What are my chances? 2024

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone! I’m currently a senior in high school from Ohio. The college process has been a long road for me, and I just want to hear some outside perspectives. I intend on majoring in Pre-Med, and I would love to go to medical school and become a dermatologist one day. I am very hardworking and passionate about school.

So, a little bit of background. I applied to Case Western Reserve under ED 1. I was rejected and, quite frankly, crushed because it was my dream school. I didn’t really know what to do so I began exploring other schools and programs.

I have applied to Emory University, the University of Georgia, UNC at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, Ohio State University, and Denison University (all under RD). I have visited Emory, and I really love it. They also have an amazing medical program. I know that some of these are tough schools, but I have worked very hard in high school and want to be prepared for med school.

Here are my stats/extracurriculars:

GPA weighted: 4.43
GPA unweighted: 4.0
ACT: 28
Class rank: 9/140 (Top 10%)

• taken all but 3 APs offered at my school
• all honors coursework

Senior year course list:
• APUSH
• AP lit
• Honors Pre-Calculus
• Honors Spanish 4
• Honors Anatomy & Physiology
• Religious studies (I go to Catholic school)
• Art Foundations

• JV/Varsity Cheerleading captain
• JV/Varsity Tennis captain
• NHS
• Cleveland Clinic Innovation Team member
• School Leadership Member
• Starbucks barista (part-time)

• Notre Dame book award recipient
• Xavier distinguished scholars award

• Over 450 service hours in HS
(Hospital hours, Food bank, etc.)

• strong letters of rec from my principal, APUSH teacher, and anatomy teacher
• very passionate, personal common app essay

Please let me know your thoughts on this! I am just looking for some reassurance, and I am very anxious to hear my decisions. I am open to hearing questions from anyone as well. Thanks everyone!

2

“from Ohio”
“Ohio State University”

I am pleased that you have applied to The Ohio State University. It is a very good university and it has a very good medical school. Ohio State undergrad will prepare you very well for medical school.

Four years of undergraduate education plus four years of medical school adds up to a HUGE financial expense. If you seriously want to get into medical school, then you need to budget for 8 full years of university. Since you are in-state for Ohio State, you are likely to save a bundle of money compared to most universities that you could attend.

I am not specifically sure about Ohio state. However, many public medical schools give preference to in-state students. This makes sense, since they are funded by taxpayers in their state and a huge part of their mission is to make sure that there are good doctors who are interested in working in their state.

For many students attending their in-state flagship is not super exciting. However IMHO it is probably the best way to maximize your chances of making it to medical school.

Of course once in university you will want to keep your GPA up as much as possible in very tough classes and you will also want to get some experience volunteering in a medical environment. Be aware that premed classes will be very, very tough.

Most students who start off premed end up switching to some other path in life. Ohio state of course is large enough to have a wide range of majors that you could consider.

3

That’s a very tough list especially being OOS at UVA, UNC and Georgia. I think even IS at those schools with your ACT scores they are a reach and add Emory to that list. The only school my daughter did not get into was Emory and she was accepted at UVA and UNC with a substantial scholarship at UGA. I think Denison and OSU are likely and there is an outside shot at UGA, the others are a big ask…

4

your academics are not nearly good enough for emory, what are you thinking?

5

@DadTwoGirls Thank you! Your response was very helpful. Ohio State is a great school. I am also looking at pursuing a career in health administration, which is a strong program at OSU. Again, I really appreciate the nice response!

6

@Cavitee Thank you. That is definitely something to consider. OSU is a good option, as in-state costs are important. I know it will be tough with all of the out of state schools, but I’m hoping for the best. Thank you for the taking time to write a reply.

7

I would also say that Denison is a very good possibility, since the only real weak part of your resume is your ACT scores, and Denison is test-optional.

Say what? The OP’s academics are excellent. Their only weakness is in their standardized tests. While this may make acceptance to Emory challenging, it is hardly a “what were you thinking?” situation. You really have no call to write this here.

8

@MWolf Yes! Denison is also a great option. I did not think Emory was too out of reach either… I guess we’ll see what happens. Thank you for the kind response.