Straight Asian Male, No Hooks
Korean citizen; US Permanent Resident
Residence: Long Island, NY
Major
Pre-Med; AMS/Neuroscience
Academics
GPA: **
School does not rank
SAT: 1540 (740E/800M); ACT: 35 (36M/35S/35E/35R)
SAT II: Math L2: 800; US History: 740
Coursework: 10 AP classes by Jr year; 14-15 by Snr year
Extracurriculars **
Math Team, SciOly, Quiz Bowl, HOSA, NHS (no major awards)
Member of Student Government (No leadership positions)
Summer internship @ neurobiology lab after freshman yr
Volunteer @ Nursing home/retirement community (93 hrs so far)
Volunteer @ Nonprofit outreach/education organization (~85 hrs)
Remote medical research this summer, hopefully get published
Part time job (entry level) @ fast food or retail this summer
Awards
AIME Qualifier 2021
AMC 12B: 100.5 (3rd in school); AIME 6 (should I report?)
(Hopefully) NMS semifinalist (PSAT: 1480, Index 221)
AP Scholar w/ Honor (So far)
Several smaller, local-level STEM awards
** I transferred schools btwn 10th and 11th grade, and my two schools use different GPA systems. In my previous school my GPA was 3.93 UW/~4.5 W, and in my current school around 103-104 W (school only gives weighted GPA). I also wasn’t able to gain any leadership positions due to relocation but will hopefully have a handful by 12th grade
Right now I am eyeing Stony Brook, Bing, CWRU, and URochester but please feel free to suggest more good safety/match schools for pre-med
If Rochester appeals to you, take a look at Case Western. Should be a match for you.
Pitt would be another good option for a pre-med but you are fortunate to have some solid instate options with the SUNYs. It will be hard to beat the SUNY price.
Truthfully for premeds, just about any college will do. Med school applicants don’t get any boost for the school name on their diploma.
Pre meds are also strongly advised to minimize any undergrad debt since med school is breathtakingly expensive and you’l be taking out as much as a half million in unsubsidized loans to pay for your medical education.
College Size = (estimate) 6,000 - 12,000;
Location = Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Midwest;
Setting = Urban/Suburban;
No religious affiliation, coed;
Prefer research unis over LACs;
@merc81 i finally read that “best colleges for premed” link…and I’m going to say…these are all terrific colleges and mostly elite schools. But I want to add…I do not think there is any such thing as a “best college for premed”.
There are just too many nuances that aren’t included in these lists. Does the college use committee letters and actually discourage folks from applying to medical school? Are there a lot of non-traditional applicants (students who have been out of college more than a year…they aren’t usually In these counts and the average age for med school applicants is 26…so there have to be some). Do these colleges count both DO and MD acceptances? Some only count MD.
The fact is…one can be accepted to medical school after attending any U.S. college…if they have a strong application including GPA, sGPA, LOR, volunteering, shadowing and great interview skills.
But only 40% of applicants actually are accepted. This poster needs a plan B also.
@friendsgreenwich how much can your family pay annually without loans for you to attend undergrad school? You have a good list…if the schools are affordable. I agree that it will be hard to beat the SUNY schools on your list.
Try to keep undergrad debt to a minimum…because medical school will be loans, loans and more loans. And a HUGE $$$ of them.
@thumper1: I don’t disagree with your central point, but to introduce that site with the all the caveats that might be associated with it would not be feasible. I posted the information to offer an introduction to some schools that might be suitable for a student who is seeking ideas for colleges to research further.
Based on the OP’s criteria, he appears to be on the right track with excellent schools such as the University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve and the SUNYs mentioned. Brandeis could be another option.
I would attend SUNY, and I would consider adding SUNY Geneseo, which is an outstanding and often overlooked SUNY.
Another great school that was mentioned is Pitt, but that will likely cost more.
You are from Long Island. You live in an area where there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer during school breaks etc. There are also plenty of teaching hospitals on Long Island and in NYC that in my experience (pre pandemic) have been happy to allow students to shadow during breaks. All it takes (again, pre pandemic) is a phone call.
Apply widely at the SUNYs - seconding SUNY Geneseo, add SUNY SB, SUNY Bing, and SUNY Buff and you’re covered wrt affordable safeties (assuming SUNYs are affordable).
After that, you can be aggressive with your search.
You could add universities with good honors colleges and merit (USC Columbia, for instance), URochester, Case, Northeastern, etc.
Then, add a couple higher reaches due to selectivity (30% acceptance rate and under).