I’m a sophomore right now and I would say that I’m a pretty good student but not outstanding enough to get into an Ivy League. I think that my GPA is ~4.7 (I used an online calculator for this, not sure what system my school uses) and I would have taken AP bio, AP Chem, AP calc bc, apush, AP world, AP stats, AP Lang, and AP psych by the end of my junior year. I’m a writer of newspaper club, compete at the state level for science Olympiad (gotten 1st once), compete at the national level for FBLA (never placed at nationals tho) and I’m part of a bioinformatics program at my school. I currently have ~100 hours of volunteer service at a nursing home and will probably have double that by the time I apply for colleges. I am also of Chinese descent (born in America) and I play the piano. I’m not sure what I want to be yet; my parents want me to go to a bs/md program but I highly doubt I’ll get accepted into one of those lol. I’m really just aiming for schools above average, but not Ivy leagues. If someone could let me know certain colleges to research on, that would be much appreciated. thanks
Are you kidding? There are almost 4,000 colleges and universities in this country, at least a couple hundred of which would be considered “good.”
Your stats are excellent and many of them would accept you.
Before we can advise:
What’s your home state?
How much can you afford?
Do you want a smaller school, a liberal arts college, or a research university?
Urban, suburban or rural?
Which part of the country?
I’ll help when you answer the above questions.
Yea but right now I have no idea where I want to go and a few suggestions or a general direction would be nice. Anyways
Home state: NY
Money isn’t really a problem
I suppose research? But not totally sure, I didn’t actually know what liberal arts and research universities were until I looked them up a minute ago
Suburban
I think my home state answers this question
Btw I’m not excluding Ivy leagues as an option, I just don’t think I have the potential to get into one. I’m asking this question bc I don’t really know about other colleges as Ivy leagues are all I have heard about since I was a child
NYU, Rochester, SUNY schools, Barnard
You do have the potential to get into an Ivy.
Would you consider an urban campus, or other areas of the country? Only one research university meets your criteria: University of Maryland.
If money is not an object - you can then think about what you would like to pursue and how well you fit into the university. Most of the top universities have lots of applicants with stats like you. So things such as essays, EC’s and recommendations matter a lot more. Sustained extracurriculars matter more than joining a zillion clubs.
I second UMD, although certain programs are competitive to get into, and OOS is even more competitive. In addition to what was mentioned, look at Boston U, Tufts, Johns Hopkins. These universities are not interchangeable and are not automatic “safeties” just because your stats may be on the high side- so you will have to research and visit and figure out if they are right for you.
Given your academic record, you have a lot of great choices, and it is good that you are looking beyond the Ivy’s. There are many threads on CC’s about how to craft applications and aim for a good fit school.
Georgetown BC Notre Dame Villanova Colgate GWU Binghamton Stony Brook BU
“I didn’t actually know what liberal arts and research universities were” (#3)
This type of division can be problematic. The opportunities for undergraduate research can be greater at a liberal arts college than a “research university,” for example. This is more school specific than category specific.
You have a shot at an Ivy but there are lots of good options if you don’t get it (they’re a reach for everyone).
A couple more questions:
What do you plan to study? Your parents want you to do MD - is that what you want/are planning? Premed?
On which part of the country question - do you want to study in NY or the Northeast (close to home) or a different experience in another part of the country (and if so, any preferences)?
Take a step back. It is really too early to look at specific schools. You are only a sophomore and have no standardized testing yet. In addition your ideas about what you might want could change in the next two years. I really think that this point if you do any college research your time would be spent with getting a better idea of different types of schools out there (ex. liberal arts college/mid-size university/large university and public/private schools etc.) And be sure to have a talk with your parents about money and any other restrictions they may have on your college plans (ex. geographic etc.). If you want to read up on some schools I suggest getting your hands on some college guide books like Fiske (my favorite), Princeton Review, Insiders Guide etc.
I second University of Rochester. Great school for sciences, has a medical school, and is one of the few top-ranked schools that actually gives merit money.
Have you heard of the Fiske Guide to Colleges? You should spend a couple of hours with a copy and some post-its. Johns Hopkins came to mind as Ibread your first post.
Why not try the college selection on this site=go to the tab marked Free Resources.
I don’t know where everyone’s recommendations are coming from. Right now the OP has no SAT/ACT score nor does s/he know their GPA and hte course list is a forecast of what will be done in the future. I agree with using the Supermatch tool on the left side of this page.
You should get a copy of your high school transcript and the school profile that explains how the GPA is calculated. You will also want to understand, by talking to the college counselor, where your GPA puts you in the context of your high school class.
Given how difficult it is for PhDs to get tenure-track jobs, you have to go really far down the totem pole in American higher education to find colleges that don’t have a ton of really bright professors who know way more than you will ever need to fill your undergraduate mind.
So true! ^^ A friend taking a philosophy course at a state college that has the entrance requirements of a community college (i.e., almost none) was startled to discover her professor was a Harvard PhD.
Philosophers, even those with the gaudiest pedigrees, are pretty happy to get a tenure-track job. Even at the community college level u will find some pretty impressive PhDs.