Hi, I know still have time to decide which school to attend but this decision has really been nagging me. I intend to study pharmacology and I cannot decide which school is better to attend. I live in New York so clearly UBuffalo will be cheaper for me but UW- Madison is my dream school and has the higher ranked undergraduate program. But, University at Buffalo also offers a BS/MS dual degree program which is really attractive for me although right now I intend to go to medical school after undergrad. UW- Madison has been my dream school since I was little and UBuffalo is my second choice, I’m just really torn because I did not think I would get into Madison because it was my reach school.
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Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1st time: 1210 (530 RW, 680 M) 2nd time: 1250 (580 RW, 670 M)
ACT (breakdown):n/a
SAT II:n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.4
Weighted GPA: 3.74
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 29% (60/208)
AP (place score in parenthesis): APHG (4), World (3), Eng Lang (3), APUSH (2), Chem (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP German, AP AB Calc, AP Bio, TA in PALS Gym, Honors Physics, Orchestra, AP Lit, AP US Govt
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: pharmacology and toxicology
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: public high school
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a
But, University at Buffalo also offers a BS/MS dual degree program which is really attractive for me although right now I intend to go to medical school after undergrad.
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Some things seem odd about your posts…
- Why study pharmacology if your intent is med school? Is pharmacology part of an undergrad major at those two schools in addition to being a grad program? Who cares about pharm ranking if your goal isn't to be a pharmacist? (And pharm ranking isn't really important for pharmacists any way)
- You're OOS for UWisc, you're middle class, and you've applied for aid. Have you run the NPC? How much will your parents pay each year? Sounds like UWisc would be unaffordable.
- Your stats are really too modest to be a successful premed. I'm not saying that to be mean, it's just a reality. Successful premeds tend to have a much higher UW GPA and at least a 1400 SAT, but really more like a 1450+ SAT.
- What other careers interest you?
- What math and science courses have you taken in high school and what were your grades?
Ok I see that the Pharm&Tox BS degree from UWisc consists of a program that you apply to as a Sophomore for Junior year and admittance is based on grades…and about 20 are admitted to the program.
- Pharmacology & toxicology is an undergrad program and UB's works the same way as Madison's does as far as getting in and my AP chem teacher recommended I take this path as my major since I did not want to do chemistry as my undergrad major
- My dad is willing to help me pay but my mom does not want to and I already know UW is probably unaffordable based on my efc
- I had a really rough start to high school as freshman and did not want to study at all and finished freshman year is a 77 average
- If I do not get all the way to med school I'd either become a pharmacologist or a chemistry teacher
- regular Biology (9)- 79, honors Earth Science (10)- 92, Honors Chemistry (10)- 96, AP Chemistry (11)- 91, Environmental/ Marine Bio (11)- 94, AP Bio (12)- 94, Honors Physics (12)- 90.
My real problem with high school has been my english grades which I have struggled especially now taking AP English Language (11)-88 and AP Lit(12)-85
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My dad is willing to help me pay but my mom does not want to and I already know UW is probably unaffordable based on my efc
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Yes, it does appear that UW will not be affordable.
Please ask your dad how much he will pay. “Helping” isn’t an exact number, and may not be enough even for Buffalo. Please ask him if he’ll pay $20k per year? More? Less? From that answer you’ll know how to proceed. And get some assurance that he’ll provide THAT much for all 4 years.
Are your parents divorced?
What is your EFC?
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4. If I do not get all the way to med school I’d either become a pharmacologist or a chemistry teacher
- regular Biology (9)- 79, honors Earth Science (10)- 92, Honors Chemistry (10)- 96, AP Chemistry (11)- 91, Environmental/ Marine Bio (11)- 94, AP Bio (12)- 94, Honors Physics (12)- 90. <<<<<
I don’t necessarily agree with the recommendation from your Chem teacher if you want to be premed. Those PharmTox majors include difficult courses that might hurt your GPA and aren’t needed for med school…so you might end up shooting yourself in the foot.
Your science grades are good, except for Frosh bio, and you’ve already addressed that and have done much better in AP Bio.
If I were you and REALLY wanted to go to med school…
Pick a major (any major) that includes your FAVORITE subjects. This should be a major where you will ace all of your classes. Include the premed prereqs.
How does the UB pharmTox program work? Also apply soph year or what?
See if you can go in Undeclared, start with the premed prereqs and some Gen Ed your first year, see how you do, and then decide your path