Hi, I’m a current junior who’s made a preliminary college list (about 40 schools) and I really need to narrow it down. Right now, I have a lot of reaches on my list and would like to get the number down to about 10 or so.
Academically, I’m interested in molecular bio as a major and global health if its available. I want to go to a college with a lot of opportunities abroad (such as medical service/volunteering) and also a college that has ample research opportunities. I’m definitely planning on grad/med school and potentially want to get an MDPHD, so research opportunities and easy access to clinical volunteering/clinical opportunities is a must for me. Other paths that have piqued my interest are CS, Computational Bio, and BME, but I’m definitely most interested in a career in academic medicine/medicine rn. I’d like to have the opportunity to take courses in other disciples and an open curriculum is ideal for me. I also think I’d prefer smaller lecture based courses as opposed to discussion based, but I could definitely work with either. I’d prefer a semester based academic calendar (I’d be fine with quarter system though). I also really need a college environment where people love to learn and there isn’t rampant cheating/hypocrisy. I’m also planning to apply to bs/md programs so it’s a plus if the school has a bs/md from sophomore year.
Ideally, I’d like a mid-sized school in an urban environment (lots of things to do and a diversity of people, yet still facilitates close student-professor interaction). I know a lot LACs don’t fit this description, but I included them on the preliminary list because they give good FA, have great grad school placement rates, and have close student-professor interaction. I think a small school may be a tad suffocating for me, so having things to do around within walking distance of campus is important. I would like a friendly, open, and nerdy campus vibe and don’t care much for Greek Life/partying and sports. A more academically school would be great, however I’d also like to go out into the city so I’d want a school that has a good work-life balance. Don’t care for a preppy/outdoorsy vibe.
In terms of scores, I’m a pretty good student with approx a 3.8-3.9 GPA UW and a 34 ACT. I have a 750 on Bio SAT subject test and will be done with 13-14 APs by the end of high school. Extracurriculars are fairly average (coolest stuff would be research in lab ig). I’d need merit/need based scholarships (at this college tier I’d definitely be reliant on need based aid). Our income is around 100-150k range. I ran NPC for basically all these schools and they’re affordable, but I’d like to bring the COA to about 10k/year max. And yeah that’s pretty much it!
My current list of schools
Reaches: Bates Bowdoin Brown Davidson Duke Emory Haverford Johns Hopkins Northwestern Princeton Rice Tufts Tulane UPenn Vandy Wustl Wesleyan
Matches Boston university Cwru URochester Vassar
Safeties Drexel FSU Kalamazoo UCF (central Florida) UFlorida Umiami Upitt USF(south
Florida) George Washington
UPDATE Took USC, Pomona, Reed, and Occidental off the list because would prefer to not be on the west coast. Took off Amherst and Hampshire because I think they’re too isolated and took off Trinity and Brandeis because there was nothing distinctive about it. Eliminated Wake bc of strong Greek presence. Eliminated Franklin and Marshall bc they don’t give merit.
Congrats on all your hard work and success in high school!
Have you visited any of these colleges or will you be able to? You’re right to recognize this is a pretty diverse set of schools.
I’d suggest reading the Fiske Guide to college descriptions of these campuses to help you narrow the list a bit. It’s an expensive book – you may want to get it at your school or local library.
I suggest you narrow to about 8 reaches, 2 matches and 2 safeties (or even 1 if you know you’d attend.) Your safety should be a school where you know you’ll get the admit Fall of your senior year and can afford to attend.
Matches are hard to find for a high stats student like yourself b/c you are going to be at or above 75 percentile for almost all schools.
For the private colleges like Case Western, for example, they will want you to demonstrate interest by visiting (if possible), requesting interview, clicking on their emails, etc.
Are you an URM, by chance? If so, you may want to apply to a diversity fly in program to visit some of the colleges you’re most intrigued by.
It’s going to be very hard to get top private schools down to $10k max unless that’s your EFC. I would expect to pay whatever the NPC says unless you’re willing to go to less selective colleges.
Is weather a factor? Narrowing by cold vs. warm/moderate is one way to winnow the list!
A bunch of the schools on your list don’t give merit aid…that will further narrow your list if you will be merit hunting.
With an income of $100-150K, it will be difficult to get annual cost to $10K…which is less than many schools’ room and board charges. What do you mean when you say the NPC results you received were ‘affordable’? What can/will your family pay per year?
If you are not going to be able to visit most of the schools, I would apply to more than two match and safety schools.
Based on the atmosphere you’ve described, you might consider Northeastern as a high match. As you probably know, Rice provides good aid for middle class students so a good one to keep on your list.
You can also look for safety schools with full ride scholarships and go through the extra application process.
If you’re looking for a cost of attendance of $10,000 per year, then I think your list is pretty well narrowed down already Most of these schools are private or out of state, and I think there may be some pretty big discrepancies on the NPC. Unless your parents are ultra low income, you’re not going to get a COA of 10k or lower with Duke, Brown, or any of the other private schools…not with the income your parents make.
I’m going to assume you live in FL, since your safety schools are all FL colleges. They have the lowest tuition in the country. If you’re planning medicine, then your best shot at med school is in your home state. Med school is incredibly expensive, so you need to keep costs down. Public medical schools also give priority admissions to state residents.
Once you get the list narrowed down a big thing for DD20 was to visit if possible. We made a decision that she would not apply to any schools that she is not willing to attend. Visiting helped us determine feel & fit and she was able to know within a few moments with one school that it was not a good fit. We did regional visits which cut down on expenses. We were able to visit which included tour and information sessions and some interviews in a weekend if they were close enough together. Friday 9am, Friday 2pm, Saturday etc. The road trips were fun and we will only do revisit days for the 2-3 that are the real contenders.
@AlmostThere2018 Thank you! I’ve actually gone through the Fiske Guide for vibe and think I’ve got a good feel but I always find someway to justify keeping the school on (like DukeEngage keeps Duke on my list even though I don’t personally think I’ll enjoy it). In terms of visiting, I’ve gone to UMiami and UF with school competitions, UPenn when doing summer research, and Vandy for an informal tour. I liked UPenn and UMiami and could see myself going to those schools, felt off about Vandy (didn’t dislike it but something was off), and didn’t like UF (too spread out and the town was basically the college). I didn’t talk to the students though (it was summertime or too busy competing), so my impressions may not be totally accurate. I’m not URM (Asian American Female), so unfortunately don’t qualify for the fly in programs. I’d like to go visit, but my list is so spread out haha and I don’t know when I’d get time during school (aka when the students are still on campus). Yup, I’ve been trying my best to show demonstrated interest without visiting (emailing, going to local events) and weather isn’t a concern!
@Mwfan1921 My parents can/are willing pay 20-25k and the NPCs all come around to that cost (or slightly over). I just don’t want them too especially because grad schools a lot as is. They still want me to apply though to all the selective privates. Sadly, my cheapest private schools are also my most selective so I’m in a bit of a conundrum here. I live in Florida so my instate Publics are pretty cheap.
@ultimom Northeastern was actually on my list for a long time. I think I took it off because of the co-op focus, which i felt didn’t align with my goals well. Also, I’ve heard they’re not very generous with aid.
@coolguy40 Yup, I live in FL so have some great instate options. Yeah, I didn’t get a COA of 10k (that’s an ideal), but my parents still do want me to apply oos and see where I get money.
@Sarrip Yup, I’d love to do visits! I’m just not sure how to fit it into my schedule.
It’s great that you have the Florida options, their in-state costs will be tough to beat. Did you take the PSAT this past fall? Any chance you will be a national merit semi-finalist?
Cost is going to help narrow down the options for you. At the schools that provide need-based aid only, if the npcs are accurate, there won’t be more money coming than that.
So, if you removed F&M from your list because they don’t provide merit…take a close look at the other schools on your list (and their npcs) that don’t offer merit: Bowdoin, Bates, Brown, Wesleyan, Tufts, UPenn, Princeton, Vassar, and Haverford. Pitt is unlikely to get close to $25K, same for Drexel.
For med school, you do want to limit debt and save $ during undergrad years, because med school is expensive, and by and large there is very limited merit there…most students fund med school with cash and/or loans.
My son got a good merit package from Northeastern with stats a bit lower than yours.
Yes, the coop thing is a big deal at Northeastern. You have a long list of academic interests and coops might help you determine your focus by working in the field. It is also not difficult to transfer between different colleges within the university. This may be the case for other schools on your list. It was a factor in my son’s decision because it was not easy to change major/college at many universities including our in state options (Texas).
In any case, if you end up visiting BU it would be easy to swing by Northeastern.
I think a key thing is to decide if you really are okay with LACs or not. If you took them off, you’d have a much smaller list. The benefit is the close knit community and all classes are small. Also, Asian applicants get an admissions boost at some LACs (e.g., Davidson) b/c they are under-represented. But you have to decide if college with about 2000 students is right for you. I’d recommend visiting at least one if at all possible. And yes, when students are in session b/c they are super quiet in the summer.
Agree you need to assume you’ll pay the NPC at all the selectives b/c either they don’t have merit or if they do, it doesn’t stack on top of need.
Vandy is pretty preppy – that may be why you didn’t like it. Since you’ve visited and it felt off, I’d take it off the list.
Rice seems to check all of your boxes and offers good financial aid as well as some merit. Rice is located in the center of Houston and does not have Greek life. There is lots to do within walking distance of the campus: parks, museums, shopping, restaurants, etc. It has a friendly, open, nerdy vibe. It has an open curriculum, and you do not have to declare a major until the end of sophomore year. Rice considers demonstrated interest. Try to visit and interview on campus if you get a chance. Rice allows high school seniors to spend a night on campus and attend classes in the fall. If you are unable to visit, try to attend an event if Rice comes to your area or if a representative comes to your high school.
I was just about to say the same things. My D goes to Rice and it fits what you are looking for very well in terms of environment. The campus is beautiful but in an urban environment, no greek system, friendly students, honor code, etc. I’d also encourage a visit if you can manage it. As Houston1021 said, the overnight visits in the fall are popular.
I would caution you to think carefully about your major if you plan on pre-med. I sat in on a talk by the head of BioE at Rice and she commented that they do not encourage pre-med students to choose that major. You obviously want something you’re interested in but at many schools it will be hard to maintain the GPA you need for med school with the CS and Engineering curriculums. But that’s a whole other discussion!
