Need one more mini Reach and one more saftey.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am an African American living, hopefully only for the moment, in Dallas ,Texas. (Rising Senior
Quick Stats:
-SAT:770(M), 740(W), 720(CR)
-Subject Tests: 800(MathII), 780(Bio)
-GPA-3.76 (has been an upward trend)
-Class Rank 10/596 ( was once 126)
-A laundry list of EC, NHS Bet ,church youth group etc
-Have taken the most rigrious courses offered at my school. 11 AP's Total</p>

<p>Things I considered when I assembled my list of colleges:</p>

<p>-I plan to major in Biochemistry and or Molecular Biology.
-I will be following the pre-med track and after undergrad I want enter a MD/PhD program, So I want to go to a university that has many research opportunities.
-Not as important, but I have would love to go to the East Coast
-No big party school ( I have been surrounded by people who do not care about their education the last 4 years and I do not want to have to go through that again.)</p>

<p>This is the list I have carefully assembled:
Reach- JHU, Rice, WashU, Brown
Fit?- Northwestern, Vanderbilt
Def Fit-Boston Univserity , Texas A&M, </p>

<p>BTW I am looking for schools that hand out good financial aid to those who need it because my parents together make 40,00 a year and we have no liquid assets , hardly any money in our bank account. Occasionally we will have $1600 saved but only for short amounts of time.</p>

<p>So I would love if I could get some advice/suggestions
and</p>

<p>Pardon my grammar</p>

2

<p>First of all, I think your reach schools seem more like matches for you considering you are a non-Asian minority and your test scores and class rank very strong. For reach/match schools, you could consider UChicago, UPenn, or Duke. For safeties, you could consider UPittsburgh-I heard their pre-med is pretty good and they also offer a good amount of merit scholarships (including full rides).</p>

3

<p>With your stats, especially since the GPA is rising, I’d consider the other Ivies as well. They’re in the NE, they give GREAT $$ in your income range, etc. Be aware that WashU is NOT need-blind in admissions. </p>

<p>I loved Rice but my son didn’t choose it. Univ of OK and Northeastern (Boston) have GREAT merit-based aid for NMF.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I had no Idea my stats were something good, thank you for making me feel a lot better. </p>

<p>GoldOwl, I was considering UPenn, but I did not think I would fit. And I hear duke is a party school</p>

<p>GeekMom63, I love Rice as well it is my number one choice. I had no Idea WashU was Not need-blind , should I still apply?</p>

<p>Also, does it it hurt me to apply to all these good schools. I heard from a different forum that colleges can see all the schools you are applying to.</p>

5

<p>I only ask these questions because my school and it’s counselors are a joke. They know nothing about College Admissions. Most of the students in my district either go to CC(40ish percent) or Texas A&M or UTD. </p>

<p>I feel as if College Confidential is my counselor.</p>

6

<p>Why in the world aren’t you considering UT since you are in the top 8% of your class?</p>

7

<p>The truth is I am trying to leave Texas , I am only really staying for Rice. My dream is to move to the east coast as I said. And most of the people I know that are going there are going to party!</p>

8

<p>You should apply to higher reaches. As others in this thread have said, your stats make you good enough for any school, including Ivies, which are the most generous with the need-based financial aid that you qualify for. </p>

<p>Some suggestions:
Stanford- it may be on the west coast but it has incredible research opportunities and Rice is often compared to it. Stanford also has a history of being extremely generous with URMs (even more so than many schools considered in the same league)
At least one of HYP-take your pick</p>

<p>A note about partying: You will find partying at every college in the US, but if you don’t want to participate in it it’s easily avoidable. At a place like Duke, which you’ve ruled out as a “party school” you should still be able to find lots of academically oriented people with similar interests.</p>

9

<p>OP - if you need another safety you might want to consider Ursinus. It’s a small LAC outside Philly with many pre-med majors. They would surely give you a major scholarship plus financial aid if you needed any more.</p>

<p>Elon is within your reach too and is an excellent pre-med school. </p>

<p>WashU might be a reach, since so many pre-meds go there, but you should definitely apply and also check out the scholarships that you need to separately apply for. I believe they have one that guarantees admission to med school (even though you’re an undergrad) so that pre-med students can free up their schedules to minor in Philosophy or something else unconventional. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

10

<p>if you are looking to come to the Norhtheast please look into Cornell and Columbia both have top notch PreMed! Although they are always a reach they are easier then most Ivyies and you’ll likely get alot of aide due to your parents income. good luck!</p>

11

<p>Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into Cornell I know that it is a great pre-med but with Columbia I was kind of turned off by The Core. </p>

<p>I had one question about Stanford? Is the quarter system used there. I know It has been used in the past.</p>

<p>And I understand their will be parties going on at all schools.
When I say I do not want to go to a party school. I mean a school in which a hand full of the students attend the school , for the main , only to party. I myself like to have a fun time but I know when to be series. It’s is just harder when your surrounded by party animals.</p>

12

<p>Wow Elon looks like a good school, I seems like a saftey with amazing FA.</p>

13

<p>

I dunno. Depends how much you like it, I guess. Can you get a fee waiver? As I understand it, they only use need as a tiebreaker, but I don’t know much.

And that’s why we are telling you to aim higher. If you can pull scores like yours at a school that’s a joke and without having the money for expensive test prep classes, the very top schools will be impressed. Even though you don’t have a 2400, to do what you’ve done with little school or financial support will make the schools want to see what you can do WITH support. </p>

<p>But your school can’t be QUITE as bad as you say, if they offer 11 AP classes… Or maybe it’s just so huge that they might as well have them? Do you know how well students typically do on the AP tests? How well did YOU do on them?</p>

14

<p>A large majority of the students score below a 3. around 3 will score a 4 on a certain AP and about 2 will get a 5. A lot of people in those classes do not belong in them.
My scores: Bio(4),WHAP(5),US(5),Psych(5),Stat(4) I will take Chem, Gov, Econ, Lang &Lit, and hopefully French, if it makes the cut.
I took Comp Sci freshman year but did not take the exam.</p>

<p>Bio was not easy , our class hardly did any labs we were pretty much given labs with the recorded data and we only went over half the book. The rest of it we were just given study guides and expected to remember it without any class lecture or means to test our knowledge.</p>

<p>Though our school may offer AP’s ,The school as you said has a lot of students so the classes just get filled. You either take AP/honors or you take regulars with the “gangester’s” and thugs as some may say.</p>

<p>“I loved Rice but my son didn’t choose it. Univ of OK and Northeastern (Boston) have GREAT merit-based aid for NMF.”</p>

<p>Sadly, I started to copiously study for the SAT’s after the PSAT to see what it was like so I did not qualify for NMF</p>

15

<p>And also how would you get a free waiver.</p>

16

<p>University of Maryland Baltimore-County might be perfect for you. It has an extraordinary program for students planning to get doctorates in the sciences. Excellent merit aid. Excellent graduate placement. Its president is an African American man, whose area of research was attracting African American students to the hard sciences. </p>

<p>When my son was applying to colleges, we visited it, and I was very impressed with the university and the faculty and staff, all of whom went out of their way to talk to us. S decided not to apply because he decided he didn’t want to major in the sciences and he didn’t like the idea that once a week, the scholars had to wear suits. </p>

<p>"The Meyerhoff Scholars Program has been at the forefront of efforts to increase diversity among future leaders in science, engineering, and related fields. The UMBC Meyerhoff family is now more than 800 strong, with 600 alumni across the nation and 300 students enrolled in graduate and professional programs.</p>

<p>The nomination-based application process is open to prospective undergraduate students of all backgrounds who plan to pursue doctoral study in the sciences or engineering and who are interested in the advancement of minorities in those fields. The program’s success is built on the premise that, among like-minded students who work closely together, positive energy is contagious. By assembling such a high concentration of high-achieving students in a tightly knit learning community, students continually inspire one another to do more and better.</p>

<p>The program has been recognized by the National Science Foundation and The New York Times as a national model. Scores of representatives from federal agencies, campuses, and corporations across the country have visited UMBC’s campus to learn more about the program’s success. The College Board’s National Task Force on Minority High Achievement praised the Meyerhoff Scholars Program as an example that could provide broader educational lessons."</p>

<p>[UMBC</a> Meyerhoff Scholars Program](<a href=“http://www.umbc.edu/meyerhoff/about_the_program.html]UMBC”>http://www.umbc.edu/meyerhoff/about_the_program.html)</p>

<p>"he Meyerhoff Scholars Program is open to all high-achieving high school seniors who have an interest in pursuing doctoral study in the sciences or engineering, and who are interested in the advancement of minorities in the sciences and related fields. Students must be nominated for the program and are most typically nominated by their high school administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers. Awards range from $5,000—$22,000 per year for four years.</p>

<p>The Meyerhoff Selection Committee considers students’ academic performance, standardized test scores, recommendation letters, and commitment to community service. Scholars are selected for their interests in the sciences, engineering, mathematics, or computer science, as well as their plans to pursue a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D. in the sciences or engineering. Reviewing the freshman class profile may provide an idea of the kinds of students who are admitted to UMBC and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program."</p>

<p>[UMBC</a> Meyerhoff Scholars Program](<a href=“http://www.umbc.edu/meyerhoff/benefits_eligibility.html]UMBC”>http://www.umbc.edu/meyerhoff/benefits_eligibility.html)</p>

<p>There probably are fewer than 100 African Americans in the country with scores like yours. (Check out the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education and the research and counselor sections of the College Board web site for information). Probably only a handful of those students come from low income backgrounds.</p>

<p>You could apply to any university in the country – including top Ivies like my alma mater, Harvard – and have a better than average chance of acceptance.</p>

<p>Also consider Duke (not everyone there parties), and UNC. You’d have a chance at the top merit aid at Duke/UNC. Both also offer excellent need-based aid. With your biomedical research interests, the Research Triangle might be a marvelous place for you to go to school because of the internship and research options there. Emery is another school to consider. Great school, excellent need-based and merit aid, and it in the same city as the CDC, so I bet that there would be research options at CDC.</p>

<p>Curious about why BU on your list? Its financial aid isn’t that good, though you’d have a good chance of getting its rare excellent merit aid. Is it known for biomedical research? Its probably more of a party school than is Duke, though there are plenty of serious students there.</p>

<p>Texas A&M would be a good fit yet you’re throwing out Duke? Doesn’t make sense to me.</p>

17

<p>Northstarmom , thank you for all your input. I feel a lot better about my chances now. I was considering UNC but since it is a public school I assumed that I would not receive much aid but now I see I am wrong as I was about Duke</p>

<p>I am applying to A&M because my favorite teacher ,whom I love and adore, who has been my teacher in 3 classes once taught at A&M and I feel that I should apply to the school since she is always preaching for students to go there. (A pretty dumb reason, I know)
I feel a lot of peer pressure (sounds dumb ) from not only my friends and peers but the faculty to go to a Texas state school. IDK . Our school does not really talk aboput colleges out side of Texas or even any private ones. I feel like the school does not try and motivate us.</p>

<p>The story behind BU is long and boring. The thing is It was once my dream school when I was little and I was in love with Boston when I went there, when I was younger. The it is not a comparable to the ivies I decided If all else fails i would go there. It is right there in the middle of Boston city . I love it. </p>

<p>I have not ruled out Duke. I just had a wrong idea about the school and now I see that I was wrong to think Duke is a party school. </p>

<p>Thank you for all your input.</p>

<p>Also do you all suggest I visit Colleges once I receive my acceptance/rejection letters . Or should I visit them before I apply. I have visited Rice, though not an official visit but I saw my friend’s older brother’s dorm and he showed me around. But that is the only school I have actually seen.</p>

18

<p>It’s so expensive and time consuming to visit colleges, and you can find out so much about them via the Internet, that I don’t suggest that you visit colleges until you’re accepted. Because you’re low income, a URM and have high stats, some colleges that you apply to or that want you to apply may offer you fly-ins. For instance, Wash U gave my high stat URM son a fly-in fall of his senior year before he had applied to any colleges. </p>

<p>Make sure you get fee waivers so you don’t have to pay for your applications.</p>

19

<p>The easiest way to get application fee waivers is to have gotten one for the SATs or ACTs. Did you? If not then you should ask your guidance counselor. If you don’t want to wait most of your colleges websites will give you directions.</p>

20

<p>Have you taken a look at the list of fall trips offered by the colleges and universities?<br>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/770660-fall-diversity-visit-programs-compilation-6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/770660-fall-diversity-visit-programs-compilation-6.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Are you against applying to any of the Liberal Arts Colleges? Pomona might be a good fit for you, they have great aid, and a molecular biology program.
[Pomona</a> College Molecular Biology Program](<a href=“Molecular Biology Program | Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College”>http://www.molecular-biology.pomona.edu/)</p>

<p>Have you looked into the scholarship program known as Questbridge? It is for low income students that are high achievers.
[QuestBridge</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/)</p>

<p>Good luck in sorting it all out. I think you will find yourself in a good position next spring!</p>