You need to take on some of the responsibility for this research. You need to check your assumptions. And while you’re at it, see about chances for internationals at US med schools and what the overall process entails. In other words, be informed.
Miles to go.
Wanting, and actually getting in are two completely different things. I have to agree with @lookingforward and @parentologist, it is a holistic process. Spending upwards of over $300k for undergrad, for something that is not guaranteed, seems pointless when you have stellar options in Canada. (You won’t qualify for massive loans for medical school if you’re not a US citizen.)
It doesn’t matter if you go to the US for undergrad. There are some spots in medical school that have Canadian students, but the percentage is very, very small.
Also, making excuses that your school is underfunded to take you on a few math club trips, isn’t helpful. This is an issue that faces thousands of high schools in the US. What those schools do is they funraise. Since money no object to you, I’m surprised that your parents haven’t stepped in to help with the funding of these types of extracurriculars. That’s what parents do in the US; they’re the first point of donations.
As an international candidate and “over represented minority” (ORM) it will be very rough to get into any medical schools because it is a very competitive process and most of those spots are reserved for US citizens.
Agree that it seems all or none. Are you and your family trying to get you to immigrate into the US? I see no other reason when your options in Canada are so much better. @WayOutWestMom can give you more information on your chances.
Yeah I checked. It’s very low for med. med schools typically take the majority of their applications from their school. I’ve done a lot of research, but at the end of the day, you’re right. I am behind. Just need some guidance. I understand that Brown is extremely competitive, but is my application strong enough to become competitive? Or be given a second look? I’ve been talking with the admissions officer for Canada
My sister is going to Med school in the states, my brother goes to med school in the states, my twin sister wants to go to the states, so my family wants me to go to the states. They want us to move to the states. I fundraised money (2.2k) for my med school club, which I lead, so we could go on several field trips. I fundraised 3k for the daycare that I work at. Asking my parents to contribute is something I simply cannot do. I don’t want them to contribute.
Honestly, you sound like a bright, high-achieving, and ambitious young man. I don’t think that you mentioned a standardized test score. Were you able to take the SAT or ACT? It’s not required this year, but a high score can definitely help your application.
With all the family members in school in the US, and with the statement that tuition money is not a barrier to your going to college or medical school in the US, let’s take money out of the equation. So now, we are left with residency or citizenship. The fact is that you are extremely unlikely to get into medical school in the US, even if you have perfect MCATs, perfect college GPA from a leading school, and are a published researcher. US medical schools are not in the business of educating people who are not US citizens, or US permanent residents. So no matter where you go to college, if you want to go to medical school, it would be in Canada.
If I were in your shoes, I’d go to McGill for college, and try to get into a Canadian medical school. It will be SO much cheaper for you, the education is excellent in Canada, and with an MD from a Canadian medical school, you will have no trouble getting a spot in a US residency program, and an immigrant visa. Just don’t ever tell anyone in the Canadian education system that that is your goal! Canada doesn’t like training doctors who plan to jump the border into the US. Canada will invest over half a million in training you - they will want you to practice in Canada. So keep your true intentions to yourself.
If your parents are hell-bent on spending a quarter of a million dollars to send you to a second-tier private college in the US, I would consider applying to schools that have acceptance rates of 25% or higher. You will pay full fare. You might consider some excellent flagship state schools, like U Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill. These top-notch flagship state schools would see you as a good, full-fare paying student to prop up their bottom line - and these are excellent schools. Or you could apply to second-tier private schools, with acceptance rates of 25% or higher. They too will likely be happy to have you, at full-fare. You might get some merit money at schools with acceptance rates of 50% or higher, where your qualifications are far above that of their average applicant - but you say that money is no object. Personally, I think your parents would be far better off investing that quarter of a million dollars for you in the stock market, than in putting it into a full-fare US college education. Don’t waste your money. Go to school in Canada, go to med school in Canada (because without US citizenship or permanent residency, you are NOT going to get into med school in the US), and then apply for residency training in the US - and get your permanent residence and US citizenship as a much-desired immigrant, a physician.
You say that your siblings are in med school in the US. Are they at least US permanent residents? Are you? If you have a US green card, then it’s a completely different ball game. Again, I think it’s foolish to pay for a US college when you are likely to get into the best college in Canada, and it will cost you so little, but if you are intent upon going to college in the US, and money is no object, I suggest that you apply for your one early decision school to a school that is just slightly above where you might expect to get into, especially a school that is not need-blind. Probably a school with about a 15% acceptance rate, that is not need-blind. Of course, it would have to be a place that you want to be, too!
I am taking the SAT in November.
Thank you! I want to either attend a top school in the states (Duke, Ivy Leagues, NW, UChicago, etc) or stay in Canada and then attempt to find my way into the US for med school or residency. I’m planning on applying to:
Brown Early Decision
Johns Hopkins Early Decision 2
Caltech Early Action
Regular:
All other ivy leagues
Northwestern
UChicago
MIT
Duke
If I am able to get into any of these schools, I will go to the states, otherwise, I believe Canada McMaster Health Sci or Western Med Sci will be the better fit.
Hopefully one of these schools will offer me a seat 
JHU does not have ED2, only ED1. UChicago, Vanderbilt, and WashU are the only T20s with ED2. Every school on your list in the United States is a reach school (for any applicant…the only exception would possibly be national or international award winners.)
I am not as familiar with the Canadian model, but I believe course sites will list their required criteria for admission w/admitted student profiles, so utilize that to broaden your list of Canadian schools.
Johns Hopkins added ED 2 this year due to Covid-19. Thank you for all your help and taking the time to answer my questions!
The Ivy League schools are very different from each other. Be very, very sure you understand what makes them unique when you are writing the “why us” kind of essay. Frankly, someone who is a good fit for Columbia is not going to be a good fit for Cornell. They aren’t interchangeable.
It’s still what we’d call a top-heavy list and you still haven’t presented a picture of a kid who has the backround in stem that others will bring. Classroom, perhaps, but not the range of health related or healthcare delivery activities.
It’s true that some med schools take a high number of applicants from their own colleges. But that leaves the large percentage that come from other colleges. The weed-out process in premed classes can be brutal and “top performance,” unlike in Alberta, does not start at an 80 grade. The sage advice is to attend a college where one can rise to the top, not assume a prestige name is some key. That means less competitive, once there, than the schools you name.
Some of these comments feel a little hurtful to me but I don’t think they are trying to be, what they are trying to convey is, absent a perfect (or near perfect) SAT score, you probably won’t get into the schools on your list in a STEM field even if you were from the US. I actually think the autism stuff is a really good hook and you will have a significantly better chance getting in to these schools emphacizing that and not making yourself out to be a math and science person. Perhaps if you present yourself as having an interest how science informs the social sciences, that might be interesting enough to cull you from the crowd of international STEM folks. If they are looking you as a social sciences major with those science scores, now you look kind of amazing.
Thank you so much! This was really helpful. I don’t think the other people are trying to me hurtful, but when Ivies enter the convo, everyone is bound to get hurt haha. I’ll consider social sciences, with my end goal still me medical school.
Medical school admissions in the US are based on two main factors: 1) GPA and 2) MCAT. Within the GPA, they will focus on your science GPA and grades on organic chemistry.
There are some US schools that will accept internationals: these are mainly the private schools. Even some state admit internationals from time to time.
Also read up on grade deflation. There are several colleges on your list known for grade deflation. This means that getting a top GPA (> 3.7) will be very difficult. Especially UChicago and JHU. These are well known for ruining many med school dreams. Brown is a good choice, because of its grading policy, and rigor.
Dartmouth is another good choice for a pre-med. Cornell, not so much.
If you’re applying EA Caltech, might as well also apply EA to MIT. According to the MIT admissions blog, their acceptance rates are similar between EA/RD rounds. But EA shows more interest, and might be received better.
I am going to return to the original question - @vscollege you wanted chances for Brown or NU ED. As others have already driven home, your reaches (including these two) are reaches for all. So you should assume that your chances are no greater than the overall acceptance rate, and as an international applicant, probably less. Single digits, in most cases.
Of your desired schools NU and Duke provide larger than normal bumps for ED applicants, assuming they are qualified. ED will not balance out a less than stellar record. But if you want to be strategic about using your ED card, these are two options to consider seriously.
Being full pay also works in your favor.
As a parent, I agree with folks up thread - if med school is the end goal, there are excellent Canadian universities where you can obtain a great foundation as an undergraduate. If your family can spend 300K without thinking about it, there is no harm in applying to a bunch of reaches and maybe it pays off. However, I’d advise you to do your due diligence and think about what you really want in a college experience with the goal of paring down that list. Beyond prestige, you want to be challenged and happy and enjoy your campus and the surrounding environment. What does that look like? Urban/rural/small town? Weather? Academically intense or greater work/play balance? Greek life? Sports? Dartmouth and Columbia are going to offer very different experiences, just as an example.
Best of luck to you.
The AAMC publishes data on matriculants to US medical schools. Looks like there is some data on how many international students are accepted at US medical schools:
Looking at Table A-5:
Out of 1320 applicants whose state of legal residence was outside US, only 124 matriculated to a US medical school. Thats a matriculation rate of 9.3%. Certainly not great, but its actually higher than what I was expecting.
Grades and test score can only help you this much. There are 1000s of applicants with equivalent grades & EC. You have to convince the school why you are a good fit and how you can bring to the class.
So in conclusion, I have next to no chance for getting to any T20? <
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I would look at it a bit more optimistically. Not so much in terms of the percentages, which yes are dismally low for you or just about anyone else, but rather the general philosophy of who is responsible for what. You are responsible for doing what you’ve done: Work hard and produce excellent academic results (congratulations). Then Admissions will figure out what subset of the applicants they have to choose from are the best fit for the entering class.
I’ve interviewed hundreds of Brown applicants who seemed really well qualified but weren’t admitted, as well as a smaller number who were quite underwhelming but were admitted. Dozens of applicants from a powerhouse HS were all turned down the same year, while a couple of siblings from a nondescript public HS were both admitted instead. I’ve never seen a reliable pattern or correlation, other than for recruited athletes where it is spelled out that they will be admitted if they meet basic academic qualifications. Not so for legacies, from what I’ve seen over the years: Qualified ones get turned down more often than not, about like everyone else. The admit rate is higher for legacies, but IMO that’s more correlation (with parent’s demographics) than causality.
I don’t see an advantage to ED in your case, especially since there are two schools you really like. Admit rates are higher for ED only because there are more highly-qualified applicant in that pool – it’s not a “better” way to apply unless you don’t want to have to deal with other applications if you get lucky. I applied RD, and I would recommend it for you.
Agree with what others have said: