<p>After recently getting my SAT scores back and with Junior year being finished, I figure now I know exactly where I stack up. So I'll start with my info:
SAT - 2000 (super score)
GPA - 4.29 weighted, 3.53 unweighted (ignoring non-academic classes)
<a href="http://oi60.tinypic.com/walu2t.jpg%5B/img%5D">http://oi60.tinypic.com/walu2t.jpg
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EC's - Football (9-12), Lacrosse (9-10), Track (11-12), "Big Brother" type club (11-12), National Honors Society (12)
Senior classes - AP Gov, AP Stat, AP Spanish, AP Bio, AP English (I'm seriously considering dropping a few of these to honors, but that's another topic)</p>
<p>I'm looking at majoring in either Biology or Chemistry and following either the pre-med or pre-dental track, assuming I have not already screwed myself out of being able to do so due to my lackluster grades. I'm still on the fence between pre-med and pre-dent, so I'd prefer any prospective college to be good for both tracks. Other than that, I'm not extremely picky. I would like to go to a fun college, but I realize I won't have a whole lot of time to party and have fun while studying pre-med/pre-dent. Other than that, my only concern is cost. I'd prefer to go to college in-state (Pennsylvania) or to a cheap out of state college nearby. Location isn't too important as long as it's affordable. So far, the only colleges I've been really interested in are the University of Delaware, Maryland, Temple, and Drexel. My safety school would be West Chester University. </p>
<p>So in closing, which colleges would you suggest me looking into? Also, what are a few colleges that would be reaches but still possibilities? </p>
<p>Definitely look at and apply to schools in your state because of low tuition and a better chance of getting in. Honestly, if you want to go to grad school, it doesn’t matter which school you go to, as long as it has your major. However, state schools are good if you don’t want to be in crippling debt. Michigan and Wisconsin are good for your majors, but Maryland is nice as well since it literally offers every single possible major. UC schools might be fitting too, although being out-of-state, it will be a bit of a reach. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>I like your idea of not taking 5 APs senior year. It’s too late anyway. Schools want to see that you challenge yourself, but junior year was a better year for that. Only your fall semester grades will be available to admissions officers senior year before they make their decisions. You already have four AP courses, by my count. Three more should be plenty. Is there a reason that you didn’t take AP Chem, AP Phys, or AP Calc? Were they offered?</p>
<p>Going with your mid-atlantic choices:
reaches: Franklin & Marshall, Oberlin, Muhlenberg, Lafayette, Bucknell, Dickinson
matches: Rutgers, Ithaca College,
safety: La Salle, St. Joseph’s, Hood College</p>
<p>This is off the top of my head because you haven’t addressed the Costs of Attendance. Do you have a firm figure from your parents, a dollar amount, that they will contribute to your education each year? Have you had The Talk?</p>
<p>Without that, we’re just playing games.</p>
<p>I think you have a good, realistic list. You can major in Biology or Chem at any of them, and receive excellent preparation for medical or dental school.</p>
<p>@caffeinemolecule: I absolutely love UC schools but you’re right - they’re all major reaches. They’re definitely on my (extremely premature) list of grad schools that I’m interested in. I’d definitely consider Michigan, although that would probably be under the “reach” category. </p>
<p>@jkeil911: I figured as much. I didn’t take AP Physics/Chemistry because at my school if you take them before your senior year, you end up not having a lunch 2-3 days a week. My mom was not okay with this considering my sports schedule. I didn’t take AP Calculus because I didn’t feel prepared for it after not learning much in Pre-Calc - my teacher missed most of the year on maternity leave and our sub was pretty bad. If three AP classes is enough, then I’ll probably take only AP Stat, Gov, and Bio. Thanks for the advice and list. I did spend a little while researching some local LACs and came up with some of the ones you suggest, I’ll check them out again. My parents thankfully make enough so that they could really pay for me to go anywhere, but in the interest of keeping my personal student debt down and saving money before med school I’d like to try to keep the tuition below $45k for sure, but preferably between $20k-$30k. </p>
<p>OP, you need to know if keeping the costs of attendance below 25K is even possible. Run the net price calculators using your parents’ financial information. You may be a full-pay family and if your parents will “only” contribute 45K then you have to look at schools whose Costs of Attendance (that’s the estimated full package, give or take travel or books or incidentals, depending on the school) are less than 45K. There aren’t many such schools in the mid-atlantic that are not state universities. Will your parents pay 45K/yr for you to go to a state school? Drexel will cost you 58K, btw, if your family is full pay.</p>
<p>@jkeil911: I meant tuition more than cost of attendance, but yeah I realize that. My parents would pay $45k (or more if necessary) to go to a state school, a private LAC, it doesn’t really matter that much. They would just prefer for me to keep the cost as low as possible, of course. And that was really just a ballpark figure. My guidance councilor (perhaps incorrectly) said that I would get a significant amount of merit aid going to a school like Delaware, Drexel, or Temple; I was factoring that in. </p>
<p>UW-Madison OOS would be tough and it’s like $40k all-in. Great Bio and Chemistry programs though if you can swing it, and it’s a great campus.</p>
<p>UM-Twin Cities is also pretty good in the sciences and is like $27500 OOS. Probably just a hair easier to get into as well.</p>
<p>to some extent, the GC is right: Drexel might give you 12K merit, but that doesn’t do you much good if otherwise you’re full pay: Cost to you: 50K. Temple is a better bet because they are cheaper; are you instate? Delaware is not know for its OOS generosity. </p>
<p>Whatever your parents will pay, they’re not saying they will full pay for the most expensive school. Therefore, you still need to know if your parents are going to be full pay, and the only way to know that is to run the net price calculators. This isn’t magic, you know, it’s hard finance. Schools will set an Expected Family Contribution, and your family will either meet it or you’ll have to apply to a different school. </p>
<p>OP, you mentioned Michigan. it is going to be out of reach for an OOS student with your stats and test scores. I agree with UM-Twin Cities as an inexpensive OOS option and pretty good school. Also, you may want to look at SUNY schools as well.</p>
<p>@intparent: Thanks for the suggestion! I looked into SUNY schools and I like a lot of them - specifically Buffalo, Stony Brook, and Geneseo. </p>
<p>Right now my list would probably look like (in no particular order): SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Geneseo, Temple, Maryland, and Delaware. </p>
<p>What about Johnson and whale’s? I’m pretty sure that’s a business school that’s great. Check it out.</p>
