Safeties, Matches for me? High test scores, low ECs

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a junior at a large public school in Michigan. Looking to create a good list of colleges to apply to in the Fall and need help with safeties and matches.

INTENDED MAJOR: I’m undecided, leaning toward Biomedical Engineering for now

ACADEMICS:

UW GPA: 3.86
UC GPA: 4.19
3 B’s: H Precalc (10th grade), AP Physics (11th), AP Comp Sci (11th)
Class Rank: n/a

Rigor: (for 11th grade, have only gotten Semester 1 grades and haven’t taken 12th grade courses yet, so they aren’t included in GPA)
Science:
Geophysical Science (summer school 9)
H Biology (9)
CP (“College Prep”) Chemistry (10)
CP Physics (10)
AP Physics C (11)
AP Bio (11)
AP Chem (12)

Math:
H Geometry (9)
H Alg 2 (summer school 10)
H Precalc (10 & summer school 11)
AP Calc AB (11)
H Calc 2 (no AP offered) (12)

English:
English 9
H English 10
H English 11
AP English (Lit & Lang) (12)

Language:
H Spanish 1 (9)
H Spanish 2 (10)
H Spanish 3 (11)
AP Spanish (12)

History/Social Studies:
AP World (9)
AP US History (10)
AP US Govt (11)
AP Econ (12)

Computer Science:
Adv Programming - C++ (10)
AP Comp Sci (11)

Arts & Electives:
Concert Orchestra (9)
Business & Personal Law (10)
Health Sciences Internship (12)
Business/Technology Internship (12)

TESTS:

SAT: 2370 (770 Math) - Oct 2014
ACT: C 35, E 36, S 35, M 33, W 34 - June 2013
PSAT: 235 (CR 78, M 77) - Oct 2014

Took ACT again (mandatory state testing) in March, will have scores within a week (will update)

AP World (5), APUSH (5), AP Psych (5)

EXTRACURRICULARS/AWARDS/HONORS: (the total years is counted from end of senior year, even though I’m currently a junior)

  • Piano (7 years)
  • DECA (Board member, 3 years) - Qualified for & attended ICDC (internationals) in Atlanta
  • Students Without Borders (3 years)
  • National Honor Society (2 years) - 50 hours of volunteering
  • Spanish National Honor Society (2 years) - 10 hours of volunteering
  • Destination Imagination (1 year) - 1st at Regionals, 3rd at States, 19th at Globals
  • Science Olympiad (1 year)
  • HOSA (1 year)
  • MMPC Qualifier 2 years (top 1000 scorers in MI)
  • AP Scholar
  • Likely to be National Merit Semifinalist or Finalist
  • Will have 2 internships senior year (Health Sciences & Business/Tech)

SUMMER:
Option 1:

  • If admitted, go to UMich SCEEP (Engineering) Program - 20-25% selectivity
  • Already accepted to UMich SEE Camp - 20% selectivity (2 camps are at different times)
  • If picked in lottery, volunteer at UMich hospital
  • Work entry-level job

Option 2:

  • If admitted, attend RISE (Research Internship) in Boston
  • Work entry-level job

OTHER:

Race: Indian
Approximate annual family income: 100k (will apply for financial aid)
Immigrant from India (US Permanent Resident)
Dad went to UMich AA

Teacher Recs: OK, not stellar (not very familiar with them)

Essays: Will work on them over the summer. Hopefully good.

My list of colleges so far:
U of M Ann Arbor (only in-state option)
Johns Hopkins
Purdue
UCSD, UCB, UCLA, UCSB
UChicago
NYU
Columbia
MIT
Duke
Georgia Tech
University of Washington
WUSTL
Northwestern
Northeastern

What schools should I remove/add? I feel like this list is too long and doesn’t have any safeties or enough high matches. Thanks!

2

Are your parents willing to pay the min $23K OOS fee for the UCs? You won’t be able to get that waived. You’re no t considering USC with their 1/2 tuition NMF scholarship?

3

@"Erin’s Dad"‌ I’ve asked my parents how much they can afford, but they won’t give me a number. They just say ‘don’t worry about the price, worry about getting in’ but I don’t think they actually have that much saved up. To be honest, I’ve just come up with the list based on USNews Biomed Engineering rankings, where I’ve heard of people getting in from my area, and where people often apply on these forums. I’m not that familiar with most schools, but I’ll look into USC for sure. Thanks.

4

For you to become a NMF, you have to be in the process for citizenship. Are you? If so, then you need to go to NMCorp website and see how to proceed.

Ask your parents how much they’ll pay each year for college.

5

@"Erin’s Dad"‌ Sorry, did you mean University of South Carolina or University of Southern California?

6

@mom2collegekids My parents are in the process. I think if they both get it I will too automatically (or else I’ll have to wait until I’m 18 in 2017 to apply :frowning: ). And my parents have said that if I get in anywhere that is expensive but they deem “worth it” they’ll figure out a way to pay and I shouldn’t even consider price (which I disagree with but it’s their money).

7

bump

8

@mom2collegekids‌ Are you sure about that? I think the wording does not necessarily means the citizenship process needs to have started. If the student is a minor, unless one of the parents is already a US citizen, he or she will have to turn 18 before being able to apply for citizenship.

Sorry, I saw the OP answered about this. He just needs to state that he will apply for citizen as soon as he is able to.

9

OP, with an income of 100,000 K the UCs OOS are not a good financial option unless your parents have considerable assets.

10

I’d pick a few schools and the run the net price calculators on their websites with your parents. They need to see how much these schools will cost. Even the schools that meet need can be quite costly at that income,

I know some parents are uncomfortable discussing finances, but now is a great time to eliminate schools with prohibitively high costs.

11

Not yet a U.S. citizen? Click http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html for documentation required from scholarship candidates who have not yet become U.S. citizens. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required.)