Chance/match me! ~ wasian girl in MD [3.84 GPA 9th-10th, 90/100 GPA 11th, 1510 SAT, neuroscience, pre-med]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics: Female, Chinese/Indonesian & El Salvadoran, MD, went to competitive public school for 9th and 10th grade and private boarding school for 11th and 12th w graduating class of around 70 people

Intended Major(s): Neuroscience (pre-med)

SAT: 1510, no superscoring

UW/W GPA: 9 and 10th grades - 3.84 UW, 4.70 W GPA & 11th grade - 90/100 *

Coursework: 6 APs, 2 psychology dual enrollment courses, all honors

  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP United States Government and Politics
  • AP AB Calculus
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Literature
  • AP BC Calculus
  • Took AP lang exam, got a 4 (the class isn’t offered at my school

Awards: (kinda eh idk)

  • Meritorious Service Award for 240+ service hours
  • Upper School Music Award - Presented to the individual who represents the highest caliber of musicianship, artistry, and dedication to the art of instrument-playing through their performance/service.
  • Collegeboard National Hispanic Recognition Award

Extracurriculars:

  • Neuroscience Research at Johns Hopkins University (Spring 2024)
    • 10 hours a week for a semester
    • Project Title: Examining Dark-Exposure Induced Plasticity in Mice Through Perineuronal Nets
    • Presented at the end in front of 20 PhD Students from JHU and 6 PI’s
  • Shadowed local podiatrist 150+ Hours (2023-2024)
    • Attended physical exams and mainly surgeries
  • Orchestra Club Co-Head (Fall 2023-present)
    • I play piano (12 years), flute (8 years), and double bass (7 years)
    • First orchestra ever created at my school
    • Gathered audiences of 500+ students and staff
    • Wrote and performed my own pieces on the double bass
    • Weekly Alma mater performance
  • Hospital Volunteer Mother & Baby Unit 100+ Hours (Summer 2024)
    • Admitted new patients from labor and delivery & prepared rooms for them
    • Answered calls from mother & baby unit rooms
    • Delivered snacks and drinks throughout the day
    • Wheeled new mothers to their car to go home
  • Class executive board (Fall 2021- Summer 2023)
    • Handled homecoming decorations & fundraising
    • General fundraising for class activities
  • Varsity Cross Country (Fall 2023, Fall 2024)
  • Student Tour Guide (2023-present)
    • Gave tours to families looking for a potential new school as a new student myself
    • made a handbook for new students
    • collaborated with admissions team to create the orientation for future new students
  • Preschool summer camp volunteer head counselor 500 hours (Summer 2021, Summer 2022, Summer 2023)
  • Academic Mentor/Tutor ( Fall 2023-present)
  • Tri-M Music Honor Society (2024-present)
    • First year the school was able to have a music honor society due to the creation of its first orchestra that i made

Essays/LORs/Other:

Common App essay- wrote about growing up under my mom’s unfulfilled piano dreams due to her Moya Moya Brain Disease and I how found my own musical path with the double bass, eventually creating an orchestra and reclaiming music as my own

LORs from english and physics teachers:

English- knows me VERY well, helped me lots as a new student, her idea originally that i should play the alma mater on the piano after seeing me perform other music stuff. had to miss her class like once a week for the research internship I did, stayed on top of my work in her class ending with an A, and she came to my research presentation
Physics- lives on campus so i see her often at dinner, invited her to one of my piano recitals, came to my research presentation

Schools: applying non-binding EA to all schools that have it otherwise RD
Johns Hopkins University
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Maryland-Baltimore
Georgetown University
George Washington University/GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (BS/MD)
American University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego
University of California-Irvine
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of California-Riverside
University of California-Merced (BS/MD)
University of California-San Francisco (BS/MD)
San Diego State University
Pepperdine University
University of Southern California
Drexel University
Penn State University
Brown University (PLME)

Let me know if there are any other top schools that I should I to my list!!
Thanks :heart::heart:

2

University of California-San Francisco is a graduate school and their Joint BS/MD program is through UC Merced which have already listed.

3

your hispanic heritage will look good applying for pre-med especially if you speak spanish bc thats the type of people theyre looking for in the medical field

4

What is your budget?

5

Thanks! ill change it to just UCM bs/md

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Around 60k range per year but i wont qualify for financial aid so merit scholarships would be helpful

7

I would research the schools noted in your post and eliminate the ones that are higher than your desired costs and do not provide merit (ie UCLA and others).

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idk if it makes that big of a difference

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  1. You attend a private school. In most cases, the college counselor at these schools can give you a great sense of where you might have success.

  2. You didn’t mention a budget. Are all of these colleges affordable? Full lay at some will be about $400,000 just for undergrad school. Medical school will be an additional probably $400,000. Can your family pay these costs?

  3. If your budget is $60,000 a year, you can eliminate all of the UCs from your list. You are an OOS student and the UCs give precious little merit aid and NO need based aid to OOS students. How will you pay the full cost of attendance there?

  4. Brown doesn’t give any merit aid. Georgetown and JHU don’t either. Costs are nearly $90,000 a year. How will you fund these if you get accepted?

  5. Maybe you will get enough aid at University of Southern California…but I don’t see that you are a NM possible finalist…so merit aid is not guaranteed.

Would you like some other suggestions for colleges that have good potential to meet your price point? Or no.

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If I end up getting into rlly good school my parents would be willing to pay more so cost is not a huge concern but if a school such as Pepperdine doesn’t award merit then I would not consider attending

11

Will they pay $90,000 a year plus medical school? That’s about $800,000.

Would you like recommendations for schools that provide merit?

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Will your parents also fund medical school? By the time you get there, it will likely cost $100,000 a year. Medical school is funded largely by loans, loans and more loans…and the bank of mom and dad.

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I would appreciate some suggestions!

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Here are a few suggestions:
UDel
Pitt
U of South Carolina
U of Buffalo (SUNY)
SUNY Binghamton
Muhlenberg

Honestly- your Maryland state schools are great.

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@bri_p.f

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

Here are a few suggestions.

  1. Pitt. You have Penn State on your list, but really for a premed, Pitt is a better choice (in my opinion). Apply as soon as the application comes out…giving you some chance at merit scholarships.

  2. I like that you have UMD CP and BC on your lists. Apply EA. You are instate for those! Good luck!

  3. For American University, you will need to show a lot of interest!

  4. What about Case Western Reserve University? Again, show interest. I think you have a chance for merit there.

  5. Since you have CA (expensive for OOS) colleges on your list…look at University of Arizona, Arizona State University and University of New Mexico. You would get merit, I believe, at all three. @WayOutWestMom can tell you about New Mexico. @tsbna44 can tell you about the Arizona schools.

  6. Are you interested in any colleges in the southeastern part of the U.S. if yes, look at University of Alabama.

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+1 on Buffalo and University of Delaware.

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The UC Merced BS/MD program is specific for San Joaquin Valley residents so you will not qualify as a non-resident.

18

The University of Rochester is a great school that gives merit, but even with merit it may still be too costly. Take a look and see.

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@aunt_bea can discuss Buffalo for a premed. She knows about this.

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The UC Merced BS->MD is focused on those who will practice in the San Joaquin Valley. Having a connection to the area is likely a significant factor in admission to the program.

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