Got it. I was going by the fact that he was looking at Tufts, which is a “little Ivy” too. And many on his list are very selective, JH, Cornell, really all of them. So I figured he must have a serious hook.
Colleges that Change Lives might be really helpful. We loved Clark. I imagine you are already well aware of any of the other schools I listed 
ps don’t understand the GC suggestion U. of M. based on watching football on tv!!
A school that he might consider is UT Dallas, no football and small Greek system. With his stats, he probably could get a full tuition scholarship and they do have a 72% acceptance rate to medical school. It is also easy to get to thru DFW.
If Skidmore is affordable, I would count that as a safety (and a state school for the other safety possibly). My D considered it a safety when she applied three years ago but the stats have gone way up since then and she is def amongst her peers. The dorms, food, location are all very good. Class sizes are small. The one thing I would note though is the lack of school (athletic) spirit. I’ve been told that most events are not very well attended.
I would just weigh in on the OP comment that Johns Hopkins is pretty cutthroat in pre-med. My son is a swimmer and was looking at top academic colleges. He was recruited pretty aggressively by JHU, so we looked into it. We have a relatively young brain surgeon who lives in our community who attended JHU as an undergraduate and was (obviously) pre-med. He was a swimmer like our son, too, but he could not bring himself to recommend JHU for undergraduate science major. There’s absolutely no question about the very, very high caliber of the program or the quality of the pre-med track. It’s just, as OP suggested, that Hopkins tens to be very intense and competitive. We determined quickly, then, that JHU was not a good fit for us. But, for the right kid, I’m sure it’s a fantastic option.
Many of the schools you listed seem too reachy if he’s in the top 20% of his class, I would expect kids possibly admitted to many of those to be in the top 5%. Does your high school use Naviance? Naviance can give you a good picture of where kids with his stats at his school are being accepted.
@socalmom007, yes, we use Naviance. His counselor feels he has a good mix of reaches, matches, and safeties. Because our school is so rigorous and well regarded, many kids do get into top colleges. It’s true that Harvard, Yale, etc. will only look at the top 3% to 5%, but even kids in the top 20% to 25% can get into schools like Northwestern, Tufts, Emory and the like. I think it’s because a kid in the top quartile at our school is most likely equal to a kid in the top 10% elsewhere.
Perfect. As long as you are using Naviance and counselors info to guide you then I’m sure you’re in good shape.
skidmore isn’t a safety. definitely find one. that is the only thing missing from the list.
as for U Mich, why there instead of PSU. If you are in PA seems PSU would be the better ‘big’ choice.
Maybe look at Carnegie Mellon too.
@lauriejgs northwestern is much, much more selective than tufts or emory. it’s become more competitive through the years and is probably as selective is duke or dartmouth. 9% acceptance rate this year…
Another vote for Rochester, Pitt, and Union. Pitt can be very generous which if med school is in his future is nice.
Tufts this year accepted just under 20%. I was surprised because around here it is thought of as more selective than that.
@compmom, tufts accepted 14.8%.
http://now.tufts.edu/articles/place-be-tufts-admissions-class-2021
Wow, the article I found had that stat pending and said under 20% for the first time. That is more in line with what I would think but apparently this year their applications were very high in number.
You should absolutely, positively, unequivocally visit Miami University in Oxford Ohio. They have an excellent acceptance rate to med school. You seriously should research the school. Be warned. If you visit, nothing else will compare. It’s about one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. Actually Robert Frost said so himself.
I agree with DadTwoGirls, med school is going to cost a ton. Don’t blow your 529 money like me on undergraduate educations at expensive and or out of state schools. Keep that money for his med school/postgraduate years. University of Michigan if you are a Michigan resident will save you a ton of money, is very highly respected and will get you where you want to go. Besides plenty of normal kids all around.
I agree with 4Gulls above. And I think the 3 schools mentioned are good matches. Without looking it up, I am pretty sure your son would be around the 75th percentile of ACT scores. And at a competitive and rigorous high school, within top 20% is excellent. I have known kids who were accepted to some of the schools on your list with lower scores, coming from a very good though not outstanding high school. I’m sure he will have good choices in the end.
I thought Tufts was 14.8% last year but I see that on their FB page this year. Maybe unchanged?
If you’re looking at F&M, you may want to visit Dickinson as well. If he’d like to keep volunteering, Trinity comes to mind. I would second Union.
A possible hidden gem might be Seton Hill in Greensburg PA (about 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh). It’s a small LAC that boasts (or at least used to boast) and extremely high Med School acceptance rate. It’s about twice the size of Haverford I think. My sister went there and then went on to Med School, which was a bit of a surprise since she started off as a creative writing major! He would probably qualify for a significant amount scholarship money.
I recommend checking out the University of Minnesota Rochester. Right next to the Mayo Clinic in downtown Rochester, with a focus on experimental and innovative teaching methods (that are desperately needed in the sciences). But it’s not a traditional “college campus” and the curriculum is very health science focused; in other words, it’s not a LAC. Last time I visited the admissions office was in a shopping mall. Try to look beyond that, it’s a really cool place more people should investigate.