Medium school in northeast...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey,
You guys seem so knowledgeable, I thought to come to you to ask:</p>

<p>I wanna be a doctor, and I'm looking for research opportunities in college. I don't want to go to a ridiculously small school, but I wouldn't be able to retain much at a large school with straight lectures. I was looking at smaller LACs, as I was told research opportunities are large there, as there is less competition with grad students. I'm starting to think I might want a more science oriented place than the LACs I've seen. I'm limited to colleges in the northeast, from Maine to Virginia. So far on my list are </p>

<p>Reaches:
Rochester, Lafayette, Hamilton, Bates, Smith (?)</p>

<p>Matches:
Dickinson, Skidmore, Ithaca (?)</p>

<p>Safeties:
SUNY Stonybrook, Washington and Jefferson, Northeastern (?) TCNJ.</p>

<p>By the way, I'm going to be a junior this upcoming year, so this list is more of a "I think these are the colleges that I'm going to visit" list than a "I'm applying here" list. </p>

<p>So my questions are, does this list seem to make sense? Am I looking in the right direction? Any advice? and Any colleges that are more techish (I'm not sure, as I don't know much about the colleges, but I think Rochester and Lafayette are in this vein)?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, it's really appreciated.</p>

2

<p>I'd definitely look at Wesleyan. It'd probably be a reach, depending on your stats, which I don't know (and you don't either, just going into junior year), but it has an unusually strong science program for an LAC.</p>

3

<p>Based on your matches and reaches you would want to look at colleges in the match range that have a record of med school admissions. Research opportunities are less vital for med school admission and should be weighted lower in your calculations if you are sure of your med school aspirations. Look for colleges which provide faculty and advisement resources for pre-med students. Places like Fairfield, Colby, Union, etc. might fit the bill for you.</p>

4

<p>I am a big fan of Rochester. Though my d decided to go elsewhere, it was one of her top choices. As you are entering 11th grade, you may be eligible for one of the Rochester Awards that is given out to HS juniors. Many HS nominate a student around January/Feb for the Bausch& Lomb-Humanities and Soc. Science and Kodak Leadership. It is usually the HS guidance office that nominates a student, so let your GC KNOW that you are truly interested in U of R. These awards usually reduce tuition by $11,000/year. Other schools (smaller Univ with a LAC feel) may include Wm & Mary-Tufts and Brandeis. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>I don't think I'd get in at Wesleyan, as their acceptance rate is about 30% I think. </p>

<p>If it wouldn't be too much trouble to look through, I could give preliminary stats:</p>

<p><b> 9th grade </b>
These are averages for the year.
Honors Global: (92?)
French: (didn't offer honors) (99)
Earth Science: (didn't offer honors) (90)
Honors Accelerated Math AB (hehe, I live in New York): (89)
Chorus: (96)
Honors English 9: (94)
Orchestra: (I was third chair cello. I don't really think that matters though because I didn't go to any NYSSMA (if you know what that is) or All County type things.): (98)
Honors Independent Research: (98)</p>

<p>Clubs/Extracurr.
Matheletes: (got the highest grade on the AMC in my grade. That's also not a big deal because I only got an 89.)
Varsity Winter Track (I'm not good)
Varsity Spring Track
Peer Mediation
Took the AATF National French Contest, got 4th. (yay!)
METMUNC (It's like model UN). Didn't do anything special in it because I hated it, I just didn't want to quit until sophomore year.
Went to NYSSMA for voice, got a 96 on a level 6 piece (you'll ony get that if you're a NYer I guess. Didn't go to All County though.)</p>

<p>Did a research project that compared the evolutionary history of some chordates by using their amino acid sequences of a protein. This sounds a lot more scientific than it actually was. What I did was looked up a computer program and got the sequence for the protein from the program and then made a chart basically. I presented my research at the Long Island Science and Engineering Proposal Fair. (at proposal fairs you don't win awards, it's just supposed to be your introduction to science competitions, so they kinda just evaluate you.)</p>

<p>got best in class awards in French and English. Was reccommended for Peer Leadership (which starts in sophomore year.)</p>

<p><b> 10th grade </b>
yearly averages:
French (there's no honors): (98)
Accelerated Math B Honors: (92?)
Honors English: (92)
Honors Bio: (94?)
Honors Accelerated Chem: (89)
Honors Global: (92?)
Orchestra: (98)
Research: (92?) (I had a lot going on this year, so I did a lot less in research.)</p>

<p>Clubs/ECs
Varsity Cross Country *captain
Varsity Winter Track *captain
Varsity Spring Track *captain
Peer Mediation
Peer Leadership
Did AATF, but didn't place in top 10.
Science Olympiads: was on the Varsity team that went to States. I didn't get any awards in my events, so we certainly didn't get to states because of me, but I like to think I helped a little :)</p>

<p>Standardized Tests:
Regents:
Earth Science (91)
Math A (90)
French (94. This is annoyingly bad, but I'll live.)
Math B (95 woot.)
Bio (95)
Chem (94. Three wrong, what's up with negative curves??)
Global (96 whoa. my worst subject. that's messed up)
PSATs 1880</p>

<p>I'm not going to continue with running, as it got to be just too time consuming. I might do an internship at a hospital with the time. In sophomore year you can take AP World, but I didn't because I hate history, and I won't be taking AP US (meaning that I'm not taking "the toughest classes possible")</p>

<p>The summer of ninth grade I did a research thing at Touro College. It didn't produce any real project because the program was a joke. This summer I got in to an excellent program at SUNY Stony Brook (The Garcia Center, it's materials science, and so far it's been great. My project is on the metallization of polyimides, and it looks like I'm going to end up with the beginnings of a high quality research project for competitions like Westinghouse, LISEF and Intel.)</p>

<p>uh... I can't really think of other things, I'm sure there's more, this seems skimpy. But, I guess it's just supposed to be a preliminary list, right? hope it helps!</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for the help!!</p>

6

<p>waa why didn't the HTML work? lol. Thanks for the replies! As a note, I'm NOT looking for a school with a large student population of any religion. I'm Jewish, so if anything, that, but I really don't want a heavily religious school.</p>

7

<p>ooh also sophomore year I'm part of the French Honor Society. For the science honor society, one of the requirements is that you have to tutor. So I tutored a girl in Earth Science, and also ended up tutoring her in math. I didn't get in to the honor society though, because I didn't hand in my tutoring sheets, and I can't apply next year because I don't have an A in all my science classes anymore :(</p>

8

<p>I think Ursinus has an excellent premed program & is a small LAC.</p>

9

<p>Look also at Susquehanna and Gettysburg in PA, Hobart/William Smith in NY and maybe Connecticut College.</p>

10

<p>I've read that medical schools tend to accept non-science majors at a slightly higher rate than science majors, and for this reason I might major in French. I really like chemistry though, so maybe I'd minor in that. I'm a little confused about the process, is that normal, as long as I fulfill my premed requirements? And how would I know if a school has good quality premed advising?</p>

<p>Once again, thanks a lot!</p>

11

<p>Also, does my list sound reasonable, or am I looking in the wrong direction in terms of schools?</p>

12

<p>Your list seems to be pretty reasonable right now, but you may want to look into some more reach schools as well. With your current grades and PSAT scores, you will probably improve enough by your senior year to make some other schools possible. I second the suggestions to look at Wesleyan and Colby. I'm going to Bowdoin to major in biology and hopefully go to med school, so you may look at that as well. Boston College may not be exactly what you're looking for, but they have a strong pre-med program and a good location.</p>

13

<p>Thanks a lot Geniusriki, that answered a lot. I will definitely look into the colleges suggested, and I'm open to more as well!</p>

14

<p>I know that Dickinson College encourages students to study abroad, and therefore, I'm assuming it has a strong language program. Does anyone have any suggestions of schools (maybe slightly bigger, still in the same area) that are strong in languages as well as the sciences? I also might look into Psychology as a major, what schools are strong in this department that still have the qualities that I'm looking for?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

15

<p>Since you're Jewish and might be a psych major, look at Brandeis -- you have a good chance of getting in there and their psych department is very solid.</p>

16

<p>I wanted to suggest Bryn Mawr before, but I wasn't sure if you were interested in anything but science. It would be a match-reach depending on what your SAT scores end up looking like, but they have a good reputation for their language programs. A friend of mine is going there to study biology this year, and has heard good things about the science department as well. Plus, you can take classes at Haverford, which is another excellent school.</p>

17

<p>From these posts, I started researching Colby College, and I've become very interested in it. I'm a little confused about my chances though. Colby says it accepts about 40% of applicants, but many places cite it as one of the most elite and competitive colleges in the country. Based on my stats, posted above, I'm assuming it's a reach, even if I applied early decision. My question is is it a super reach, or a slight reach? Also, can anyone comment on the quality of the psychology program? I looked at the student research symposium, and most of the projects seem to be in Biology and Chemistry. I'm not sure if I want to major in one of those, and I'd like to do research, so I'm wondering if there is less frequency of Psychology research projects because it's a weaker program, or simply because research there is bio/chem centered, but the psychology program is still a strong one. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

18

<p>IMO thw reason Colby takes 40% is because they are used as a safety school by Ivy applicants. If you really like Colby you probably should demonstarte interest-- visit, overnight, etc. Maybe apply ED.</p>

<p>Colby would be a reach with your stats. I think Colby is roughly as selective as Bates, Bowdoin & Wesleyan.</p>

19

<p>Definitely check out Lehigh. It might be a reach for you, but it's pretty small and pretty tech-ish. It's literally next to Lafayette.</p>

20

<p>Hopkins is a good opportunity for undergrad research. Also, choosing a school that is associated with a medical center (Hopkins, BU, etc) can be helpful in acess to courses, instructors who are researchers, and opportunities for research. Tufts is a good option for pre-med and I know two docs who went to UVM although I wouldn't have thought that a top choice. .....I second Brandeis, as well.</p>