Chance me please; Low GPA Asian in NJ striving for T20 [3.7 GPA (top 10%), 1550 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Just confirming - you’re under $65K household income and first generation to college?

Two years language will hinder you at many, but not all schools. My daughter applied to two schools on the list - got into W&L with two years of Chinese but in our case, the school cancelled the their year.

Perhaps your counselor will write a note providing an explanation as to why not - or given we’re going into the school year, perhaps you can reschedule and remove a class that might not be necessary (an elective) and continue with your language. That’d be a more sensible choice if an option.

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Not first gen yes under 65k single parent, I can try to get third year of language senior year but will it look bad my school didn’t let me take it last year my Junior year?

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If you can fit it in senior year, that would be preferable. Even if it means skipping a year. If you can’t, I would ask your counselor to explain in their LoR that scheduling issues prevented you from taking it in junior year.

What is your senior year course list now? Do you have any AP test scores?

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Oh, so you’d have a skip year? That’d be tough. I’ll let others guide on that.

I agree with @Mwfan1921 you’re going to struggle.

On another note, I’m having a private conversation with another poster about - does the where for med school matter.

I like Vanderbilt U - where I was a patient, because they posts useful lists.

Here are their residents for Neurological Surgery. It’s pretty interesting. I was a radiation patient - and results were similar - including names you never heard of.

So even if you end up at Rutgers or Ramapo or Montclair State, you can still achieve your goals - just as these students did. There’s big names…but also not big names.

I put Radiology too - schools like Indiana U Indy Campus, UAB, LSU, FIU, UTK, Florida A&M, Lipscomb, Northern Illinois - and more and yes that includes top schools.

Current Residents | Department of Neurological Surgery

Radiology Residency Residents | Department of Radiology

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I’m gonna be taking AP Calc, AP Research, AP Chem, AP Mac, Honors English 4, AP Bio, and Spanish Honors 3

Current AP Scores:
APUSH - 5
AP World - 5
AP Gov - 5
AP Lang - 5
AP Physics - 4

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How many sciences have you had before? You could cut one - or Research - which doesn’t have much oomph - but admittedly, it was my student’s favorite class and she said helped her for college.

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I have taken Bioinformatics Honors, Chem, Honors Bio. The teacher who teaches AP Research helped one girl from my school last year get into Harvard and has given astounding Admissions/LOR

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I’m sure she got into Harvard - on her own - with him providing an LOR.

I’ll let others guide you on language - but that’s 5 science. I’m not familiar with a bio informatics class…and of course, I don’t see physics at all.

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Took AP Physics my junior year mentioned it in the previous comment, my apologies. At my Bio-Informatics class, I have my own DNA Sequence published to the NCBI (National Center in Bio Informatics)

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I also think that’s a pretty heavy load for senior year. I defer to you to evaluate what you can handle. You will have a lot on your plate…difficult classes, Spanish after a year break, all your ECs, and doing college apps. How many hours of ECs would you estimate you will have each week this Fall?

I strongly encourage you to complete the complete QB app before school starts (deadline is Sep 30) and send as many apps and/or write as many supplements for the non-QB schools as you can get done this summer.

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Already working on my supplementals as we speak, QB app is about half done. School year starts after labor day. I estimate around 15 hours a week. All I need help on is finalizing my entire college list, my 15 for Questbridge, and my common app ones.

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Any ideas on some common app schools I should apply to?

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I put them earlier - run the NPCs. You should also look at some that @ucbalumnus listed - Prarie View, Alabama A&M - why - you can go free. Troy as well.

In the end, what’s your budget? Do you need a full ride or do you have $20K, etc. that you can spend?

I’m assuming other NJ colleges will have low income programs like Rutgers for tuition.

In the end, you need schools that can deliver free - i’m assuming.

Now, do some have full rides- like W&LJohnson which is on QB, SMU Presidential, UNC Morehead Cain, Davidson Belk and there’s more - but your head can spin with so very many.

The problem is - how do you choose - there’s too many, most require a lot of work and will be waaay too difficult with near zero chance. Validate these exist - as this is from a third party, But if you need a full ride, they are crazy Hail Marys…would be shocked if you got one…but it’s not impossible because someone will.

Robertson Scholars Leadership Program - Duke

Ingram Scholarship Program - Vanderbilt

Providence has the Roddy for the medically inclined - so look into that.

Stamps at Arizona, Barry, Chicago, UCONN, Elizabethtown, Ga Tech, LSU, Mercer, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pitt, Purdue, Tulane, UIUC, Tulane.

Others like Emory, Wake, Houston, BC, Northeaster, BU, UGA, UTD, Rochester, UNCC, Rollins, and more.

Don’t forget the QB schools that are not on your list. The need blind is what you’ll need…because if you have full need, need aware schools are more likely to punt you to keep your budget moving.

WHen I see schools like Elizabethtown and Mercer - I think - well I might be a higher level than the rest of their student body. You can’t say that vs. the other schools…so maybe finding a few with lesser pedigree/name recognition might be a wiser bet.

Maybe.

Interestingly, I know of a student who won the Presidential to SMU and in talking to her mom, she had a great experience. .so maybe that’s something worth looking at.

@ucbalumnus shared this school before - look at the first scholarship - which is a full ride - just north of Houston. Yes, it’s an HBCU.

University Scholarships - Office of Scholarship Services

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My mom onlky wants me to go far out of state if its a prestigous university

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In the end, like anyone - you need a budget. Do I presume it’s $0?

Then you have to apply to schools that can get you there.

I gave you a link before of all meets need schools. You have to run their NPCs to see if they agree with your assessment that they should pay 100%. But many of those schools, some of which are on QB, are need aware - meaning they’ll turn you down due to your amount of need.

The most recent list I gave you has full rides- validate on their websites - but those are a one in a million for you. Elizabethtown, for example, is in PA.

Listen - when you have no money and are relying on others, you really don’t get to make that call. Well you do - but you’ll likely end up at Rutgers and or a local community college.

In the end, you don’t - say - apply to Penn State or WVU or URI, etc. if you have zero chance of getting to your needed cost - which I assume is to be $0.

So with your current strategy - you are highly likely to Rutgers - but who knows, you might get lucky and score a QB match. Let’s hope you do.

But please big deeper into the list. @DramaMama2021 brought up a great point about getting pre-med work done - was a drive away. Are you good with that? Do you want opportunities near by? Review each school - and pick out the 15 that best meet your desires…not the 15 biggest names.

Think about it - you’re a very good student - but those schools are loaded with the best of the best…so they’ll likely be that much harder.

I’ve given you a zillion names. You don’t have capacity for that…so get your QB done - and then pick 5 or 6 more.

Prestige (for your mom) is in the eye of the beholder. She’s likely never heard of W&L, Denison, Sewanee, Colorado College, Occidental, Trinity, etc - all fantastic schools.

You really need someone to give you a save - so you need to be apppreciative of that…vs. well my mon…at least in my opinion.

Get cracking…assume Rutgers or another instate school…but cross your fingers for a full ride.

Good luck.

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Something irks me about doing all this work in High School just to go to Rutgers along with the rest of my average peers who did terrible on the SAT/generic ECs like checkdown clubs. Makes me sick to my stomach

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If you do go to Rutgers, you will be better prepared for college than those other students, so you will likely do better in college, which will improve your chances of a good post-college outcome (such as admission to medical school).

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Yes, simply do not want to go there. But alas it is a last resort option if all my QB match attempts fail. I genuinely hope and do think that one of these 14 schools will take me.

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You don’t want to go to one of the top schools in the country?? Really. Yes, Rutgers.

Wow.

You realize people pay up to $400,000 to go to college. Unfortunately, you’re unable.

In the end, one doesn’t stay at the Ritz Carlton if they can only afford the Comfort Inn.

That’s not a fair assessment as Rutgers is one of the top universities in America.

But the point is - college is not a mandatory so it has a cost - and you have to live within the cost.

Others are paying something or in full. For example, at Brown, over half are full pay - think about that. That’s common at the top schools.

I’m just positioning you for reality.

Put together the best QB app you can, write the best essays, etc - and you never know - that’s why you’re going through the process.

But let me tell you something - if you end up at Rutgers, not only is it a top school but one millions of students would be envious of.

And as hard as you worked, you do have a 3.7 - you said you have some Bs and Cs if I recall.

Listen, all that is ok - it won’t keep you out of great colleges and there’s a zillion great colleges you can get into…but not a zillion that give a full ride. Most every student in America is paying something.

In the end, Rutgers or Rice, Harvard or Hofstra isn’t going to determine you life. You are going to determine your life.

We had a Vandy reporting to W Georgia at my company. I never heard of W Georgia before this.

We had a Harvard Law reporting to a Fairleigh Dickinson.

You will make your success…where you get educated…is just a brief part of the process.

But be thankful and humble that there are both public and/or private safety nets to help you make those next steps. And if some are out there, like Prarie View, that might assure you a free education (I think theirs is competitive too) and you decide not to chase it - that’s a choice you make.

Don’t feel entitled. Feel grateful that you have these possible opportunities. Most don’t.

Good luck.

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Thank you for everything. Really didn’t think much of Washington and Lee till this thread. Much better school than Rutgers