What are My Chances and Matches

Demographics

  • U.S. Citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Michigan
  • Supposedly we’re a feeder school for U of M. We send around 20/30 students a year.
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Female/ White/ Latina
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): At the moment, I am an athlete and my father works at U of M. Bilingual: English and Spanish.

Intended Major(s): Biology

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.9897
  • Unweighted Class Rank: 21/325
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): I believe it’s a 4.0 scale for unweighted classes and a 5.0 for AP and IB classes. My unweighted GPA is 4.4584.
  • Weighted Class Rank: 1/325
  • SAT Scores: 1360. 700 English, 660 Math and another one where it was 670 English and 680 Math

Coursework

  • AP Calculus
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • Pre-Calc/ Trig
  • IB Biology HL 1
  • IB Biology HL 2
  • IB English HL 1
  • IB English HL 2
  • IB Psychology HL 1
  • IB Psychology HL 2
  • IB Spanish SL 1
  • IB Spanish SL 2
  • Advanced Algebra 2
  • AP English Language
  • AP Gov. and Politics
  • Chemistry
  • World History
  • Advanced Geometry
  • American History
  • Biology
  • Concert Orchestra
  • English
  • Spanish 1
  • Spanish 2
  • Spanish 3
  • IB Sport/Exercise/ Health Sci SL
  • IB Math: Analysis and APP HL
  • IB Diploma Core

Awards/ Honors

  • IB Diploma Candidate
  • Summa Cum Laude
  • National Honors Society
  • National Speech and Debate Association Honor Society: Degree of Excellence
    *The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association

Extracurriculars

  • Debate (4 years), Student Liaison for my city’s government’s (4 years), Varsity Soccer (4 years), President and Founder of a garden/donation club (2 years), Piano (Since I was young), Forensics (2 years), and National Honors Society (2 years)

Essays/LORs/Other
*Not Super strong. Subpar. Average.

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety: Michigan State University and Ohio State University. Ed for Both. University of Washington Seattle RD.
  • I’m assuming they’re reaches: University of Michigan (EA), Duke (RD), Columbia (RD), University of California- Berkeley (RD), Vanderbilt (RD), Princeton (RD), Yale (RD), Northwestern (RD), UCLA (RD), and Rice University (RD).

Please tell me whether I should apply with my SAT or whether I should go test optional. I for sure plan on submitting my SAT score for U of M. Additionally, if you know of any good biology programs or classes I should write about for why U of M, please don’t hesitate to include them.

Thank you for all your help!

Congratulations on being a competitive student.

Can your family afford UCB and UCLA as full pay $67K/year? UC’s are test blind and yes they are Reach schools.

You might want to talk to your guidance counselor. I would be surprised if they think that the University of Michigan is a reach.

You cannot apply to two universities ED. Also, I think that your chances at U of Michigan (which is a great university) are high enough that I would not apply ED to Michigan State unless you actually clearly would prefer to attend Michigan State.

UC Berkeley and UCLA would probably be full pay. Are you okay with that? Given how strong the University of Michigan is, I do not see the point of being full pay out of state at UC Berkely or UCLA.

What is your intention for after getting a degree in Biology? Are you thinking of being premed?

To me you look like a very strong student. Good job!

Go test optional. Your gpa and course rigor are great. SAT well below the 25th percentile.

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Sorry, I mean’t early action for MSU and University of Ohio. Right now, I’m not really sure what I want to do, but I’m leaning towards pre-med.

I think if I got in, and I’d really want to go, we could probably make it work, but ideally I would like to go to U of M.

If you are leaning towards premed, you need to watch your pennies carefully, as an undergrad. (I’ve just been through this with our daughter. Most of her friends at her medical school are on loans loans and more loans.)

You’re looking at upwards of $300,000+ for your four years of med school. Scholarships are very few and far between because every single med school candidate qualifies for one.

If you are seriously considering premed, then you need to seriously look at your budget now. Stick to the most inexpensive good schools that will give you a great education.

It sounds like Michigan would be your best bet.

Schools like the University of Washington, and the UC‘s, are public universities funded by their states. They don’t fund nonresidents, so your costs will be high ($65k+ per year). They prioritize their limited seats to in-state residents whose parents have been paying and supporting the state.

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I think your list looks great. I would consider Michigan a match for you since you are in-state. But, it’s not a sure thing so I agree with Michigan State EA for another in-state option. Your reaches are definitely reaches, but they are for everyone.

I agree with others that I would probably go test optional when possible. Why are you planning to submit your SAT to Michigan but maybe not others?

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I was told by councilors that U of M really wants test scores even though they’re test optional. They think it’d hurt me more not to send them in.

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Ah, gotcha!

If you apply to Rice, maybe go test optional. Rice prides itself on having a very diverse student body so you might have a good chance there.

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