Chance/help modify a list for a biochem (premed) major from MA [3.94 GPA, 1570 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic
  • State/Location of residency: MA
  • Type of high school: Competitive large public high school
  • Other special factors: N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
No cost restraints.

Intended Major(s)
Biochemistry or public health intending to go on to medical school

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.94 out of 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.49 out of 5.0
  • Class Rank: School doesn’t rank
    *SAT Score: 1570 (780 RW/790M) raw score

List your HS coursework

  • English: Unleveled English 9th, Honors English in 10th and 11th grade, and AP Lit in senior year
  • Math: I took the second-highest level of math offered at my school, which is called “accelerated”. Accelerated Geometry (9th grade), Accelerated Algebra II (10th grade), Accelerated PreCalc (11th grade), and will take AP Calc AB and AP Stats in senior year.
  • Science: AP Environmental Science 9th grade (5), AP Biology 10th grade (5), AP Chem 11th grade(awaiting Score), and AP Physics C in senior year.
  • History and social studies: Honors History (9th, 10th), APUSH (11th) Will not take any in senior year.
  • Language other than English: Spanish I Unleveled (everybody took this as a freshman at my HS), Spanish II Honors 10th grade, Spanish III Honors 11th grade, and will take AP Spanish in senior year.
  • Visual or performing arts: Photography I in 9th grade
  • By the end of my high school career I should have taken around 9-10 APs

Awards

  • Presidential Service Volunteer Award Gold Level (10th)
  • National Honor Society Member (11th)
  • Spanish Honors Society Member (11th)
  • HOSA SLC 2nd in state and ILC Qualifier (9th)
  • Various debate awards on the local and national circuit
  • Very Likely National Commended Scholar for PSAT
  • Miscellaneous AP Awards

Extracurriculars

  • Varsity Tennis team (9-12th), will be captain in senior year
  • HOSA (9-12), VP in 11th and President in senior year
  • Microbiology research at local uni (11th-12th)
  • Volunteering (9-12th), various sorts such as at a hospital and Spanish tutor at school. Will probably have ~300 hours by the time apps open up.
  • National Honor Society (11-12th), serving as treasurer in senior year
  • Student Rep to School Wellness Committee (10-12th), selected to go to state conference by school
  • Varsity Public Forum Debater (10-12th), nothing crazy, but did do well at some local/national circuit events. No leadership.
  • Spanish Honors Society (10-12th) VP senior year
  • Cashier at supermarket (11-12th)
  • Red Cross club (10-12th) member.

Essays/LORs/Other

  • English Teacher (11th) → 9/10. Did very well in his class, and he got to know who I am pretty good.
  • Spanish Teacher (11th) → 9/10. Also did very well in her class, and I was a TA for her freshman class.
  • AP Biology Teacher (10th) → 7.5/10. Did well in her class (A) and got a 5, but she didn’t really get to know me too well during my time with her.

Schools
(This is where it gets messy)
*Reaches: Williams College, Bowdoin College, Middlebury College, Tufts (Maybe ED), Northwestern, NYU (Maybe ED as well), Vanderbilt, Emory, Cornell, Duke, Brown, Yale
*Targets: Boston College, Boston University, University of Rochester, Case Western, Northeastern, UCSD,
*Safety: UConn, Umass Amherst

Also: should I play it safer and ED to a school where I have a higher likelihood of getting in (NYU, Tufts, Emory) or should I risk for something higher like Duke or Brown?

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So to answer your last question first, I would first reflect on whether you have a clear favorite, so clear you are sure you would not reconsider, even if you got some great merit offers or such. If so, the next question would be whether that college actually had ED. If so, feel free to ED there. If not, to either of those questions, then I would not ED 1 anywhere.

Anyway, I would first note that at this point, all the major Boston colleges get so many applications it can be problematic treating them as Targets, including because it appears they might actually waitlist or even reject highly qualified applicants who they think are very unlikely to yield.

Second, even holding aside the Boston “Targets”, that is 12 Reaches by my count. I know if you are looking at both LACs and research universities, you might have a bit more than normal. But I would try to narrow down your private research universities to more like 3-5 (currently you have 9).

Third, you have LAC Reaches, but then no LAC Targets or Likely/Foundation LACs. And in fact you have no Likely/Foundation private research universities either. Just two public universities that seem rather unlike most of your other preferred colleges.

So I would suggest reconsidering that approach. There are so many great LACs and private research universities you could consider for those roles, some of which might well offer you merit. I know you said you didn’t need it, but it doesn’t hurt, particularly if med school is a serious possibility.

So if you would like suggestions along those lines, let us know.

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Great profile.

You ED to your favorite school - period - and one your parents are willing to pay for. You have no cost constraints - so they are ok paying $400k + med school? The school name itself is unlikely to get you in med school. That will be your gpa, MCAT, and other things.

So from a value POV your two publics are smartest.

I think you get into some of your target and reaches but I wonder why you have big publics and tiny schools plus uber urban and rural. That tells me you are seeking a name more than a good fit.

So you’ll likely have at least 3 or 4 acceptances here and maybe more but NYU and then UCONN are polar opposite.

Figure out what you want in a school and then add some easier entries in that category. Want to go to med school ? Then you want to do well so you want to be happy.

There is so much school type variety here that I worry you are chasing a name when you should be chasing fit.

Good luck.

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First of all, make sure that you budget for a full 8 years of university where the last 4 years are going to be expensive. Even doctors have trouble paying off medical school debt. The less debt that you can accumulate over 8 full years of university the better, and if 9 or 10 years from now you are known as “Doctor” and you have no debt at all, then this is even better.

The debt issue is something that we are quite familiar with since one daughter graduated with a DVM last month. She is on the job right now and called “Doctor”, but her patients are a rather wide range of animals, mostly large ones. She has reported multiple times that most people in her DVM class were taking on way too much debt. Getting to any of MD, DO, or DVM with no debt is a big luxury if you can do it. Getting an MD or DO is just as expensive as getting a DVM, and a newly minted MD or DO has to deal with some number of years as a resident before they get a full MD salary.

Secondly, there are a huge number of universities that are very good for premed students, and that can prepare you very well for medical school. This includes everything on your list, including your safeties. I expect that your reaches get a higher percentage of their recent graduates into medical school compared to U.Conn and U.Mass, but a lot of this, and some might speculate maybe even all of this, comes from the very high caliber of the students who start off as freshmen at Williams and Bowdoin and your other reaches. For an exceptionally strong student such as yourself, your chances of making it to medical school will not vary much depending upon which very good college or university you attend (and everything on your list counts as “very good”).

Finally, the large majority of students who start off thinking “premed” end up doing something else. As one example, I notice…

To me this looks very interesting. One daughter briefly thought of maybe being premed, but got involved in microbiology or cellular biology research in university, discovered that she loves it and is good at it, and is currently getting a PhD instead.

So keep in mind that other options are possible, but the classes that you take for most of your undergraduate education may be very close to the same ones either way.

Your high school stats are very good. Your ECs are very good. To me it looks like you are doing very well and are solidly track to succeed at whatever you want to do.

However, be aware that at least some of your premed classes in college or university are going to be tough, and are going to be full of exceptionally strong students. You might be surprised how suddenly you move from “close to the strongest student in your high school” to “average student in a tough premed class”. This is just part of attending a highly ranked university. Even at U.Conn or U.Mass in the premed classes you will find a lot of students whose high school stats are not very different from yours. You will also find some students whose high school stats are a bit (only a bit) lower than yours, but who rise up to the challenge in university and become tough competition. I expect that you will see mid term exams with a class average in the mid 40’s or 50’s, and there will be some students who get 80’s or 90’s on those tough exams. Plan to work hard in university and make a huge effort to stay ahead starting the day that classes start and not ending until they call you “doctor”.

Getting a doctorate is a long path, and is a lot of work. Determination may be just as important as academic excellence in terms of getting there.

I do not think that it matters. If you ED at all, you should ED to your #1 top choice.

At least in our family no one ED’d anywhere. One thing that we found however: Top schools are looking for students who are a good fit for them, and they get it right very often. As long as you make sure that you apply to a range of schools including safeties, at least in my opinion you are very likely to get multiple acceptances to schools that will work out well for you. Whether they will be your original “dream school” could go either way. However, there are lots of schools that are very good for premed students and for a wide range of other options (such as biology-related research), your stats are excellent, your ECs are excellent, and I think that you are very likely to do very well one way or another.

To me a big question is whether you should ED at all. I think that I would only ED in your situation if your parents are confident that they can pay to get you all the way through an MD or DO without taking on much if any debt. You have schools on your list that cost close to $100,000 per year now (or at least will starting in September), and costs are going up quickly. You could very well run up $900,000 in total cost of attendance by the time that they call you “Doctor”.

If $900,000 is easy for your parents without taking on debt, then I would only ED to a school that is clearly your #1 choice. If you would need to take on even 1/3 of this as debt, then I would not ED at all, would wait to get multiple very good acceptances, and would then pick and choose from among multiple acceptances with offers in hand.

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This is very true (and worth an upvote on its own). Finding a college or university that is a good fit for you is very important, and is way, way more important compared to any ranking.

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I think BU, and BC should be moved to the reach category…I don’t believe they are targets.

You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at any of these colleges.

  1. You need to find a college where you will be happy to be for four years…because happy students tend to do better than unhappy ones…and you need to be at the top of your game as a medical school applicant.

At this point, I would put medical school on the back burner. Your goal right now is to find an undergrad school where you will do well, and will be happy to be.

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I think the Boston schools should be placed in the reach category. I would also think about what is important to you- do you prefer a rural LAC or a large university that is embedded within a big city?

I would not ED, as you do not seem to have a clear favorite.

I agree about putting medical school on the back burner. Right now you should focus on what you want from a school, what would make you happy, etc. Any one of these fine schools is good for premeds.

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I’d put Northeastern in the Reach category - particularly if you only want the Boston campus. I think Northeastern received a record number of undergraduate applications (over 105K) for the 2025-26 academic year, and the Boston campus acceptance rate was sub 6%. If you’d be happy at one of its satellite campuses, I think Northeastern could be less of a reach and more of a Target/High Target.

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Why UConn?
It’s not especially generous with merit aid, it’s not city-adjacent, its Honors college is nothing special. It seemingly doesn’t really match any of your other universities’ Criteria.
=>
Why not UDel (near nice college town), Pitt (urban, great for premed), American (near DC, one day a week dedicated to externships/experience), SUNY Binghamton or even SUNY Geneseo, or a top LAC that is nevertheless not as insanely competitive as those on your list (Bates, Skidmore..)?

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Yeah that sounds great! Do you have any specific suggestions in mind?

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Forget pre med. What do you want in a school - size (large, medium, small), environment (urban, suburban, rural), sports, greek life, weather, etc.

Figure out what you want and built a list from there. Doctors come from all colleges - not just elite colleges.

I was a patient at Vandy in Radiology - and here’s where the residents went to school (first two year residents). The point is, if you don’t get into med school and statistically, the odds are against but it won’t be because of where you went.

You want to enjoy your four years. You’re going to get into top schools - but make sure it’s the top for you and not for US News. And if you make visits and like easier admits better - you’ll join a million kids, including mine who chose safe over reach. You are there four years - day after day - don’t forget that.

Good luck.

Auburn
CWRU
Florida A&M
Florida State
Fordham
Lipscomb
Luther
Murray State
Northern Illinois
Pitt
Princeton
Tulane
Tuskegee
U North Carolina
U Puerto Rico
U Tennessee

Duke Medical - this was just the early letters of the last names of the alphabet

Arkansas
Michigan
UNC
Princeton
Rochester
South Florida
Southeastern Louisiana
Texas

Taking it further to Johns Hopkins - resident undergrads:

JHU
UMD
UMBC
U Miami
Morgan State
South Carolina
TCNJ
U of Puerto Rico
UT Dallas
Towson
Vandy
and more

Good luck.

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You have a great HS record and will be a strong candidate at many colleges. I’d suggest that you cut down your reaches so that each application is strong. Coming from MA, competition is extra fierce so you may want to look at a Tufts or NYU or Emory for ED as those are more likely - the Ivies/Duke are just so competitive if you don’t have some kind of hook. I think you’ll get into Uof R but the rest of your targets are very reachy (especially RD - if you’d go ED at any of the Boston schools you’d significantly up your chancesP).

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How would you compare those three?

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Medical school or undergrad?

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I interpreted this as where the medical students at Vanderbilt had gotten their bachelor’s degrees.

We do not have any MDs in the family, but I do have three very close relatives who got or are currently getting some sort of graduate degree (master’s or DVM or PhD) in a biomedical field at a well ranked university. All of them report a very similar wide range in terms of where the other students in the program got their bachelor’s degree. A doctor I know summarized this as “all over the place”.

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The thing is those weren’t medical students at Vandy, but residents who already graduated medical school. So those affiliations could have been where they went to medical school before doing their residency at Vanderbilt

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Undergrad

The point being - one needn’t go to a named or top college even to end up working at a Vandy, Duke or Hopkins. All those kids went to medical school from those undergrads, many of which are not household names.

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Correct

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Forget pre med.

I don’t think you should forget premed. I think you just need to put it on the back burner for now, and find a great undergrad school, where you can see yourself thriving and being happy for four years.

The decision to apply to med school…or not…is a few years in the future.

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I’m not @NiceUnparticularMan, but below is a pretty extensive list of schools you might want to consider.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Allegheny (PA ): About 1200 undergrads

  • Baldwin Wallace (OH): About 2800 undergrads

  • Drew (NJ): About 1600 undergrads

  • Elizabethtown (PA ): About 1900 undergrads

  • Emmanuel (MA): About 2k undergrads

  • Ithaca (NY): About 4400 undergrads

  • Juniata (PA ): About 1200 undergrads

  • Loyola Maryland: About 4k undergrads

  • Muhlenberg (PA ): About 1800 undergrads

  • Saint Anselm (NH): About 2100 undergrads

  • Saint Joseph’s (PA ): About 4800 undergrads

  • Saint Michael’s (VT): About 1200 undergrads

  • Siena (NY): About 3500 undergrads

  • SUNY Geneseo (NY): About 3900 undergrads

  • Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads

  • Wheaton (MA): About 1800 undergrads

Likely (60-79%)

  • Clark (MA): About 2400 undergrads

  • Dickinson (PA ): About 2200 undergrads

  • Gettysburg (PA ): About 2200 undergrads

  • Hobart William Smith (NY): About 1600 undergrads

  • Ohio Wesleyan: About 1500 undergrads

  • Providence (RI): About 4200 undergrads

  • St. Lawrence (NY): About 2100 undergrads

  • The College of Wooster (OH): About 1900 undergrads

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads

  • College of the Holy Cross (MA): About 3k undergrads

  • Connecticut College: About 2k undergrads

  • Fairfield (CT): About 5k undergrads

  • Franklin and Marshall (PA ): About 1900 undergrads

  • Lafayette (PA ): About 2800 undergrads

  • Oberlin (OH): About 3k undergrads

  • Trinity (CT): About 2200 undergrads

  • Union (NY): About 2100 undergrads

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Denison (OH): About 2400 undergrads

  • Kenyon (OH): About 2200 undergrads

  • Vassar (NY): About 2500 undergrads

  • Wesleyan (CT): About 3100 undergrads

Low Probability (less than 20%)

The list I provided is pretty large, in part, because I don’t have a great sense of what it is you’re looking for in a college. You’ve got extremely urban schools with rural schools, schools with small, medium, and large sizes, the bulk of your list is schools in the northeast and Ohio, but then you’ve got California, Georgia, and Tennessee there, too. Some have a reputation for being a very athletic-y vibe while others are more nerdy. Some have lots of enthusiasm for intercollegiate sports while others have none. Some have Greek life that plays an important role, and others have none.

If you can let us know more about what you want out of your college experience, we can provide more targeted suggestions (and perhaps highlight or eliminate schools on the list I just shared).

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