Cost Constraints / Budget Budget has been calculated and ran through all the college net price calculators
Intended Major(s): Biology, potential minor in journalism
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8 (self-calculated)
Weighted HS GPA: 4.64/5
Class Rank: N/A
ACT/SAT Scores: Applying test optional/NA
List your HS coursework
(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
English: English 1 H, English 2 H, IB English Lit 1 HL, IB English Lit 2 HL
Math: Integrated Math 2 CP, Integrated Math 3 CP, IB Math AI SL 1, IB Math AI SL 2
Science: Biology CP, Chemistry Honors, IB Biology HL Part 1, IB Biology HL Part 2
History and social studies: Global Studies 1 H, Global Studies 2 H, IB History SL Part 1, IB History SL Part 2, Government H, Global Citizenship H
Language other than English: Spanish 4 H, AP Spanish (5), IB Spanish SELF-TAUGHT 1, IB Spanish SELF TAUGHT 2
Visual or performing arts: Art 1 H, Art 2 H
Other academic courses:
Awards
NHS
ADL Conference Nominee (4/450+ students nominated)
Extracurriculars Research Internship at University: selective, independent research, fully funded, 1/2 year duration
Performing Arts Center Internship- Managing finances, inventory, schedules, etc 1 year
Theatre Club- production manager, costume designer, 4 years (2 years in one school 2 years in another, I had to transfer schools halfway through high school)
English Immersion Camp for Spaniard Natives- Volunteer, led lots of english practice activities 2 years (summer)
Environmental Volunteering- River quality analysis for government, restoration of an old environmental education center, 1 year
IB Advisory Council- 5/60+ students chosen, 2 years
Student Activism Club leader- Organized summit and workshops, 2 years
Ruta Quetzal- 200/2k students chosen via grades for fully funded research expedition in spain
Essays/LORs/Other N/A
Schools under consideration
Likelies (>70% odds):
Temple University
University of Maine
Western Carolina University
Beloit College
Target (35% - 70% odds):
Occidental College
Simmons University
Oberlin College
Macalester College
Furman University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wheaton College MA
Reach (20-35% odds):
University of Richmond
Case Western Reserve University
Wesleyan University
Middlebury University
Boston University
Davidson College
Colgate University
Far reach (0-20% odds):
Northeastern University
Colby College
“Chance me”, please! Do the odds listed above seem right? Would you change any based on me as a student?
I’ve never been on this website before, and I have to manage this whole process by myself as an only child immigrant with parents who were educated in Europe (they have no clue about the USA college application process), so I appreciate everyone’s assistance!
Edit: I didn’t phrase this correctly in my initial post but I’m really hoping on receiving merit aid! My family is right in the teetering middle class line between going broke over college while living a comfortable life, so if affordability can be a important factor while reviewing my colleges that would be incredibly appreciated.
The more selective the university, in general the smaller the merit. My kids who went oos applied mostly to safety schools. Some schools use test scores to determine merit.
Assuming the budget works on all like you said (I don’t trust NPCs on the publics - ie Wisconsin), it’s fine.
Frankly after the first four plus Furman, also safe IMHO, the rest of your list is immaterial. Apply where you want if you know they’ll meet cost. Worst they can say is no. You have at least four if not five in the bag.
Make sure to hit Early Action where avail, like Furman, or your odds can go down.
Is there a reason Penn State is not on your list if you are a PA resident? You can save $ by starting at one of the branch campuses near home.
UMAINE is a good choice. There is a flagship match available for many states and high research activity. You may get an offer from the honors college too.
Makes you wonder why Maine or Wisconsin over in state or low cost OOS like W Carolina, which they have. Maine may = PSU but no assurance. There’s also PASSHE schools that will be low cost like Slippery Rock, Millersville or W Chester.
But they def have acceptances so that’s the good news!!!
Another relatively-affordable option that might be a fit would be SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a.k.a. SUNY ESF. Your EC’s suggest that you have some interest in wildlife biology and environmental/conservation bio, and it’s particularly good for those, with great field work opportunities in addition to laboratory research. It’s a small school, with a little over 1800 undergrads, but it’s immediately adjacent to Syracuse university, which offers a bigger student community and a wealth of academic and extracurricular opportunities to which ESF students have access. In particular, it appears (although you should verify this) that ESF students are permitted to enroll in the journalism minor that SU’s highly-regarded journalism school offers for non-majors (although enrollment is limited to 15 students per year so I assume it’s competitive). SUNY ESF itself has a Writing, Rhetoric & Communications program that offers an Environmental Writing & Rhetoric minor and electives in Environmental Journalism.
SUNY ESF is one of SUNY’s Flagship Match schools, and PA is a participating state, so they would match Penn State tuition, and additional merit is possible.
The new journalism minor is only available to Syracuse University students majoring outside of the Newhouse School. SUNY ESF students are not included.
Here are some clarifying things, sorry I wasn’t as transparent
I didn’t add Penn State because I know that in-state is a lot cheaper, but for personal reasons I want to try to get OOS (but I will end up going to temple as my main safety if need be)
Apart from affordability, I do want to value a certain degree of prestige and selectivity. I don’t know if this is accurate since my counselor told me this, but since I want to get a masters + phD someday, getting a good alumni network is a big thing for me.
My biggest wanted outcome from this post is that overall I mostly just want to try and figure out if the schools I’ve applied/am applying to have a chance at accepting me/my realistic chances with them based on my stats
Thank you again to everyone that’s helped me so far, I’ll certainly look into the schools mentioned!!
You’ll find people at top grad schools from all over. Item #1 is affordability. Sometimes, it’s less the school and more the kid.
What’s your budget ? I have a hard time believing Wisconsin will be affordable. But perhaps we can name others.
Obviously a U Maine or W Carolina aren’t going to have as strong a student body as others but U Maine attracts NMFs and W Carolina kids who go for natural beauty or affordability.
Be aware that biology major programs in college commonly require calculus and calculus-based statistics. IB math A&I SL is sometimes seen as being a bit light on preparation for taking college calculus courses. Biology and biomedical research often makes use of statistical analysis, so comfort with statistics will be important.
We had the exact same experience. I might add "and got good merit aid, and got very good opportunities for appropriate experience (biomedical research experience for one daughter). A student does not need to attend a reach to get good research opportunities.
Often (or usually) you do not need an official minor. You could for example major in biology and just take the classes that you want to take in journalism.
Keep in mind that biology is a major where some form of graduate school is very likely. PhD’s in STEM fields are usually fully funded (at least in the US) but it is a long road and the stipend is typically pretty minimal (even if sufficient to live on frugally). Some limited parent help can make the marathon easier to endure. A PhD might be thought of as a bit like university, and a bit like an interesting research job that pays badly. A little parent help can mitigate the “pays badly” part of this and just turn it into an interesting research-heavy job. Also, some students who apply to PhD programs get accepted for a master’s instead, and these are typically not funded in the US. The bank of Mom and Dad if not already fully exhausted can be helpful for someone who is interested in graduate school.
And graduate students in very good biomedical graduate programs typically come from a huge range of undergraduate schools.
When you are looking at a list of acceptances in April you should carefully consider fit and budget, and do not just automatically attend the highest ranked university that you get into.
I wonder if you should add one or two in-state options. I think that you have quite a few reaches, and might want to think up front whether to apply to all of them, unless you have already applied to all of them. Otherwise you have IMHO a good list.
