Hi everyone. I am a white female from Rhode Island. I am hoping to study neuroscience as an undergrad and then eventually go to med school. My unweighted GPA is 3.57 and 3.84 weighted on a 4.0 scale. I earned an 1800 on the SATS for the first time, and plan on retaking them in October along with the ACT, especially since I am more science oriented. I have taken 1 AP and all honors classes throughout highschool, and my senior year schedule is rigorous. I am a member of the National Honor Society and NAtional Society of High School Scholars. I play the French Horn in my schools wind ensemble, which I have competed with and earned top ratings. I also participate in RIMEA Solo and Ensemble festivals earning superior ratings and I also take lessons. I have also played volleyball for 2 years and I am a member of both student and class council. I have formed a list of possible schools that suit me and I was wondering if anyone agrees or have suggestions.
Colgate University (reach)
University of Pittsburgh
Penn State
Vassar College (high reach)
Villanova University (reach)
I forgot to mention that I hostess at a local retirement home and have numerous volunteering hours at a local hospital. I am also considering Syracuse Unicersity and the University of New England.
Class rank is 21/177, so top 15%.
@bandgeek22498 - You won’t like what I’m going to say.
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Vassar - Denied and out of reach. Even if you got that SAT up to 2160, with that low GPA, you would STILL be below their 25% range of accepted students, and those under 25% range get in due to a big hook or hooks.
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Colgate - Denied and out of reach. Same as with Vassar. Your SAT is simply too low, and just because you are going to retake it doesn’t mean you will do significantly better…and you would need to. For Colgate, you’d have to get up to 2130 with that GPA, and you would also STILL be below their 25% range.
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Penn State - Right now, with the 1800 and 3.57 GA, I believe you would be denied though you would have a slim chance of being admitted. Their 50% range is SAT of 2040 with 3.48 GPA, so you need to get that SAT closer to 2000 to have a decent shot. Doable though.
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Villanova - Denied and out of reach. You need to get a 2110 on the SAT to go along with a 3.58 GPA (and you have a 3.57) to be right on their 25% range.
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University of Pittsburgh - Reach - 25% range is 2020 SAT and 3.46 GPA, so you are above that with the GPA but have more than 200 points on the SAT to improve just to be what would be barely above the 25% line (actually about 33%). So, possible for you there, but you could still be denied even if you get a 2020 on the SAT. If you stay at 1800, with that lower GPA, I think you may not get in.
You don’t have very many AP classes so far, and that will hurt you. Also, you say you are strongest in science, but how are you in math? Not too many doctors come from an 1800 SAT score. My wife is a college chemistry professor, and she sees many doctor wannabes get their dreams crushed because they can’t handle the math in beginning chemistry. With few AP classes so far for you, I think that could be a reality.
So, my advice to you would be to forget about Vassar and Colgate (two very different schools in many ways by the way), think of the remaining ones on your list as reaches and then find some more reasonable choices (matches and safeties) for your current level of achievement. Also, do consider another education path other than towards being a doctor. I think you would have a very slim chance of getting through a pre-med program, and then, unless you somehow do MUCH better on standardized tests, you will have next to no chance of being admitted to medical school. I really can’t stress that enough. Good luck to you.
@stepay Thank you for your feedback. I am also strong in math, AP Chemistry is a course that I am taking my senior year. Forgive my ignorance, but I don’t think that having an 1800 SAT score will forbid be from becoming a good doctor. I’m aware that standardized tests such as the MCAT are important for med school admittance, but the my low SAT score does not indicate that I will perform poorly on other standardized tests. I did not study for the SAT, which is my own fault. Also, high school GPA is also not a great indicator of how I will perform in college. i I did fine in AP Biology and I believe honors classes have prepared me for higher education. Do you believe I will struggle through a pre-med program due to my lack of difficult courses? Also, do you have any suggestions of schools you feel are more suitable?
@bandgeek22498 - How you do in high school and how you perform on an initial SAT actually ARE pretty good determinants of how you will do in college. Sometimes people are more immature in high school and get their act together in college (or their high school was super tough and the college not so tough; your high school doesn’t seem very tough or at least you aren’t taking the toughest classes if it is), so they don’t 100% for sure determine how you will do, but they do give an indication which is why colleges use those primarily as gauges for acceptance. Having an 1800 SAT won’t forbid you from becoming a GOOD doctor. I’m saying it could be showing that you can’t become a doctor at all. Again, there aren’t too many doctors out there who got an 1800 (or two-score equivalent) on the SAT.
I don’t enjoy being the bearer of bad news, but you are at a disadvantage both in getting into the schools you want to and in performing well once you get there due to your lack of AP classes (again, tough schools on your list and a very competitive career path). At least at my daughter’s high school, there was a marked difference in difficulty between honors classes and AP classes.
And yes, not knowing you and only seeing your GPA and SAT score, and knowing that you haven’t yet taken any AP math classes, yes, I think you will struggle in a college pre-med program. Students who perform at certain levels on standardized tests TYPICALLY perform at or about that same level on other standardized tests, and so, unless you greatly change the student that you are (change is VERY hard for most people), you will likely perform at about the same level on the MCAT some day and in your college classes, and that will not enable you to get into medical school in my opinion. Becoming a doctor is the dream of a TON of incoming freshmen, and that dream gets shattered for many simply because they can’t perform at the level they need to academically; that dream was shattered for two of my three freshmen college roommates.
With regard to colleges, again, on your list I think that only Vassar and Colgate are out of reach (Villanova probably is too, but you could try that one). The other ones you would have a slim chance of acceptance. You should probably look into the flagship state college in your state and other schools were an 1800 SAT falls at their 50% line or better. And, you should at least be considering other career paths if the doctor thing doesn’t pan out. Good luck.
I would recommend looking at some smaller colleges. Penn State and Pitt aren’t much less expensive for out-of-state students than many private colleges. Most four-year colleges will offer curricula that meet pre-med requirements, and you might get more individual attention and have opportunities that you wouldn’t in a larger, more competitive environment. If you want a big school, look at Temple and some less-competitive public colleges in South and Mid-West. Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, West VA, Alabama, et al, will all provide excellent pre-med educations. You might have a shot at Clemson; Pitt is a high-match/reach for you. Check out some of the SUNY campuses, also, if you want to remain in the Northeast. Otherwise, I highly recommend researching more small colleges, outside of New England (where you are at a competitive disadvantage). Look at the Colleges That Change Lives, to start.