Lost... Very lost

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have both a (few) careers and a (few) major(s) in mind.
However I have no idea at all what college I really want to go to. I mean, I've got a few ideas for criteria, but I don't know what specific schools I should look into. College search sites either yield 0 results for some reason, or come back with over 1,000 to choose from.</p>

<p>So basically, I'm only really concerned with academic programs/education offered by the school. I mean I have slight preferences beyond that but for the most part, this is my only concern.</p>

<p>I hope to major in both physics and biology and from there either pursue a career in scientific research in Physics (shoot for a PhD) or go into medicine concentrating somewhere in diagnostics or internal medicine (going off to medical school). Perhaps even both eventually, as naive as the prospect may be.</p>

<p>So:
- My GPA is 4.00 Unweighted, 4.625 weighted (with honors with 5, Ap's worth 6)
- Ranked #1 in my class of 456 sophomores (along with a dozen other people who have managed to maintain straight-A's through 1.5 years of high school)
- EC's are a bit meager (Two leadership positions, a few clubs [one that I founded], no sports, a few college courses, and internship, some volunteering, no huge competition win/no ginormous research spectacle) but I hope to definitely build on them and will have something impressive to show off by the time applications go out (barring the cruel hand of fate)
- My course outlook is chock full of the most rigorous classes my school can offer (but, if by some stroke of luck I get into NCSSM, I'm not sure) which include a total of 13 AP's by the time I graduate.</p>

<p>As far as where I shooting realistically, I don't know, I'm only a sophomore. If I could get somewhere like MIT that would be absolutely awesome (times some obscure power of ten), but I pretty much doubt that I could get in (again, times some obscure power of ten).</p>

<p>I really do want to aim a bit high and can handle finding a few safeties on my own. So basically:</p>

<p>What are some great schools that apply to my majors. I know most schools have majors in physics and biology offered (which if why I keep pulling up 1000+ colleges in my search), but what are some of the best that I might want to look into.</p>

<p>THANKS VERY MUCH in advance! Really appreciate it if you offer some help, or even bother reading/skimming through this mess. :)</p>

2

<p>Erm, forgot to include my test scores:
PSAT:
CR - 58
MAT - 67
WRT - 62
TOTAL - 187</p>

<p>SAT:
CR - 650
MAT - 670
WRT - 570</p>

<p>I really do plan on studying up and taking them again, but I’m not sure how much good that’ll do, so what are some schools with good science/medicine programs that I could look into that aren’t quite an Ivy league in difficulty to get in.</p>

<p>Oh, and I live in NC if that matters, but I have little problem with going out of state.</p>

3

<p>University of Rochester has both great science departments and a great medical school and is just below Ivy level schools. But it is still very highly regarded.</p>

4

<p>I was going to suggest Rochester as well. You also might want to look at Case Western in Cleveland and Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. Both schools are very strong in science and highly regarded.</p>

5

<p>Possibly Johns Hopkins? My friend’s sister is studying Biology there and loves it.</p>

6

<p>John Hopkins and Duke seem like really good fits. I would highly recommend both. And you can’t go wrong with UNC if cost is a problem.</p>

7

<p>If the OP were to raise his test scores i would say that Duke, and Hopkins.
For those places SATs need to be around 2100</p>

8

<p>An important thing to remember for science training is that you do not need to be at the best school, just a good one will suffice. Things you should consider is the prevalence of undergraduate research, facilities, advanced coursework in the sciences, number of faculty in the departments of interest, specialized concentrations or certificate programs. I would look into larger universities as they tend to offer more in the way of research.</p>

<p>I recently interviewed at UNC for a Phd in the biomedical sciences and was very impressed. Given that the financial reward in research is quite low, I would recommend avoiding debt as much as possible. UNC might be a great option as they have an enormous research budget and a friendly, vibrant community. Every lab I was interested in at UNC has undergrads working in it, in varying capacities from independent research projects to dishwashers and everything in between.</p>

<p>If you choose to go the clinical medicine route, your undergrad institution only matters in that it provides you the opportunity to do research, gain clinical volunteering experience, take all the appropriate pre med coursework and provide resources to gain exposure to patient care. Name recognition won’t matter much when it comes time to apply for medical or graduate school.</p>

<p>May I make a suggestion- given your interests in physics and biology, consider biomedical engineering. Even if you end up being a medical researcher or physician, the background will be infinitely more valuable than you can imagine and definitely more valuable than a double major in physics and bio. There is a lot of research in the area of nuclear medicine, and a number of biomedical engineering firms in research triangle park (some of which collaborate with labs at UNC and Duke), that would provide excellent internship/summer research opportunities. </p>

<p>I may be biased as I am moving to NC for biomedical sciences, but the fact is, this is one of the best places in the world for biomedical research. It has the third highest concentration of biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, 2 of the top universities in the world, several other schools (NC state provides a lot in the way of veterinary expertise/animal research models), unique programs like the joint UNC/NC State bme program and collectively 800 million in NIH research funds.</p>

9

<p>Jumping off of belevitt’s post…</p>

<p>If you are going to consider biomedical engineering, you might want to look at GA Tech. Great school, and looking at your scores, it should be rather easy for you to get in. The acceptance rate is quite high, though I’ll admit it’s tough there; basically, Tech’s a weeder school. I have a friend right now who’s heavily considering Tech for biomedical engineering. :)</p>

<p>Otherwise, yes, JHU and Duke sound like viable options if you boost the SAT score a bit and write some killer essays.</p>

10

<p>He is a sophomore. His SATs will probably improve</p>

11

<p>I hope to god my SATs do improve. Oh and because I can’t edit (what’s up with that?), and in case you’d rather not do the math my SAT scores add up to a fairly shabby 1890 :(. I could go places with an 1890, but not where I’d like to go. When i took the SAT’s I was familiar with what types of questions would be on the test (ie. they ask you to replace a word in the sentence/reading comprehension/you need to find the error/simple math stuff) but I didn’t prepare much beyond that. I guess I’ll try out the “Xiggi method” that a lot of people on here seem to swear by and see how it works.</p>

<p>As far as biomedical engineering, it’s funny you should mention it. My sister actually almost went that route and suggested it to me as well so I’ve looked into it. I’m not so sure I’m interested in medical research. I really do like science but I’m mostly intrigued/interested in physics in that field. As far as medicine is concerned I’d want to go into some sort of practice (whether it be private or in a hospital). Combining the two isn’t quite what I’m after. Though I definitely do appreciate the suggestion, and it does seem like an awesome field, I’m not so sure it’s for me.</p>

<p>As far as the value in double majoring, I suppose it is questionable. I mean, I do need a degree in physics if I want to go for a PhD and go into research, but you can get into med school with virtually any degree as long as you have the relevant classes for it. So I suppose I could have a major in physics with a bunch of classes for med school and grab up a minor in chemistry and/or biology that I’ll likely meet most of the prerequisites for anyway with the additional classes for med school. I’m not entirely sure, personally I do feel myself leaning further towards physics (subatomic particles are oodles of fun) though I’m not set on either of them. </p>

<p>I always imagined John Hopkins and Duke being out of my league to some extent. Though I definitely think it would be awesome to go to either. If they are a match as I get along further in high school, I’ll go for it. I’ve looked at Rochester as well and I think that would be a fun school. Carnegie Mellon would be great as well and another school I’m not sure I’d be able to get into. Not too familiar with Case Western, but I’ll look into it. Berkley has actually been a school of choice as I’ve been looking at colleges but OOS admissions are not so fun, and even if I get in, aid will be minimal at best.</p>

<p>As far as price goes, meh. My parents definitely won’t be able to pay much of my college bill at all. I’m not sure what my EFC will be but most school won’t meet full need with scholarships/grants (if at all) and it’ll likely be a bunch of loans. But I’d rather not limit my search by $$. If I apply to a school and find out they’re going to leave me with $150,000 in loans by the time I’m out (assuming I’m accepted at all) I’ll pass on them, but I’d like to find out first.</p>

<p>Thanks so much so far, I’d really appreciate any more help/suggestions/ideas :)! Perhaps any tips to make my application stronger? I mean just EC’s an test scores, or is there more to do?</p>

12

<p>Schools that admit 40% of their applicants, such as Rochester, have a hard time keeping their SAT score averages up and are willing to give merit based aid. If you are going to major in a science, your Math SAT I is going to have to get into the 720 range for that to make sense. So, to make this work, you are just going to have to find some help getting there.</p>

13

<p>Huh. Math really is my strongest subject (sort of tied with science) and i was disappointed that I didn’t hit the 700’s in that area. 720 might be a bit difficult but I think I can manage that. My biggest concern is the writing section where I really don’t do all too well. It’s the essay (I scored a 7 :frowning: ).</p>

<p>Does anyone else have any more suggestions by any chance? Or tips of any kind, whether it be fo preparing, selecting, etc. Thanks in advance! :)</p>

14

<p>Forgive my naievete but what is a xiggi?</p>

15

<p>I have no idea what the Xiggi method is, but what I suggest is for you to go out and take as many SAT tests as possible from as many prep books as you have access to; this will help the most for your verbal score and by the time I actually took the test, I was finishing the 30-minute verbal sections with 15 minutes to spare. Math is something you might have to work on alone.</p>

<p>And don’t worry too much about the essay. It’s hardly an indicator of whether or not you write well. I know excellent writers who’ve scored, say, below a 9 on the essay, just because they refused to dumb down their writing. As one of my friends said, just use simple sentences and a three-pronged thesis and you’ll be ready to go. Pulling half-assed historical examples out of the air for support is great as well, as the readers won’t know whether or not the facts are correct. And, just food for thought, when I first took the new SAT in 8th grade, I scored higher then on the essay than I did when I took the SAT last year.</p>

<p>Then again, your verbal score will go up, even if you don’t prepare at all. My friend’s score jumped up 100+ points from sophomore to junior year, and she didn’t prepare at all.</p>

16

<p>Xiggi is apparantly some monster SAT guru (or at least that’s the impression I got) on CC. Being fairly new to the forums myself I don’t know the whole of it but aparantly a lot of people on here swear by his meathod which is elaborated here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html?highlight=sat[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html?highlight=sat&lt;/a&gt;
but it takes a bit of scouring to find it.
To summarize:
You can look at as many prep books as you want, look up all the strategies in the world, but your main preparation tool should be the college board’s practice tests. The other companies (from Princeton review to barons to kaplan and beyond) aren’t supposed to be trusted for their practice tests and you should concentrate purely on the Collegeboard’s official ones. So it’s in 3 parts:

  1. Take 1-2 tests where you have free access to any resources you want (including the answers in the back of the book) like strategies and there is absolutely no time limit. This is meant to purely get you to understand how to complete a question with no real concern for time. Most questions on the SAT are very easy and it’s only the time factor that cuts scores, but some are quite difficult. Take your time and get the correct answers and figure out exactly how you get that correct answer. Try and come up with formulas at this point and typify the questions because question types generally repeat themselves. Basically by going through meticulously ripping apart the hundreds of questions on the SAT and making sure you know HOW TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION (or close to it)
  2. Another 1-2 tests but a closed book approach this time. You take the SAT in a decently closed setting allowing yourself to cheat the time if you don’t finish then entire section within the alloted time. See if you could have done anything at all to cut seconds. This doesn’t mean you need to answer every question, simply finish the section. So, you need to develop a sense to instinctively abandon questions that will force you into them for 4-5 minutes. Basically this step serves to FIND TIME SAVING STRATEGIES.
  3. This is you “real test” part where you see how you fair in actual testing conditions. See how you do, give it a few run throughs and your done. Most people won’t need 8 tests. If you do it right (and don’t rush through a step in anticipation for the next) there’s no need to rinse an repeat. </p>

<p>You either peak or hit 2400 or whatever it may be, but this strategy is quite renowned. I can’t speak for it myself, and I’m not sure how much people actually love it but it definitely seems like fun.</p>

<p>ERm… right, so yeah any suggestions for me? Like what schools? Or virtually any advice will definitley be appreciated! :)</p>

17

<p>You don’t need to decide anything this month or even this year if your only a sophomore. Take a step back, maybe a few steps! Trying to pick colleges in any definite sense is way premature at this point.</p>

<p>Get a good book about college admissions, such as “Admission Matters” by Springer and Franck. It will lay out the whole college admission process, not just how they pick students but how YOU should go about figuring out where to apply.</p>

18

<p>i got a 770 on writing with a 7 essay (i didnt finish in time)</p>

19

<p>sorta-bump</p>

<p>It’s not that I"m trying to get a definitive list now, but I do want to get a vague idea.
There are some things that are easier when you know what colleges you’re going to be shooting for like which SAT II’s to take and which community college courses to take that might transfer well. Or what courses I should look towards taking in high school, where my EC’s might be better placed for a particular college (assuming they have any preference). Or other stuff like that.</p>

<p>The SAT’s I’ll be able to manage on my own (sort of), but sorting through the mess of colleges out there is a bit more difficult and people in CC seem to have an extensive list they can sort through ingrained in their minds and I’d really appreciate the help. Soooo…</p>

<p>From what I gather this has been suggested to me (or I’d like to try towards) so far:</p>

<p>MIT*
UPENN*
Cornell*
Duke*
UNC Chapel Hill*
John Hopkins*
Haverford
Cal Berkeley
Univesity of Rochester
Carnegie Mellon
Tufts
Davidson
Hamilton
U Chicago
Northwestern
Penn State
Case Western
U Maryland
Wake Forest
Boston University
University of Washington
Tulane
Lawrence
Beloit
Miami
Allegheny
Northeastern</p>

<p>Thanks to Poi for an extremely extensive list. So much so that I’m having a bit of trouble making sense of it all.</p>

<p><em>I am set on applying to these schools unless there’s some reason I really shouldn’t. Even if there are some I have no chance of getting into (</em>cough* <em>cough</em> <em>MIT</em> <em>cough</em> <em>cough</em>).</p>

20

<p>Did you get into NCSSM?</p>