<p>Hey everyone. I just joined this great message board.</p>
<p>I live in Morrilton, Arkansas. It is halfway between Conway and Russellville. I attend a very small high school, however. We only have about 175 kids 9-12 grade.</p>
<p>I am only a junior, but I figure it's never too early to start looking at colleges. I have taken the ACT three times. The first time, in my freshman year, I made a 32. I took it again in my sophomore year, but made another 32. I just recently took it again this year, and this time I made a 34 (super score=35). I plan on taking it again my senior year to try and get a 36. I also made a 98 on my ASVAB (for those of you who know what it is).</p>
<p>I am at the top of my class with a 4.0+ I play basketball, and I am the president of the student council. I am also in many other clubs and extra curricular activities. I am also actively involved in my church and community.</p>
<p>I plan on becoming some kind of doctor. I haven't decided what specific field yet, but I know I want to do something medical-related.</p>
<p>I was just wondering what my chances of getting into Hendrix are, and what kind of financial aid might be available to me with my current test scores and GPA.</p>
<p>I am going to be completely blunt with you. You sound like an excellent candidate for Hendrix, however, I feel you are over-qualified for the school. If you really want to be a doctor I suggest you start looking at higher tierd schools (i.e. Johns Hopkins). Hendrix is a great school, but there are better for people with your qualifications.</p>
<p>Let me try to convince you that with your credentials you need to look at Johns Hopkins if you want to go the pre-med route. Firstly, if you don't know Johns Hopkins Medical School goes back and forth between the #1 and #2 spot for medical schools according US News rankings. So basically the best two schools to go to in the U.S. for pre-meds is either Harvard (reach for many) or Johns Hopkins University. Some will tell you it doesn't matter which undergrad you got to when it comes to medical school admissions, but they are lieing because it does. Secondly, I know finances are a big issue for many students who have awesome credentials and could attend a top 20 school, and that stops them from even considering applying. With your ACT you are basically an auto-full ride because you qualify for the Arkansas Distinguished Governor's Scholarship which is 10,000 per/year which Hendrix then compensates the rest of the total cost. However, if you were to apply to a school like Johns Hopkins and your parents made less than 50,000 a year you would get the majority of the tuition paid for through grants/scholarships that they hand out. Top tiered schools have endownment out their ass and can afford to give qualified students who cannot pay their way money, but if your parents make more than 100k you'll probably have to pay most of it. So basically what I'm saying is do not let finances be the reason you choose a school because a kid who goes to Harvard could potentially pay less than a kid who goes to a lesser known school. I mean if you look at average indebtness I think the University of Arkansas is like in the top 100, and Johns Hopkins is on top 100 for least debt. Thirdly, medical school admission has alot to do with research. Johns Hopkins was the first research university in the nation. If you go there for undergrad you are guarenteed to work with world-renowned faculty and will be able to research at your heart's content. Fourthly, connections in this world mean alot. And you're going to get some going to a school like JHU. </p>
<p>Anyway, just think about some of the things I've said. You're just beginning the college search, and I would hate for you to limit yourself from great schools outside of Arkansas.</p>
<p>Let me just say that I disagree most definitely with the previous poster.</p>
<p>My daughter has similar stats and would be very happy to attend a school where every ninth kid goes to med school. (An amazing stat that JHU or Ivies can't touch.) Additionally JHU is not exactly well known for a compassionate and caring community of cooperative scholars (read: their rep as a bunch of gunners). </p>
<p>Merit aid is very hard to come by at JHU but with your stats you have as good a possibility as hundreds of others. Merit aid will likely be quite generous at Hendrix. </p>
<p>I know of a few other kids applying with stats equal to or greater than yours so you most probably won't be lonely looking for intellectual peers. </p>
<p>Visit some campuses . You'll get an idea relatively quickly whether a small relatively rural or small town LAC suits you. If so, Hendrix would be a great choice. (As would Austin College, U of the South, Southwestern, and more selective schools like Grinnell.) Go your own way. You'll be happier.</p>
<p>I don't plan on applying to any out-of-state colleges. I've pretty much decided to go to Hendrix if I get enough scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise I will go to UofA in Fayatteville, or UCA (University of Central Arkansas)</p>
<p>I said the same thing as a junior... when I got my 33 on the ACT I broadened my college list though... you definitely should not limit yourself to out-of-state schools, but I alone cannot change your mind</p>
<p>whoopigsooie, you sound like a wonderful candidate for Hendrix. I absolutely believe with your stats, you would be the type of student they would welcome with open arms ... and offer of scholarship. My DD is awaiting her letter from Hendrix. She visited approximately 10 schools and narrowed the list to two ... one of them being Hendrix. She has similar stats, but a 33 on her ACT instead of a 35 ... way to go! Let us know what you decide! Good luck!</p>
<p>Did whoopig make a 34 or a 35? What the heck is a "super score"? I'm looking at an ACT score report and there is no such thing mentioned that I can find anyway. LOL. </p>
<p>All I can think of is that whoopig is saying is that with writing thrown in the english/writing score is a 35 (while the composite stays a 34). Did I guess right?</p>
<p>curmudgeon, from what I understand from the admissions rep at Hendrix, they do what's called super-scoring. Let's say someone took the ACT twice and got a 32 on math the first time and a 34 on math the second time, but they got a 35 on science the first time and a 31 on science the second time. The school would take the 34 on math and add it with the 35 on science. I believe the majority of schools do this, but can't say for sure. That is a specific question we asked, though, and they said yes, they do superscore. In DD's case, it didn't really matter. All of her scores were higher on this last ACT. Please don't take what I said as written in stone. It's best to check with someone who actually works in that office. I would hate to tell someone the wrong thing.</p>
<p>Super score is where you take your take your highest scores from each area-English, Math, Reading, and Science, and then average them together. My scores on my last ACT test were as follows-English 35, Math 34, Reading 35, Science 32. Average that out and you get my composite score-34. </p>
<p>When I took the ACT in my sophomore year, I made a 32 in English, 32 in Math, 30 in Reading, and 34 in Science. My composite score for that test was a 32.</p>
<p>My superscore combines my highest scores-35 in English, 34 in Math, 35 in Reading, and 34 in Science. This averages out to a 34.5, 35 when you round up.</p>
<p>I believe most schools in Arkansas take your superscore.</p>
<p>Yes but I'm considering Hendrix over Fayetteville (for now) for two reasons.</p>
<p>1) Closeness to my hometown. I live 45 minutes from Hendrix's campus, and about 3 hours from U of A's. I would live on-site, but I would come home most weekends and see my family/friends.</p>
<p>2) 1 in 10. 1 in every 10 graduates from Hendrix enroll in medical school. I plan on becoming a doctor (dermatologist maybe), so Hendrix seems like the school for me.</p>
<p>I plan on visiting the Hendrix campus sometime in April when they have their Junior Visitation Day. I will also probably visit the UofA and UCA campuses.</p>
<p>Well, actually I have asked that question at most every college and I now know of three that do the super score (Hendrix, Michigan, and WashU). It doesn't help D that much because everything stays the same except her 35 math goes to a 36. I don't know if that's worth paying to send since she has a 35 composite anyway. One would think that's just overkill. What do y'all think? I'll see how D wants to play it.</p>
<p>Edit:who else do you know of that uses super scores?</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely don't go to the UofA. To say the least it's not much of an "intellectual environment". I've lived in Fayetteville for 10 years and know the city/college pretty well. The city is pretty nice, better than Conway, but you have to deal with the frats/sororities (they rule the campuses). And getting an education doesn't seem to be the main thing people are concerned about on campus....</p>
<p>Lol on a funny note today about Hendrix though... My friend who was in their dorm recently said she saw some asian guy doing Dance Dance Revolution in the commons area... she said he was going hardcore and like sweating profusely... lol I'd like to meet the guy...</p>
<p>My daughter is also a HS junior and just made a 32 on the October ACT. The Ark. Gov. Dist. Scholarship covers $10,000 per year at ANY Arkansas school (not just UA, UCA, etc.)... and Hendrix will make up the difference between the $10K and their FULL tuition, room/board, and fees!!! A FULL FREE RIDE at Hendrix! Check out the Hendrix website's scholarship info page for details. To others that may be reading this, you have to be an Arkansas resident to qualify for the Governor's Distinguished Scholarship.</p>
<p>I am hoping my daughter will choose Hendrix, but right now she is wanting to apply to MIT and a couple of Ivy's after retaking the ACT at the end of this school year as well as taking the SAT for the first time. (Well, actually, she took the SAT in 7th grade for the Duke TIP program, but I'm not counting that.) Maybe you will end up as classmates at Hendrix! :-)</p>
<p>The thing with the distinguished governor's scholarship is that you are guarenteed the scholarship only if less than 250 people in the entire state of arkansas apply and are eligible for it.... which then means it becomes a competitive application pool.... hope their aren't too many 32+'s in arkansas this year... in my AP Chem class we alone we have 6 people with 32+'s... but I guess one AP class at one of the best schools in the state isn't the best predictor for something like that</p>
<p>btw... at the UofA you'll get the distinguished governor's + chancellors for sure... which means that you'll get a whooping 18k a year... and cumulative cost is only 15k... you do the math...</p>