<p>I need to finally send my college list in to my counsellor. My intended major is going to be neurobiology (probably). Pre med, generally.
I need suggestions for schools that have very good pre-med programs (good counselling, etc). I was thinking Harvard (applying EA) but admissions there are such a crapshoot. I am applying to Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Brown but I need a solid list of matches and safeties as well. I was thinking NYU, CWR,...?
I need help!
I'm an international student from Pakistan so I have no idea how to decide. I don't just want to go to usnews and pick schools from there.
-Shahrez</p>
<p>any of those schools are fine. Virtually any “good school” is fine for permed. Just make sure the school has your major. You might want to pick a school that does Committee Letters. Advising is somewhat important. it’s not like there’s a lot to say. The prereqs are set, and you’ll choose where to apply based on MCAT and GPA (and who might accept an int’l).</p>
<p>Are you aware of how hard it is for an int’l to get accepted to a US MD school? Only a few SOMs accept int’ls and those only accept a tiny number. The reason is that US med schools are to educate future American doctors. SOMs won’t give up many/any seats to int’ls. Plus, “matching” for residencies is very hard for int’ls.</p>
<p>^^ I do know how hard it is to get into medical school but I believe you might be mistaken when you say it’s very hard to match for residencies because as far as I know, If you matriculate from a US Medical school, you’re basically the same as everyone else when it comes to residency…</p>
<p>w, If you matriculate from a US Medical school, you’re basically the same as everyone else when it comes to residency…</p>
<p>No. Residency programs have to be willing and able to process your visa, and many don’t want to get involved with that. So, no, you’re not considered the same as everyone else.</p>
<p>All those schools (Hopkins etc.) will be crapshoots for an international applicant. All the more so for an applicant from a highly-represented country like Pakistan.</p>
<p>If you need aid, there is no such thing as a safety for an international applicant. Only 6 US schools are need-blind, 100% full need for international applicants (and they are all super selective). Many if not nearly all public (state) universities do not offer financial aid to international applicants. </p>
<p>You can complete a pre-med track at virtually any research university or liberal arts college. The most important med school admission factors are your GPA, your MCAT scores, and personal qualities expressed in your extracurriculars and interview. However, as stated above, the chances for admission to a US med school for an international student will be very small.</p>
<p>Here is a list of colleges with relatively generous aid to internationals:
[Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware) - Desperate Guide: Undergraduate College Financial Aid, Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware) </p>
<p>Schools on this list would appear to be seeking more international applicants, so whether you need aid or not it might be worth considering them. Most of these are small, very selective liberal arts colleges (but not as selective as Harvard/Princeton/Columbia). On the postitve side, LACs offer small classes and complete focus on undergraduates. Because they aren’t so well known internationally, they can be good “contrarian” choices for admission and aid. On the negative side, they will have fewer course offerings particularly in specialized areas like neurobiology.</p>
<p>I don’t need aid and I’m not Pakistani per se. Middle eastern (Iranian).
And I’ll mention my stats just so you can give me better suggestions.
All A+'s (one A and a B) throughout 9-12th grade.
SAT II Bio 790 Chem 800 Math I,Literature and Physics to be given in May.
Self studying for AP Bio and Chemistry.
Really good Recs, Rank: 7/800
EC’s
800+ Hours of Shadowing experience with a general surgeon.
I was the founder/Secretary general of the GCU Environmental Conference, 2012
I am the COO of Pakistan’s first student run science magazine. We’ve also had people like Prof. Walter Levin
from MIT.
I was the press secretary of the Library society
I won and led teams to 3 MUN’s and have won the outstanding diplomacy award in two of them.
I interned under the chief of UNICEF, Nigeria for 2 months.
I volunteered as a field officer in the polio campaign in Nigeria for a month.
I am the marketing chief at AFWA, an NGO that is currently running schools to teach over 500 homeless children.
I led the healthcare awareness campaign initiated by ASSET, a local NGO.
I led a tree planting campaign as an inaugural for the international year of forests. 10’000 trees were planted during the campaign. </p>
<p>Awards/Honors
I won 3 outstanding diplomacy awards at 3 national level MUN’s
I got the Daud Ilyas medal for best graduate class of 2012
I got a roll of honour in extracurriculars in my school. </p>
<p>*Wanted to mention that I was on a gap year in 2012 due to severe health issues.
*I am not Pakistani by ethnicity. My father’s from Malaysia and mother’s from Iran. </p>
<p>And about med school after undergrad, I realise how hard it is to get admitted. I get that. I’m prepared to work for it. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt during my experiences last year is not to give up. I know that sounds very cheesy/cliche but trust me, I’ve done my research and realise how insanely incredible your r</p>
<p>Other urban/suburban research universities, a notch or two less selective than the Ivies:</p>
<p>Rice
Tufts
Carnegie Mellon
UC Berkeley
UCLA
University of Southern California
U Michigan
Georgia Tech</p>
<p>Smaller universities with good science programs:</p>
<p>Wesleyan University (Connecticut)
University of Rochester
Brandeis</p>
<p>^^ Thanks a lot. As I’m an international student, my counsellor recommends having around ~15 colleges in my college list.
So till now, my college list is
Harvard (EA)
Stanford
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Brown
Rice
NYU
Carnegie Mellon
UCB
UCLA
U Michigan
U of Rochester</p>
<p>Safeties anyone? And chances maybe? I have my college list and stats right here. So what do you guys think. Again, Nationality: Pakistani Ethnicity: Middle Eastern (persian)
No aid required.</p>
<p>You could use Pittsburgh as a safety. You might even find you like them as they have a really good neuroscience program and hospitals right on and near campus for pre-med experiences. They were my middle son’s second choice (he’s at U Rochester and loving it, so consider that one too - they also have a teaching hospital right there).</p>
<p>As long as you can afford the schools (which you say you can), you don’t need too many safeties - just one or two you like.</p>
<p>What do you think would be my chances then? Taking into account my list and stats I provided.</p>
<p>pkteen, Since you don’t need financial aid, your list can be fairly open ended. As others have noted, there is no specific “pre-med” route to medical school. You can choose just about any college and you can major in just about anything just as long as you fulfill the admissions requirements.</p>
<p>Because of your unusual background, I’d suggest that you consider going against the grain and apply to some small liberal arts colleges that are not located in big Eastern cities, but are in rural locations, in the Midwest and/or the South. These colleges have a hard time attracting high achieving minorities and often use foreign nationals to increase their diversity percentages.</p>
<p>Several small LACs can have excellent academics, excellent sciences, excellent internship networks, and excellent medical school counseling and a high rate of placements. You may not have heard of them, but, believe me, medical school admissions have!</p>
<p>I’d suggest you look at Amherst, Williams, Grinnell, Carleton, Rhodes, Hamilton. Your ethnicity and life experience would be a big plus in admissions and you’d get a top rate education.</p>
<p><a href=“http://careers.williams.edu/students/advanced-study/pre-health-2/[/url]”>http://careers.williams.edu/students/advanced-study/pre-health-2/</a></p>
<p>Thanks a lot. I’ll look into it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Pittsburgh is rolling admissions. You’d know you were accepted quickly there and you might get merit aid (I know you would if domestic, I’m not sure about their International aid).</p>
<p>Then you can apply to any of the other schools and not have to worry about your chances.</p>
<p>Take the time to visit each place you’re accepted to before choosing. That should give you fit. There’s a huge difference between some of your schools in location and size, etc. If you have time, visit some before applications and you could likely whittle down your list.</p>
<p>Re: UPitt…</p>
<p>*We strongly recommend that you review and the “Information Regarding Financial Support Requirements & Certification of Financial Responsibility” so you understand the costs associated with enrolling at the University of Pittsburgh, as financial aid and scholarships are not available to international students.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I personally think that you should add more schools to your list because it is significantly harder being an international student and applying to American colleges. Have you thought of UWash, UPitt, or schools on long that line. I would say CWRU but they are suffering from tufts syndrome this year and possible in the upcoming years because of the high increase of applicants. I would still look at CWRU though</p>