Demographics
Nationality: US Citizen
State: North Carolina
Type of High School: Public Charter
Special Factors: FGLI (First Generation Low Income), Dependent people (My mother and sister have disabilities that I need to take care of)
Cost Constraints / Budget
Low Income: 31k earn per year, so budget is 15-20k max.
Intended Major(s)
Biochemistry or Chemistry or Biology separately
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.86
Weighted HS GPA: 4.52 (5.0 scale)
Class Rank: 16/44
ACT/SAT Scores: 1380 SAT (I’m a horrible test taker)
List your HS coursework
English: AP English Language, Honors English 3 (I believe)
Math: AP Calc BC, Honors Pre-Calculus, Math 3
Science: AP Environmental Science, Biomedical Engineering (NCSSM class), Honors Introduction to Neuroscience, Pre-AP biology and chemistry.
History and social studies: AP US History and Honors Civics
Language other than English: Spanish 2 and Spanish 1
Visual or performing arts: N/A
Other academic courses: AP Seminar and AP Research, Research Experience in Computational Science (NCSSM Class)
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
Dual Enrollment Classes:
Calculus 2 and 3
British Literature
General Chemistry VI and Lab
Concepts of Biology 1 and 2
Speech
General Psychology
Ideas and their Expressions I and II (English credits)
Introduction to Probability and Statistics Awards
1st Place HOSA Regionals in Medical Spelling 2021
8th Place HOSA Regionals in Medical Terminology 2024 Extracurriculars
Coach Catalyst- Currently in an internship at Wake Forest University where we conduct research studies and co-founded a club within internship to help other researchers. Originally came from a research program I was admitted to over the summer and got an award for.
President of Red Cross Club
Hospital Volunteer
HOSA competitor
Youth member of a Religious group where we engage in social service
Shadowing Orthopedic Surgeon
Paid math tutor
Unpaid internship as an editor for a newspaper to help support rural children in India by getting others interested in donating and helping the education of the rural children of India.
Civil Air Patrol Cadet Airman
Essays/LORs/Other
LORs-
1st- 8 or 9/10, One of my favorite teachers, her and I are very close and I have done well in all her classes and think she wrote a good LOR.
2nd- 8/10, Another of my favorite teachers as I have been very close with her.
Personal statement- 7/10, need to work on developing it more but I already submitted to Chapel Hill so I don’t know what will come out.
Schools
Duke (maybe not but also maybe yes) ED
UNC Chapel Hill (Doing NCSSM, so most likely yes but I’m not that confident on my essays) EA
John Hopkins (maybe not) Unsure
Case Western Reserve (not sure to apply BS/MD or not) RD or EA
North Carolina State University EA
UNC Charlotte EA
Wake Forest University EA
University of Rochester BS/MD (Most likely not getting in)
Scholarships: Only three I know of, all low probability
Robertson Scholarship
Jack Kent-Cooke Scholarship
Park Scholarship
Fortunately you are a strong student, and you live in a great state for public colleges. So assuming those options are affordable, you are already in excellent shape.
I don’t know if you are interested, but for a very different approach, you could look at some of the Liberal Arts and Science Colleges with strong Biochem programs. These often have a lot of research opportunities for undergrads (given the lack of grad students), very good placement rates in PhD and MD programs, and so on. You’d have to check their NPCs, but they might offer enough need aid to get you on budget, and many have robust merit programs as well.
Some to consider could include Franklin & Marshall:
Again this is a VERY different approach to going to one of your in-state research universities, but for that very reason it can appeal to some kids who are looking for a different sort of college experience.
If your parents can contribute nothing, then your realistic yearly budget is more like $8-10k ($5.5k federal direct loan plus some work earnings part time during the school year and during the summer).
Are you doing NCSSM online classes? You must not be residential at NCSSM because that guarantees admission to UNC.
You can do a search on “UNC Common Data Set” and get a lot of info.
There is also info at the Interactive Data Dashboards at https://www.northcarolina.edu/ . Go to Freshmen Admissions and Performance but be aware that some sections allow you to select the college and then sometimes it reverts to the whole system so it’s tricky like that. You can drill down to the different high schools in the state, too, but keep checking to see if it is telling you about UNC or the whole system.
That dataset says that the average SAT for 2023 in-state admitted students at UNC is 1409, so your 1380 is a little lower. 1538 in state admitted students submitted SATs and 1693 in state students submitted ACTs. 10,850 students were admitted, so a LOT of people did not submit their scores. I would consider not submitting yours unless you can bring it up over 1410.
With a $31K income, OP likely qualifies for the full Pell grant of $7,495. So they would have that grant plus the $5.5K plus any self help work earnings during the summers/school year. OP should do an SAI estimate here: Federal Student Aid
Here’s my advice, very few “premed” hopefuls coming out of high school actually decide medical school. College is a maturation process where students find where their real passions are through exploration. My advice is to keep an open mind about your career options.
I would keep the focus on a strong in-state university, If you do decide on medical school, you’ll have lower debt. If you don’t decide medical school, you have a wide variety of majors to choose from. You can’t lose either way.
You seem like a very strong applicant and I am sure you will have a healthy list of schools to choose from. You have a very strong chance of getting into UNC, I would be surprised if you didn’t BUT these past couple years have been crazy all around with college decisions. Just wanted to chime in and give a plug for WFU.
Wake Forest University is a great choice for a first generation student, they offer first gen scholarships ( magnolia scholars) and usually offer a VERY generous financial aid package. Something to consider, Wake also guarantees housing for all four years. This removes the burden of having to find off campus housing, security deposits, and all the extra costs that can come with off living off campus.
Check out LACs, specifically ones that meet need. At those schools, it’s very likely you would go for free. Some that come to mind are Lehigh, Amherst, Bowdoin, Williams, Hamilton, Colby, Lafayette, and Grinnell.
Sometimes it’s cheaper to go private than public (I have a couple friends who are paying less than they would for their public flagship).
I’m a current student at Hamilton and applied to many of the schools I listed. Feel free to ask me questions.
Your stats are on the lower side, but being FGLI I don’t think will be a big issue (or an issue at all). If you can afford to take the test again and get a 1400, that would benefit your application. It would put every admissions officer at ease.
Might this student also be eligible for at least a portion of the Pell Grant? That would take their budget up a bit depending on how much of a Pell they got. So…$5500 Direct Loan, say $7000 Pell, and money from working. Budget would be in the $18,000 or so range…assuming the student gets a job asap.
For $8-10k, I was assuming net price after applying all scholarships and grants, including the Pell grant that the OP will presumably get. Note that this is what college net price calculators usually mean by “net price”.
Strong student - apply to Duke, with teh income you’d go for free. Shoot that shot for sure. UNC loves a strong class rank, but given the tiny (and I imagine competitive) nature of your school along with NCSSM, I don’t think that will matter. Did you submit scores to UNC and NC State?
UNC is meets need, so that will really be in your favor, and Duke, income below $80k in NC, you have full tuition, room and board, so these will likely be the least, though NC State may come in very low, too.
Yes - UNC is meets need and Duke (if an NC Res) will be pretty much free if accepted, so those will likely be the best bets in state, though NC schools in general aren’t expensive.
$8-10k is a commonly assumed student contribution by college financial aid offices that assume that the student can take a federal direct loan of $5.5k and earn $3-5k from work. If the parents can contribute nothing (a reasonable assumption on a $30k income), then everything else in the cost of attendance must be covered by grants or scholarships (including any Pell grant the student is eligible for).
Shoukd the student expand the list - if they’re comfortable geographically. Emory, Rice, W&L, Miami, some other meets need schools - F&M, Lafayette, Lehigh, Union, etc.
They can do the net price calculator for each.
Almost seems a Questbridge app but I think it’s too late for that.
I don’t think it’s something one applies for. The scholarships at UNC are given based on the application and CSS, so as long as those are complete, they will be considered. Morehead Cain is the only UNC scholarship with a seperate application (that I am aware of).
Students have to meet certain economic criteria, and the assessment is made when you apply for FA. You are correct in that there is no separate application.