Possible Colleges I Could Go to, Pre-Med majoring in Bio and Neuroscience? Please Help!

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm currently a junior and have a 3.95 UW gpa right now (should be a 4.0 by end of this semester) and I have a SAT score of 2120, 730 reading, 720 math, and 670 writing. My schedule consists of mostly honors classes with AP classes I've taken so far include AP bio, AP microecon, AP World history, and AP US history. So far I got a 3 on both exams, pretty bad but I'm terrible at history so wasn't unexpected. Lowest grade I've gotten is a B+ and that was in chemistry my sophomore year. Next year schedule I will take AP Chemistry and AP Calc AB/BC as well as a course which will allow me to be EMT certified. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars include national honors society, chess club, spanish club, volunteering at hospital (should have 200+ hours by the time I apply), and work at Kumon in the Summer where I helped kids with reading and math. I applied for an internship for cancer research and am awaiting on if I got accepted.</p>

<p>I live in Indiana and am thinking about the IUPUI BA/MD program but I'm not sure if I stand a chance anywhere else. I was thinking about maybe some schools in Chicago, not sure how much of a chance I have for Northwestern. I haven't looked into colleges much I was wondering if you guys have any idea of what schools would be appropriate for me. I'd like some low reach schools as well which I could work for. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>You have pretty good stats, there are a lot of good colleges you could get into. I would suggest you get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and read up on schools in there. You should then go to the school websites and run the net price calculator (your parents will have to help) so you can figure out if you can afford the school. One school I would suggest is Macalester.</p>

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<p>Haven’t heard of Fiske Guide to Colleges, I’ll make sure to give it a look! Do you think I have a good chance at merit/selective scholarships at Macalester?</p>

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<p>Also, parents are both doctors who were born in Pakistan and moved to the US before I was born, and I’m muslim. I’m not sure how much that plays a role in college admissions</p>

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<p>An online supplement to the Fiske Guide could be using the college finder either here or at BigFuture.CollegeBoard.com.</p>

<p>You’d be competitive for either Northwestern and University of Chicago. As an Indiana resident, both Indiana and Purdue would probably be excellent choices that would also be affordable for your family.</p>

<p>Your stats are such that you’re competitive for the most of the most elite colleges in the country, and the majority of American colleges would be safeties for you. It’d be extra helpful if you specify what you think you might like in colleges - big, medium, or small? Urban, suburban, rural? Do you want to stay in the Midwest or branch out? Do you want big sports and/or strong Greek life? Do you want a traditional liberal arts major or do you think you may want to major in something a bit more obscure (like advertising, public relations, public health - which may require a smaller subset of universities) or professional (like nursing or engineering)?</p>

<p>Affordability is also a factor. Do you want big merit aid? How much can your parents afford to pay for you? You’d be eligible for big merit aid at the University of Alabama, for example.</p>

<p>Just as a side note, if you have a 3.95 unweighted GPA, there’s no way for you raise that to a 4.0 unweighted GPA…unless you get one of your previous grades changed. But a 3.95 UW GPA is excellent anyway. Do you mean a 3.95 weighted GPA?</p>

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<p>I mean a 3.95 unweighted. My school grading system is set up on a 12 point scale 11 being a 4.0. So getting an A+ is equivalent to a 12.0. I go to a public high school which is one of the best in Indiana and is known to be one of the more rigorous schools with a harsher grading scale. Therefore, getting a 4.0 is within my reach. </p>

<p>School size can vary, I’m mostly just looking to see what options I have right now. I’d be happy with IU bloomington as a safety if I can receive full tuition from there. I’d prefer urban or suburban, I would hate rural. I’d prefer to stay in the Midwest but I’d be open to branching out if I stand a good chance at receiving merit and selective scholarships. I’m thinking of sticking to the more traditional majors of Biology and Neuroscience or Chemistry depending on how I feel in college, and I plan on minoring in Spanish. </p>

<p>Thanks for the responses!</p>

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<p>The OP’s test scores are a little low for U of Chicago, honestly, given how competitive it has gotten in recent years. Yes, you would be a candidate for merit aid at Macalester.</p>

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<p>I think my test scores for U of Chicago are a little low as well. What do you think about my chances for Northwestern?</p>

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<p>2012 admitted SAT ranges for Northwestern:</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading: 680 / 760
SAT Math: 700 / 780
SAT Writing: 680 / 770</p>

<p>So you are a little above the 50% mark in CR, a little below it in math, and below the 25% mark in writing. I would call it a high match, as a lot of colleges don’t look as hard at the writing score as they do at CR and Math. However, I don’t think Northwestern gives much (if any) merit, and you probably would not be a candidate if they do.</p>

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<p>Ah, alright. Maybe I’ll just apply to Northwestern just for the fun of it. Do you have any other suggestions of private liberal arts colleges across the States which might be good for me? Thanks for the help</p>

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<p>Seriously, get a copy of Fiske and do your own research. There are thousands of colleges in the US, and likely a few hundred that might meet your criteria. Right now you are asking strangers for recommendations without going through your own process of thinking about what kind of campus you are looking for, what majors you are most interested in, what type of atmosphere on campus you want, what size you want, what you are willing to spend, what climate you prefer, and where your stats are a fit. If you ask a generic question like this you will just get everyone tossing out their pet/favorite colleges. You need to take some control of your search and figure out your own criteria. Plan some visits (spring break is coming up, a good time to visit) and do some over the summer so you have been to some campuses. Schedule a tour and sit in on a class if they are in session. This will give you a lot better feel for a college than you can get from a paper or website description.</p>

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<p>Ah. Here are some suggestions for you:</p>

<p>Medium-sized universities
Case Western Reserve (Cleveland, Ohio)
Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IL)
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN - meets full need for accepted students)</p>

<p>Small(ish) LACs
Beloit College (Beloit, WI - meets full need for accepted students)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN - meets full need)
College of Wooster (Wooster, OH. Probably could get good merit aid here!)
Earlham College (Richmond, IN)
Kalamazoo College (Kalamazoo, MI)
Lawrence University (Appleton, WI)
Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)
Macalester College (St. Paul, MN - meets full need)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH - meets full need)
St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN)
Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)</p>

<p>Grinnell and Kenyon are two other exceptional LACs but are in rural areas. Oberlin’s in a small town but that small town is in a rural area, too. There are also a bunch of small LACs in PA, which isn’t so far from the midwest - Juniata, Allegheny, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Lafayette, Franklin & Marshall. (Some of those are more rural than others.) Lehigh is in eastern PA and is also an option; very selective, so I’m not sure about the prospects of merit aid.</p>

<p>If you’re interested in some low-match/safety non-Midwestern schools where you could maybe/probably get some good merit aid, check out American, Agnes Scott College, Duquesne, Elon, Fordham, Furman, Lewis & Clark.</p>

<p>Then there are great many colleges that are scattered across the country that meet full need for accepted students where you could potentially get great aid. Many of them are greatest hits schools on this site (Harvard, Stanford, etc.) I’m going to list a few that aren’t those schools and that maybe are lesser known and/or that I think are a good fit based on your desires.</p>

<p>Emory (Atlanta, GA - good for neuroscience and pre-med, and you’d also be eligible for Emory Scholars)
Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD - good for pre-med and neuroscience I believe)
Trinity College (CT)
Connecticut College (CT)
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA)
The Claremont Colleges (Claremont, CA) - any of them really, but Harvey Mudd may be particularly appealing to you
University of Rochester (NY)
Rice (TX)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Tufts (Medford, MA, nearby Boston)
Reed College (Portland, OR)
UMiami (Miami, FL - may also get some merit aid here)
Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN)
University of Richmond (Richmond, VA)
College of the Holy Cross (MA)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC, just outside Charlotte)</p>

<p>If you’re a young woman check out women’s colleges, too, like Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, and Scripps.</p>

<p>Update: I made this post before I saw OP’s response about her parents’ background. The schools that meet full need above, but where you are not necessarily competitive for merit aid OR where you’d be competing with hundreds of students with stats like yours (most of the list directly above this paragraph) may or may not be good choices for you, then, OP - if your parents are both highly-paid doctors you may not get much aid from any of them. Some of these top schools do have merit aid - like Emory and Duke - but of course they are very very competitive.</p>

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<p>Look at the Financial Aid forum. At the top are pinned threads on automatic scholarships that you would be assured of. There are also threads of competitive scholarships, but they may be difficult to get because many high stats students would be competing for those. But may be worth the effort at the colleges you like. </p>

<p>That’s great if UI Bloomington can be your safety but you have to wait to see what scholarship you get.</p>

<p>Fiske Guide is very helpful to give some flavor of what the college is about. But it is mostly expensive privates. You will need to pick a college where you are at the top of the pool to get merit aid. Colleges like Northwestern you look to be in range for but the admit rates are low, so not everyone qualified are getting a spot. You likely will be full pay though. Your SAT could be a tad higher. Are you taking SATII?</p>

<p>I don’t think your background will play much role. It might for you in picking schools with Muslim student associations or Halal food options etc. </p>

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<p>Mmm, true…although the scores fall in the middle 50% range for CR and M they are at or near the absolute bottom of that range, and outside of it for the math. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but a definite reach.</p>

<p>That’s okay though - there are literally thousands of other schools where you’d be competitive OP. I agree - when I was trying to make that list for you, I had to just stop eventually because there were SO many schools that could go on it because you seem to have little idea of what you want. Which is fine - that’s what the summer before senior year is for - but I think you should spend some time figuring out what kind of environment you want to be in, and what you want out of a college. Maybe do a short writing exercise in which you write notes about your ideal day or week at a college, or think about what kind of student groups and activities you want to do, or what you see when you walk around campus.</p>