Hi guys, I’m a rising senior having trouble with choosing a pool of schools. My stats are: 32 ACT (35 english, 35 reading, 34 science, 24 math (I know)), 3.75 weighted GPA (will probably rise a little because I made all A’s this semester), 4.9 unweighted GPA. I plan to take the Biology, Chemistry, and Japanese (I’m not Japanese) SAT subject tests and honestly I expect to make a high 700s if not a perfect score in at least Bio. I have a very small graduating class of 97 and my rank is just within the top 20 (for now, it may rise). I’m a dual credit student primarily on a community college campus and I’ll graduate with an Associates of Science. My extra curriculars are Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Community Club officer, 4 years of volunteering at a county hospital, 3 years of Science olympiad with regional and state awards for anatomy & physiology and herpetology, lots of little volunteering stuff like marathons, and a Future Medical Professionals Camp at a university’s college of medicine. That’s about it for now. My intended major is biology, as I’m pre-med (and thus looking for a school with strong pre-med advising and MCAT prep) My safety, and likely strongest match at the moment is UT Austin, as they take all of my credits and seem to have a good program. Otherwise, my target would be Rice, however they don’t take my credits. (Female, African American, from TX) Any and all advice and suggestions would be super helpful, thank you!
@BrienneofTarth , I really believe in starting the list from the bottom up which means you need to run some NPC to see what your family is expected to pay.
How far distance are you willing to go from home?
Since you go to a small high school, are you looking for a small college? Some suggestions for match/safety are:
Trinity U in San Antonio, TX
Rhodes in Memphis, TN (many students volunteer at St Jude’s, which is tremendous experience)
Ursinus College in PA (with your ACT composite, if nothing changes, you would earn $35,000 merit, no limit to the number given out)
I assume if you are concerned with your dual credits being accepted, you want to complete undergrad in < 8 semesters. If that is the case, you need to research how this impacts medical applications. I haven’t guided any of my kids to med school, but my understand is that the required classes (bio, chem, o chem, biochem, physics) must be taken in undergrad and dual courses can’t be counted, so you would need to retake. Be certain to ask this question to both undergrad admissions and the pre-med committee at each school
@BrienneofTarth , you may also want to consider other majors unless you are 100% committed to pre-med. Biology with just a Bachelor Degree doesn’t earn much money. Med School applicants come from all majors as long as the required minimum classes are taken (bio, chem, o chem, biochem, physics). I’m not saying this to talk you out of your major as much as to be certain any applications you submit is to schools that appeal to you for more than just bio.