@merc81 will do, thanks very much! any thoughts on my list? 
I’d remove uci and add cal poly slo instead.
Mckenna and usc are reaches by virtue of acceptance rate although they’re a match for your stats.
Since you’re interested in science research I’d pick Pomona over mcKenna (which is social science, especially economics and government.)
Johns Hopkins may not be a good pick for premed due to competition (premeds want a collaborative environment.)
Look into Bowdoin, Haverford, Carleton , depending on the type of vibe you’re looking for.
- Why McKenna? - Perhaps replace with Pomona if you want to go to one of the CC. In any case, all the Claremonts are reaches.
- UMich, UVa and UNC don't give much aid to OOSs, so if you can't afford OOS fees, then I'd drop one or two of these if you want to cut down your list. UVa is particularly restrictive in terms of OOS admits so maybe drop that one.
- Hard to see the benefit of attending UWash if you get into a UC at a third of the cost.
- Rutgers? Unless you really want to be in NJ, Wisconsin-Madison would be a better choice. Other possibilities if you want to leave Cal, Alabama offers aid to OOS students. Arizona State too as someone mentioned.
- Since you say you want to go to a big school, apply to more of those and drop places like Amherst which even if you got in probably couldn't afford.
^Seconding U Wisconsin over Rutgers. There’s a reason most NJ kids can’t wait to leave the state. Rutgers, academically, is a fine school, but the split campus and 70’s tower-block dorms are a big turn off in my opinion, considering you could attend quite a few universities with a better campus and equal academics, or a UC at lower cost.
“We know how expensive the OOS options are, which is why I probably wouldn’t go there even if I was accepted. I decided to apply to a few OOS institutions anyways, just because why not.”
@wormholes I am puzzled by this approach. It is a waste of your effort and money to apply to a college that you would not attend. Every college on your list needs to be a college that is affordable for your family and that you would actually want to attend.
You have strong stats with terrific in-state public options. You can use the rest of your list (currently filled by some colleges that you would not want to attend) to add more options that you are actually excited about. Have you tried the SuperMatch tool on the left side of this webpage?
CMC is definitely a reach for almost anyone (as are Pomona and Mudd), but just want to discount the people saying you should cross it off because it’s more social science focused. While that’s true, the Joint Science department is phenomenal and they do a great job of getting students amazing summer internships and research experience. I was a double major in Biology and Math at CMC and took science classes at Pomona and Mudd in addition to Joint Science. I was able to intern at a national lab every summer doing pretty cutting edge stuff and did my senior thesis with that Lab. My year, the Joint Science Department probably had about 35-40 grade and we had a 100% med school acceptance rate (probably 10-15 people headed that route), a Rhodes Scholar, a Watson Fellow, 6-8 students accepted in PhD programs at places like Dartmouth and Stanford and only 2 of us got department honors (I was one of those two and despite all of the amazing science experiences I had, I decided to head to strategy consulting with one of the big firms and ultimately ended up getting my MBA at one of the top 2-3 programs).
For me, the fact that CMC had tons of Government and Econ majors was a plus. I loved the Athenaeum and I loved having interesting discussions about things non-science related with my peers. I felt like the campus was more diverse and less conservative than it’s reputation and I loved everything I was able to do there (I was able to play 2 different NCAA Div III sports).
I was from a small town in Northern California and hadn’t really considered private schools - I was UCB or bust, but my parents were lower middle class income and CMC was actually cheaper than any of the UCs for me because of their generous financial aid. I often think I probably would have loved Pomona too, but I only applied to CMC (mostly because the XC coach recruited me).
@insanedreamer , this particular student would mostly likely be offered a $7,500 per year OOS tuition discount at Washington. Thus, the difference in tuition, room and board would be around $38,000/year at UW versus around $28,000/year at UCLA and UCB (if the student did not receive any other grants or scholarships).
Just to throw it in - University of Alabama, you would have great scholarships there; even better with National Merit. If you are considering Arizona, you may really like what you can do at UA.
I would only put OOS publics in that you have really good merit.
It sounds like the goal for UG is to get the education with little out of pocket and go on to med school.
Some quick viewing on UA…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrV8g7kxJps
UA has updated its Quick Facts http://viewbook.ua.edu/quick-facts/
(2014 enrollment breakdown by state - new undergraduates - which would be freshmen for the most part): http://oira.ua.edu/d/webreports/enrollment2/Fall_2014/f18.html
http://oira.ua.edu/d/webreports/enrollment2/Fall_2015/e10.html
This URL gives FALL 2015 data for all of the university (not just freshmen).
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We know how expensive the OOS options are, which is why I probably wouldn’t go there even if I was accepted. I decided to apply to a few OOS institutions anyways, just because why not.
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Instead of wasting time and money applying to OOS publics that will be expensive and therefore undesirable, WHY NOT apply to some OOS publics that will…
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give you a USABLE tie to an OOS public’s med schools (not UWash…you can’t get in there).
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give you LOTS of merit for your stats…and save your money for med school.
Your premed in a state that has LOUSY acceptance rates…WAY TOO many premeds, WAY TOO many med school applicants…TOO FEW med school seats.
Apply to schools that will give you a tie/link to THAT state’s med schools.
Creighton is another option. You should be able to get enough merit to get costs down to about $30K, and they give preferential admission to their Med School for their undergraduate applicants.
That would be depressing to have taken 17 or so AP classes and end up at Rutgers. No need to apply there. You’ll get into some or all of the CA schools. With your stats you should be applying to places like Harvard and Yale. I think you have enough in state safeties.
@MYOS1634 Thank you! I have definitely heard about the cutthroat environment at JHU before, which is why I realize it may not be the best option for premed. I have also been looking at USC mainly because of the NMF scholarship they give - without that, it would definitely be way too expensive. I really like Bowdoin’s academics, but I don’t really want to go to a small school, so I don’t think it would be a great fit. I’ll definitely look into U Wisconsin.
@insanedreamer Thank you for all the input. I definitely see what you are saying. In any case, I really hope to go to UCSD, UCLA, or maybe Cal, but we shall see how things turn out!
@siliconvalleymom That is very good advice and makes a lot of sense. I have not tried the Supermatch tool, will do so very soon. Thank you!
@oldcmcalum That’s a great different perspective on CMC. How would you say the environment is there…Super competitive and cutthroat, more laid back, or somewhere in between?
@UWfromCA Thanks for the numbers; UCs are definitely my first option.
@SOSConcern I’ve heard U of Alabama is very good with their aid, but I would much prefer to stay closer to home/on the west. I’ll definitely look into it though!
@mom2collegekids Great advice, thank you. I would really like to stay in CA for both undergrad and med school, if possible. Would you say there is a chance that I will get into at least 1-2 of my top in-state public choices? (UCSD, UCD, UCLA, Cal) I am of course going to apply broadly to OOS publics as well, especially after all the insight I’ve gotten from everyone here, but in-state is preferable to me. Also, isn’t it true that UCs give preference to UC-undergrads in their med schools? Really appreciate your (and everyone else) answering my questions.
@ColdinMinny Thank you. From what you told me, it seems a great option financially, but I don’t know if I’d want to go to a religiously affiliated school.
@citymama9 Thank you for your kind words. I REALLY HOPE I CAN GET INTO UCSD/LA/CAL/DAVIS!!! I don’t think I am Harvard/Yale material though, or anything close
“Also, isn’t it true that UCs give preference to UC-undergrads in their med schools?”
Calif Medical schools give preference to Calif residents who are graduates of Calif colleges.
But please realize that 50% of all edical School applicants in the US dont get in anywhere.