A student in a unique situation who could use some suggestions on colleges! :)

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I could use some suggestions for colleges that I could realistically get in (safeties, low reaches and high reaches are all accepted!). I don’t really have any preferences set in stone for the colleges I’d like to go. Technically I’d prefer a bigger school but everything from 4000+ is acceptable (for example, Gonzaga works). I may prefer private a bit over public but it really doesn’t matter to me, right now I just want to set up a big list of colleges to look into and then slowly start choosing from that list which ones I will and which ones I won’t apply to.
I am looking into majoring in Communications at college and most importantly taking pre-med courses to prepare and be able to apply to Medical School after I finish my Bachelor’s degree. I would like point out that my GPA is low because I studied abroad during 9th grade (more details below). So basically, a school with a good pre-med program would be good :)</p>

<p>Here’s what my application looks like so far
• Caucasian male
• Public school in Washington
• From the age of 2 through 9th grade I lived and went to school in Latvia (small country in Europe)
• Primary Language is Latvian, very fluent in English (ofc ^^), taking Japanese at school, know a little bit of Russian, some German
• Cumulative GPA: 3.2ish <– This is my biggest pitfall, the reason my GPA is so low is because when my high school in Washington State translated my 9th grade grades from Latvia the way they were converted gave me a very low GPA for the 12 classes I had to take there, I was also enrolled in one of the most competitive schools in the country
• GPA of Sophomore Year: 3.5 <– Had some Language barrier issues
• GPA of 1st semester Junior year: 3.28 <– that’s including AP classes and I had some family troubles so I had a very rough month which attributed to my low grades
• GPA of 2nd Semester Junior year: 3.67
• SAT: 1910; W 650, R: 660, M: 600 (I will be taking it for a 2nd time in October and I hope of improving my grade, especially in math, won’t make any predictions yet but I think I will get a higher score than this) ACT: Taking it in September</p>

<p>ECs:
Sophomore year:
• Junior State of America</p>

<p>Junior year:
• Interact Club (Community Service Club)
• Global Wellness (Community Service Club)
• Leadership team for a community service project called “March Gladness” that lasted through all of March</p>

<p>Sports:
No school sports but I do Speed Skating and Alpine Skiing. Back in Latvia I was the winner of the Latvian cup in speed skating in 2006 and vice champion in 2005, I do realize however that college most likely doesn’t care about that</p>

<p>Some important facts I’ll mention in my essay:
I am a citizen of the United States because I am lucky enough to have been born here. My parents however still live in Latvia with my two younger sisters but because I felt like Latvia was too small for me and I have always dreamed big I decided to come to the States to live with my grandmother (Living here since August 2007, was 15 years old when I moved here).
I was hoping that college might like what this shows about my character, that I am an achiever and have a strong will.</p>

<p>Freshman Year Classes:
14 total classes including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, German, Latvian Literature, World History, Geography, Math etc. etc.</p>

<p>Sophomore Year classes:
• Japanese I
• Pre-AP Biology
• Video Productions I
• Algebra II
• Honors American Studies II (had two periods of it since it counts as an English and also social studies credit)</p>

<p>Junior Year classes:
• Video Productions II (Will get college credit for this through dual credit) A/A-
• AP Psychology B+/A
• Japanese II B/B+
• AP Jr. English Language and Composition B-/A-
• Physics B-/B+
• Pre-Calculus A/A</p>

<p>Senior Year Classes that I’ve signed up for:
• School’s Newspaper
• Honors Chemistry
• AP Biology
• AP Calculus
• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP US Government and Politics</p>

<p>So any suggestions are welcome :slight_smile: I greatly appreciate your help!</p>

<p>Kind Regards,
Henry</p>

2

<p>Congratulations, Henry, on what must be a difficult situation, living away from your parents and sisters to follow your dream! I got out my copy of Ruggs Recommendations of Colleges and looked up PreMed schools that are not the “most selective” but “very selective.” Gonzaga is in this group, along with Baylor (has a great med program), lots of UCs, U of Colorado, U of Connecticut, Creighton, Fordham, Indiana, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, and lots others. See if your counselor has a copy of this book to lend you and look it over. It’s a good starting point for finding schools with good reputations in your areas of interest.
GOOD LUCK!!!</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much swissmiss! :slight_smile: I’ll make sure to look into those!</p>

<p>Anyone else have a school they’d like to suggest?</p>

4

<p>One of my best friends is going to the University of Pittsburgh this fall and she absolutely loves that school. I’ve also heard that it’s got a great medical school and premed programs, so maybe you should check it out. I think Pittsburgh now offers guaranteed admission into graduate programs in both communication sicence and medical school. It’s also in a city.</p>

<p>Also, have you looked at different college guide books yet? They offer valuable information on different colleges and are very helpful when selecting colleges. I personally found the Fiske Guide to Colleges really helpful.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>I’ve looked at the Princeton Review book but I’ll make sure to check out Fiske and Ruggs as well. Thanks!</p>

6

<p>Have you looked into the possibility of being recruited as a speed skater?</p>

7

<p>Speed skating isn’t a college sport sadly :frowning: And most likely never will be</p>

8

<p>Henry, the combination of Communications and pre-med sounds a little unusual. Communications more typically would prepare for a career in marketing, advertising, or broadcast journalism (not medicine).</p>

9

<p>I don’t see anything wrong with that combination… Some med schools, such as JHU, actually prefer that students take a major that isn’t necessarily science related as long as the pre-req’s for med school are completed and the MCAT scores are decent. Then again, if necessary I might consider dropping the major in Communications for a full on Pre-med major as I’ve seen a few schools offer that but otherwise I like my combination</p>

10

<p>Speed skating might spark the interest of adcoms at Wisconsin and Marquette - there’s actually a pretty big interest in the sport in the state (think Eric & Beth Heiden, Dan Jansen, Sarah & Mary Doctor, Connie Carpenter, Casey FitzRandolph, etc., etc.).</p>

11

<p>

I was referring specifically to Communications, not to liberal arts majors such as History or English. I may very well be biased or misinformed, because the universities I attended did not offer Communications, and nobody I know majored in it (as for as I know).</p>

<p>Some interesting comments:

[quote]
If you are undecided on a college major, I highly recommend Communications. It’s one of the few fields, other than Philosophy, in which you can actually drink your way through college and come out with a better grade point average than if you had stayed sober.
…It might seem Communications majors are the lowest members on the totem pole of education…<a href=“%5Burl=http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/what-is-a-communications-major/]What%20Is%20A%20Communications%20Major?%20-%20Blogcritics%20Culture[/url]”>/quote</a></p>

<p>It’s possible that I’m just passing on unexamined prejudices. But if so, you should at least be aware that the bias against this field is out there.</p>

12

<p>By the way, Hopkins does not offer a Communication major.
([Hopkins</a> Undergraduate Admissions :: Academics :: Majors and Departments](<a href=“http://apply.jhu.edu/academics/majors.html]Hopkins”>http://apply.jhu.edu/academics/majors.html))</p>

<p>Among the 8 Ivy League schools, 6 do not offer it. Cornell has a Communication major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, but not in its College of Arts and Sciences. The University of Pennsylvania appears to be the only one of these schools that offers a Communication major in its CAS.</p>

<p>The country’s 3 most selective liberal arts colleges (Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore) do not offer Communication majors. I’m not aware of any selective LACs that do. Some may offer programs in more or less related areas such as Film.</p>

<p>Northwestern, a prestigious university with many pre-professional programs, has a School of Communication. They post a list of their “notable alumni”, which includes quite a few well-known actors (such as Charlton Heston), but no medical doctors. Maybe you could be one of the first.</p>

<p>These are just examples. The point is, if you want to major in Communication, make sure the schools in which you are interested do offer it. Who knows, maybe you could position yourself to become a medical media personality like Dr. Sanjay Gupta.</p>

13

<p>oh I didn’t mean Communications as a major at JHU I meant that JHU’s medical school liked it when students took other majors to prepare for med school, such as, communications but I’ll make sure to look more into that again.</p>

<p>And thanks for the extensive reply! That is some helpful information :)</p>

14

<p>Also tk thanks for questioning my choice for Communications as a major, I guess it isn’t the best for medical school because it isn’t a very “academic” subject. That’s why I’ll look into possibly similar majors but that are more challenging. Thanks again! :)</p>

15

<p>Not exactly sure what you are looking for (are you still interested in a communications major?) or how far you are willing to travel, but here are some of my suggestions.</p>

<p>I’d suggest Syracuse University. For the school of Arts and Sciences you should be set. If you apply to Newhouse as a communication major, you may run into a bit more trouble, but I think it’s worth a shot, Newhouse is highly regarded.</p>

<p>Others:
Univ. of Washington (strong in-state public for you)
Washington State Univ. (safety)
Fordham Univ.
Boston Univ. (closer to a reach)</p>

16

<p>Pacific Lutheran University might be an excellent choice. (Happiest students I’ve seen anywhere, affordable, and has a health sciences/pre-med program.)</p>

17

<p>Thank you so very much for your suggestions!
Many of the schools that have been mentioned are schools that I have actually been looking into which is good since it means that I’m on the right track! :)</p>

18

<p>I know someone already mentioned it but i HIGHLY suggest University of Pittsburgh. It’s a bit on the larger side, but it’s a truly phenomenal for pre med. The UPMC’s are unmatched and are on the cutting edge of medicine. </p>

<p>It would be a match to a reach and is NOT super expensive</p>

<p>not much of a campus, but Pittsburgh is a fun city</p>

19

<p>Major isn’t that important – I would not rule out any schools based on them not having a communications major. I don’t see a problem with majoring in communications or it not being “academic” enough – as long as you complete your pre-med requirements and go a bit beyond, and do the requisite things that medical school applicants do (shadow doctors, volunteer in hospitals, ace the MCAT, etc.) you will be well prepared for medical school. Other than that, you should major in what you want.</p>

<p>Communications can be a good major as it teaches you to write and speak well and how to be understood by others. One of the major complaints about medical school education is that it does not teach new physicians how to interact with their clients/patients.</p>

<p>You should definitely write about your immigrant experience in at least one essay; that is something that an admissions officer would be interested in reading, I think. And yes, colleges will care that you are a speed skater and into alpine skiing and won awards for it! You don’t have to do a sport in school to make it important.</p>

<p>What about: American University in DC (your GPA is a stretch, but the rest of your package is there), Boston University (ditto), one of the City University of New York colleges (Lehman, Baruch, City, and Hunter particularly), College of the Holy Cross, DePaul University (Chicago), Duquesne (in Pittsburgh), Drexel (in Philadelphia), Fordham University (in NYC), George Mason University (in VA), Indian University (in Bloomington), James Madison University (in VA), Loyola Marymount (Los Angeles), Loyola Chicago, Marquette (Wisconsin), North Carolina State, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Philadelphia U, Purdue, Quinnipiac.</p>

<p>And of course look at the universities in your own state – University of Washington (your scores definitely fall in that range, and UW is a great school); Washington State University, and Western Washington University.</p>

20

<p>University of Southern California has some interesting possibilities for minors in communications or film in the health care context. See [USC</a> Catalogue: The Schools: Keck School of Medicine of USC: Department of Preventive Medicine: Minors](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2008/schools/medicine/preventive/minors.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2008/schools/medicine/preventive/minors.html)
USC also has an excellent communications department. It would be a reach with your current test scores/GPA, but you have an interesting profile, so you never know. It might be worth a look.</p>

<p>I think WSU is a realistic option for you, and also has a very good communications program.</p>