Rising senior, what are my chances at some of top US medical research schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello CC community! </p>

<p>I am a rising senior interested in pre-med (most likely Bio/Psych double major possible Spanish minor) and I was wondering what my chances may be at the schools I am looking at.</p>

<p>At the moment I am most interested in the following schools:
-Stanford
-Duke (visited)
-Northwestern (Medical camp & Visit)
-UNC Chapel Hill (visited)
-Emory (visited)
-USC
-Vanderbilt (visited)
-College of William & Mary (visited)
-UPitt (visited) </p>

<p>Some of the easier schools to get into, such as W&M and Pitt, have already waived my application essays and given me select admission options. </p>

<p>Below are some more important stats:</p>

<p>Soph year: 1 AP ( only 1 available for Sophomores ) + all pre-IB courses
Junior year: 3 AP, 2 IB, 1 pre-IB
Senior year: Will be taking 6 APs ( 3 of which are IB as well) </p>

<p>My unweighted GPA is about 4.02 and my weighted is about 4.2 </p>

<p>This is very high for my highschool, considering the highest ever achieved is a 4.4 and our school produces Ivy leaguers every year. </p>

<p>I scored a 2170 on the SAT
Cr: 690 math: 740 wr: 740 (perfect essay : 12) </p>

<p>I havent received ACT results yet, or AP test scores( Bio & Spanish), nor have I received results for my SAT II Subject Tests ( Bio Ecological & Math2 ) </p>

<p>My curriculum rigor is very strong. </p>

<p>My extracurriculars could run on forever but I will give the main ones.</p>

<p>-Varsity soccer: captain, Sectional/Conference/Regional champs, 5th in state. Academic all state </p>

<p>-Varsity Track: 1st seat pole vaulter, Conference/indoor/sectional champs, academic all state 1st team</p>

<ul>
<li><p>I started my own non profit organization called ReCleats which collects lightly used or new soccer related equiptment that my brother and I deliver to underprivileged soccer playing children in Central/Southern America. We currently have collected 500 shoes and 100 balls for the trip this summer to Guatemala </p></li>
<li><p>I am also a silver medalist on the National Spanish Exam (85th%) </p></li>
</ul>

<p>-Student Teacher Organization leader</p>

<p>-I am studying at a medical program at Northwestern for 2 weeks this summer </p>

<p>-I am very involved in Spanish club </p>

<p>-I am a student council rep</p>

<p>-Member of National Honors Society </p>

<ul>
<li>I did volunteer coaching for a special ed soccer program called TOPPS as well as volunteer soccer coaching for underpriveledged children at the Boys and Girls club</li>
</ul>

<p>-I am doing mission work in Guatemala </p>

<ul>
<li><p>I am a leader for Youth 4 Christ </p></li>
<li><p>I also do other volunteer work </p></li>
</ul>

<p>-I am a certified soccer referee </p>

<p>These are the main extracurriculars that I have. I am also a Caucasian male from Indiana, California raised </p>

<p>Another important point to make is an upward trend in grades from an A- to A+ range frosh and soph years to a basically straight A+ junior year! </p>

<p>I haven't decided which schools to apply for early decision or action yet ( help in this field would be greatly appreciated) , but I would mainly like to know what my chances would be at these colleges! </p>

<p>Thanks for your time to anyone who responds, it is greatly appreciated :)</p>

2

<p>I also forgot to mention Spell Bowl + Quiz Bowl as well as Piano & Guitar! Thanks!</p>

3

<p>If your high school sends graduates to Ivies every year, don’t ask strangers about your chances - ask your GC!</p>

<p>Also, I have never heard of any Admissions Office offering a program that you described, “Some of the easier schools to get into, such as W&M and Pitt, have already waived my application essays and given me select admission options.” Parenthetically, I would suggest that since you are OOS, W&M, Pitt and UNC might be the most difficult schools on your list for you to gain admission.</p>

<p>I hope you realize that you do not have any Safeties on your list. It would not be unheard of for even a strong candidate to be rejected from every school on your list simply due to their small acceptance rates.</p>

4

<p>@rmIdad:</p>

<p>Thanks, I actually have heard what you are saying about OOS, and for that reason I actually think I have some of my worst chances of getting into UNC because of their state regulations for in state students (they must accept 82% in state). William and Mary was interested in me but Pitt really seemed interested and haven’t left me alone since I visited. Pitt also has the highest acceptance rate of anywhere I’m looking (58% compared to most around or below 20%). </p>

<p>I guess on top of my original question I’m most interested in finding out, which ones should I do early decision/admit for and which ones should I prioritize? </p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

5

<p>Don’t be flattered by postcards and emails. These are cheap to send and some colleges are notorious for sending an absurd volume, even to students who would not be competitive applicants. William and Mary is one of the worst offenders (UChicago and Oberlin are also high on this list). Every college wants more applicants so that its admit rate will be lower.</p>

<p>For public colleges, don’t look at the total admit rate as a single figure. While Pitt may have a 58% overall admit rate, its in-state rate is likely far higher and OOS is likely far lower. For UNC, I have heard that it admits roughly 40% of in-state applicants but less than 10% OOS - an astronomical disparity.</p>

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<p>Anyone else?</p>

7

<p>Where do you currently live?</p>

<p>Not sure about W&M but Pitt has a program to waive app fee and fast tracked APP with no essays that may be triggered by people who score a certain number in SAT/ACT. My daughter received one a couple of years ago - OOS. UNC is definitely very hard to get in as OOS, W&M is considered hard, Pitt is not a problem with high stats and GPA. If a school offers a free App, it generally means they will admit you unless they find that you did well in tests but not school (they don’t know the whole picture when they offer the free app).</p>

<p>I agree the GC of the school may know more about what the adcoms are looking for in the school if the school has a track history with top schools. Past history does not guarantee future success of the school with admissions but if an Ivy admits 4 students each year from the school, they will probably admit at least one or two if not 4 this year. However, each school prefers specific type of students and only GC can say whether you fit one.</p>

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<p>@texaspg: Thank you for your analysis! </p>

<p>Yes, I am out of state for all of these schools (Northwest Indiana), and with UNC’s 82% instate regulation I may not even bother applying.</p>

<p>Pitt did exactly what you said with the application waiver fee and select app w/ no essay offer. Will I lose this if I pass up their early app though and apply regular app?</p>

9

<p>I do not know the difference between early and regular app. What exactly are the requirements? What do you lose or gain by applying early? What is deadline?</p>

<p>I saw another thread with your scores. I think the larger scholarships threshold is 1450 for math (don’t remember the ACT number). I don’t know if you are allowed to resubmit improved scores after you apply.</p>

10

<p>@texaspg: </p>

<p>Early decision schools, such as Duke, have a binding early acceptance. This means, if you are accepted in this first application group, you are legally bound to that school. Therefore you can only apply to one early ‘decision’ school at a time. This deadline is normally nov 1. There is great advantage in the acceptance rates of this group (about 30% at Duke) and regular app ( about 11% last year). Some schools have an Early decision II which is a Jan 4th ish deadline! </p>

<p>“Early action” is still advantageous, but not to the same degree as early decision. Schools like Harvard & Stanford are early action because their rates are so low they don’t want people places all their bets on getting in. So you could apply to Harvard and Duke both Early, but if you were accepted to Duke then you cannot take Harvard’s admission offer. </p>

<p>Regular App is around February 1 I believe. Your odds aren’t as good because this is when the majority applies. Some schools, like USC, only have a regular app pool( no early apps). This sometimes makes things easier. </p>

<p>And to what you were saying about scholarships, did you mean CR+Math of 1450?</p>

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<p>“Pitt did exactly what you said with the application waiver fee and select app w/ no essay offer. Will I lose this if I pass up their early app though and apply regular app?”</p>

<p>I was responding to a question related to early app for Pitt but you are discussing something else entirely.</p>

<p>Yes, CR+M of 1450.</p>

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<p>@texaspg: </p>

<p>Oh, I apologize for the confusion. I’m not completely sure what it entails.
The letter read as such: </p>

<p>"Dear ______,</p>

<p>Your ambition has struck a chord here at the University of Pittsburgh, and I’m going to give you select status when you apply to Pitt! This includes access to a streamlined application, a waived essay requirement, and the opportunity to receive the fastest admission decision possible." </p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

13

<p>W&M: Match
UPitt: Safety
Duke: Reach
UNC: Reach
NWU: Reach
Stanford: Reach
USC: Match/High match
Vanderbilt: Reach
Emory: Match</p>

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<p>@Catria: That was kind of the feeling I had! Thanks for the input! :)</p>

15

<p>“This means, if you are accepted in this first application group, you are legally bound to that school.”</p>

<p>There are no legal issues involved; ED is an honor-system agreement. If you apply ED asking for financial aid, you can decline the offer (and apply RD elsewhere) if it’s insufficient to support attendance.</p>

16

<p>Stanford: Reach
Duke: Reach
UNC: Reach
Vanderbilt: Reach
NWU: Reach
USC: High Match
Emory: Match
W&M: Match
UPitt: Safety</p>

<p>Your ECs and GPA are really good, but your SAT is alright. If you scored a ~2240 you would have a greater chance at some of the schools you listed. </p>

<p>Mind chancing back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1516664-chances-penn-ed-duke-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1516664-chances-penn-ed-duke-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@vonlost: </p>

<p>Very interesting! I did not know that. So technically, although ethically frowned upon, you could apply to several ED’s? </p>

<p>@0outofthenormal: </p>

<p>Thanks! Yes, I will chance you.</p>

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<p>UPitt is definitely a great school though. I’m not sure about many of their programs, but their Medical Research is amazing. If you don’t get into any of your other choice schools and don’t mind paying, UPitt is the choice. However, you might also have more scholarship opportunities at UPitt than the other schools you listed</p>

19

<p>What’s your problem with IU-Bloomington for pre-med? Or IUB is your absolute safety?</p>

20

<p>@0utofthenormal: Yes the research opps at Pitt and Duke are amazing! Pitt is surprisingly always ranked top 10 in the US for it (sometimes top 6). </p>

<p>@Catria: I like IUB, and yes you’re correct, it’s a safety, an affordable one as well! The only problem is that all of the kids from my highschool filter into IU like it’s a second highschool and I really want to get away for the real college experience. I have moved 11 times in my life, I’m not used to being rooted down. I love experience from travel, and IU lacks the study abroad options that these others are saturated with, and that really magnetizes me to those better top tier schools!</p>