SAT? College? AP Exams?

<p>Hello! I have a few questions about college.
I am attending a Piano competition in New York that could potentially get me a scholarship to Eastman University. If I receive it, I will be attending there. In case I don't make it successfully in the music world, the major that I want to do second most is an OB/GYN. </p>

<p>The colleges that I would apply to in this case would be:
NYU
UCLA
Baylor</p>

<p>To do this, I know that I have to:
-Graduate as one of the top 10 in High School
-Get 5's on all my AP exams
-Aim for an above 2100 on my SAT's
-Take 2 SAT Subject Tests with above a 700 on each
-Get a lot of extracurricular awards (Which I am doing, using Piano)
-Volunteer</p>

<p>Is this correct? Could I get into these colleges like this? Please let me know! Thanks!</p>

<p>What grade are you in?

As far as I know, that isn’t an undergraduate major anywhere. You would major in some *subject<a href=“like%20biology%20or%20chemistry,%20for%20example,%20but%20there%20are%20lots%20of%20other%20choices%20depending%20on%20what%20your%20college%20offers”>/i</a>, take the required courses for applying to medical schools, and then apply to medical schools.

Are you from California? Why did you choose these schools in particular?
NYU isn’t known for good financial aid, and UCLA probably won’t be affordable unless you’re from California. Both of these schools are very selective and typically expensive, so I’m assuming you’re planning to use Baylor as a safety school. Are you sure you can get into Baylor and afford it even without financial aid? Are there any public universities in your state that you’d be willing to apply to, just in case none of these three work out?

You don’t have to do this, or any of the other things on your list, but it’s recommended that you graduate in the top 10% of your high school class.

No. AP scores aren’t really used in US college admissions. You can self-report them on the Common App if you want, but you don’t have to. You won’t have your AP scores sent from the College Board until after you’re accepted somewhere, and that’s only if you want college credit.

Above 2100 would be good. To get a better idea, you should also look at the average scores for admitted students at all the colleges you’re applying to. They’ll usually have this information posted on their websites, or in their Common Data Sets (see below).

This would be good to have, but SAT Subject Tests are kind of a niche thing because only a few colleges actually require them.

You should do extracurriculars that allow you to show focus, dedication, accomplishment, and leadership when possible.<br>

Generally no. College applications will usually ask you to list how much time you spent on each of your ECs, but they won’t ask you about community service or volunteer hours. Your extracurriculars can involve volunteering, but they don’t have to. From a Yale admissions officer ([source](<a href=“Q. and A.: College Admissions - The New York Times):”>Q. and A.: College Admissions - The New York Times)):</a></p>

<p>“The thing we are looking for outside the classroom is not a series of check boxes on a resume; we’re looking instead for a high level of engagement or leadership in whatever it is that the student cares about most. For some students, community service is at the forefront of their extracurriculars, in which case we pay a lot of attention to what they have accomplished in that area. For other students, some other passion or interest holds primary sway, and we evaluate the engagement in that area. We know that very few students can fully engage more than one or two primary activities at a high level. Though it is fine for a student to have varied interests, a significant number of students make the common mistake of spreading themselves too thinly in a resume-building exercise.” </p>

<p>Looking at a college’s Common Data Set can help you learn about what they look for from their applicants, and what kind of SAT/ACT scores they expect. </p>

<p>[NYU</a> Common Data Set, 2013-2014 (PDF)](<a href=“Research with Human Subjects”>Research with Human Subjects)
[UCLA</a> Common Data Set, Fall 2013](<a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/profiles/cds.aspx]UCLA”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/profiles/cds.aspx)
[Baylor</a> Common Data Set, 2013-2014 (PDF)](<a href=“http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/218284.pdf]Baylor”>http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/218284.pdf)</p>

<p>@halcyonheather‌ hit the nail on the head. I would like to emphasize that you don’t need to be top 10, get 5s on all your APs (these aren’t even used), or volunteer.</p>

<p>I can definitely afford any college. I’m not saying I’m rich, but my father does have a medical degree, and I know that we can afford it. I just would like to try and get a scholarship or grant using my grades, or through National Merit. I know that Ob/GYN isn’t a major, and I should’ve worded that better. I meant that I wanted to do Pre-Med if school didn’t work out, and I was planning on doing Biology as a major. I chose those schools, because NYU is in New York near many music universities, and even if I don’t succeed with piano, I’d like to try and do a double major in another university. I chose UCLA because of the area it is in, I really love California. I live in Texas and my high school require us to apply to an in-state college, thus I chose Baylor.</p>

<p>Also, for volunteering, I play Piano at a hospital and multiple nursing homes, which is really because I enjoy it. I have a passion for Piano, and if possible, would like to try and succeed. My parents are against that because becoming successful as a fine art major is really hard, and they want me to have a stable life, just as every parent wants.</p>

<p>Also, (sorry about the separate replies) I know that even if I get a loan, if I become a doctor, theres a pretty good chance I can pay it all back. My dad is an anesthesiologist, and he went to Stanford with a 2 year scholarship and a $180,000 loan, and he’s paid it all off.</p>

<p>You can’t just do another major at another university. It doesn’t work that way. You have to get into a formal program that’s already been established (which are very competitive) or do two majors at one school.</p>

<p>

If anyone can afford any college, it’s your parents and not you, so be sure to talk to them about how much they’re going to help you. It’s a good idea to run net price calculators (most colleges have them on their websites) to get an idea of how much each school will cost.

The National Merit corporation gives out $2,500 scholarships to some NMFs, but if you want additional National Merit money you’ll have to go to a college that offers scholarships for it. These scholarships can be large or small depending on the college. The best university with a large scholarship is probably Northeastern.

Taking out loans isn’t really a big deal in itself—people suffer when they borrow too much. Loans can be either private or from the government, and government loans can be either subsidized or unsubsidized, and they have different interest rates, and a lot of times you’ll have more than one even if you’re not borrowing that much. I don’t know very much about financial aid and you could probably get a lot more insight in the Financial Aid forum, but medical school is going to be expensive too and it will probably be a good idea to minimize your undergraduate debt as much as possible. </p>