What could I get in to?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi,
I'm currently a high school sophomore, and I'm curious as to which colleges I should be looking at over the next year and a half. </p>

<p>The problem is, I'm getting mixed messages from things such as online college matches, various articles, and everyday people I talk to. </p>

<p>So, my scores and such:
Freshmen year-
English 9- A
World History- A
Spanish II- B+
Honors Geometry Seminar- A-
Band- A+
Biology- A
GPA- 3.87
(Kinda screwed up this year... A small existential crisis cleared the poor grades right up!)
Also: PLAN- 33-35 projected ACT
High Honor List</p>

<p>First semester sophomore year- (no available AP courses for Sophomores)
Spanish- A+
Honors Algebra II- A+
Algebra II Seminar- Pass (pass/fail class)
English- A
Human Physiology- A
Honors Chemistry- A
Band- A+
World History II- A
PSAT- 200, pretty darn good for a Sophomore, almost the best in my class.
High Honor List, Dean's List
GPA- Not sure, probably around 4.2 </p>

<p>School does not do rankings...</p>

<p>Two years Duke TIP, summers of 8th and 9th grade. Took physics and neuroscience. State recognition for SAT score. </p>

<p>2 successful years track and cross country 7th and 8th grade, many podium finishes, something like 20 medals.
Max West award for outstanding leadership, only giver to one student per-year. </p>

<p>Varsity cross country Freshmen year- Many top-10 finishes, 8th at state.
Track Freshmen year-4th in the mile at state (4:42!!!), 4th in the 2-mile, second in the 4x800
Cross country Sophomore year- 4th at state
Expect to challenge for the win next year. </p>

<p>Various awards for running and academics. </p>

<p>3 years advanced math at MIST academy, learning algebra II, trig, and some calculus. </p>

<p>Tutored math at a local business over the summer.
Directed a robotics camp for little-uns as well. </p>

<p>Many, many (over 10) 1st, 2nd, 3rd place medals at regional and state science Olympiad, participated in national science Olympiad freshmen year in Sumo Bots, Towers, and Astronomy. </p>

<p>Expect to qualify for AIME this year, possibly USAMO by senior year.</p>

<p>As of now, I want to go into biophysics, then med school or an MD/Phd.
Mixed race (Caucasian/Indian) </p>

<p>I like Duke, Dartmouth, Brown, Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Worcester, Renssellear, but I'm open to suggestions.
I would probably like to run, D1 or D3.
Honestly, I like to think I'm the type of person who wouldn't be too disappointed going to school in-state.
Also, I live in Alabama.
Any advice on specific colleges, plans of action, and even how to get started on a research project would be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Also, I am a member of the Tri-M music honor society and will probably play percussion through the rest of high school.</p>

3

<p>You definitely seem to be in the range of all the schools you mentioned, however, without test scores, it’s impossible to say which schools you could “get into.”
Plan of action: If you’re serious about top 20’s and Ivies, you definitely need to work your butt during the next year or so. Keep your grades as high as possible, take AP/IB/Honors classes, participate in MEANINGFUL extracirrculars, especially volunteer work, take the PSAT as a junior (NMS is looking like a good possibility), take standardized tests and subject tests a few times, stay involved in varsity sports, use your summers wisely (volunteer, visit colleges, enroll in classes, workshops, etc.)
Coming from a motivated senior, I hope this helps!
Also, don’t be afraid to look at in-state schools or those that aren’t “big-names.” Many state schools have prestigious honors colleges, and often it makes more financial sense to stay close to home for undergrad schooling and not be burdened by debt.</p>

4

<p>Since you don’t mention it, I’ve got to ask: how much can your family pay? Sit your parents down and have the big money talk with them. If they squirm and whine and say “but it’s too early to think about that” (lots of parents do), tell them that if it is early enough for you to worry about grades, it is early enough to have a figure. Then point them to the Financial Aid Forum so they can start learning about this issue.</p>

5

<p>Yes, your list of schools is possible if you can keep up the grades and nail those test scores. Make sure you get to know a few teachers really well too so they can write decent letters of rec for you.</p>

<p>The money talk is critical, as happymom says. A few things to keep in mind: Medical school costs between $40k (in-state) and $70k (out of state) per year for four years so, unless your family is wealthy, you might want to avoid a lot of undergraduate debt. Medical schools generally don’t care where you did your undergraduate education - they look at GPA and MCAT. Second, you have a huge advantage as a resident of Alabama for admissions to med school. The admissions rate for state residents into the state school in Birmingham is almost 40%! Lastly, it is not too early to start testing out your interest in medicine by doing some related volunteer work: check for programs at your nearest hospital and public health clinics, be a volunteer Emergency Med Tech trainee with your local fire/emergency services dept, shadow your family physician and start talking to family friends and relations who work in medical fields about what they like and don’t like about their jobs. Medical school is a long, long haul and many who start out pre-med change their inds.</p>

<p>I know you asked about research opportunities - they do exist but generally for high school students, they are can be hard to come by unless you have family connections or live in a college town or near a research university. If you do, then use your network. NIH also has some opportunities for high school students over the summer, so google that.</p>