What is my match?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>This is a brief description of me. What colleges would you recommend? What on this list would you recommend/not recommend.</p>

<p>I want to become a scientist (graduate school PhD), major in biology, major/minor in music (either instrumental-advanced or vocal-beginner) (or any other subject that takes my brain off of biology for a while. I'd prefere music, though I'd also go with writing or lit).</p>

<p>Transcript pretty good, not amazing. Lowest: 3 B+s and some A- s.
Standardized Testing: Very good, though not perfect like some of yours.
Recs: One that's very good, one that's so-so.
ECs/Leadership: I have a lot and show involvement w/them, though I'm not sure how they'll judge the fact that they're small ECs (nothing like sports. more like small clubs).</p>

<p>These are the ones I'm interested in currently (by the way, I care a lot about the way the student body thinks.)</p>

<p>Dream College: MIT (i like their innovation and way of thinking, plus research)</p>

<p>Good matches: Yale and Duke (biology and music)</p>

<p>Others (that I'm keeping in my mind):
Stanford (biology, environment, open-mindedness)
Northwestern (heard that its bio is very good, read some pamphlets, but not sure whether it has the same thinking, and the divisions in the school system make me wary)
Cornell (ppl recommended this to me b/c of bio)
Johns Hopkins (biotech--not sure whether it's the type of bio I want)
Columbia (b/c I live in NYC)
UPenn (Love Philly, heard it's a good school, tho not sure about the match)
Tulane
NYU
(the rest are what my counselor recommended)
Washington University
Panoma
Macalaster</p>

2

<p>I assume you mean Pomona, not Panoma?</p>

3

<p>Before anyone could possibly tell you if those are realistic match schools, we'dneed to know the following :</p>

<ul>
<li>Your actual unweighted GPA</li>
<li>How many honors and AP courses have you taken, and in which subjects</li>
<li>Your actual standardized test scores, including your subject exams</li>
<li>How many years of math, science, foreign language will you have taken before you graduate</li>
<li>Whether you require financial aid</li>
</ul>

<p>Some schools that you might want to also check out: Case Western Reserve, the University of Rochester, U of Wisconsin, U of Michigan, Wake Forest.</p>

4

<p>Your top four schools are a long shot for anybody, and I haven't heard anything about music double majors there. MIT in particular does not sound like a good choice. Definitely look at Oberlin. They have a great music program. Rice and U Rochester have programs with conservatories, as does Johns Hopkins, and they are great in the sciences. Look at Goucher as a backup for Hopkins. Look at Binghamton and Stony Brook as safeties and financial safeties. Look at Vanderbilt- it is less competitive than Duke, but has great bio and premed. From your descriptions of "pretty good" transcripts, scores, recommendations, and ECs, I would say that your top choices are unrealistic. Look at the statistics on admitted students in the next group of schools- Cornell, Northwestern, etc, and decide whether you are in the ballpark or not.</p>

5

<p>can you be a lot more specific with what you have actually done?</p>

6

<p>The thing I'm noticing here is that you have no real criteria for what you want. All of your school choices seem really random. MIT, Yale, and Duke are supposedly your best fit schools, but they're nothing like. Then Pomona, Macalester, and NYU are nothing like any of the other schools on your list. </p>

<p>The only thing I can tell from your list is that you prefer medium sized research universities. What else?</p>

<p>What region of the country do you want to be in?
What kind of social environment do you want?
How do you feel about the Greek system?
Urban, suburban, or rural?</p>

7

<p>I agree with Carolyn's recommendation of U Rochester: great biology and biology/medical research programs plus Eastman School of Music. The Arts and Sciences campus has its own separate but excellent music progam. The Rochester cultural community has a lot to offer in the way of music.</p>

<p>Cornell recently received a 450 million dollar gift for biological and medical sciences, some of which will go toward a new bio building and facilities and some will go toward strengthening the already excellent biology program.</p>

8

<p>Honestly, I care mainly about academics. don't care about the greek system. the region could be either in the northeast or in california. i don't care about urban/rural. social environment--where ppl are accepting of differences, where it's fine to be different.</p>

<p>I'm also aiming for top schools.</p>

<p>As for Duke/Yale/MIT all being different, that's understandable as I'm looking at academics mainly. For MIT, it's more about research and the way the students think rather than biology. For Duke and Yale, it's more about bio and music.</p>

9

<p>MIT, Yale, and Duke are great choices, however, all are tough to get in. What are some of your stats?</p>

<p>Also, I know that Yale and Duke have strong music/arts programs, but I didn't know MIT did.</p>

10

<p>You are not giving any info to even get reasonable feedback.</p>

11

<p>Yeah, I know MIT might not be extremely strong in the arts, but once again, I fell in love with MIT's way of thinking, not any specific program. As for Yale and Duke, what do you think of the student body? Are they innovative, politically/socially aware, questioning, etc? That's what I'm more concerned about.</p>

12

<p>Are you sure you can even get into some of these schools? Your list is comprised of many of America's top universities, and to get into many of them, you actually DO need a perfect score on your SAT's (or close to it) along with an impeccable list on EC's. Just a suggestion, but you definitely need to provide more specific information about your grades and such, because information about schools you can't even get into doesn't do you any good.</p>

13

<p>Have you considered Harvey Mudd or Carnegie Mellon?</p>

14

<p>I've visited Carnegie Mellon before, but nothing moved me there. lots of tech, but i don't see much art/bio.</p>

<p>as for harvey mudd, tell me more about it--why do you recommend it. (I've kept it in my mind, but haven't looked up anything about it).</p>

<p>@tgrady321--I'm first looking at schools I like. I worry about admissions later.</p>

15

<p>Clearing up some misconceptions: MIT is not very strong in lit, but it is VERY strong in music (our most popular minor- 40% of the students I think?). There is an incredible music library and absolutely the most impressive practice facilities. A lot of students on campus are involved in music- and even those not officially involved are allowed to use the professional facilities. It's one of the strongest non-technical depts at MIT. I have friends double majoring in a science/tech subject and music. It's rough-going, since both are very demanding, but they are happy as can be. Also, writing is phenomenal at MIT. I should know, i'm minoring in it. :P</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
as for harvey mudd, tell me more about it--why do you recommend it. (I've kept it in my mind, but haven't looked up anything about it).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It was recommended because it is an elite school for science. If you want to go on to get a phD, HMC is a good route to take considering it has the second highest percentage of students going on to earn a phD in the country (behind Caltech). Also, if you can't get into MIT, Caltech, and Stanford (and you probably won't), then HMC is the next best thing.</p>

<p>Also, you could take music courses at Scripps and Pomona. Pomona is known for it's amazing music program. You would get the best of both schools.</p>

17

<p>Yale and Duke have strong student bodies academically though I think both are rather different from MIT (as well as each other). Also, in terms of admissions, the stats of an accepted student at Yale is higher than Duke (though not significantly, you'll need to raise your stats a good deal for either). Students at both schools are generally liberal (though Yale is moreso) and diverse (from all around the country, lots of URMs). </p>

<p>In terms of how inquisitive they are, it seems Duke students are more geared towards finance/law (ie more vocational routes) while Yale students pursue more humanities oriented routes. However, you will find a great number of both types of people at either school. Both schools have lots of political groups and people who are involved in internationally oriented projects such as amnesty international, peace corps, service learning programs, and so on.</p>

18

<p>Since science is your main interest, MIT makes more sense than Yale. MIT arguably has the finest biology department in the country, with extraordinary resources for undergrad research and stellar faculty.<br>
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Yale has very good science departments, but as others have stated its core lies in the humanities. Science majors have to trek up Science Hill every day and are somewhat isolated from the rest of the student body. Its science facilities have been lagging and are currently going through major renovations. </p>

<p>Either school is obviously EXTREMELY selective so you will need backups. One piece of useful info. Yale has more female than male applicants while the reverse is true at MIT. This may provide you with a slight edge at MIT, although the female applicant pool at MIT is clearly highly self-selecting and motivated. Few if any poorly qualified females apply. Biology is one of the few departments with more female than male majors, but again MIT does not admit on the basis of a declared major as many students switch majors once enrolled.</p>

19

<p>Thanks for all the help, comparing and analyzing all these colleges for me.</p>

<p>I'll look more into Harvey Mudd (the music program and all those PhDs sounds nice) and Pomona.</p>

<p>Yeah, I know my fav schools (MIT, Duke, Caltech) are all hard to get in, but if I like them, I'll apply.</p>

20

<p>
[Quote]
This is my shortened <em>resume</em> (I repeat: my resume, not my college ap. It's what I use when I look for summer volunteer, so yes, it is very comprehensive.)</p>

<p>My school is a magnet school and does not rank.
GPA (unweighted): 3.89
Average: 96.55</p>

<p>STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES</p>

<p> SAT (2007): Composite Score: 2360
o Critical Reading: 800
o Math: 770
o Writing: 790</p>

<p> SAT II Subject Tests
o Molecular Biology (2005): 770
o Math IIC (2007): 800</p>

<p>AP
Biology: 5
French: 5
Music Theory: 3</p>

<p>RESEARCH EXPERIENCE</p>

<p> 2006: Polytechnic University Othmer-Jacobs Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering with Associate Professor Jose Pinto. Topic: modeling Hepatitis C</p>

<p>2007: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Gene and Cell Therapy. Topic: role of stat3 in T-cell differentiation</p>

<p>AWARDS/HONORS</p>

<p> Math Competitions
o 2006: National Qualifier of the American Mathematics Competition 12</p>

<p> Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Fairs
o 2005: Winner at the Hunter College High School Science Fair Showcase
o 2006: Winner at the Hunter College High School Science Fair Showcase
o 2006-2007: Regional Finalist at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology
o 2007: New York Academy of Science Finalist Award at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair
o 2007: Polytechnic University Scholarship Award for Underclassman Best in Engineering at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair
o 2007: National Society of Professional Engineering Award at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair
o 2007: Society for Women Engineers Award at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair
o 2007: John Hopkins University Society for Engineering Alumni Second Place Award at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p> Music
o 1999: National Piano Playing Auditions District Member
o 2000: National Piano Playing Auditions State Member
o 2001: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 4 Piano: Pass with Distinction
o 2002 : Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 5 Piano: Pass
o 2003: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 5 Music Theory: Pass with Merit
o 2003: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 6 Piano: Pass with Distinction
o 2004: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 7 Piano: Pass with Merit
o 2006: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 8 Piano: Pass with Distinction</p>

<p> Literature
o 2005: The New York Browning Society Poetry Competition Seventh Place
o 2006: The Poetry Society of Virginia Jenkins Prize First Place</p>

<p> Merit Scholarships Awarded
o 2006: $7,000 to Polytechnic University for Successful Competition of the Summer Research Program
o 2006-2007: $1,000 from the Siemens Foundation for Excellence at the Siemens Competition
o 2007: $5,000 annual to Polytechnic University for Excellence at the New York Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p>EXTRACIRRICULAR ACTIVITIES
 2002-2008: Caring Students for Animal Welfare: President
 2003-2008: Biosphere: Science Magazine and Nucleotide: Science Newsletter: Editor-in-Chief
o 2003-2008: Science Club Member
o 2003-2008: Biology Lab Intern
o 2005-2008: Senior Chorus, Alto
o 2008: Selected to represent school at Music Festival in Budapest
o 2005-2008: Chinese Movies and Drama Association Founder and President
o 2005-2008: Mu Alpha Theta Selected Member (National Math Delegation)
 2006-2007: Washington Seminar Delegate
o 2005-present: Columbia University Science Honors Program
 1996-present: Piano
 2002-present: New Apostolic Church
Choir Member
Confirmation Classes
Sunday School Teacher
Organist
Youth Group Participant
English Teacher for Chinese Immigrants</p>

<p>VOLUNTEER and WORK EXPERIENCE
 2003-2008: Hunter College High School Assistant Lab Technician
 2003-2008: I-HELP LIBERIA Project Intern
 2005: Mega Academy Teacher’s Assistant

[/Quote]
</p>

<p>If that's the OP's true resume, she is being very modest about her accomplishments. I'd apply to Cornell and Duke. I would also say you have a good shot (relatively speaking of course) at your top choices MIT, Caltech, and Yale.</p>