Hello, I’m an incoming senior and have started looking at colleges to apply to in the fall. I have a 4.6 weighted GPA (UC 4.4) and a 4.0 unweighted. My ACT score is a 33, I got a 3 on the AP Chemistry exam and a 4 on the AP USH exam but didn’t do well on the subject SAT’s. I dont really have any extracirriculars, making many top colleges out of my reach. At the moment, relying on UC’s doesn’t seem safe as they are very impacted with students similar to me but with more to bring outside of the classroom. I plan to study biology and would like to attend a school that would have lots of opportunities in that field to help me get ahead and possibly to help med school applications (if I decide that’s where I want to go). As far as pricing, school size, and public vs. private, I am completely open to everything right now.
You have a good shot at all the UC’s, but very smart to realize there are no guarantees. Biology is a standard major found at pretty much all schools. You have excellent stats, so merit aid is possible to several of the private schools in California along with some of the UC’s (Regents). You should be ELC eligible so you will have a definite safety at UC Merced. Have you visited any schools yet?
I would apply to several UC’s including UCLA/UCB if you want. I would add a top Cal state into the mix, maybe Cal Poly SLO or San Diego state. Some privates to look at are USC, Occidental, University of San Diego, Santa Clara to name a few. Some OOS West coast schools to consider, might be Gonzaga, Reed, University of Washington.
The main thing to remember if you are interested in Medical School, is to keep your undergrad costs as low as possible, so in-state schools make the most sense, unless you can find get some good OOS FA or merit aid.
Ask your parents what they are willing to pay and go from there. Do not take out any loans if possible since Medical school will cost upwards to $200,000 for 4 years.