Which universities would you recommend for me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone, I'm really interested in the medical field and eventually want to become a pediatrician. I was wondering, based on my results, what universities would you recommend for me in the New England area? I would prefer universities with good medical programs. Right now I'm about to enter my senior year. I've tried searching but I'm just plain lost. :/</p>

<p>GPA is 3.80
SAT = 1930 [Reading = 670, Math = 610, Writing = 650]
SAT II = Biology = 670, Math 2 = 600, U.S. History = 600</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities: National Honor Society [participated in all food drives], Peer Leadership [took part in breast cancer walks each year], Stand Up [human rights club.. participated in walks to end homelessness], Mock Trial [lead witness position in freshman year and attorney position in sophomore and junior years], FACE Club [participated in various fundraisers], and Key Club.</p>

<p>My ethnicity is South Asian. [Don't know if that matters much, but yeah..]</p>

<p>I haven't taken the ACT and think that it's probably a little late to take it now. Also, I don't know my class rank yet. I know that my scores are low, but I plan on retaking the SAT and SAT II's this fall and am hoping for greatly increased scores. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>

<p>Any and all help is appreciated! Thank you. :]</p>

2

<p>You need to give us more information: There are over 100 schools in the NE with strong sciences and good pre-med advising.</p>

<p>1) How much can you afford to pay? How much aid to you need?
2) What size school-LAC? mid-sized? large state?
3) Urban/rural/suburban?
4) Culture? Preppy, artsy, intellectual, athletic, outdoorsy, granola, single-sex, regligious, frats, etc…give us some adjectives
5) deal-breakers, must haves</p>

3

<p>Almost any good college or university will have a biology major which, I think, you don’t even necessarily need for medical school (check the pre-med major part of CC for more details). So you should think about what size school you want and where you can get the best overall education. What’s the best place academically that you can get into, that is. Although you could also check the numbers of pre-meds. So—slightly larger --maybe University of Rochester. If you want smaller schools, possibly Trinity in
Connecticut. And if you are willing to consider Pennsylvania there are quite a number of small schools there roughly in your SAT range----Lafayette, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, Gettysburg—which would have a lot of pre-meds.</p>

4

<p>^^^^</p>

<p>The student doesn’t have the stats for Columbia. You go there, you should know that.</p>

<p>*what universities would you recommend for me in the New England area? I would prefer universities with good medical programs. </p>

<p>GPA is 3.80
SAT = 1930 [Reading = 670, Math = 610, Writing = 650]
SAT II = Biology = 670, Math 2 = 600, U.S. History = 600
*</p>

<p>Many, many colleges have good pre-med programs. Almost any good school can prepare you for med school. </p>

<p>A pre-med student majors in whatever he wants but also includes the required pre-med curriculum…usually 2 semesters of general chem, 2 semesters of organic, 2 semesters of Bio, 1-2 semesters of calculus, 1-2 semesters of physics, and maybe a few other courses. </p>

<p>Your stats are ok, but not high enough for top schools. </p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year? </p>

<p>Those two answers will likely best determine where you should apply</p>

5

<p>To the OP, it is never too late to take your ACT. I would highly recommend it since it can make a big difference with some students.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for your help. :)</p>

<p>Right now my parents are thinking around $20-30,000 per year. I prefer a small or mid-sized school. Urban or suburban is good. Places with a heavier emphasis on the intellectual part of college would be nice. Basically, no party schools. :slight_smile: I also don’t want to go to a single-sex college. As for any deal breakers… I don’t particularly have any, just as long as it’s not TOO far away from home. I live in New Jersey and think that perhaps a 3-4 hour distance should be okay. :)</p>

<p>Hmm… it’s not too late? Perhaps I will consider taking the ACT. Thank you! :)</p>

7

<p>Holy Cross has very good pre-med program with a new $70 million science building, HC is also SAT optional.</p>

8

<p>If you are interested in Med, I would suggest universities rather than LACs. They generally have better resources in the hard sciences. You’ll start to notice this once you take a few tours. In new england, you have numerous schools to choose from:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Tufts
BC
BU
Northeastern
Clark
UMass Amherst
UConn
UVM
UNH</p>

<p>I would also throw in some of the big upstate New York schools like Syracuse.</p>

9

<p>TCNJ has a great biology program, and is a bargain instate. It is more difficult to get admitted to the biology major than to other majors, and has an earlier application deadline.</p>

<p>It is small/mid-sized, in a suburban area, and has total costs of about $25k/yr.</p>

10

<p>I think of the schools informative suggested, Harvard, Yale, Tufts, and maybe BC would be reaches with these stats. </p>

<p>I think the other suggestions would be fine. I’ll also add Muhlenberg. They have a pretty good reputation (at least around here) as a premed school.</p>

11

<p>You have a shot at lower UCs, but they may be expensive for you if you’re not from Cali.</p>

12

<p>my parents are thinking around $20-30,000 per year. I prefer a small or mid-sized school. Urban or suburban is good. Places with a heavier emphasis on the intellectual part of college would be nice. Basically, no party schools.</p>

<p>It’s very likely that if your parents will pay $20k -30k per year that it suggests that your family income/assets may be too high for financial aid (except for student loans). </p>

<p>And, since med school is in your future, taking out a bunch of loans is not a good idea for undergrad because you’ll still have med school to borrow for.</p>

<p>If it’s likely that you won’t qualify for much (if any) financial aid, then you need to carefully select some schools that you KNOW will be affordable for you. Otherwise, you could end up with a pile of acceptances in the spring that expect your family to pay the full COA. Many privates have COAs that are more than $50k per year.</p>

<p>Another issue is that your stats aren’t quite high enough for most schools that meet need. So, even if a school determines that you have some need, you won’t likely get the funds you need. Most schools do not meet need. Most schools gap.</p>

<p>you need to test again and also take the ACT. </p>

<p>To protect yourself, you need to apply to a couple of schools that will give you a merit scholarship so that when combined with your parents contribution, you’ll be covered. Those can be your financial safety schools.</p>

<p>Don’t be afraid of so-called party schools. That term is over-blown/over-used and often misunderstood. Just because a university may have some kids who major in easier majors who have time to party has nothing to do with the serious students who also go to those schools and are in serious majors. My kids go to a so-called party school and not only do they not have time to party (one is a math major, one is a chemical engineering major), those in their majors don’t have time either. So, who cares if some kids who go to classes on the other side of campus like to party? </p>

<p>Anyway…I mentioned the above because some of the so-called party schools offer the best scholarships, so don’t completely rule them all out since you have a limited budget from your parents. </p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

13

<p>

For placement into graduate programs (medical, law, business, or arts & sciences) LACs as a class are quite competitive with universities.

You do not even need to major in the hard sciences to prepare for medical school.

</p>