<p>So I have a list of around 20 colleges right now x.x and there's no way my parents are going to pay the application fees for so many (although we are looking to get fee waivers).</p>
<p>Everything is still tentative (btw, I want to be pre med): </p>
<p>UPenn (ED)
UChicago (EA)
Caltech (EA)
Wellesley (EE)
Brown (maybe PLME?)
Rice (Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars)
Duke
Cornell
Northwestern (HPME)
Dartmouth
Smith (I would only go if I get STRIDE)
Johns Hopkins
Berkeley
Georgetown
UCLA
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>I have 4 others that I'm applying to for sure (they include safeties such as UT Austin; I'm a TX resident).</p>
<p>I know I have a lot of top 25 schools on here (including 4 ivies, which might be too much x.x), but the thing is. I can't bear to cross off any of them from the list. My mindset: the more I apply to, the more chance of getting into somewhere good.</p>
<p>However, I also want to be sure to get a good aid package. So it would be useless to get into somewhere amazing if I can't afford it. I really don't want to take out loans. (My family income is between 60-70k.) That's the main reason I like Penn so much (their no-loan policy. Do any of the other schools on my list have that policy?). And also because I have reason to believe Penn is the best school in the nation for pre med. </p>
<p>Are any of the schools on my list horrible for financial aid? Remember that I don't want to take out loans if I can avoid it. </p>
<p>Also, are any of the schools on the list not great for pre med (although I did some research on this already, so there shouldn't be)?</p>
<p>I guess I just want a school that isn't SUPER small (like I like being lost in a crowd of people) but not large enough to the point where I won't be able to get opportunities or stand out (work with professors, research, internships, readily available volunteer opportunities). The ideas of both a LAC as well as a traditional college appeal to me, and I think there are pros to both (I feel like I would be happy at both).</p>
<p>I haven't visited any colleges yet just because I don't want to fall in love with a school and then not get in... But if I do get the chance to choose between a few great schools after I get my acceptance letters (if I get any ;c) then I will visit them to help decide.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! (And excuse my uber long post.)</p>
<p>Oh, I guess I should post my stats? x.x</p>
<p>I'm an Asian female btw ._. (Not first generation)</p>
<p>GPA: 3.91 (as of now. But I do plan on getting a 4.0 next semester so I want to raise to a 3.95 maybe?) out of 4.0</p>
<p>SAT: 2360 (760 CR) (3rd try)</p>
<p>SAT II: 780 Math 2 (plan on retaking in Oct for 800 ;c), 770 Bio, plan on taking Chem in Oct</p>
<p>NMSF (or finalist I think? Not really sure how that works lol), AP Scholar, various other smaller awards/honors including All Region and All Area. I might also enter Siemens but I probably won't get Semifinalist :c</p>
<p>My ECs aren't that spectacular. I'm not an athlete. I have 2 leadership roles (1 president/founder and the other one is NOT president, but it is in the orchestra, which I have participated in all of HS (and middle school but no one cares about that). I plan on stressing the fact that music is a big part of my life.). I also have memberships to a few other clubs. </p>
<p>My volunteering is decent (but definitely not over the top. Mainly because my parents can't always drive me places due to the fact that I always have to babysit my toddler brother (or they have to stay home to watch him. It's basically just always very inconvenient for my parents. By the way, should I list that as a special circumstance on the CA? LOL sorry for so many questions. Maybe I'll make a separate question dedicated to that.)). I have research experience (was on scholarship for that this summer).</p>