Type of high school (current college for transfers): Competitive Public School
Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Female, South Asian, Indian
Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): N/A
Intended Major(s)
Biology or Biochemistry or Neuroscience GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.33/4.00-still has to be updated
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.02/5.00-still has to be updated
Class Rank: top 30 percent 226/696- yet to be updated
ACT/SAT Scores: 1450 superscore- planning to retake again
Coursework
taken mainly honors and AP classes throughout highschool
AP Seminar-5
AP Research-4
AP Biology-3
AP US History-3
AP Calc BC-3
AP Lang-3
AP Lit-taking right now
AP Chemistry- taking right now
AP Art History- taking right now
AP Statistics- taking right now
AP Macroeconomics- taking right now
AP Government- taking right now Awards
AP Capstone Diploma
AP Scholar Extracurriculars
over 200 hours of volunteering
Events Director at Girl Up Texas Triangle Coalition
Cofounder of Teenfully, a app built by teens for teens to better their mental health through decreasing screen time
Cofounder of the Law Education Program, an organization dedicated toward educating others of laws that maybe help incase they get stuck in a legal situation
Published Research Paper author
Mentor for Mentors and Mentees
Tutor for Learn to Be and Schoolhouse.world
Member of various medical related clubs Essays/LORs/Other
essay is about the use of a swimming as a coping mechanism for my epilepsy journey through the use of a swimming metaphor
LOR from AP Seminar teacher:8/10
LOR from AP Biology teacher:7/10 Cost Constraints / Budget
50 k to 75 k, lower cost options will be appreciated too
Schools
applying EA to all schools
Safety (certain admission and affordability): University of Houston, University of Texas at Dallas
Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable):University of Houston, University of Texas at Dallas, Texas A & M, Baylor- helped needed for more
https://admissions.tamu.edu/apply/freshman indicates that Texas A&M College Station does not have automatic or assured admission outside of the top 10%. It is probably not likely for you.
Texas A&M is unlikely, due to rank. Possible Blinn TEAM offer, but that wouldn’t be offered until end of Feb-early March, which is super late.
UH would be a great fit! They have a brand new medical school, if that’s your goal.
Baylor does offer generous scholarships.
Have you already applied to the schools on your list?
You don’t need 20 colleges on your list. But you do need schools that you would be happy to attend for four years, are extremely likely admits, and extremely likely to be affordable. Would you be happy to attend any of the schools on this list (categorized by my guesses as to your chances)?
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
U. of Houston
Likely (60-79%)
UT-Dallas
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Baylor (leaning towards likely)
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Texas A&M
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Looking at your list, it appears as though you have a preference for large schools not too far from the state. Have you given thought to U. of Arkansas? The Fayetteville/Bentonville area has been growing a lot, it’s in a beautiful area of the country, and with your GPA you’d get between 70-90% off of the difference in out-of-state fees depending on how they weight your classes (source).
U. of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be two other schools worth your consideration.
out of state schools are good also, i’m just looking at my bet for safety and likely schools within state and focusing targets and reach schools out of state
I will post something that might not be a popular notion. You do not have to apply to any reach schools. Actually you could apply to all very likely schools if they are places you really like.
Sample of one. My one kid applied to three schools that most would have called safety schools for her. Had all three acceptances before Christmas (one had rolling admissions and two were EA). At the end of November, she asked to add a reach school (was rejected) and we added a parent pick (accepted but never was in contention as a choice). Really, those last two applications were a waste of time and money because her top choice was in the first three acceptances. And that’s where she went.
So…pick colleges that you think you would be very happy to attend, and honestly, none need to be reach schools.
What kind of college experience do you want? What size school would you prefer? Climate? States (to target or avoid)? Would you like a lot of intercollegiate sports enthusiasm? How do you feel about Greek life? Do you prefer the anonymity of large classes or do you prefer smaller classes where the professor knows if you’ve been in class?
And I will ask again, would you be happy to attend any of the schools on your current list? If the answer is “no” then they should be removed and alternative schools found.
YES!
I will add that REACH does not mean BETTER. I think there is a myth that any school that is more competitive is better, and this is not necessarily true.
Look for the school that is best for you - that will offer you the opportunities that are most important to you.
My kids are both very strong students and attend what would be considered reach schools, but my youngest who is a top student had 2 schools on their top list - one was a highly selective school - the other was a safety school - a state school (not a flagship), with a small honors college and a program in their interest area that was top notch. They absolutely LOVED this school, they were offered a full ride and had a terrible time turning it down, it moved up their list way over many other more selective schools because it was better for them. I supported their decision either way - both options were great - the “reach” school ultimatly won out, due to many factors, but not selectivity.
I suggest that you seek out schools that you love, and find at least one that you love, can afford and will likely be admitted to. If that school turns out to also be your favorite - great!! You are set :). Students have great experiences and outcomes from LOTS of schools, not just the most selective ones.
I would put Baylor as a match and A&M as a reach. What about Tech as another safety with good STEM programs? You could really add virtually every public college in TX that’s not already mentioned, as they should be safeties and would come in under your budget.
