<p>Hi CC. I'm a junior from Florida and I am not sure what schools I should be looking into. My schedule is as rigorous as possible- I've taken IB, AP, honors, and this year dual enrollment classes at the local community college. My UW GPA is 3.3, my W GPA is a 4.1. Last year, as a sophomore, I took the PSAT and scored a 225 and I've got two 5s on AP exams- Bio and European History. My community service is average just like my extra-curriculars and I don't see either of them getting much better. Can anyone help me out with some "match schools"? I was looking into schools like Emory and Vanderbilt but my guidance counselor discouraged me by saying that I did not have the stats to be considered.</p>
<p>Hmm. It sounds to me as if you are on track to have the stats to be considered at those schools. Your UW GPA is dicey, though. A lot will depend on your class rank, if your school ranks, and your grades this year.</p>
<p>Assuming that your SATs end up in the same range as your PSAT–that is, each section in the low 700s–what you need to do is concentrate on getting all As and A-s this year, or as close as you can come to that.</p>
<p>You need to say at least a little about your interests, desires, goals, etc., large or small, urban or rural, needing financial or merit aid, grad school or job afterwards. :)</p>
<p>Oh, ok. At this point, I intend on applying to med school after I graduate undergrad and so I’m looking for either research universities like Emory or top Liberal arts schools. I really am not picky about size, though an urban location would be preferable. Merit aid would be great, but if it’s the difference between getting into a better school I don’t really need aid.</p>
<p>Have you tried an online college matching service? myusearch.com and petersons.com are good ones to look into. You answer some questions about yourself and they’ll tell you which schools you should consider. Good luck!</p>
<p>A school like Clemson, Virginia Tech, Purdue, Maryland would probably be a match school for you.</p>
<p>I don’t think schools like Emory and Vanderbilt are completely out of range but they seem to be at least low reaches, not “match” schools. The schools Pierre mentions might be good matches for your qualifications. Or check out some of the midwestern liberal arts colleges (Lawrence University, Beloit etc). [ACM</a> ? Associated Colleges of the Midwest — Home](<a href=“http://www.acm.edu/index.html]ACM”>Associated Colleges of the Midwest)</p>
<p>Your test scores are great, but your gpa hurts you at places like Emory and Vanderbilt. Davidson comes to mind when you mention pre-med and liberal arts.</p>
<p>You might want to look into Rhodes. Do you have any limitations geographically?</p>
<p>Davidson’s really hard to get into, though, maybe harder than Emory.</p>
<p>Holy Cross-very good pre-med with nice campus near Boston.</p>
<p>Case Western.</p>
<p>Yeah, you’re in an awkward situation, seeing as your GPA isn’t as stellar as your course load or your test scores. Also, since your extracurriculars aren’t stellar, you won’t have an easy time getting into top liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>In your situation, I would personally consider honors colleges at top public universities. They would look most closely at test scores, they wouldn’t charge as much as private universities (even out-of-state), and they would have great resources in terms of research and internships for pre-med students.</p>