Hey! I am a North Carolina student currently in an IB Diploma Program school. College has been a huge thing for me and I was wondering what schools I should apply to. I have a list of a couple (Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, Northeastern, George Washington, Georgetown) but I really want some more feasible schools. Location is not a problem for me (prefer east coast though).
I want my major to be Biochemistry with a major/minor in Spanish as well.
Here are my stats…
AP Scores: World History (3) [only had 1/2 year to learn curriculum], wanting to take Spanish
IB Courses: HL History of the Americas, HL English, HL Chemistry, SL Bio, SL Math, ToK, SL Spanish
My GPA is 3.95/4.7685 (never gotten a B so far)
I know I have no SAT/ACT but I just took the ACT yesterday for the first time. Praying for a good score!
I had strong awards and honors with…
Keystone Award for IB
National Honors Society
Spanish NHS
Beta Club
Eagle Scout Project Completion
IB MYP Certificate
Community/School activities
Three Varsity Sports
100+ hours service last two years
Co-Founder winter running club
Active youth member at church
Young Life Club
Boy Scout for 9 years
IB DP Student
A bunch of other stuff like that
So what would some good accredited schools be that I have a chance in?
Also I applied to NC Governors school and made it to the state round of applications (they only took 20 of 55 applications) so I MIGHT have that on my resume this summer
More variables to consider would be univ vs. LAC, ability to pay, Greek life, campus culture. It’s not just where you can get in with certain stats, it’s about fit as well.
@snarlatron Paying is a huge contributor, but not a dead turn off as I am eligible for some financial aid. Also, I am not typically the person for Greek Life. I am the kind of person who likes to hang out with people but more in controlled environments. And I love suburban areas, kind of like places with a college town.
Have you considered NYU? Honestly, with your stats, you’d practically be a shoo-in at CAS. I’m not sure there’s an exact major in Biochemistry, but you can study Biology and Chemistry separately, and minor in Spanish.
@doobydoo12 How is the financial aid at NYU?
The Carnegie Mellon Biological Sciences department would also be pretty great for you, almost an exact reach.
oof not very good, for the most part. it depends on how much they want you LOL.
and there’s a slim chance that you’ll get a lot of aid, but you can apply and hope for the best! make sure you apply early
I honestly don’t know very much about the IB program, but I think that you are taking some rigorous courses that will be good for colleges (especially as IB is usually harder than AP). Your GPA is pretty stellar as well and will help you tremendously. However, in order to asses the schools that would be good fits for you, it is pretty much crucial to know the SAT/ACT scores, essay quality, and recommendation quality. However, assuming that those would be of good nature based solely upon a rigorous course load and a great GPA, I think that you have a shot at many of the top-tier institutions! I would recommend the following: UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Cornell, and WUSTL. However, when choosing the colleges, definitely look way past any rankings and see if you fit in the setting of the college, as well as the general atmosphere. For example, when looking at Berkeley, make sure that you are ok with competition. When dealing with Johns Hopkins and WUSTL, make sure that you are ok with a sketchy surrounding area when outside the college campus. And with Penn and Cornell, as well as many of the other colleges that will be and are on your list, make sure that you are prepared and desire to handle the future rigor of course work that could impact your college GPA (which will really only be important if you are going to graduate school, which I would assume you would be given your current desired major of biochemistry. All in all, take your time and do some research. I recommend the Barons Book and the Princeton Review (“Best Colleges 201_”)- they helped me see what the average scores were and what the general atmosphere was of each campus. College Niche and this website also provide a lot of information on colleges and can help you learn more. Good luck! 