Chance/Match me: 3.85 UW gpa, 1440 SAT. Plan to major in Neuroscience, NJ resident

I think that this is a good list of schools. Rutgers is very good in general and since you are in-state should be relatively affordable. I have known a number of Rutgers graduates over the years and they have all made Rutgers look very good (and most of them were quite successful in their careers, over a rather wide range of careers).

Neuroscience and cellular biology are areas where some form of graduate program is possible, and perhaps even likely. You might want to plan for this when considering your budget. PhD’s are typically fully funded, but PhD admissions is very competitive and even if you do go for a PhD the stipend is typically just enough to live on, and a small amount of parent financial help can make the marathon more tolerable (it can become sort of like an interesting job that pays badly, where if your research succeeds they eventually give you a doctorate). Master’s degrees and some other graduate programs are typically not funded, with MD’s and DO’s perhaps being the most obvious examples of expensive graduate degrees.

And you can go on to very good and highly ranked graduate programs with a degree from any university on your list.

With this in mind I also wonder what your budget is. I expect that you are likely to get some affordable acceptances, and some very expensive acceptances. You really do not need to go to the more expensive private schools to get an excellent education, and you probably should only consider attending an expensive private school if either you get very good financial aid or your parents can afford it while still leaving some money in the bank to help you with a graduate program if and when this becomes a possibility.

Someone I know with very similar stats got accepted to Northeastern but it would have been full pay. She went somewhere more affordable and did very well (and continued on to get her doctorate at a very good and well ranked program). Having saved some college funds for graduate school turned out to be a very good plan for her, and probably would be something for you to consider also. With this Northeastern might be a low reach for you, both in terms of acceptance and in terms of affordability. I think it could go either way (ditto for Tufts, which is again a very good private university that can be quite expensive unless you get good aid or your family is quite well off).

Having some research experience already as a high school student is a very good EC. Having helped with a family business is also a very good EC. I like the fact that you have some experience in Montreal and speak a bit of French (tres bien!).

Having some experience in a hospital is also good. For example your intended majors will overlap a bit with premed classes, and having some experience with both research and in a hospital with patient care can help you to decide when the time comes which way you want to go with your career. This is of course something that you have quite a bit of time to decide.

To me it looks like you are doing very well.

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