Please help expand college list

Parents Forum
1

Hello, all. I want to make sure we’re not overlooking any good choices for our son, currently a junior. He’s thinking about going to medical school, or at least doing something in the sciences. He’s a licensed EMT and plans to start taking shifts on a local ambulance squad as soon as this summer, hopefully. His interests may well change, as he enjoyed mock trial this past year; basically, nothing is set in stone. But with science in mind, we’re looking at colleges that we think will be a good fit. So far, he has seen and liked Brandeis (legacy), Emory, Tufts, Skidmore, and Vassar. He hated Haverford because it was way too small. Later this month, we’re visiting Cornell, U Rochester, and Franklin & Marshall. That’s all we’ve got planned so far.

He has a 33 ACT and a weighted GPA of about 4.1 overall (probably about 4.2 this year and 3.9ish his first two years). He’ll have at least one fantastic teacher recommendation, and he’s at a top-ranked public school known for its rigor.

We live in the Northeast, so most of the schools he’s seen so far are there. He is unsure about whether he wants to have to get on a plane to go to college, although he did fall in love with Emory (loved the campus and the warm weather). He definitely doesn’t want a tiny school and probably doesn’t want a huge one.

Socially, he’s always been one to prefer small gatherings to big parties. In fact, he hasn’t attended one single big party or football game in all of high school. His counselor (who knows him personally) feels that he should throw an application in for U Michigan, even though it’s big, because he actually does enjoy watching football (at least on TV). She feels that his dedication to studying in high school may have overshadowed what actually is a fun-loving streak that will emerge when he’s got more time. When I asked him what sounded better, a small Saturday-night party in someone’s dorm room or a big kegger after a game, he wasn’t sure.

Other schools that have come up on my radar are Case Western, Johns Hopkins (although I hear premed is cutthroat), William & Mary, Muhlenberg, Washington University, Northwestern (legacy), and Vanderbilt.

What am I missing? Thank you all so much!!!

2

If you are looking at Muhlenberg, you may want to stop by Lafayette (another LAC) and Lehigh (a mid-size university) which are both nearby and are strong in the STEM fields.

3

For ideas for schools to research further this list can be helpful:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-with-great-pre-med-programs/199/

Based on the entirety of your post, URochester would seem to be one good option.

4

@happy1, I should mention that both of those are pretty close to home and popular with local kids–which is one reason why son is not eager to check them out. Also, a friend had a very negative experience with the drinking culture at Lehigh. But I will once again mention Lafayette to him.

5

^^^^Didn’t realize you were so close. I almost didn’t put Lehigh down as your S doesn’t sound like one who is interested in the frat culture but felt it was an option worthy of your review. FWIW my D recently graduated from Lafayette and had a great experience – if you have any questions about the school feel free to PM me at any point.

My D also liked Union (NY) which was another LAC that was strong in the STEM fields. I do think you have a lot of good options on your list.

6

Well, maybe it’s not so much that HE doesn’t like frat culture as that WE don’t like it! I got the impression Union was big on frats, too.

7

Just wrapping up the college decision for my oldest. Wisdom will vary, but I’ll give you my input. There are literally hundreds of colleges and universities that will provide a great experience and education for your son. There is not going to be a perfect choice, but there are a lot of REALLY good ones. It looks like he is interested in schools in the NE and the SE. I would leave it there, do some research, and plan a trip visit 4-6 other schools in the SE – maybe some state schools and privates that are in your budget. You don’t have to worry about “What if” there are better matches in the midwest, or Texas, or California that you haven’t thought of yet. Good schools are everywhere, so if he already has two areas he likes (SE and NE/ closer to home), my advice (I’m sure others disagree) is to just stick with that and move forward. And don’t put of the financial implications of the decision until later. If he really wants to consider somewhere that is a budget stretch, I would say let him – BUT have open dialog that a merit scholarship or some other aid may be necessary in addition to admission to make it a reality. Good luck!

8

U Scranton, Allegheny will probably give him good merit.

Pitt would be good with several hospitals nearby, and it’s in a great city, bus pass and museum admission is free for students.

9

Kids who like Brandeis typically like Conn College (although not adjacent to a fun city the way Brandeis is to Boston), Wash U, Northwestern so I think you’ve got some good options in the hopper.

Whether he experiences JHU as cut-throat or not is going to be a personal thing- I know kids there who have reveled in being in an atmosphere where being interested in life sciences is cool- and very normal-- and kids who found it “too much”. So he should visit.

The one outlier from a geographic perspective- maybe Rice? It’s a “fit” with the schools he’s liked. But no need to head on out to Texas if you’ve got a range of colleges which he’s excited about and which you can afford.

10

I will say this about Houston though. I am in NJ and Texas seemed far but I researched it and airfares to Houston are really affordable. I just got her ticket back into Philly for $49, really. Houston is a major destination. That’s less the the tolls on the parkway to get my son back from Vassar. Well almost. And I went out to see her during break flew out right before that last blizzard hit and stepped out in Houston wearing tee-shirts. Great reason to go to Houston next January.

11

I’d would have him read up on Rhodes, Creighton, and Pomona (LAC in a tight knit consortium that adds up to 5,000.)

12

Agree that Union is worth looking at -I think they may have some arrangement with U Albany/Albany Med.

13

If he’s willing to go farther away, he could consider Willamette, in Salem, OR. A big advantage is the huge hospital right across the street from campus (lots of students intern/work there).

As an EMT, he’d feel right at home at Skidmore, which I know is already on your list. Lots of students there get EMT certified & get great jobs in health fields both during summers and after graduation. Big bonus (to me): no greek life. My son loves it there!

14

Is there anything on his list that could reasonably be called a “safety” school? It needs to be safe in three ways: He will get in, he is willing to go there, and someone (probably parents) is willing and able to pay for it.

"33 ACT and a weighted GPA of about 4.1 overall " sounds like he is a very good student. However, if you read CC for a while you will find that there are a lot of students this strong that don’t necessarily get in where we all think that they should. There have been a number of unpleasant surprises this year.

15

I think that with that 33 ACT, and him being a boy, Skidmore will accept him for sure. Skidmore is like so many small LACs; being a boy is a big plus to begin with, but he also has a great test score and GPA.

Skidmore is also a happy place, FWIW. WHich is an often overlooked but IMO important part of the decision process.

16

One more nit: If he might want to go to medical school, there is significant value in NOT taking on any debt at all for undergraduate, and keeping some money in the bank or 529 for further studies.

17

What’s his class rank? This will give a better idea of how high that gpa actually is.

18

I think Willamette could be a good admissions safety school for him. In addition to having a hospital across the street where a lot of students intern, it has a student-run EMT program that he could participate in. And while Salem isn’t the biggest or most exciting of cities, it’s an hour from Portland, an hour from the mountains, an hour from the Pacific Coast, and an hour from Eugene with U of O. My D has just committed to Willamette. Her stats are not as high as your son’s, but she is also pre-med and is currently in the EMT course at her high school. From the research we have done, the prestige of one’s undergrad school isn’t as important as one’s undergrad GPA for med school admission, and med schools also like to see hands-on experience (like EMT or med tech at a hospital) and research.

19

Congratulations to him on becoming an EMT. I did that training quite a few years ago and know what it takes!

It sounds to me as if his interest in medicine is very preliminary and also that there are other possible directions for him to head in, so I would not encourage applying to any school based on med school. A student can major in anything at all and still go to med school (there are post-back programs for those who didn’t take science prereq’s). He sounds like a kid who needs some freedom to explore before deciding on a major after sophomore year, but maybe I am misinterpreting.

My son wanted to be relatively close to home and we only looked at schools in the Northeast. Nothing wrong with that, and it made things easier. He looked at UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth, Clark , and Hampshire, as I remember.

Check out the Colleges that Change Lives site (or the book by Loren Pope). I think that the website, book and college fairs are all great resources.

Personally, I love Tufts. If he is looking at Tufts, he could consider other “Little Ivies” such as Amherst, Williams, Bates, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Wesleyan, Middlebury- might be leaving one out!

Hamilton, Union, Colgate, Elon, Muhlenberg…U. of Rochester sounds like a good fit! Syracuse?

When visiting Cornell, check Ithaca College out.

Midwest would include Oberlin, Kenyon, Macalaster, Carleton…SE would include Davidson

If he really loves being an EMT and wants to work in the field, of course nursing and physicians’ assistant programs are both possibilities after graduation. Good luck!

20

@compmom, thank you for such a comprehensive post. Unfortunately, coming from his high school his chances of getting into Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, or Middlebury are nil. You really have to be in the top 5% or so to have a chance. I don’t know what his rank is, exactly, but I’d say he’s comfortably in the top 20%.