Need help deciding which schools to apply to

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
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<p>Hi, I'm a rising senior at a decent but not great public high school in the suburbs of Chicago. I have a pretty low GPA and average ECs, but my test scores are decent and I've taken almost all honors and AP classes. I'm Mexican/South-American, and I will be the first in my family to go to college (or graduate high school for that matter). My dream school was BC, but after having a so-so first semester of Junior year (I got mono, but second semester went really well) and not-so-great test scores, I feel like I have no chance and need other options. I want to major in Chemistry and plan on going pre-med. My ultimate career goal is to be a pediatric neurosurgeon. What schools, preferably ones with strong science departments and good financial aid, would be best for me? Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>ACT: 26 (this was a state test, but I don't think I'm sending this anywhere)
SAT: 1990 CR-640 Math-640 Writing- 710
Subject Tests:
Math Level 2- 800
U.S. History- 780
Spanish- 700
(I plan on taking Chemistry and Literature in the fall; I got an 800 on Chem and a 730 on Literature practice tests out of the subject test blue book.)
GPA: 3.5 uw/4.0 weighted
Class Rank: just outside top 10% of about 450 students</p>

<p>Senior Year Courseload:
AP Stats
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics
British Literature/Advanced Composition
This is the most rigorous schedule I could take because my school has modified block scheduling. We have nine periods a day, but we are required to take gym as a 45-minute "skinny" all year long. I haven't had a lunch or study hall since freshman year, and I won't have one my senior year either because of the scheduling system.</p>

<p>ECs/Volunteer Work:
Tutoring (at my high school and former middle school and elementary school)- 4 years
Medical Careers Club- 4 years (I hope to be an officer next year)
Viola- 9 years
Student Council- 3 years
National Honors Society- 2 years
"Estrellas" Club for high-achieving Hispanic women (It was new this year, and I will probably have a leadeship position next year since I'll be the only Senior)
Cross-Country- 2 years
Junior Board
Senior Board
200+ volunteering hours
Assisted with my school's science, technology, engineering, and math program for grades 8 and under for the past two summers (helped plan and teach chemistry and biology classes for older kids and helped plan and teach a food science class or younger kids)</p>

<p>And I'm shadowing a physician this summer (if that counts as something)</p>

<p>Leadership:
I started a tutoring program for my former middle school
I was President of Junior Board this year</p>

<p>Colleges of Interest:
BC (almost no chance of getting in I know)
Macalester (also a reach)
Bucknell
Lehigh
Lafayette
Grinnell
Wisconsin-Madison
Villanova
Penn State
St. Olaf
Tulane
Illinois Wesleyan
Minnesota- Twin Cities
UIUC (basically in from my school if you're in the top 25% of your class)</p>

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<p>Hello superkt and welcome to the Hispanic Students forum!</p>

<p>Are you an IL resident and do the other publics you listed have an agreement with your state for reduced tuition? If so, are these other schools admissions and/or financial safeties?</p>

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<p>With 2 excellent SAT 2 scores in two different subject areas, why are you planning to take more SAT 2s this fall rather than another SAT sitting in order to get in a more competitive range (2100ish, with CR & M the most important sections)? Two SAT 2s is all any college, except one or two in the entire country, neither of which are on your list, will want to see, and more are not going to do you nearly as much good as a higher SAT score.</p>

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<p>IMO, just about any reputable college is going to have an adequate science dept. for a UG Chem major taking premed coursework. The only colleges on your list you might want to take a second look at are the small LACs, as they will be more limited in course offerings. But remember, you can only take so many courses as an UG and you will likely have to fulfill some distributional requirements before your major requirements. Unless it is extremely limited, the strength of the department becomes much more important for grad school and for UG disciplines that are less common (eg. Classics, specific languages, etc.)</p>

<p>As far as FA, that really depends on your family situation: how much they can afford, how much need based FA you qualify for, whether your need merit aid, etc. Have you run a FAFSA EFC calculator? Profile calculators on the website of private colleges? By definition, you are more likely to get merit aid from schools where you are at the tip top (at least top 10%) of the candidate pool, usually safety and perhaps match schools.</p>

<p>One thing I like about your list is that you have several midwest and smaller schools that are very interested in attracting Hispanic candidates. This helps, but doesn’t mean they will take under qualified applicants.</p>

<p>Not all Hispanic applicants are created equal, look at this thread for a discussion of some of the factors that are important within the Hispanic designation:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/931488-ivy-league-admissions-nhrps.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/931488-ivy-league-admissions-nhrps.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank you so much for the response! Out of the schools, I was looking at which ones would you consider matches/reaches? And which ones do you suggest would be good for me? I’m really clueless about which schools because the college counselor at my school is not very helpful to say the least.</p>

<p>Yes, I am an Illinois resident, and my state has tuition agreements with Wisconsin and Minnesota. I believe it’s reduced at Wisconsin and in-state tuition at Minnesota. Judging from their stats, they’re probably safeties academically, but I can’t really be sure because my school’s naviance system is really off because of all the over-qualified students my school sends to UIUC, Minnesota, and Wisconsin every year (thanks to financial reasons and terrible my school’s terrible college counseling department). For instance, for Wisconsin on my school’s naviance it says the average SAT is a 2340 and the average ACT is a 34, but my guidance counselor assures me that it’s a safety. Realistically, though, I really don’t want to attend a public because it’s less individualized attention and the students aren’t as focused (at least the ones I know that go there from around here).</p>

<p>After reading what you wrote, I think I’m going to take subject tests in October and the SAT in November. I really want to take literature and chem in the fall because I think a perfect chem score will help me stand out and I read on here that a high lit subject test can somewhat compensate for a lower CR score (and likewise math level 2 can ompensate for a lower math score). Really it comes down to 1) taking an SAT over too many times (I took it 3 times already. I’m aware some schools have score choice, though) and 2. cost because subject tests are cheaper than taking an SAT over again. The first time I took the SAT I got a 1790 (CR: 610 Math:540 Writing:640), and my parents paid for it. Then, I went out and bought a couple SAT books with my own money and was able to raise it to a 1880 (CR: 620 Math: 600 Writing: 660) a few months later. After some more studying, I finally reached a 1990 this June. I have to pay for basically every standardized test I take (my parents paid my first SAT and two of my subject tests) because my parents honestly can’t afford it. My parents work at a grocery store, and together they make somewhere between $70,000-$80,000 a year, which isn’t really a lot around here (I live in a decently-sized raised ranch, but that’s only because my parents bought my house cheap for only $100,000). On top of that, my younger sister is a level 10 gymnast (lots of $$$) and we support my aunt (mom’s sister) who has polio. I had a job my sophomore year, and I got a paid a little for helping out with my school’s STEM program these past two summers; I use that money to pay for everything. I don’t want to ask my parents for more money because I know my tests and school stuff are enough of a burden on the family already. </p>

<p>As for my parents’ education levels, my dad is a high school graduate (He’s dyslexic, so he’s always had trouble with school), but my mom is not (When I said first to graduate high school, I meant on my mom’s side). My dad is from an affluent North Shore town and was born here, but my mom was born in Mexico and didn’t get to finish high school because she came here when she was 17. My dad’s side of the family is actually really well-educated; I have cousins who graduated from MIT, and my grandfather, although born in Peru and into a poor family, was a neurosurgeon. </p>

<p>Thank you for the link! I’m reading the thread right now, and I find it both interesting and helpful.</p>

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<p>For that I would be going to either the individual college websites or the CB College Search function and making spread sheet of the 25:75 SAT/ACT scores, avg gpa and admission rate. Based on those numbers I would get a feel for which are safety/match/reach. I don’t have those numbers in my head, so you’ll need to collect your own admissions data and compare your stats to them.</p>

<p>And that’s just for admissions safety/match/reach, since you need FA/merit aid, that takes further, even more detailed research on the FA webpages of colleges of interest.</p>

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<p>That’s really personal, based on the size, location (eg. part of the country, weather, rural/suburban/city, etc.), character of the college, etc. You seem to have some very different types of schools on your list (eg. Mac vs. Grinnell, both LACs, but one urban and the other small town), but there may be something I’m not considering which is attractive to you. By reading threads or tour reports here on CC, or reading one of the big books on colleges, you will start to get a feel for the culture of each college and see if it seems right for you.</p>

<p>I didn’t know that you’d taken the SAT 3 time already. In that case, I ONLY recommend taking it again IF:</p>

<p>1) All of the schools you might apply to have score choice. If any of them require you to send all test scores, taking it 4x is not a good thing.</p>

<p>AND</p>

<p>2) You actually have time to prep for it enough to make a significant improvement, otherwise it’s not worth the cost.</p>

<p>About your financial situation, you and your parents need to fully understand how need based FA works. For this I recommend a book like Paying for College Without Going Broke and/or the FinAid.org website. Here are a few examples from your above description:</p>

<p>Family income is not adjusted for location, all places in the US are treated equally, even if the cost of living is high.</p>

<p>While the purchased the ranch when it was cheap, FA will also be based on what it is worth now and how much equity your parents have in it. Also, if the ranch is a business, this makes FA calculations more complex and often results in higher EFCs (I don’t know this personally but have heard it many times here from reputable parents on CC).</p>

<p>The fact that your parents spend a lot on your sister’s gymnastics will not be a factor, that is considered a lifestyle choice.</p>

<p>Supporting your Aunt may be considered in your FA (I don’t know this situation personally, but it is possibly a valid expense).</p>

<p>FA is complex and can vary significantly between schools that use the Profile. I have to urge that you get your parents involved and learn about this aspect as it does no good to be accepted by a college if you can’t afford to attend. Since you see Med school in your future, it is in your best interest to get through undergrad with as little debt as possible. I have one and possibly 2 premeds in my house, and this is the advice that I give them. Which reminds me, you should go to the PreMed Topics forum to learn more about premed coursework, what it takes to get into Med school, etc. The posters there are both experienced and helpful; but read the sticky threads and some of the current threads first, as many new members tend to ask the same questions.</p>

<p>You will be considered first gen to college by any definition. What you will be asked on college applications is for the college history (college, degree earned, year) of your mother and father only.</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you so much for all the information! I’ll be sure to talk to my parents more. Also, I just got my June ACT results back and I got a 29. Is that better or worse than my 1990/1280 CR+M?</p>

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<p>Here is the ACT concordance table:</p>

<p>[ACT-SAT</a> Concordance](<a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/]ACT-SAT”>The ACT Test for Students | ACT)</p>