ready while hoping for acceptance into your dream school. It might happen but your stats aren’t there yet.</p>
<p>my school offers aps but it was recommended i not take them, im not trying to get into a super competitive school. just one that would be recognized on a med school application and has good school spirit (it makes the school a much happier place) and strong science department. I have safeties (would like some that are LACs) but especially looking for match schools or low reaches that i have a shot of getting into. I have taken the most rigorous course load i could without APs (my school is real strict on who they take them, i think its so test scores are higher). I only had like 2 Cs throughout school just As and Bs. </p>
<p>So I really just want the best LACs I have a decent chance of getting into.</p>