DC is a senior in a application based rigorous magnet program in DC/MD/VA area.
GPA: 3.4, WGPA: 4.2
SAT: 2280 (760+760+760), Math I - 780, Math II- 800
ACT: 34
May be NMSF.
2 APs with 5’s and 2 APs with 3’s
Has 200+ hours is volunteering - in line with interest
Has two summer worth of paid research engagements - in line with interest
Has awards in science fairs.
One life long engagement - Karate Black Belt.
Does not have any hook.
Interested in doing Biology based major - BME, NeuroBiology, BioPhysics etc.
Intelligent, but prospers in discussions and debates based assessments, more than class tests.
What are her (and your) criteria for selecting schools? What kind of place would be a ‘good fit’ based on her best learning style and her social needs? How much can you afford? There are many great options for DC but we need more specifics to avoid giving you a list of every school that would take a kid with his/her GPA and test scores.
Great Academics is the primary focus - must have strong Biology based major, DC is interested to go into either pre-med track or into research in Biological Sciences/Genetics etc. Colleges which is known for it should be in the list. Would be great if there is Honors program DC can get into.
Can pay in the order of $25-$30K/year comfortably - however a $60K will be a drain. Hoping to get some merit aid for school with sticker price of ~$60K/year!
Close by is preferable, but will not discount far away, if the school is great!
Small class size and access to research opportunity is what would help DC.
Setting wise, it really does not matter.
Medium size schools or Honors colleges within school is the right size.
DC is not pushy, extremely observant, has great one-to-one interaction skills, does not like self-advocacy (will not toot-own-horn), likes to be known through discussions. So would probably be happy in a Science focused LAC or Honors college.
Lehigh is a school with admissions criteria that is particularly matched to your student. Most schools consider the academic GPA and class rank to be most important.
you can see that
Most Important: Recommendations, Rigor of secondary school record
Important:
Application Essay
Character/Personal Qualities
Extracurricular Activities
Level of Applicant’s Interest
Standardized Test Scores
Talent/Ability
Volunteer Work
Considered:
Academic GPA
Alumni Relation
Class Rank
First generation college student
Geographical Residence
Interview
Racial/Ethnic Status
Work Experience
I know of no other school that puts the actual academic performance so low. They seem to like students who perhaps are not afraid to bite off a little more then they can chew but are obviously very smart.
Thank you for your suggestion so far. DC plans to take a Biology SAT this fall before applying. Le High is in DC’s radar. We plan to check Lafayette out.
What do you think of Steven Institute of Technology?
DC’s dream school is JHU (with DC’s GPA, seems impossible). Should it be in the college mix at all?
MD resident? Look at St. Mary’s College of MD the public LAC.
DC resident? Double-check the current state of that policy about DC residents being eligible for in-state tuition and fees in certain states. That could make a difference for affordability and admissions at St. Mary’s College of MD.
Bryn Mawr could work, but I don’t know the merit-money situation, so run the Net Price Calculator and find out if it could be made affordable.
And just for kicks, have her read through this list and pick out one or two as dead-on safeties. Her stats would get her in with significant merit aid leaving her lots of money for med school or grad school: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
There are lots of possibilities. Do a few tours and figure out what feels right to DC in terms of the non academic qualifiers - urban vs rural, enclosed campus, heavily greek, politically active, sports oriented, arts heavy, has a karate club, etc. Also think beyond the bio for what is important about academics - lots of core requirements, graduate schools for research ability, choice of majors, first-year seminars, advising system, etc. Once you have a few ideas on these things it will be easier to pinpoint what works. For example, Lehigh, Lafeyette, Drexel and Franklin and Marshall would all be Pennsylvania possibilities of relatively similar size but very different feels.
Go to collegeboard.org… Seriously, you set up your account and they narrow it down for you based on where you wanna go, your major, they tell how your SAT scores and GPA compare to the students in a college. Really cool site and saves a lot of time.
You might take a look at the Colleges that Change Lives – at one time, at least, they recommended Juniata in PA. I believe they have an excellent med school acceptance rate. Back in the dark ages, I toured Lehigh, Lafayette & Bucknell (and attended Bucknell). I know nothing about Bucknell’s bio program or med school acceptance rate is, but she might at least check their web site. I suspect that your challenge will be to find safety schools for DC. I also toured Stevens, but didn’t like the more urban (compared to Bucknell) setting. (I would have hated JHU, so that probably won’t bother DC at all.) DC should have lots of great options with those stats.
We have seen Bucknell and Lehigh. DC liked LeHigh, but did not like Bucknell. Stevens came to my radar since it came as the school offering a very solid ROI on education for undergraduate employ-bility!
DC’s GPA is crazy.Yes, one semester a C for a language class and another for a stat class (got a 5 in stat AP though)! Home State is MD. Has excellent research experiences - so not sure if JHU would be at all a possibility!
Look at Naviance. It’s going to be extremely helpful. If this is a girl and she’s willing to go to an all-woman’s school, I don’t think there’s any school she should keep off the list. So look at Wellesley, Barnard, Mt Hokyoke and Bryn Mawr-- but I’m not sure they give merit money. Muhlenberg, Brandeis or Tulane might have some scholarship money for this student.