Help recommend good fits for biology obsessed daughter

Parents Forum
1

<p>We’re newbies in this process and would be so grateful for advice on good fits. It is such a puzzle and we don’t know where to start! Our daughter is a junior. Here are her stats and preferences:</p>

<li>She would really like to get off the West Coast and back to the east coast where we used to live. She’s also open to the Midwest.</li>
<li>We visited Bowdoin and Bates and she didn’t take to the remote location and outdoorsy feel.</li>
<li>We visited Barnard and she felt that was a bit too much city.</li>
<li>She loved the amount of civilization at Wellesley and Brown. Loved Wellesley and Brown as schools too. Brown is probably an impossible reach, right?</li>
<li>Her GPA at a rigorous independent school was 3.4 in 9th grade but has been 3.95 for 10th and 11th. They don’t weight grades. They don’t rank, but she’s in the top quintile. She will probably get elected to honor society of top 10% with high grades, high community committment. </li>
<li>Her SAT I’s haven’t been looking great so far. Practice test in real test conditions was Critical Reading: 720, Math: 630, Writing: 660. This is lower than prior testing would suggest she should do, but maybe that’s the way it will be. She is doing prep now.</li>
<li>She has been obsessed by biology since toddlerhood and has worked at labs as an intern, done independent research, taken college courses over the summers, won science fairs, etc. But she did not qualify for RSI, has not published or found the cure for a disease. She thinks what she’s best at in the world is understanding biological and chemical concepts and devising creative ways to experiment. She also loves writing and journalism and is editor of her school paper.</li>
<li>I hesitate to mention this as people may suggest specialized schools which she doesn’t need, but she has had multiple learning disabilities since 1st grade. This likely explains her poor SAT I in math as her teacher expected an 800 out of her since she gets all the practice questions right. She just needs loads of time due to her processing disabilities but College Board only grants 1 1/2 time, so she can’t finish the math sections.</li>
<li>She’s also a bit turned off by the extremely PC schools because that’s been her environment in high school. I suspect her ideals are as liberal as her liberal parents’ but she’s tired of having PC views rammed down her throat by teachers who won’t allow alternative views to be expressed in class. She wants to be somewhere with a culture where peoples ideas, whatever they are, are respected. </li>
<li>She’s a legacy at Penn, Yale, Amherst, Berkeley. </li>
</ol>

<p>Where should we look? Please help us find a match! Thank you!</p>

2

<p>well I wont suggest where my daughter with learning differences is majoring in biology since it is on the left coast- but this article may give her some ideas
<a href=“http://www.hhmi.org/BeyondBio101/[/url]”>http://www.hhmi.org/BeyondBio101/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>WUSTL could be a good choice for her (suburban, great for biology, and not extremely PC).</p>

<p>If she will be looking at schools in the midwest, she should try taking ACT. Some kids do much better on it then on SAT.</p>

4

<p>What about Johns Hopkins? She’d have the gorgeous suburban-ish campus with a city right outside the gates, all the biology her heart desires, but also Writing Seminars and a nice little school newspaper. It’s a pretty balanced school in terms of politics and looks for students who aren’t one-dimensional.</p>

5

<p>I recommend Brandeis because of its location–commuter suburb of Boston-- and its really excellent biology department. Your D’s scores are only slightly lower than my D’s, who was admitted to Brandeis ED. The campus culture is certainly left and rather PC but many students report that it is also a tolerant place. You can read their student paper The Justice online as well as the alternative paper The Hoot–both of very high quality.</p>

<p>If she liked Wellesley, she might also like Mount Holyoke. Excellent reputation in the sciences-not as remote or total outdoorsy as Maine colleges–two hours west of Boston, SAT is optional for admission and access to Amherst, Smith , U Mass by 5-college bus service. </p>

<p>I agree that Brown would be a high reach.</p>

6

<p>mount Holyoke also either doesn’t accept SAT scores or doesn’t give them much weight</p>

7

<p>Trinity in Hartford might be the “right amount” of city. Very attractive traditional - almost Cambridge-esque - campus.</p>

<p>Boston College? Villanova? If she is interested in somewhat less selectives, Loyola of Baltimore is right next to Hopkins and in a beautiful area, with the city at your disposal. </p>

<p>Wellesley sounds like a wonderful option to me.</p>

<p>Are you familiar with the xiggi-method of SAT prep (posted here on cc in the SAT threads?)</p>

8

<p>Holy Cross might be a good fit-very strong biology/ science programs. HC is investing over $65 million in new science building. The school is liberal for a Jesuit school and both conservatives and liberals are comfortable. The campus has a good combination of academics and social life. HC is SAT optional as is Bowdoin. Campus 1 hour from Boston.</p>

9

<p>Thank you all. We looked into the ACT because we thought that might be good with her science interest but they denied extended time. Apparently that’s pretty common - to qualify on the SAT but not ACT. </p>

<p>Re. specific schools, we had thought of Johns Hopkins, which she’s emotionally attached to after years of CTY, but heard it was a pre-med mill and so pre-professional that things like class discussion and engagment in learning for the joy of it are rare. Someone told me as long as you’re not in the sciences, it can be a good place. Are these rumors off base? We’ll definitely take a look at WUSTL, Brandeis, Trinity, Boston College, Villanova. We had been thinking of Mt. Holyoke too and are delighted to hear they don’t care as much about the SAT, since that’s looking like one of her weaker points. </p>

<p>I’ve heard of the Xiggi method but don’t know how my daughter could find the time to do it. She’s barely surviving with her schedule of honors and AP courses, extracurriculars and lab job as it is, so fitting test prep in is a real challenge. We stupidly had thought she would ace the SAT because she did in 7th grade for CTY. But they went and changed the test on us. Her predicted score based on 7th grade SAT was 1450-1550. But she’s hovering around 1350 at present. </p>

<p>How do you all feel about Amherst? Its the only legacy spot where we think maybe it might be a fit. Penn and Berkeley are too big. Yale a reach and she didn’t like the snooty admissions officer when we visited. We actually left the tour in the middle she was so turned off by it. I believe at Amherst legacies have a decent shot if their stats are close to the 50% average for the school. She might be able to get there, but I wonder if it would be too tough for her if she did manage to get in? All those super bright science types to compete with. I loved it when I went there, but the kids weren’t that smart a hundred years ago! We used to sit around after dinner and debate ideas for hours - go to proffs houses to continue the discussion, etc. Very stimulating, and not a grind although plenty of challenge. My daughter would have loved it then. I get the impression it may be different now?</p>

10

<p>Definitely leave Wellesley on the list. If she’s not adverse to the South, take a look at Rhodes College in Memphis - it has an association with St. Jude’s for bio students interested in research and is across the street from the zoo. It will seem very conservative to her, although it is not THAT conservative by Southern standards. There is a community service emphasis that might appeal to her as well.</p>

11

<p>I cross posted with you. We had similar impression of JHU - I’m not sure that it would be the best choice for a middle of the app pool person, unless her research mentor knows someone on the faculty and can get her hooked up. WUSTL may be similar, although if she’s not “pre-med” level of grade obsessed, then she might get some good opportunities.</p>

<p>Another reachy school to look at with excellent bio is Carleton, it might be too PC, I’m not sure, we never actually got to visit, but it is in toen with a more conservative, slightly less selective LAC (St. Olaf) that also has excellent bio.</p>

<p>In the South and Midwest often the university that has the attached med school is a tier 2, not the flagship school. In these instances there may be a small LAC in the same town whose science profs have developed relationships with the med school faculty (this is the case with RHodes, and there are others) - these relationships lead to great opportunities for a research minded student. It also leads to excellent med school admit stats for the grads of these LACs, because the neighboring med school knows from the rec what kind of student they are getting.</p>

12

<p>If she’s concerned with setting, I don’t suppose Tulane is right, right now, but my son’s having a heck of a good time doing neurosci and biomed there. And they give great scholarships.</p>

13

<p>If she plans to do research, Smith has much more than Amherst or Wellesley (and, for the first two years, more than virtually all of the others named), including 40-50 paid research assistantships in the first two years, many of them in what is a national center for genomics research. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/SWILLIAM/home.html[/url]”>http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/SWILLIAM/home.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is a liberal place, though. Great town!</p>

14

<p>Befuddled,</p>

<p>I think you need to take a deep breath and stop harping on your daughter’s “weak” SAT scores. Are they necessaarily Ivy league SAT scores, maybe, maybe not. Much depends on what else she has to offer, but c’mon, back off. She’s got a 1350 based on the old method and that is pretty damn good, especiallly for someone with a learning disability!</p>

<p>And it is ok to expect your daughter not to score an 800 on the Math section. If you give most smart people enough time to do the math section, they will perform very well. I am not saying she can’t get an 800, but maybe its a bit unfair to expect that right off the bat…manage your own expectations in a real test situation for her score, and you’ll take a whole lot of unnecessary stress off your daughter.</p>

<p>Remember, if your daughter does not go Ivy or near Ivy, your life will not be over and she will be just fine. Just a little perspective.</p>

<p>Good luck to her.</p>

15

<p>Since she’s open to all-female schools, I’d add Bryn Mawr to the list as well. Make sure she has some solid match and safe bet schools in the mix. A few other schools with strong bio. programs for her to investigate: </p>

<p>Northeast:
The University of Rochester, Franklin and Marshall, Connecticut College, Muhlenberg, Bucknell, Union College, Dickinson, Haverford, Skidmore, Boston U, Smith, U Vermont, Goucher</p>

<p>Midwest:
Oberlin, Case Western Reserve, Carleton, Earlham, U of Chicago, Kenyon, Lawrence, Maclaester, St. Olaf</p>

<p>South:
Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Davidson, Emory, Tulane</p>

<p>Texas:
Rice, Southwestern University, Trinity University</p>

<p>On the west coast (just in case she changes her mind about being far from home): Occidental, Scripps, Willamette, Reed, Puget Sound and Whitman.</p>

16

<p>I would agree w/ Carolyn & add a vote for Emory and UCSD! Emory for research & epidemiology & UCSD for bioengineering! Also, many of the schools have exchange programs … for instance, Dartmouth exchanges w/ UCSD. While UCSD is on the west coast & can be a little premed overbearing, someone w/ a strong interest in research might just stick out!</p>

17

<p>Holyoke, absolutely, would be a great fit (speaking as an alum & bio major)</p>

18

<p>Klc, Thanks for bringing up UCSD. I’d also look at the other UC’s as well. Since she made huge strides in her grades during 10th and 11th, she’s likely to have a very solid UC GPA (for details <a href=“Admissions | University of California)%5B/url%5D”>www.ucop.edu/pathways)</a>, so throwing a few of the UC’s in the mix might be a very good idea.</p>

19

<p>Mix is good. My S knew from his Jr year until January of his Sr. year that there were 3 schools he was NOT going to attend! Well, he didn’t apply to 2 of those schools & he IS ATTENDING the 3rd. Chagrin! The third, he says, he didn’t dare dream he could attend… thank God they were on the Common Appl! I’ve never seen him so happy & content!</p>

20

<p>I’d definetely look at Villanova, and maybe some of the Philly area LAC’s like Bryn Mawr and Haverford which are both truly exceptional</p>