Chance Me/Match Me for Gov major on Pre-Med track (Rising senior, VA resident, 1470 SAT, overall mid student) [3.81 GPA, <$60k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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US citizen aiming for school in the country, first-gen immigrant, public HS in Virginia, ~160K annual household income

Cost Constraints / Budget

Preferably <60k annually, but I’m open to all recommendations regardless

Intended Major(s)

Health Sciences/Goverment (or PoliSci depending on what the school offers), pre-med track, heavily prefer a school that allows dual accreditation, but this isn’t a must. If it isn’t possible I would major in Gov and minor in Chemistry or Health Sciences since I love both studying the law and medicine (and honestly really struggle to choose).

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.81

  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.26 in the school’s info system? 4.33 if calculated using a +0.5 for Honors and +1 for AP

  • My high school doesn’t do class rank.

  • 1470 SAT (750 Eng/720 Math), will be retaking

List your HS coursework

  • Eng 9 and 10 HN, AP Lang, AP Lit (senior yr)

  • Algebra 2 HN, AP Precalc BC, AP Calc BC, Multivariable and Linear Algebra DE (senior yr)

  • Bio 1 HN, Chem 1 HN, AP Physics 1, AP Chem, AP Bio (senior yr)

  • World Hist HN, AP World History, AP U.S. History, AP US Gov (senior yr)

  • French 1-3, French 4 DE senior year, and might take a credit exam for my home language in the upcoming November, but that will only show on my transcript if I RD

  • Studio Art 1 and 3 (skipped level 2), AP Studio Art (Senior year)

  • 2 mandated PE courses, AP Psych, AP Macro/Micro Econ (might switch into a Human Anatomy class though)

AP Scholar Award, 2nd place in a Debate Competition, On-A-Roll (not worth much but it’s specifically a teacher-nominated award if that makes sense)

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

10th: Red Cross (1 yr), ESOL Peer tutoring (1 yr), National Honor Society

11th: National Honor Society + Weekly Peer Mentoring program at local ES (1 yr), Science NHS, Art NHS, French NHS, Math NHS, around 60 volunteer hours total

- Student Leadership Development Program (12/400 students that applied picked, I go to one of the largest school districts in the country if that helps. Was mentored under the School Board Chair and with School Board members, created/presented my own local policy changes to SBM.)

- Student Intern for League of Women Voters (training right now, work starts in fall)

- Congressional Debate team

- Writing Center (strictly capped at 50 students out of my school’s 2000, must be nominated by teacher to even apply)

Summer + 12th grade: Plan to continue all previous activities, but in addition…

- Executive Board for French NHS (director of membership) and Science NHS

- Taking Intro to Kinesiology 100 at a local Uni (3 cr.) + Intro to Med Assistant

- Paid tutor K-12, ranging from elementary school topics to SAT lower-level prep

- Currently finishing up application process to become a Schoolhouse SAT tutor and volunteer at local Fire Dept. w/ hopes of starting EMT training before RD is due

LORs - all unwritten so far

  • AP Chem teacher
  • Counselor Rec Letter
  • AP Lang teacher

Schools

I’m still doing my research because as my ECs probably show, I only started putting in real effort into my future pretty recently lol. If you have any advice on whether I should ED/EA/RD for any of these schools, I’d greatly appreciate it.

While most of the colleges listed are in-state, I’m open to colleges anywhere, especially LACs (because I’ve heard they’re better for students who are between interests/dual majoring like me), and military academies.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): GMU, NOVA (for guaranteed admission track to UVA)
  • Extremely Likely: VCU, JMU
  • Likely: Virginia Tech
  • Toss up: George Washington University, UMD,
  • Reach: William and Mary
  • Lower Probability: UVA, (pretty much anything below 50% acceptance rate for me tbh), USNA, Georgetown
  • Low Probability: Oberlin, UF, UNC Chapel Hill, West Point, USAFA, UMichigan: Ann Arbor
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“In the country” as in this country or in the country, rural? Have you thought about Hampden Sydney College?

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In the US, I mean. The main factor I’m looking for in a college in rigor of their academic programs over all else

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Got it. I made an assumption based on your profile pic but looking at your ECs more closely HSC may not be a fit :smile:

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Is there a particular reason why? Just so I know when I move forward with applications

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If you are a premed student, you will be taking rigorous courses regardless of the college you attend.

I think you have a well balanced list. In my opinion, University of Michigan should be moved to the low probability group.

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HSC is all male.

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lol makes more sense

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Yes, I worded that strangely but I guess what I’m trying to say is I want a school that’ll give me better chances to build connections and do research, as well as have higher med school admission rates. Plus there’s a bit of my ego as well that really wants me to get into a prestigious school tbh

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Please choose a college where you can see yourself being a happy student for all four years. The data on medical school admissions numbers isn’t the best metric to use when choosing an undergrad. My opinion. @WayOutWestMom

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First of all, it is entirely okay and normal to be undecided about what major to pursue in college. Whether to pursue health sciences or government, whether to choose law or medicine. From your college, I gather that you are looking to remain in the DC/MD/VA area. One thing you’ll need to decide soon is which college to apply EA or ED. You can always opt not to apply early anywhere! I think you should apply to either College of William and Mary or University of Virginia early. The GPA & test scores look fairly solid. You are planning to retake the SAT; a 750+ Math score would be well worth it, especially in cases where test scores may lead to more scholarship money. The higher score would also open more possibilities for LACs but the 3.8 GPA could shut you out of the most competitive ones to get into (e.g. Williams, Amherst, etc.) You may also decide to apply to your favorite LAC early instead depending on your SAT score improvement but make sure it’s one more forgiving of “B” grades.

Lastly, schools like University of Florida and University of Michigan, which in the distant past were sure safety schools for in-state residents are no longer. These are much more difficult, especially for OOS students, to gain admission too today. You might want to drop these off your list.

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Tysm for the advice, I just wanted to add I have no preference for location, I just included DMV/VA colleges because they’re the ones I know the most about. Do you have any recommendations for mid-tier or slightly less selective LACs btw?

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If you choose to apply to University of Maryland, you need to apply in the EA round. This college accepts the vast majority of their freshman class in the EA round.

If any of your other colleges have EA (early action…regular early action, not SCEA or REA) you probably should just get those done too.

Re: ED, there is no need for you to apply ED anywhere…that’s a binding acceptance, and many students like to have choices in the end. With ED, you are done if you get accepted.

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I suggest adding W&L and Richmond to your list to research. Both are LACs with law schools. I know that W&L allows undergrads to take some classes in the law school; you’d need to check if Richmond does the same.

My D21 was a premed at W&L so I can answer questions about her experience if needed. @V3rnor is a current W&L premed (I believe) who may have more info to share.

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USNA/USMA/USAFA have unique requirements for admission—@ChoatieMom

Pre-med isn’t a given at USNA or any of the military academies since applying to med school requires the permission of your superior officers as you approach graduation. You may be required to complete several years of your contractually obligated military service first before you will be allowed to apply. Going to med school on the military’s dime will also trigger another x years of obligated military service, as well as limiting your choice of specialties.

Beware that most of the data that undergrads offer about this is all smoke and mirrors and is manipulated in multiple ways to make the undergrad’s admission numbers appear higher to prospective applicants.

You can be a successful pre-med at almost any university or LAC in the US.

Research is not the most important EC for pre-meds. Patient-facing experiences like clinical employment or volunteering is much more important than research.

See: FAQ: Pre-Med Extracurricular Activities - #8 (

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Oberlin is not “low probability”.It is “likely” - or “toss up” at worst.

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Davidson College & Hamilton College are two LACs that come to my mind. Davidson is located in NC (closer to VA), Hamilton is located in NY (farther away). You’ll need to spend time researching these and other potential LAC options to determine if they offer what you are looking for - academic, social environment, etc. There are many LACs that I don’t know much about, I’m afraid. If you “fall in love” with one of them, then feel free to apply early. Definitely keep an open mind.

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Maybe Lafayette?

I would use the NPCs for the schools you are interested in, and also consider staying in-state if it makes sense financially due to the cost of medical school.

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@tiramisu0: Given everything you’ve posted in this thread, I don’t understand why the service academies are in your mix. They are not a good path to medicine or law. Can you articulate why you want to be an officer in one of this country’s armed services?

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It’s hard to explain because it’s more about the people and lifestyle than it is grad school. I hate having free time, and yet I’m very indecisive. I always feel directionless and I’m not an accountable person. The military appeals to me because of how rigid and structured it is.

I’m not 100% about becoming a doctor. Or anything, really. Being a JAG sounded especially interesting to me too, so there’s that. Tbh I can’t bring myself to choose between the medical field or law school as a long term career yet, but I do know that I want to study both regardless of what I pick.

Money is a plus because even though my family could afford college, I don’t want to burden them with debt when they just became wealthy, and I’m realistically not talented enough to score any major scholarships.

There’s much more personal confusion and motivation I have that I couldn’t articulate in this post. I just wanted to get a straightforward eval of my stats, mostly, without turning my post into a strange personal narrative if that makes sense.