Hello! I’m in an interesting situation and was hoping if others could provide some input regarding what they think I should decide to do this coming fall.
At the moment, I am an incoming freshman at Northeastern University that is studying biology on the pre-med track. I am also a member of the honors program and was awarded a $30k/yr National Merit Scholarship which, combined with other outside scholarships that I have received, lowers the cost of attendance to around $28k-$32k per year (I am assuming that tuition costs will continue to rise at their present rate over the next four years). Although NEU is traditionally a 5-year program, I plan to fulfill my major requirements and receive a minor (in Spanish, probably) in 4 years because of AP credit. I’m fairly happy with attending NEU…it is definitely on the rise, and its clearly making an effort to get top students. I think its acceptance rate this past year was like 27% or something (compared to 32% in 2014), which is another sign that its going places. Separate from its academic profile, its faculty are accomplished, its facilities seem to be improving, its dorms are nice (if you live in International Village…the other ones, not so much…), and it seems to be getting more recognition.
Anyway, I chose Northeastern - it was not my first pick - largely because of cost. The other schools that I was accepted to (Boston College, University of Rochester, etc.) were simply too expensive to justify attending, even with scholarship offers by some. And because my father recently received a very large 2-year bonus, our income has inflated to the point where I don’t qualify for need-based aid really anywhere (except like Harvard), even though with our normal income, I do. From the beginning, I’ve had my reservations about Northeastern: the main one being that I have always wanted to go to a “traditional” college where you generally stay in the same place for four years, have a circle of friends that you can always turn toward (I have had several students at NEU tell me that it gets a little frustrating sometimes because everyone is coming and going due to different co-op schedules, and that trying to get in a stable relationship with someone is extremely difficult), and where you eventually fall into a natural equilibrium with the college that you attend. Northeastern, on the other hand, is for the non-traditional student who is artsy, outgoing (for the most part…some kids I met at orientation were pretty shy, but most were very outgoing), ready to embrace everything the city has to offer (I feel like I wouldn’t take advantage of being in Boston at all), etc…and all of those things really just aren’t me. It’s a good school, but it’s not a great fit. While I do see them as beneficial, co-ops have never personally appealed to me, probably because I have no intention of getting a job immediately after I complete my undergraduate education.
Last year, I applied to BC, URoch, NEU, UConn, WPI, Duke, and Yale. I was accepted to the first five and wait listed at both Duke (my first choice) and Yale. I am a fairly competitive applicant for top schools, but have nothing overly compelling about me, and live in an undesirable, homogenous, very high-income area in Southern NH. Here’s a quick overview of my stats:
Valedictorian (Ranked 1/ 223), SAT: 2260 (750 CR, 800 M, 710 W), ACT: 34, 4.0 GPA, 8 APs (Six 5’s and two 4’s, so apparently I’m a National AP Scholar, if that matters), I took the most rigorous schedule possible throughout high school, I’m a Varsity Rower/ Captain of the Men’s Volleyball team, I play three instruments (saxophone, guitar, and piano - guitar and piano are both self-taught, and I’m the lead guitarist of a local rock band 
That sounds so cheesy…I have written several songs with them, and we even have a few albums though), I volunteer (100+ hours in the ER at a local hospital, 100 other misc. hours), I’m in the Concert Band and Honors Jazz Band (first chair alto/ baritone saxophone), I’m the leader of the pep band at my school (a huge time commitment!), I’m in NHS, I’m the VP of Tri-M at my school, I’m the captain of the math team, I helped found a local landscaping company with my older brother (worth about $50k), etc. I am thankful to have teachers that wrote me AMAZING recommendations (Math and Spanish teachers, who both said that I was the best student they’ve ever taught…I’m told I am very humble, so I really hope I don’t sound arrogant, but my Latin and English teachers both told me the same thing in person at the end of this past year!) There is a lot I could say here but I hope this is somewhat helpful.
I live in a location where it is very difficult, albeit not impossible, to pursue research/ science internships while still in high school. I regret that I never took the time to do these things (probably because music and sports took up all of my free time…)
Anyway, the only reason I did not apply to Duke ED is because, with my father’s bonus, we would’ve had to pay $65k per year if I was admitted, which I really can’t do. I understand that there is an enormous incentive to apply to Duke ED because the acceptance rate (25+%) is more than three times RD’s acceptance rate (8%, but probably a lot less for pre-meds honestly because it is so competitive), and only just discovered about a week ago that the cost of attending Duke when our income is “normal” should be about the same as what it is at Northeastern, even with the $30k merit scholarship. I’ve heard that it is difficult to be accepted to a school that has previously rejected you, but does the same logic apply when you were in fact wait listed (which puts you in at least the top 15% of applicants at Duke) and you plan to reapply through a program with a much higher acceptance rate (which supposedly accepts everyone in the top 25%)?
I have always felt young in the context of my peers, and I noticed this especially while at orientation. I am the youngest child (born in late Spring), and my two older siblings were born in August and September, so they both went to college like 9 months older than I will be when I go. Does it make sense for me to take a gap year to work full time, take an EMT course, shadow a physician (who has already agreed to let me shadow him), continue volunteering, etc. and then reapply ED? Or should I just go to NEU? There is really nothing for me to lose by doing this (all of my outside scholarships have agreed to defer payments) and in fact a lot to gain. In one year, I can have more money saved, a better understanding of why I want to be a doctor (if I still do), and a lot more confidence, which is probably the most valuable thing of all. I know that if I go to college right now it is very likely that because I am not excited/ prepared/ whatever I will miss out on a lot of opportunities, and that screwing up on the pre-med track can take a lot of time to fix. It is totally possible that three years into college I could realize that I don’t want to go to medical school, and then I’d be stuck with, respectfully, a degree (BS in Biology) that holds little, if any, weight unless one goes to graduate school.
If I did reapply, I probably would apply as a different major as well. At orientation, I also realized that I definitely do not want to be a biology major. (There was a room filled with 100 kids, and like 95 of them raised their hand when the professors asked, “Who here plans to go to medical school?” It was unsettling.) I’m good at a lot of things, and feel that I can expand on those passions (English, Spanish, or music), even if they’re not in any way science-related. I LOVE to write. Of course, I would only declare myself an English major if I was 100% confident that I’d be going to medical school.
Any advice at all would be extremely helpful, because I know the clock is ticking and I need to make a final decision very soon! Thanks!