<p>@intparent I strongly agree. I was apprehensive when I heard she wanted to do pre-med because of all the financial adversity those students face, even with the future positive returns. We are really trying to push UGA as she has the Zell Miller state scholarship which pays her entire tuition so we would only pay for room and board. We may just have to limit her to in-state like we did our S (unless bountiful merit aid comes our way).
I think she is now discussing University of Alabama as a safety.</p>
<p><a href=“https://secure.gacollege411.org/financial_aid_planning/hope_program/georgia_s_hope_scholarship_program_overview.aspx”>https://secure.gacollege411.org/financial_aid_planning/hope_program/georgia_s_hope_scholarship_program_overview.aspx</a></p>
<p>What about the Hope Scholarship program for Georgia? If she qualifies it might be better to stay instate.</p>
<p>If the calculator for Stanford was correct that might mean you qualify for need based aid, but that doesn’t mean that she would be accepted or that it would be a good choice for her if she wants to be premed.</p>
<p>I would look into schools in GA and maybe some that momof2collegekids suggested, because she will also have to think about where she might go to med school later.</p>
<p>Here is a list of test-optional schools, many of which are great schools, even top schools: <a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>
<p>I also suggest the book “Colleges that Change Lives” by Loren Pope, and the website, and if a CTCL fair is in your area, it might be worth it to attend.</p>
<p>As others have said, the list you posted seems pretty unrealistic overall. I also think it may be unwise to base choices and decisions on an abstract goal of med school (what is"psychology premed"?).Many high schoolers think they want to go into medicine: they see it on tv, it’s prestigious and interesting in their minds, and they just aren’t familiar with other career options yet. She can go anywhere and major in anything and later apply to med school. She doesn’t need premed, which is rarely offered anyway.</p>
<p>You haven’t addressed why your daughter does so well in school but is not doing well on tests. That said, she is still young and scores often go up. Apparently the school is appropriately rigorous and she does well there, right? Does she get nervous about testing? Does she have any learning challenges that might mean a timed test is a problem? </p>
<p>There are many test-optional schools. But going forward, I would want to get to the bottom of this discrepancy between grades and scores, just in case there was some difficulty that could be helped. And the MCAT is another standardized test in her plans…</p>
<p>It may lessen stress to get the list down to 6-8 schools.My kids applied to 4, 3 and 2 respectively, thank heavens. If she chooses carefully, after research and discussion, it shouldn’t be necessary to apply to so many.</p>
<p>p.s. Some test-optional schools do require scores for merit scholarships.</p>
<p>@mommdc She does qualify to have her entire tuition covered by the Zell Miller Scholarship which is one of our top reasons for her to pursue UGA. UGA also has a great pre-med program. </p>
<p>@compmom I will see is CTCL is in our area! We live in a pretty populous GA are so it shouldn’t be too far away. Her main objective is psychiatry which I suppose is a pre-med/psychology track (correct me if I’m wrong). She is also very good at science (specifically chemistry, she’s getting a B in AP Bio this year).
In school she does very well on tests but I believe it is because they are achievement based rather than testing for aptitude. In school, she always scored average on standardized exams such as the ITBS and CRCT which may be reflected in her SAT and ACT scores. </p>
<p>Test optional schools look very appealing!</p>
<p>Well with the GA state scholarships, seems hard to pass up.</p>
<p>Make sure she applies to several GA schools where her scores are competitive.</p>
<p>I think UA scholarships start at ACT 27 and COA might be too much without the top scholarship.</p>
<p>If she is interested in psychiatry, there are other paths that might take her to careers in counseling or social work or other “allied” health careers, in the future. I hope she can be flexible about goals. She really doesn’t have to decide now or even in the next few years. Majors are declared in sophomore year, usually.</p>
<p>In Massachusetts, Clark U. (a CTCL school) and Lesley U. are both excellent for psychology. Perhaps there is a school in a location she would like that would have similar strengths, and would be a good fit for her. Good luck!</p>
<p>Goucher might be an interesting school for her. If she likes NYC, perhaps Purchase or Sarah Lawrence.</p>
<p>@mommdc @compmom Best schools in our state for psychology as far as I’m aware have been UGA and Emory ; the latter of which, is too difficult for my D I believe. I am aware of other colleges like Ga Southern and Georgia College but I am not sure about their specific program strengths. My son currently attends Georgia State )and is intending to transfer to UGA next fall) but again, I haven’t heard much on their psychology program. I believe UGA is the only school she would feel happy attending here in GA, so we are hoping for the best come admissions time. </p>
<p>crossposted, or rather, I edited/added to my post while you were responding :)</p>
<p>Been lurking here for awhile. I also have a junior daughter here in GA and will probably be completely grey by the time this whole process is over!</p>
<p>@sitamom We have several friends who are professors in the Psych Dept. at GA State and to my knowledge the program is quite strong. Lots of research and clinic opportunities. Not sure if they are restricted to grad students only, but certainly worth taking a look.</p>
<p>I too am baffled by the lack of in-state, public options for the solid B/B+ student in GA. If you don’t have the high stats to get into UGA or GA Tech, the options really are limited. With that being said, these are the in-state schools we are currently looking at:</p>
<p>UGA- My daughter doesn’t have a snowball’s chance, but if she decides to apply I won’t say no. </p>
<p>Georgia College- *Most likely Match. We drove to Milledgeville and looked around on our own. We will set up an official visit. She did like the campus (actually more than UGA) and the website seems to have the programs she would like to study.</p>
<p>Georgia State- *Most likely Match. Drive by there often. Have not visited. The lack of distinct campus may be an issue. Too close to home. </p>
<p>Valdosta State- This is my pick for super-safety. It does have her course of study and it looks like all you need are a pulse and a checkbook to be admitted, so if all else fails, she’ll have somewhere to go! 
</p>
<p>We will also look at some “affordable” out of state options, but I would like her to have a couple of in-state choices just in case.</p>
<p>*Most Likely Match- Looking on her school’s Naviance her GPA is in range, but we don’t have standardized test scores yet.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Going to be honest here. “Hoping for the best” did NOT work out for your son last time around. You are letting her dream along without firmly telling her what her choices really are. While kids do need to have some ownership of their search, parents need to provide the financial reality check. She may not love your GA schools – if not, she can plan to go elsewhere for graduate school or med school if that is what you can afford. You couldn’t afford for your son to dorm at school this year if I remember correctly. So finances are going to be a key driver of her search, whether she wants it to be or not. The sooner you break this news, and tell her that unless she can get her standardized test scores up she likely WILL be going to school in GA, the better.</p>
<p>I would set the “list” aside until after the spring ACT scores and then evaluate.</p>
<p>You’ve already gotten lots of excellent advice, so this may be a bit redundant. If you haven’t already, pick up the Fiske Guide to colleges - we found it really helpful. She’s only a junior - your real focus should be getting her test scores up. For the colleges you listed, she’s below that 25-75% range which does not bode well. Don’t rule out the SAT either. If I were you, I’d have her take both ACT and SAT again this spring and then, if scores still are not where you’d like, pick one and do more prep over the summer and take again in Sept / Oct. My daughter went up substantially (200+ pts.) from 1st SAT to 3rd, in part because she understood the test better. As for UC Berkeley, my son got in but, alas, there was ZERO aid for OOS … and at $57K+ a year it was not in the running. </p>
<p>How has she done on her APs? If 4s & 5s that helps. Don’t forget, too, about Subject Tests. Many of the schools you listed require at least 2. I feel for you - it’s an exhausting process and unfortunately doesn’t get any less so senior year. Good luck & post updates.</p>
<p>Yes I agree with momofthreeboys. You did say that your daughter is a junior, right? So did she take that ACT without much test prep? With her GPA and taking lots of AP courses, I would think she could raise her scores with some serious prep.</p>
<p>What about Georgia Southern as a safety school?</p>
<p>With a bit of work at raising her ACT/SAT scores, your daughter might qualify for significant merit aid from Georgia Southern:</p>
<p><a href=“Admissions Scholarships | Georgia Southern University”>http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/programs/scholarships/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/wp-content/uploads/List-of-Scholarships.pdf”>http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/wp-content/uploads/List-of-Scholarships.pdf</a></p>
<p>25th-75th percentile ACT scores of admitted students
26-30 UGA
28-32 NYU
31-34 Stanford
27-33 UCB
25-33 UCLA
29-33 USC
27-31 Ohio State
28-32 U Mich
26-31 UNC
31-34 Rice
23-29 TAMU, avg 26</p>
<p>Here is a good and FREE website for researching college stats:
<a href=“http://www.petersons.com/”>http://www.petersons.com/</a>
BTW, don’t waste your money on USNWR’s premium “Compass” website. I regretfully paid for it and never use it because I find the free Peterson website a heck of a lot more useful.</p>
<p>A pragmatic college list should include some “match” schools where your daughter is at near or above the school’s average. Also apply to some schools where she is above the 75th percentile. Unless your D has some compelling hook (i.e. elite talent, recruited athlete, URM) that you have not disclosed, an ACT in the bottom 25th percentile renders her a poor bet for admission.</p>
<p>If you need FA to afford the OOS public school, but the school doesn’t grant FA to OOS students, then I wouldn’t waste a nanosecond on it. This is a very useful list of schools that give FA or merit aid. There are separate lists for public, private & LAC:
<a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger;
<p>Going back to the OP and reading other posts, you should definitely look at Temple U. It has a new test-optional application. It does give financial aid to out of state students - my best friend’s son from Virginia is there with a $10k a year scholarship that essentially gave him in-state tuition, which is about $17k. My son was aceepted there with a 3.4 GPA and a middling SAT score and got a $5000 scholarship offer. There are three highly regarded medical schools in Philadelphia and another one across the river in New Jersey. I have only looked at Temple for music and art (my friend’s son is in Architecture) but my kids have 3 friends who are there now studying psychology and enjoying it. </p>
<p>Those schools don’t appear to have much in common except that they are well-known. That’s a start, but the best college lists are those that have a common thread, something that appeals to the person applying (for example, Greek life, strong arts, required internships, etc.) She should figure out what she wants from a college, not just what she might like to study, but what sort of community, and build her list from there.</p>
<p>Then, she should look at her chances of getting in. Do her scores and GPA fall within the 25-75th percentiles for admitted students? What does Naviance show about previous applicants with her stats from her school?</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with having a dream school, but she should be realistic about her chances and have a few others that she likes as well. Easier said than done, I know–we’re still trying to help my son like a school, any school, as much as he likes Brown!</p>
<p>@GoingGrey We have toured Milledgeville when we were looking at schools for my son and neither of them like how small it was. What it seems my daughter is looking for in a school is large student body, good athletics (she’s a huge college football fan), good academics, Greek life, a social scene (kind of like a college town I suppose), nice campus and I’m not quite sure what else. </p>
<p>@intparent I agree. Although we were very slow on the draw with my son as we didn’t seriously look at colleges until his senior year. I was hoping my D researching colleges as a junior would give more of an advantage this time around.</p>
<p>@4Gulls Yikes! That OOS tuition! I think my D is planning to study more for the tests this time around (we’ll see) asI didn’t see her crack open her ACT study guides very often. I’ll probably make her the same deal I made my son: get a 28 or higher on the ACT and I’ll pay for it, any lower and you’ll pay for it. Worked the first time Also, so far she’s had one AP exam and got a 5 so hoping the trend continues!</p>
<p>@gandalf78 @honestmom We’ll check it out!</p>
<p>@Massmomm She’s been looking at big schools with a mix of good football, good academics, and good social life. Unfortunately, our school does not have Naviance which is a real shame. We have all agreed, Stanford is the reach of reaches but I think she’s just going to send an application just in case! She has some hooks, like being adopted, so maybe that will resonate with some schools?</p>
<p>It sounds like your D was adopted by loving, caring parents. Not sure why being adopted would be a hook. Stanford has few additional essays, why would your daughter spend time on writing those time consuming essays. Her time would be better spent in making her obtainable school’s applications as perfect as possible.</p>
<p>OP, you have received some great insight from posters here. What is in your daughter’s control right now, is to study and retake her standardize tests. Of course, she has to fine tune the other segments of her application.</p>
<p>You mentioned " Apparently Stanford has exactly the pre-med program she is looking for". What exactly is that pre med program? </p>
<p>My understanding is that a kid can major/minor in whatever floats their boat while taking the science subjects to fulfil medical school requirements. </p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter!</p>