I’m valedictorian in a class of 600. I will have the highest GPA my school has ever seen. I’m graduating HS with my AA from a local community college. I got a 34 on my ACT. I’m an NHS officer (special projects coordinator), in which I’m in charge of creating and running the peer tutoring program. I’m the secretary of math honor society. I’m the founder and president of my school’s sign language club. I have 150 community service hours. I’ve taken and passed 6 AP courses, and I’m in 4 more this year. I want to
I aspire to become a doctor (preferably a pediatric surgeon or trauma surgeon). My intended major is either mathematics or biochemistry. I want a minor in an area like global studies or African studies.
I’m a very active liberal. I participate in peaceful protests about Donald Trump, Black Lives Matter, pro-choice issues, and LGBT issues. I want to study abroad in South Africa, Kenya, or Nigeria.
I’ve lived in a suburb in a mid-sized city my whole life. I want to go to college in a medium-sized city (ex. Nashville) or a big city (ex. Chicago, LA)
I also value community service! I love volunteering!!
My college list:
Safeties: Uni. of South FL, Uni. of Kentucky
Matches: Ohio State, Uni. of Maryland, Wake Forest, Uni. of Southern California
Reaches: Vanderbilt, Duke, UChicago
***I understand the schools in my matches and reaches are difficult to get into for any applicant.
I know very little about the Ivies and the cultures surrounding them. I originally wasn’t going to apply to any because of cost, but I have a college counselor who told me I should apply to one anyway because I’m “such a good candidate.” She told me, “You never know what will happen financially, so apply anyway.” I used to have Columbia on my list, but I ended up taking it off due to cost.
Which Ivy would I best fit with? If that’s an opinion you don’t want to give, what kind of culture exists at each school?
Thank you for your insight!
In my search for the 1-2 Ivies I want to apply to, I’m not going to look at cost at all. I really would like to go to an Ivy for the educational reasons. The only reason I wrote all of them off almost immediately was the pricetag.
Each has a net price calculator to estimate cost and financial aid, so that you can be informed of costs early on.
Remember that medical school is expensive, so you may want to minimize undergraduate costs so that you can finish medical school with a lower debt burden.
Have you run the Net Price Calculators for any of the schools you are considering? To say “I’m not going to look at cost at all” is foolhardy at best. There are many schoools - Ivy League schools included - that are very generous with aid. There are many more that aren’t. Some Ivy schools are more generous than others, so you need to run the calculators. What have your parents said they will contribute for college? Vandy is known for good aid, but you should get on their website and run the numbers to see what kind of aid you might anticipate.
The issue seems to be that your high school doesn’t send many students to top schools and therefore, they aren’t familiar with what it takes. I don’t know much about the “culture of the Ivy league”. The Ivy League is an athletic league and a conference of academically strong schools.
There’s nothing intrinsically special about an Ivy League school when compared to say, Duke. I’d suggest you to apply to these academically strong schools because you seem to have what it takes. Perhaps schools that are easier to get into but may match you better include Tufts and Brandeis. They are fairly service oriented schools and are academically strong. Among the very same elite circle as the Ivies are other schools such as Chicago, Stanford, Georgetown, and MIT. The Ivies are all fairly liberal, and I can’t see you not fitting in.
The only way to find out whether you can get in, is to apply. Applications are expensive though.
Ohio State, Uni. of Maryland, Wake Forest, University of Southern California are not difficult for any applicant. Perhaps USC is difficult to get into for some students, but it’s certainly a match for you. Maryland and Ohio State may be safeties.
Why do you want to go to an Ivy? I ask it that way because, if all of them are on the table then it must be name alone since you haven’t pared down using any criteria. What’s the allure in an Ivy?
Do run the Net Price Calculators. If you come from a wealthy family there is a good chance you will be full pay.
Ivy schools are very good with need based financial aid generally. If you want to get a sense of the different schools I suggest you get your hands on a good college guide book (Fiske is my favorite and I also like Insiders Guide and Princeton Review). You can probably find these books at your HS guidance office or in a library. Based on the schools on your list you seem to favor urban locations and a number of Ivy schools fit that.
@T26E4@ucbalumnus@suzy100@frontpage @“Erin’s Dad” I’ve done the net price calculator with every school on my list. I have a difficult situation because my parents are divorced. All the schools except Wake and Duke will only consider my mom’s finances (FAFSA). Wake and Duke will want my dad’s financial info (CSS Profile) ON TOP OF the FAFSA.
The problem with the Ivies is they will ALL want my father’s info. That’s why I didn’t want to look at them. I didn’t want to fall in love with a school and not be able to go. But what my counselor told me is, “You never know what will happen.” I will not let myself fall head over heels for an Ivy until I see my financial aid packet and find out FOR SURE what the price will be. My counselor believes she will be able to find a way to exclude my father’s finances because child support is only req. by law until I’m 18. Also, I see him for probably 10 days a year in total.
I’ve done my research on this. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need any help with the money. I’ve got that all under control. ALL I AM ASKING FOR is which Ivy/Ivies sound like a good fit for me. Thanks.
Brown, Yale, Columbia in that order probably for most liberal campuses, although nowadays they are all quite liberal. Chicago would be a risk for a very liberal student. The first two also have sizeable grade inflation which is good for pre-med students
@ClarinetDad16 USC is public, so no. And I’ll have the highest weighted GPA my school has ever seen at 8.20. The next highest would be 8.08 and then 7.32. I’m at a 7.40 right now.
Your counselor is dead wrong. You have no basis for getting NPC info waived. You see your father regularly and he pays child support. His income WILL be considered. Run the NPCs with that info and see how the numbers look.
Ohio State gives some merit, you might qualify for the Morrill scholarship because of your ECs (committed to diversity).
University of Pittsburgh has a GAP for medicine, they give out about 10 guaranteed spots in their medical school to freshmen every year. They also have some full tuition and full ride scholarships, but very competitive.
With your grades, scores snd ECs you have a good chance.
UMD doesn’t offer much merit OOS I believe.
U South Carolina might be another good choice for merit.