Chance me: 4.0 IB student from Indiana [1450 SAT, biology or biochemistry, <$30k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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US student- Indiana
Magnet high school with IB diploma program offered

Cost: hoping to pay less than 30000 a year out of pocket

Major: Biology/Biochem

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
Weighted HS GPA: 4.367

Class Rank: 1 unweighted, 7 weighted-out of class of 500 students
SAT score: 1450

IB classes taken: I took Math AA HL, Bio HL, Chem SL, Environmental Systems and Societies and Societies, English HL, French SL, and History of the Americas HL.
AP classes: AP world history, AP Gov-only APs offered
Proficient in French-according to Indiana Department of Education
Visual or performing arts: Marching band 2 years(soloist), show choir 2 years(5 ensemble golds, 1 solo gold)

Awards: invited NSLC Veterinary conference, National Merit commended scholar
Extracurriculars: Model UN President, French Club officer, Drama Club lead role and lighting director, Mock Trial(4th place state team), Quiz bowl varsity(on nationals team), 150+ hours volunteering at zoo

Story published in local paper or gerrymandering

Purdue: EA
UC Davis: RD
McGill: RD
Tulane: RD
Washington and Lee: RD
Northeastern: RD test optional
Bucknell: RD test optional
Bowdoin: RD test optional
UW: RD
Washu: RD test optional
Queens: RD
Oberlin: RD
Wondering what my chances are for these schools! Top choice is McGill and have high hopes, but Tulane and UC Davis are also a bit of a dream. Purdue is likely my safety, but I wouldn’t be upset going there. What are my chances of getting into these schools?

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Congrats on your academic record! You are a qualified applicant for any of these schools on an academic basis. Even so, many of them are still reaches due to their low admit rates unless you are “hooked” in some way (legacy, recruited athlete, child of faculty member, big donor etc.)

A bigger issue may be getting these to cost. Unless you have some special circumstance (such as a parent who is a legal resident of those states), I don’t see UC Davis or UW ever getting down to your $30K budget. Likewise for the Canadian schools, unless you are a dual citizen. For the private schools, have you and your family run the Net Price Calculators (NPCs) available on each schools website to see if they are affordable?

An in-state school as terrific as Purdue sets a very high bar, both for academics and for affordability.

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Congratulations on your achievements. What year are you?

Have you run the NPCs for the schools on the list and they are coming in at or less than $30K?

Here’s Bowdoin’s: Net Price Calculator

If you are a senior, haven’t you received your Purdue EA decision?

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I am a senior and I wrote this post a while ago and when I finally posted it I forgot to update it. I got into Purdue(in their honors college) for bio

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Then you are in great shape because some of your list was near impossible to begin with ( the UCD, UW, and the other US ones depended on your need level.

Purdue and Oberlin are quite different - but it and IU should have been on your list.

Depending on need but if you prefer a Lac, check out the NPCs of Kalamazoo, Allegheny, Wooster, Rollins, and Depauw.

Your current might work but may depending on need. These might be LACs that will get close.

Congrats on Purdue.

The rest (US) will depend on your need aid offer. If you want a prediction (US schools), given RD, I’d say maybe Oberlin. That’s it. But you never know.

Good luck.

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Do you have Canadian citizenship (and should I remember this from a previous thread)?

The main reason that I ask is because of your stated budget. If you are are a Canadian citizen you should be able to get these schools under US$30,000/year. If you are not a Canadian citizen nor permanent resident, (and for McGill assuming that you are not a citizen of France or a small number of other French-speaking countries), then these two Canadian schools will be over your budget.

As an out of state student I do not think that there is any chance that UC Davis will be even remotely close to your budget.

I noticed both a veterinary conference on your list and the application to Purdue and UC Davis, both of which have very good DVM programs. If you are pre-vet, then you want to stick to your budget and try hard to avoid debt for your bachelor’s degree. Getting a DVM is a long and expensive path, and you need to keep the budget in mind to be successful on this path.

Have you run the NPCs for the schools on your list and are they predicted to meet your budget?

Personally with experience in high tech (my career) and veterinary medicine (a daughter’s intended career – she is on-track to get her DVM in a few months) I have a very high opinion of Purdue. With it being in-state for you and with a restricted budget it is likely to be a very good choice. I think that Purdue is a very strong university and a great choice, you will find very good opportunities there, and I see that you are already accepted.

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How could a 4.0 UW GPA with IB Diploma translate to just 4.3 Weighted? Wouldnt you have all IB classes in Junior Year, besides all the AP classes you have taken?

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OP did not specify the weighting system, so presumably the weighting system is not very heavy, or does not weight very many of the OP’s courses.

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IB is weighted on 5.0 but the honors classes at my school are unweighted, they’re all on a 4.0 scale. I’ve also taken extra classes(zero hours every year) lowering my weighted gpa. Some places do A+ as a 4.3 but the max at my school, for all non AP or IB courses is 4.0.

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I don’t have Canadian citizenship, but looking just at tuition(which is what my budget is for) the Agriculture and Environ school(at McGill) even without scholarships is under 30,000 usd. For UC Davis, if accepted I’d likely consider deferring to get residency(I have family in California I could live with)

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Moving in with family won’t get you residency unless you support yourself financially.

You - not your parents.

Purdue is a home run so you wouldn’t need Davis.

So room and board can vary. Some places $11k. Some $20k.

You are saying that doesn’t matter -only tuition matters (vs total cost)??

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Purdue is an excellent option; congrats on your admission. If you’d still like to explore other low-cost options, consider applying to the University of Louisville and the University of Cincinnati. You’d get (I believe) in-state tuition as part of a border benefit program. You may get additional aid on top of that at Louisville.

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For your interests and budget, Purdue honors sounds like a home run to me!

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Tulane is unlikely unless something in your application ticks a box for them from an institutional need standpoint. As a RD applicant, unless you’ve done a ton of other demonstrated interest, it’s extremely unlikely. Even then, unless you’ve run their NPC and it gets you below the $30K I would not expect it to be affordable.

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Yes, sometimes the obvious answer is so obvious because it is such an excellent option!

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I would stick to Purdue like glue. Graduating from a honors program is a tangible accomplishment you can put in a medical school application. Plus it keeps you out of debt. Medical school is ridiculously expensive, and you really don’t want undergraduate debt to go with medical school debt.

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