<p>Hello! I'm trying to assemble a list of colleges to apply to this fall, but I'm not sure if my choices are realistic. I was hoping you lovely CCers could point me in the right direction.</p>
<p>I'm tentatively planning to apply to Purdue, U Pitt, Notre Dame, Emory, U Chicago, Pomona, and U Penn.</p>
<p>Stats:
4.0 unweighted GPA (4.6 unweighted)
most rigorous curriculum available (All 6 APs offered)
34 ACT
2190 SAT
Ranked 1st in class</p>
<p>ECs:
Many musical activities/competitions
Drum Major for marching band
Month long foreign exchange program
Eagle Scout
The usual NHS, clubs (a couple officer positions), volunteering, etc.</p>
<p>Am I competitive for these schools? Do I have a healthy balance of safeties, reaches, and matches?</p>
<p>Also, I would very gladly take suggestions of colleges to consider! I'm seeking academic rigor, intellectual but not preppy or competitive atmosphere, urban appealing campus, small to midsized school, and a music department accessible to nonmajors.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Is cost a concern? If so, are any in-state public schools suitable for you in terms of safeties? What are you considering majoring in?</p>
<p>If cost is a big concern, you may want to take a look at the full ride and full tuition merit scholarships for your stats that are available; the schools offering them would be safeties if the scholarships left the remaining cost of attendance within your affordability.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Your safeties will be Purdue/Pitt and your matches will be Notre Dame/Emory. Pomona is a reach, and Penn/Chicago will be big reaches. This is a good, balanced list.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies! Glad to hear my list is balanced, phuriku!</p>
<p>Cost is a bit of a concern. I’m coming from a middle class family. We are not super needy, but we also won’t be able to dish out 40 or 50 thousand dollars a year. Full rides would be great, but financial aid short of that would also be acceptable. So as long as a university can help part of the cost. I’ll definitely check out that thread, thanks!</p>
<p>Right now I will most likely major in psychology and start the premed track. I want to eventually pursue graduate studies in neuroscience.</p>
<p>If cost is a concern, try the net price calculators at the colleges’ web sites to see what kind of need-based aid they may offer. Out of state public universities are usually not generous with need-based aid, so you may have to alter the safety part of your list if you are using Purdue and Pittsburgh as your safeties (a safety must be safely affordable as well as a school you will be admitted to).</p>
<p>Remember that medical school is expensive, so minimizing cost and debt for undergraduate study is a good thing.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions of the net-price calculators! I’m trying to encourage my family to help me complete the FAFSA so that we can see how feasible (or not feasible) these colleges will be.</p>
<p>I am instate for Purdue. But I have heard good things about Pitt’s OOS merit aid. Would I be competitive for their awards?</p>
<p>phuriku—pitt and purdue are hardly safeties!</p>
<p>schnabeltier- muhlenebrg college is a school I would add to your must check out list! also case western and
carnegie mellon</p>
<p>^ Pitt is a safety. There’s no denying it.</p>
<p>With her stats, Purdue is a safety.</p>
<p>Cost is a bit of a concern. I’m coming from a middle class family. We are not super needy, but we also won’t be able to dish out 40 or 50 thousand dollars a year. Full rides would be great, but financial aid short of that would also be acceptable. So as long as a university can help part of the cost. I’ll definitely check out that thread, thanks!</p>
<p>Ask your parents how much they’ll pay and find out how much aid you’d qualify for at each school by using the Net Price Calculators.</p>
<p>You mention pre-med and then grad school? or do you mean med school and then specialize in neuroscience?</p>
<p>If your goal is med school, the avoid undergrad debt! Med school is very expensive and usually requires a lot of debt. </p>
<p>You might get free tuition from UPitt, but not a free ride. You’d probably have about $15k per year left to pay. Again, ask your parents how much they’ll pay each year. </p>
<p>You should probably include one or two schools that would give you ASSURED LARGE merit for your stats as financial safeties.</p>
<p>Pitt is a safety. There’s no denying it.</p>
<p>Not really. Yes, admittance will likely happen, but since the merit scholarship isn’t assured, and the family won’t likely pay the full OOS cost, then it’s not a safety. A safety has to be AFFORDABLE as well. </p>
<p>How can a school be a SAFETY if you’re not sure how you’d PAY FOR IT???</p>
<p>I’ll definitely begin looking into schools that would potentially offer more merit money. </p>
<p>If U Pitt could offer full tuition then that would be affordable for my family. We should be able to afford room and board, it is just getting the outrageous tuitions down to a much more managable number.</p>
<p>Also, Mom2CollegeKids, I’m not really sure about my educational path. This is largely due to a lack of throrough research on my part. I do not want to become a neurosurgeon working with patients. I’m hoping to do research in the field of neuroscience. What, then, would be the best course to that destination? Perhaps that kind of question belongs in a different thread?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>you should ask that question in the Pre-med forum. That forum also deals with questions from students who want to go into medical research…or what MD/PhD…which is what you may want.</p>
<p>[Pre-Med</a> Topics - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/]Pre-Med”>Pre-Med Topics - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>One thing that you may learn there is that it isn’t necessary to actually major in neuroscience as an undergrad (many schools don’t have that exact major), but many schools offer a variety of classes in Psych, bio, chem, etc that are “neuroscience”. </p>
<p>Again, please ask your parents how much they can pay each year. With the economy the way it’s been lately, many families with “good incomes” are finding that they can’t pay as much as they’d like to be able to pay each year. If your family doesn’t have college savings for you, then coming up with $15k per year for room, board, books, fees, etc, may be difficult because that’s about $1500 a month for 10 months. Many families can’t come up with that much each month after all the bills, etc, are paid. So ask them! :)</p>
<p>Thank you very much, Mom2CollegeKids! The advice has been very helpful! I’ll definitely have to have a serious discussion with my parents!</p>
<p>Also, the MD/PhD program sounds very interesting. Another thing to look into…</p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone who has responded!</p>
<p>Off-topic sorta, but I’ve personally been considering applying to med school, and then if I get accepted I would go but not complete residency right after med school. Instead I would like to do research. MD/PhD programs are so incredibly competitive, but I think I would still like to do research if I go for my MD. The only problem with this plan is the huge amount of debt I’ll have after graduation :-S</p>
<p>OP why are you applying to Pomona, and not to any other LAC’s? And if you are looking for merit $$, as well as a U that offers many musical opportunities to non majors, your need to add U Southern Calif to your list, especially if you will be a NMSF. They offer over 350 1/2 Tuition scholarships to hi stat kids and NMSF’s , as well as 150 Full Tuition scholarships, and have a generous FA program as well. If you like the idea of going to college in S Cal, and the opportunities to do research that a U offers, as well as the opportunity to play in numerous musical venues, apply to USC [ and do so before their Dec 1 scholarship deadline]</p>
<p>links for scholarship info and application deadlines
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/scholarship.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/scholarship.html</a>
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/dates_deadlines.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/dates_deadlines.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_profiles.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_profiles.html</a></p>
<p>I have looked into USC. I had not realized the scholarship opportunities before, however. So thank you for that!</p>
<p>My main concern with USC is that Thornton is one of the premier music schools in the US, and while they say they have opportunities for nonmajors I wonder how feasible it is to actually get into some of these ensembles. MenloParkMom, do you have any experience with Thornton? Since music would not be my focus, I’m a bit wary of getting myself into such a high caliber program.</p>
<p>If med school is your ultimate goal, don’t overlook “lesser” schools in IN that make the road easier. IUPUI has a competive honors program that allows for a direct admit to IU med school. IU Northwest and Indiana State University have scholarships for those who agree to work in either urban or rural medicine (apply early for all). IUPUI also has a small honors college that could be considered, since your stats guarantee the auto merit scholarships and put you as a strrong candidate for full-ride in the honors college. </p>
<p>I dont’ recemmend these options for everyone, but having the option to get into med school instate with just an average MCAT is something to be considered. IU is also a financial safety based on your GPA and SAT scores. You would also be an auto-admit to the Honors College.</p>
<p>I’d definitely add IU to your list; why not two in-state safeties, when they’re of comparable strength academically? And I’d also urge you to consider more LACs. My D1’s LAC, Haverford, has excellent sciences and excellent music and you definitely don’t need to be a music major to do music there. They don’t give merit aid but their need-based aid is quite generous.</p>
<p>Pitt and Purdue are good safeties if and only if you apply early in the rolling admissions cycle. That way you have time to make other plans if things don’t work out.</p>
<p>Agreed that IU and IUPUI are also worth considering.</p>
<p>“Since music would not be my focus, I’m a bit wary of getting myself into such a high caliber program”
Dont apply to the Thorton School of Music, only to the Dornsife College of Arts and Sciences on your application. But if you want to participate in, say the Trojan Marching Band or other ensembles or take music classes, all you have to do is audition once you are at USC. As I remember, you would have to audition for the music ensembles at Chicago too.</p>