Since CWRU is a private university, your tuition will not be any lower whether you are in state or out of state.
@singermom4 I actually live 20 minutes from the campus, so by wiser financial option, I meant foregoing the need to pay for room and board.
@afamelas Don’t worry about not having medically-related ECs- you’re not applying to medical school just yet.
Your test scores are above the 75% quartile for Hopkins. You’ve shown interest.
Like someone else said, the place is filled with pre-meds. I think Public Health is their most popular or second most popular major. My D was going to submit an app as a Public Health major if she applied to Hopkins (she won’t be applying now that she got into her dream school as ED).
We researched Hopkins quite a bit because she had a legacy hook- I did the first year of my residency there and got a Master’s degree. You can’t go wrong with Hopkins.
Look into Emory too. It’s in a wonderful city and they have an excellent med school. Because these type of schools cite a holistic review, it makes predicting who gets in difficult. I’d say you’d be safe relying on getting into Emory with your scores, it’s hard to call it a “safety.” They have EDII app due on 1 January BTW.
Regarding CWRU, and any college for that matter, I would strongly discourage commuting to school for a number of reasons. You should stay on campus, but you certainly will save plenty on travel expenses!
You look to have shown demonstrated interest for CW, and you should also receive a nice merit offer from them. My nephew had slightly lower scores and similar grades and had a very nice offer last year.
Other than adding NW or WUSTL to the list, you seem to have this covered.
One other possibility: Rhodes is a small LAC where you would certainly be admitted with merit, but with strong Pre-Med and great connections to St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital, just 5 minutes from campus. They have many opportunities for pre-med students to research and interact with that Hospital, which may warrant consideration.
I think you are in great shape, and you have the right attitude about the Stanford decision. Who knows, kick some butt undergrad and go there for Med School instead!
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1509 says that “level of applicant’s interest” is “not considered” at JHU.
You may want to look up whether each school considers “level of applicant’s interest” in its common data set or on http://www.collegedata.com to see how much you have to play the “interest” game. Also, the “interest” game is likely to be more important at a school where you appear to be “overqualified” than one which would be a reach for you.
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=966 says that “level of applicant’s interest” is “important” at CWRU.
@ucbalumnus Thank you for the informative link for JHU. I’m not relying on my level of interest in this school as I can expect that the majority of applicants have the same degree of interest. Furthermore, I’m surprised that recommendations carry more weight than the essay.
In terms of CWRU, it is not a backup school for me, but rather an actual and rational choice for college that I will strongly consider if I do gain admissions.
Thank you for the helpful links, and I appreciate the continuing concerns for flaws and holes that may seem present in my process.
@ChicagoSportsFn I’m hesitant to apply anywhere ED as I’m not really sure what college is my top choice at this moment in time. My concern about the lack of medicine-related extracurriculars is more related to the resumes of other students in the applicant pool. I do recognize that I have sufficient leadership positions and test scores to qualify for JHU, but I’m worried that I won’t really be able to “shine” in comparison with other applicants.
Congratulations to your daughter, I’m sure that has alleviated a lot of stress in this entire process. May I ask what school she chose over JHU for ED?
@ColdinMinny Well the number one thing that I did not enjoy about the CWRU campus was the lack of a close-knit campus. The campus feels like a walk through downtown Cleveland, and I can’t really envision myself living on campus when my home is so close and more appealing.
I’m trying to avoid LACs because they’re just so small, and with CWRU in the central vicinity of University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic, there are many great opportunities that would cause me to choose it over other schools.
That is exactly my plan of action. Though med school does seem to be much more difficult to gain admittance for. Who knows, the future leaves room for a lot of exploration. 
I believe CWRU requires freshman (and possibly sophomores as well) to reside on campus. It’s possible they make exceptions but I would check into it. I also agree that it’s a very different experience to commute vs staying in residence so I would highly encourage options where that is feasible. You will very likely get a substantial scholarship, however, to offset costs.
@singermom4 This is straight from the Case Western website: “Case has a two-year residency requirement, and unless you live at home within 40 miles of campus, you must live on campus for your first two years at Case.” I will obviously consider my options when April comes and I know where I’ve been accepted and can weigh my options. While costs do not impose a huge burden, I would like to save my parents money that I can put towards medical school and not deplete for my undergraduate years.
Of course - good point - ensuing costs for medical school are an important factor. I was not aware of the 40 mile rule. We also looked at Butler and all freshman regardless of distance were required to stay on campus. In that respect, I may reverse a bit on my strong recommendation to stay in residence as this would be an excellent option and allow you to save money.
Room and board at CWRU is about $14,000… but it does cost your parents some money if you live at home, for food and utilities that you consume, as well as commuting costs. So, while living at home and commuting is likely to save some money, the savings is likely to be somewhat less than $14,000 per school year. Also, check to see whether CWRU’s financial aid changes based on whether you live on campus or commute from your parents’ house.
It may be worth considering living on campus for the first year if you attend CWRU, which is a predominantly residential school, but then move back to your parents’ house in later years, if that is financially feasable.
@ucbalumnus the cost of food and utilities would not significantly change as we are a household of 7 people and already consume so much. If I do get accepted and am offered a financial package, I’m sure I can discern what the most rational option is. It’s just too early to make any lasting decisions at this point in the stage.
Also, just a general question: given the fact that I’ve been rejected to Stanford early, would it make more sense to apply to Cornell instead of Princeton? I do realize that both of these schools are already significantly difficult to gain admissions to, but what do I have a better chance at?
@afamelas I’d say your chances of getting into Cornell vs Princeton are really not affected by the Stanford decision. When they say that the decision is not a reflection of your academic record, they actually mean it. The biggest thing that admissions officers are concerned with is building a well-balanced class. This means that you may have been the perfect candidate but you could not have been accepted being the class of 2020 is being pieced together differently. As my college counselor likes to say, “You can’t have a football team with just quarterbacks.” You could submit the exact same application to an equally selective college and get in. So yes, you do have a better chance of getting it at Cornell… because their admit rate is higher than Princeton’s.
I think you should really consider both WASHU and Rice. They are very strong pre-med schools. I know you are not excited about Rice’s location, but college students really spend most of their time on campus and the Rice campus is stunning and the immediate neighborhood really nice (if it’s the weather that you don’t care for, that’s a different story). What about Duke?
@pittsburghscribe I do not like the atmosphere or environment of Rice, which is why I’m hesitant to apply there. I am strongly considering Washington, they have a strong med program that really draws my attention.
@humanperson that’s a unique aspect that I’ve neglected to consider. It definitely makes me feel better about my rejection, but I think I’m leaning towards Cornell simply because it’s stronger in terms of medicine than Princeton.