@Rollerrabbit5 since you are considering medical school in the future, it is a good idea to keep any undergrad loans to a minimum.
Can your family afford the net costs to send you to these colleges should you be accepted? It might be good to do the net price calculators for each of these colleges to see if the net cost is affordable for your family.
I like your list…it’s varied, and it looks like you have some sure things on the list.
I don’t see a budget listed. @thumper1 is correct - this is 8 years and you need to have funding and government loans are limited.
Not sure I would retake the test - you could. Admission wise, I’d say -
UND - unlikely.
FSU likely
UF - toss up
Auburn - likely but it’s much more than Bama so if you were trying to save money.
USF - safety
Wake - low reach - if you’re full pay, better odds. It’s a school for the wealthy.
St. Marys - yes
Catholic - yes
Tulane - 50/50 - can you afford?
U Miami - you’ll get in or deferred and then get in
Nova - if you are full pay, maybe.
Have you looked at FAU Wilkes?
You can look at the top colleges, like Vandy Cancer Center, and you’ll see where the residents have gone - anywhere from Luther and Lipscomb to Mississippi State and K State. And yes top schools too - but if you’re truly going to med school, unless your folks are filthy wealthy, use your Bright Futures - and save.
I also like your list. You do need keep in mind that premed & also prelaw applicants, any student aiming for medical or law school, face a much lower chance of getting admitted to the higher reach schools, ones like Notre Dame. Although there may be no official quota for premed or prelaw & most universities offer general advising tracks rather than standalone majors, many universities will often place strict enrollment caps on the specific majors students pair with those tracks, like biology, biochemistry, & neuroscience. Admissions keeps a close watch on these premed & prelaw target numbers for the incoming class.
You should consider expanding your list to at least 15 schools. Perhaps one additional reach (a comparable alternative to Notre Dame) & a few more in-state or OOS affordable options.
For Notre Dame, I would apply test-optional. Do not submit ACT or SAT scores but do submit all of your AP scores of “5”. According to the ND website, you are allowed to self-report just these scores.
Not true. Having the intention to eventually go on the law school or med school (or any graduate degree) will have no impact on your chance of admission at a specific school. Some schools may limit enrollment by major or by “school” within the university, but they aren’t trying to restrict students based on future intent to go to go to a grad school or professional school.
My suggestion for Rollerrabbit5 is to look up statistics, if available, of what percentage of the graduating class pursue medical school (5%, 10%, higher?). This should give Rollerrabbit5 a rough estimate of how many freshman seats are available for predeclared premed. Again, student plans do change from freshman to senior year - so just a really rough guide.
The University of Notre Dame does not publish an official exact percentage for the total incoming or graduating class that pursues a pre-med track, but pre-health and science-preprofessional programs typically make up a few hundred students per grade cohort out of an undergraduate population of roughly 8,900. How many (or what %) neuroscience & psychology majors eventually pursue medical school and also how many total (or what %) from all the majors?
For example, if the Notre Dame percentage is 10%, that percentage isn’t going up to 20% or down to 5%, admissions/enrollment would control for this if it’s a predetermined target.
This presupposes that there are limited seats for students who intend to pursue medical school. I don’t know of any school for which this is true (with the exception of students who apply to BS/MD programs).
Do you have any data to support that Notre Dame, or any school, has admissions “targets” for the number of students intending to pursue medical school?
@Rollerrabbit5 I think your list is a nice mix and will yield some acceptances. Agree with others’ advice that keeping costs as low as possible for undergrad is a priority.
No, this is a hypothetical example. I suggested to Rollerrabbit5 to look up any stats if available anywhere online.
Yet, upon application to Notre Dame, all students are asked to make a non-binding indication of the college or school and specific major or discipline in which they intend to major.
It’s non-binding, an indication. And remember, many kids do switch majors in college and sometimes multiple times (even at Notre Dame).
@Rollerrabbit5 I agree that you have a nice and balanced list of colleges. Fact is, you might not decide to continue with a premed intention at all. And if you do, you can major in anything as long as you take the required courses for medical school applicants.
And also, some students take some of these courses during a glide year after they graduate from undergrad.
This issue isn’t something you need to worry about now, in my opinion.
Your job right now is to continue to get the best HS grades you can get, and do a great job on your applications to college. Best of luck to you!!
The WORST way to get into a good law school is to major in “prelaw”- i.e. Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, etc. These are considered “low rigor” majors by law school adcom’s, and students from these majors do not do as well in law school as students who majored in philosophy, history, etc. Law school prep can be as simple as an online LSAT review class. Law schools do not care what you major in, nor do they expect you to know anything about the law.
There are successful med students who majored in math, music, Classics, French Literature. The required coursework for med school admissions does NOT mean you have to major in Bio- unless of course you really love Bio and want to major in it. Unlike law school, there ARE required courses, and MCAT prep is much more time consuming than LSAT prep. But there is no need to major in something medical-adjacent unless that’s an actual interest.
Sorry OP- didn’t want to hijack but there are some serious misconceptions on this thread and just wanted to set the record straight.
Since you are comfortable with Catholic schools you might look through the list of Jesuit colleges. Lots of great options throughout the country with different levels of selectivity.
I think you have a great chance at all of the schools on your list except for Notre Dame - it is the one school that is significantly more selective than the others. But you will likely want at least 1-2 so-called reach schools so this can be one of them.
Setting budget aside - since others have already touched on that.
Tulane you’re a good shot if you show them some demonstrated interest. Sign up for their emails and click through the links a little when you get them, attend an information session - ideally in person but if not that, virtual. Reach out to your AO to ask relevant questions about your prospective program (that aren’t easily answered from their website).