Where should I apply?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi! I’m a current junior and I have Ivy League aspirations, but I know that my grades are definitely going to hurt me this coming fall. I’m wondering where I might have a realistic shot at being a competitive applicant with my profile:

GPA: 3.64 UW/3.94 W. (by the end of my first semester senior year, I’m hoping to bring this up to 3.7 UW/4.05 W).

Course load: All honors 9-10th grades (my school does not weight them), all IB courses 11-12th grades (weighted by school).

Grade trend: Very positive! I had a really rough time freshman year (3.3) but my grade trend went up in 10th and 11th grades. If you take freshman year out of the equation, my GPA is about 3.85 UW and 4.2 W.

SAT scores: 1550, I’m waiting on my second set of scores but will probably be within the 1530-1590 range
ACT scores: Waiting on score report, probably 33-36

Demographics: Female, white, lower middle class. Want to major in biochemistry and eventually go to medical school

ECs:
-Science Olympiad captain, 2 years (have been in Science Olympiad since 4th grade), I have many state level awards (and 1 national level award)
-Part time job at a small business for about a year until they closed
-Hopefully a research internship this summer
-Volunteering for a local political campaign
-Fine arts camp for 2 summers
-Lots of instruments (harp, wind, percussion), and I build my own instruments too

I have good relationships with 2 of my teachers that I can ask for recommendations, I am working hard in preparation for my SAT II subject tests, I’m usually a good writer so I’m hopeful that my essays will turn out well.

What sort of schools would be a good “match”, or a possibly attainable “reach”, for me? My guidance counselor is no help whatsoever, she just glanced at my GPA and told me I should consider some community colleges.

2

@plshelpSOS5567 Current state of residence?

3

Michigan

4

UMich is a fine school to consider.

5

I think I’ll apply there, because everyone from my school does it, but I honestly don’t like it too much there and don’t particularly want to stay in-state, so I’ll probably only go there if it’s one of my only options…

6

What is your budget for tuition? Start by figuring out what you can afford.

7

I think my family can afford maybe 20-35k a year out of pocket and I’d be okay with taking out some loans as well.

8

I’m not necessarily trying to find exact schools, more of trying to figure out where I might have a chance of getting accepted right now, but suggestions are appreciated too!

9

You would benefit from considering well-funded colleges:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-09-21/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

As a guess, based on your combination of GPA and standardized testing, you might find suitable admission matches in the ~50-100 range below:

https://amp.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9

Potential reaches as well as safer admission prospects should appear fairly evident. Note, however, that each school admits students under its own set of criteria, so this source should be used as only a rough, but nonetheless useful, guide for comparing the selectivity of schools across a wide range of types.

10

@merc81 Thank you so much!

11

Find out how much your parents will pay. You can only borrow the ~$5500/year federal student loan, so take that into account when planning your budget.