Chance + match me please: 35 ACT, 4.0 UW, IB diploma candidate, premed + spanish minor [FL resident, <$60k]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

demographics

  • US citizen + FL resident
  • small catholic private hs

budget

  • <60k (including room + board)
  • i’m hoping i can qualify for merit based aid + planning to apply to many private scholarships

major

biology or biomedical sciences (premed track) + spanish minor

academics

  • uw: 4.0
  • w: 4.63 (4 point scale w extra point for IB/AP, and extra 0.5 for honors, + does not include any senior yr grades)
  • no class rank is released, but ik i am in the top 5% as of now (due to straight As)
  • 35 ACT (superscore): 35M, 33S, 35W, 36R, taken twice

courses

freshman: honors eng 1, honors geometry, honors bio, honors world history, religion 1, honors spanish 2, + gym (not really but easiest way to say it, also got 0.25 points toward GPA)

sophomore: honors eng 2, honors alg 2, honors chem, APUSH (4), religion 2, honors spanish 3, + honors anatomy + physiology (elective)

junior: IB tok, IB bio 1 (SL), IB lit 3 (SL), IB analysis + approaches 1 (SL/HL), IB world religions 1 (SL), IB spanish 1 (SL), + IB history of the americas (HL) (elective)
i also self studied for ap lang and got a 4 + took intro to psych via dual enrollment during first semester

senior (will definitely take these): IB tok, IB bio 2 (HL), IB lit 4 (HL), IB analysis + approaches 3 (HL), IB world religions 2 (SL), IB spanish 2 (SL), + IB contemporary history (HL) (elective)

note: my school only offers APUSH as a class due to the IB program, hence why i only have two. also, my school does not offer honors religion or HL religion + spanish. finally, the only way i could’ve had more difficult courses is by:

  • having a math path of alg 2, SL/HL 1, SL 2, HL 3 (by doing geometry in the summer)
  • taking IB physics as my elective instead of IB history
  • having a spanish path of honors 3, SL 1, SL 2 (only if bilingual)

otherwise, i’ve maxed out on everything

awards

  • theatre districts (2 superiors + 3 excellents) + theatre states (1 excellent) (superior + excellent are the top 2 score bands, + i might be able to add 2 or 3 more district awards for my RD colleges)
  • state spanish conference (2 superiors) (superior is the top score band)

ECs

  • (future) paid nurse apprenticeship at local hospital (12): only seniors can apply, hence one grade, and i’ll report ~120 hrs for EA skls and ~200 hrs for RD skls of preparing rooms for patients + transporting them (note: 60 hrs of the stated hrs will be spent training)
  • church advisory council (10-12): i was only a member my sophomore yr, but my junior yr I was secretary (just note taking), and this yr i’ll be vice president (main job is recruiting people for the council and leading the process to select them), overall i’ve been part of an initiative to reach out to the community in search of need and we received a grant to buy uniforms for a nearby skl (although that wasn’t directly me), and i do have some small direct initiative plans for senior yr that involve community gardens (see gardening club) and card making, im also the youngest by like a decade + the first hs student to be selected if that means anything (maybe unofficial award? not sure)
  • theatre club (9-12): mainly participating in district + state competitions (playwriting, marketing, and one act; see awards), but I’ve also been crew for/acted in 5 shows
  • student council (9-12): freshman and sophomore yr member, junior president, and senior historian, tbh stuco is basically just homecoming committee for me but its one of my longer ECs
  • gardening club (12): co-president, this will be its second year of existence but i have a plan to connect with community gardens via my parish (see church advisory council)
  • spanish “club” (10): this wasn’t really a club but the best spanish speakers in our grade got together pretty often to practice our material, I prepared for a impromptu speech and a poem recitation (see awards). sadly, we couldn’t go my junior yr bc the weekend of the conference was also during a religious holiday (should this go into additional info??), but we should be able to go this yr (although the con is in spring so i can’t record any awards)
  • these are like my best ones (not the strongest sadly) but i’ve also done volunteer tutoring since 9th grade, volunteering at my church, ambassador work since 9th grade, a religious club only for upperclassmen, and some short lived JV sports

essays + recs

  • my essays should be pretty good i think, but im not getting any coaching so this is just a guess
  • my LORs are from my math teacher (will teach me 3/4 yrs and we’ve been going to the same church so that’s a plus i think) + my history teacher (will teach me 3/4 yrs as well), i have really good relationships with the both of them

my current list

(not too sure about which are safeties and which are targets tbh, so i’m just not categorizing them by if OOS or not)

in state: UF, FSU, FAMU, UCF (might be adding more)
OOS: Brown, Case Western, UMass Amherst*, UMD College Park*, Pitt, Vanderbilt, UVA*, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers NB, Rice, UIUC*, UT Austin*

*colleges that will be switched out first if i can find a better school

for match me

  • OOS, preferably up north + the east side of the country (not necessarily east coast)
  • great premed program + spanish minor (minor not a necessity)
  • medium size
  • urban environment with plenty to do (including internships + such)
  • safeties or targets

sorry if this is too long, just wanted to be thorough! im happy to answer any questions + thanks in advance for any chances/matches, i really appreciate it!!! :smiley:

2

You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.

It would seem that your Florida public universities would be great bargains because it looks like you would get max Bright Futures there.

A number of schools on your list don’t give merit aid. (Brown, Harvard, Hopkins).Have you run the Net price calculators on all of these colleges to see if they meet your price point?

I think Case Western is a great choice, as is Pitt.

I think UMD is a great choice too…but make sure you apply in the early round.

Have you considered University of Rochester?

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You can definitely qualify for merit aid - if you apply to the right schools. You can go as low as $20K. You may or may not want an internship during school - you’ll be busy and internships don’t just happen. You have to find them.

You said North but I’ll put one South since you have UF, FSU, FAMU, UCF. I don’t think you need more - you’ll likely get into more.

But I’ll give you onoe other in state - Wilkes Honors Colleage at FAU - in Jupiter, very small.

And U of Alabama where you’d be $22K - and they have the McCullough Pre Med Cohort -which might give you more support.

Budget matters - because after undergrad, you have likely $400K more.

So here’s the question I have - do you qualify for need aid.

Have your parents fill this out - It’s a Net Price Calculator for CWRU - because if you don’t qualify for need aid, you’ll need to remove Brown, UVA, Harvard, JHU, and Rice - although the last two have a small chance of merit. Already, I’d remove UIUC and UT Austin.

Of course you can find better schools - because these aren’t in budget - and more importantly, where you go for med school - is unlikely.

UT Austin is not int he North…sub in U Minnesota - it’s urban too and will be under budget.

As for UIUC, you can sub in Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, etc.

UMASS btw - not urban. I think you’ll hit cost. U of SC might be better - urban - but that doesn’t promise internships, etc.

Of course, UIUC, Umass or U Texas are not medium sized - so there’s that - maybe none of them are worthy of being on your list - but smaller schools school be - Delaware, Miami Ohio, UVM - still public types but not enormous.

You might also be a candidate for College of Charleston’s Fellows program - a sub group in Honors - which comes with big merit. C of C is down the street from the Medical U of South Carolina - and many do research there - and Fellows gets you great opportunities.

Please have them run the NPC and come back to us. But you might reconsider your budget - unless you budgeted for med school too. Pre med is an intention - and your grades and MCAT, and other things will determine if you get in vs. - I want to go to a great pre med whatever that means. But if you like smaller, you might consider LACs - lots will get you at budget - Kalamazoo is urban, as an example. And will crush the budget. Rhodes in Memphis too - although not Northern per se. Mac may come in under $60K - in St. Paul…but these are small, not medium.

Good luck.

Program Description – McCollough Scholars

Net Price Calculator | Financial Aid | Case Western Reserve University

College of Charleston | Charleston Fellows

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Unfortunately it won’t be affordable (nor will UIUC).

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It would be if the student got the Banneker/Key Scholarship.

The OOS cost for UMD CP is $62,374 for the upcoming academic year. This student says <$60,000. If they get any scholarship at all, this could meet their price point.

OOS cost for UIUC is $57,622-$65,722 so with the federally funded direct loan, or a small scholarship, this could have the potential to meet their price point.

This family should do the net price calculators for both of these colleges.

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I saw ~$65k for off-campus here (most students move off campus their sophomore year)
but yes, it may be doable for OP. The B/K scholarship is unlikely unless OP has a compelling story or background, but they may get $2-3k, bringing the cost closer to $60k.

Worth a shot for sure!

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thank you for answering!

i just found out about the net price calculator, i’ll be sure to check if my colleges will fit my budget
i also have looked a bit into the University of Rochester, but i’ve heard mixed things on safety in the area so I’m not sure if i will apply

thanks again!

8

thank you for answering!

i appreciate all the matches and will be sure to look into them! and thanks for the NPC, i’ll check over my list and see if they will fit my budget
also, thanks for the note that premed is an intention, i’ll keep that in mind

9

Please budget for 8 and not four years. Is $60k too much then ??

Lots of publics out there to beat $60k?

But those you picked are far from Medium. To me, Medium is Christopher Newport or Salisbury or SUNY New Paltz or Geneseo or William & Mary (likely out of budget) or U Denver , etc.

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Yes -maybe not day one but you’ll eventually need a major. The beauty of pre med - chem, English, accounting, journalism, sociology - whatever you want - just take the pre reqs required for med school.

Btw UMD - a fair sub - smaller of course, but not far from the big city - U Del. Should come in less with merit.

11

This is very important.

The large majority of students who start university thinking “premed” end up doing something else. However, you do not finances to be the thing that keeps you out of medical school. You should try to save as much money in the college fund as possible to help to pay for medical school. If you end up doing something else, and if that something else involves some form of graduate school, the money you saved can still be helpful.

And you have multiple very good in-state public schools that should be relatively affordable for you.

Some of the out of state schools on your list are not likely to be affordable at all. Some of the schools on your list do not offer any merit based aid at all and will only be affordable if you qualify for a lot of need based aid.

Also, premed classes will be very challenging at any school on your list. Yes Harvard or Johns Hopkins might be a tiny bit even more challenging, but you will find tough classes and a lot of very strong students at any of these schools.

I am confused by your note: “*colleges that will be switched out first if i can find a better school”. Every school on your list is very good for a premed student. What might vary is how expensive they will be and where they are located. On the one hand you will want to be close to one or more hospitals where you can get experience. Otherwise you will want to be in a location where you are comfortable.

Regarding “up north + east” I am thinking that is where I am. What good schools are up here? U.Mass is very good, and does offer some merit aid for out of state students. It is not in a city (assuming that you mean U.Mass Amherst – U.Mass Lowell is in a city). UVM is very good. In your case merit aid looks likely at UVM but would still leave the cost significantly higher compared to your in-state public schools.

I have wondered if you should consider U of South Carolina.

Also, the northeast, whether Boston/Cambridge or Amherst or Vermont, is a significant distance to travel. We do get snow fall up here, and I still recall multiple cases where the snow happened to occur about the same time that someone was traveling to or from university for the Christmas / New Year vacation.

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I would leave UMD on the list. I think this student will get some merit to bring the cost down to budget. Although possible, I would not count on B/K because it’s harder as an OOS student and there are many similar students who apply (both in state and out).

Pitt should stay on the list, imo, as should Rutgers. Both locations have a lot to offer.

You could add a SUNY if you want: Binghamton, Buffalo (UB). UB is very big but honors would create a smaller feel.

I would use the NPCs for the schools on your list that do not give merit.

Lastly, I would strongly consider your state schools.