They will be fine paying for any college but I have been considering medical school. I grew up wanting to be a doctor but put it off because I didn’t know much about it despite knowing 30+ doctors in my circle of family and friends.I am currently taking anatomy and find it really interesting but am still unsure if it is right for me because medical school seems so difficult and I don’t think I am smart enough.I will go into college as a business major but will try to explore the medical field more,which should please my parents.If I do choose to be pre-med than I don’t really know much the name of the school matters vs. how important it is for the business field.
Premed isn’t a major. It’s just a set of classes*, the same that everyone else regardless of major would take. The only difference is that premeds need to be in the top 20% of each class. Therefore, you should attend a college where you’re in the top 25% of admitted students. It’s a good idea to take calculus, physics, and AP Chemistry beforehand.
DO NOT assume “they will be fine paying for any college”. Ask for specific amount that’d be the upper limit. Then ask whether it means they’ll consider colleges up to that level , or whether it means if you get into your favorite college for X amount (X amount = the amount they agree to), you can attend even if a cheaper college is on the table.
You don’t need to major in Business in order to work in a business. What will matter is whether you’re able to find internships and do well in them.
- 2 classes each in biology, chemistry, physics, English + 1 class each in psychology, sociology, organic chemistry, calculus, statistics, biochemistry, a diversity-focused-class, and a foreign language spoken by immigrants (doesn't need to be taken as a formal class in college, can be done via community education, like for Hmong, Somali, Korean, Arabic, Creole French... since not all colleges offer the classes, but evidence you can use the language in a clinical setting is always a plus since as a doctor you'll have to handle many people with different backgrounds and languages.)
I know that pre-med isn’t a major.I’m not really concerned about whether i am in the top 20% of the class because my dad wasn’t a great student in high school but managed to get a 3.8 at a really prestigious college and got into medical schools.Like I said before they don’t care about the cost of college,I care,I don’t feel it is necessary to spend way more on a college if it really isn’t that different from another one for a way higher price.
Your dad is an outlier. The VAST majority of students at selective colleges were at the top of their HS class and have a shock when they get to college because obviously they’re no longer all at the top - almost all of them expect to get A’s when in fact, well, 80% don’t.
(Also, was your Dad at Brown? Because it’s got the highest overall average GPA :p.)
You need to stop thinking so much about what your dad and sister did and liked and accomplished. You clearly don’t know your own mind, and seem
to want someone else to decide for you. You have to live with this, so start owning your own interests and preferences.
You didn’t answer the question on whether you plan to retake the ACT. A higher score opens up more choices, or makes your odds better for the choices on your list and may open up merit possibilities. Also, the MCAT is a lot harder than the ACT – if a 28 on the ACT is your best effort, your odds of getting into med school are very slim, so plan accordingly as you choose your major.
Assuming you don’t retake, you should look at each college to see where your score falls in their test score range. If you are below the 50% mark, it is s reach. Below the 25% mark, and it is probably out of reach (since you are not a hooked applicant). You only should have 2-3 reaches on your list when you are done. You can find that info and a lot more by Googling “Conmon Data Set” and each college name.
Have you got a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges? Get one and read up on the colleges you are considering. It will help you understand the differences.
Work with your parents to plan some visits. We did a lot of visiting for my kids, and it sounds like you can afford to. But we did quite a bit of research before deciding where to visit (Fiske and time on the college websites mostly).
A spreadsheet to track info about colleges is a good thing, especially when you have a long list to pare down. Test score ranges, size, majors offered, anything special like ECs or other things that are important to you, cost, any special application requirement (like subject tests), how you liked the visit, stuff like that.
^Typo above. “Common Data Set” for the search.
Call me clueless but are you planning to study business/finance or a pre-med course of some kind?
These days, COA is bumping up against 70K so double check with your folks about money. If med school is where you’re heading eventually, then merit aid at the undergraduate level would be a plus.
You say that AP courses are only available to juniors but you are now a junior so why aren’t you taking any now if you are concerned about the rigor of your coursework? Why are you waiting until senior year?
As others have said, you will need to retake the ACT or attempt the SAT in order to be competitive at many of the colleges that you identify. You should come up with a plan to improve your scores or look at test optional schools.
Regarding location, I would focus first on availability of major(s) that interest you and any other criteria (size of university, rural/suburban/urban, sports culture, Greek life, etc). Then think about location. If you think you “should” go away but also like the idea of being closer to home, you could target schools that are within a four hour drive.
Good luck!
I am going to retake the ACT and try to prepare for it more.
I know I probably won’t end up at medical school but I feel like I need to at least try or else I will regret it,but if I do fail than I will feel even worse about myself,therefore I should probably just not try at all.
I don’t really want to study business but there isn’t anything else that really interests me and I need to find a “traditional” job.I know I don’t “need” to but my family is very pressuring,my sister wanted to be a nurse and when she told my grandfather he said something about getting a PHD in nursing,as if it was the only way it would be justified.My dad likes to pretend that he wouldn’t care what I do as a career as long as I am happy but I know that it is not true.
I guess I will try explore more colleges with a wide array of majors so I can attempt to figure out what I want to do.My parents are basically clueless about colleges.They know tons of colleges,but only the really selective ones that them and all of their friends went to so I have to choose ones myself.I tried to tell my dad how selective they are but he said “oh well you can try”,which doesn’t really help my situation.
I signed up to do one AP class but I had to drop it four days in because it was so stressful and I thought I was going to go insane.I have zero interest in government so I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea.I might try it again next semester,because I am being told I am lazy for not doing AP classes by my parents.I was going to do AP Bio but I really hate biology,but I don’t know if that is just because my teacher freshman year was really horrible and I don’t know anything,I don’t even remember what a ribosome does.Next year I am going to attempt to do AP US History,AP Bio and AP Stats but will probably end up switching out of one.
If you hate Bio, then don’t take AP Bio.
What subjects do you like?
If you’re not interested in any specific subject, try AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, AP Stats, and/or AP Human Geography. You could try any one of them next semester. They’re “gateway” APs so they’d give you an AP experience without the shock that was AP Gov. 
You don’t need a degree in business to work in a business - what you need is a major you like, one class in statistics, oncampus involvement, and internships.
Buy the book Colleges that Change Lives. These colleges sound like exactly what you need!
I cannot stand physics,history and english.Math is fine but extremely boring,anatomy is okay except for my extremely annoying teacher.Chemistry was okay,the only thing I remember about it is that I liked balancing equations.In general I just really hate school and don’t want to be there.I’m probably not going to go to prom and don’t really even want to go to graduation,I would rather just get the diploma in the mail.
Out of the four above my school only has AP Stats which I am planning on taking next year.
How about you ask your parents to do a year abroad? That’d be “prestigious” enough for them, it’d break up the pace/routine you’re in, and it’d help you get into college.
What language do you study?
You sound like someone who needs a gap year. You don’t like school, you don’t like any of your subjects, have no idea what you want to do, found one AP too stressful, and don’t seem to have the focus or drive at this point to figure it out. You have superficial ideas, but don’t seem interested in digging into the realities of each to find a direction.
Why do you want to go to college?
I don’t have one reason for wanting to go to college.It is an unspoken thing that is just assumed.I have never thought about not going to college and would never not go,it is unheard of to not go to college in my family.
And yet you hate school with a passion. I agree a gap year makes the most sense. Get out in the world and work. See if you think a college degree will help you.
As a parent of a senior this year, I sympathize with the “I hate school and just want to get out” – especially in more intense, competitive environments. The pressure, back-biting, mean-ness and all over awfulness is becoming quite claustrophobic for my son, and he is counting the months until graduation. This, from a kid who is a sports captain, lots of friends, easy-going etc. He is just done.
So, wanting to get out and be done doesn’t necessarily mean this young man isn’t ready for college, it just means he is really fed up with his high school environment.
You’re making a big assumption about the HS competitive environment. From the initial post I don’t see that.
I’m not saying the OP’s environment is the same as my kid’s necessarily, just that are plenty of reasons why kids can want to be done with high school. The OP sounds like a fairly typical 16-17 year old boy – family has high expectations, kid knows he is supposed to go along with that, doesn’t have anything that really drives him right now, knows he is supposed to start figuring this out. He figures he will do something business-y, so asked for help identifying possible schools. I have two boys, and fall of junior year, neither one of them really knew what they wanted (though the younger one knew he wanted to play his sport in college). Boys mature almost geometrically, it grows in leaps and bounds with long periods of seeming stagnation in between, at least from watching mine, and their friends.
My high school environment is very competitive and stressful.Last year out of 250 seniors 15 went to ivy league colleges and many others went to competitive liberal arts colleges such as Pomona and Williams.
Take a gap year. You may also want to go to school abroad - you could choose Costa Rica or Argentina if you speak Spanish, France or Québec if you speak French (Germany if you speak German obviously)…