I know nothing about college admissions, whatsoever. I’m from small town in Indiana and everybody at my school goes to local, small, Christian colleges and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT TAKES TO GET INTO A TOP UNIVERSITY. Colleges that im looking into are : University of Notre Dame (my first choice), University of Virginia, Emory University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (so, competitive and top ranked universities but not ivy league). Here are my stats:
Intended major: Biochemistry (Pre-med)
Classes
Freshman Year
French I
Physical Education
Algebra I
Biology Honors
Geography and History of the World
English 9 Honors
Music Theory (1 semester)
Preparing for College and Careers
Sophomore Year
Anatomy and Physiology
Speech (1 semester)
Personal Financial Responsibility (1 semester)
English 10 Honors
Geometry Honors
AP US History
Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble
French II
Junior Year
Chemistry Honors
Pre-Calculus (1 semester)
Trigonometry (1 semester)
French III
English 11 Honors
Principles of Biomedical Sciences
Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble
Physics 1
Senior Year
AP Literature and Composition
AP Psychology
AP French
Calculus 1 and 2 (which I will take at a local university)
Government (1 semester)
Wind Ensemble (1 semester)
AP Biology
Summer classes (took summer school every summer to get ahead)
Health and Wellness Education
Algebra II
Economics
Note about my classes: a lot of classes were required for me to graduate like PE, Health, personal finance, preparing for college and careers, government, economics, geography and history of the world, etc. Also, the students at my school are known for not being high achievers so there weren’t very many opportunities for difficult classes. Every time an honors class was offered, I took it. Unfortunately, with my schedule, I was unable to take AP Chem and my school did not offer AP Physics that year.
Test Scores
PSAT 11: 1290 (without studying)
660 Math
630 English
PSAT 10: 1130 (I like to include this because im proud of myself for my growth)
520 Math
610 English
I take my first SAT June 1st. I will take the SAT several times after that as well as the ACT several times. I’m also planning to take chemistry, physics, French, and biology subject tests.
GPA: 4.0
Extra-curriculars (including everything possible as of right now lol):
Varsity Cheerleading 3 years (Co-captain senior year)
Junior Varsity Cheerleading 1 year
Varsity Brass senior year (which is our award winning show choir back-up band and I will be flute section leader)
Studied abroad in France for 1 month (summer before senior year)
Vice President of National Honor Society
Vice President of French Club
Freshman Mentor Council senior year and freshman mentor 3 years
Band in general (1st chair flute in band for 3 years)
Local university’s wind ensemble 1 year
Riley Dance Marathon team 2 years
School’s variety show 2 years (idk if this is relevant but I was a part of the theatre program)
YouTube channel and confidenc blog
Others
Don’t know how deep to get into this on my applications but I compete in pageants which is a really big part of my life. I compete in a state pageant as well as local preliminary competitions to the Miss America pageant.
With Miss America: 3rd runner up, 1st runner up (2x), 2nd runner up, highest talent score (2x). All of these were my junior year of high school
National American Miss: top 20 1st year, 3rd runner up to the Miss Indiana title 2nd year, went to the national competition in California 2nd year as Miss (my hometown) and won 3rd runner up to best resume in the nation, 2nd runner up to talent 1st year.
Awards
19 Solo and Ensemble Gold Medals (6 were golds at state level and 3 of which were golds with distinctions)
Basically a bunch of band awards
Volunteering
170+ hours as of right now
40 hours local hospital
The rest were spent volunteering as a Disney princess such as visiting sick kids, showing support for community events like relay for life and 4H, etc.
Founded my own organization called “Flawsome” which is about gaining confidence. I’m creating my own blog where I will post confidence tips and highlight people’s stories. Also organizing a community fashion show for little girls to learn how to be confident in front of an audience
Alcoholism awareness
Essay Notes
Haven’t looked at too many essay questions but In my essays, I would like to mention one of these topics
The reason why I wan’t to be a doctor is because I’ve spent many days in a hospital when my dad was sick. He is a very very severe alcoholic and has suffered consequences from it. Specifically, I want to be an ER doctor because of how many hours we have spent in the ER and I fell in love with that specialty. A big part of my life has been spent breaking stereotypes because I come from a bad family and im expected to grow up to be just like them. To me, college is my first step in becoming an individual away from my messed up family life. But of course, when I tell my dad’s story it will end on a positive note.
Pageants: how they combine everything I love and how im breaking stereotypes as a pageant queen (with them being “dumb”)
I am so impressed by your strength and positive attitude. You are making the best of a tough situation. Education can be your way out, a way to break the cycle.
You have found a great place to ask questions and learn about college admissions.
Do you need to have scholarship money or are your parents willing to pay. All of the schools on your list are OOS or private and will be very expensive.
I don’t know my GPA unweighted but that’s my GPA weighted. It will go up a lot next year when im able to take weighted classes because I wasn’t able to take any weighted classes this year. My parents will not be paying for any of my college, but i do have quite a bit of money from an inheritance. I’m also expecting to receive a lot of community scholarships (since i like to consider myself very competitive coming from a very not competitive and poor school), but i will be restricted on some since they only give scholarships to students going to local schools.
I am going to sound like I’m being a downer, but I assure you I am trying to give you helpful info. You’re obviously a bright, motivated, and involved student.
Your general stats are fine, but not exceptional. Without a higher test score, I am not sure they are strong enough for the colleges you mentioned. It’s very difficult to get merit aid at Out of State colleges. Colleges tend to award merit aid based on unweighted GPA and test scores. You ideally want to have an SAT score somewhere north of 1300, but more likely 1400 and up to be considered for merit money. Don’t plan on just taking the test a bunch of times. Study hard so that you are ready. I believe you are going to be a senior, which limits your chances to take the test.
Even though your parents won’t be giving you money, the colleges are still going to expect them to complete the FAFSA. Private colleges will also require completion of the CSS. Both forms take time, and if they don’t agree to complete them, it’s going to cause serious holdups for you. So the first thing you have to do is show them a FAFSA and ask them to help you fill it out.
If they won’t even do that, you’re likely going to have a lot of trouble paying for college, so you really have to have a talk with them about the finances before you get too excited. No money from parents means you are looking at state schools and federal loans, most likely. Or, you might be able to get a full ride if you can get your test scores high enough. If you really have to pay for college on your own, even at a state school, expect to spend over $20,000 a year, including tuition, room and board, books, etc… Is your inheritance at least $80,000?
I suggest you talk with your parents about finances, right away. Then post in the search and selection forum, explaining your financial circumstances.
Yeah, it’s a little bit of a downer, but i really appreciate your feedback. Of course with taking the SAT more than once, i’m going to actually study for it, so my scores will definitely go up. With my stats, what colleges would you advise me to consider?
It’s impossible to make suggestions without knowing your financial situation. Please post in the search and selection forum when you have some better info. Let people know what you are seeking from a college. You will get more targeted responses there.
Tons of schools will have good premed classes. You probably have better chances of getting merit money at less selective private colleges. Again, no one here knows how much money you need. You could well be in the running for full rides at some of the colleges on this list, if you can get a higher test score: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
@baileynoel7 There’s a very large set of universities and colleges in between the small , nearby Christian colleges and the top universities you listed. Start by building your list from your in-state public universities- your regional Indiana universties, IU Bloomington, Purdue etc. STEM fields are generally better supported at the mid tier public universities compared to small mid-tier LAC’s . I am in agreement with what Lindagaf said above. Please don’t get caught up in having a “first choice” etc.
You are a very bright and motivated student. Going into your senior year, your stats are pretty much baked in - perhaps a small bump in your ACT or SAT score, but statistically, it gets harder to make large gains at the higher end of the score spectrum.
Money is a big factor -a lot of students think they have all these choices, but when April of senior year hits and the financial aid numbers start to roll in, many find that they cannot simply afford their dream university (if they even got accepted). It is unfortunate that the financial aspect is opaque to most applicants and their parents, and the universities seem to be complicit in this opaqueness.
Despite all the hype about how college makes a student an independent adult, the fact is that a student is tethered to their parents’ financial situation, as far as your undergrad degree is concerned. You may want to re-calibrate your expectations. People on this forum will be happy to help you craft a more realistic list .
Check out the prices of those schools on your list. Notre. Dame, as an example, has a Cost of Attendance of close to $75K a year. Don’t get fooled by all their big numbers on how much aid and money they have. The true fact of the matter is that it’s very difficult to get a big scholarship from ND that makes a dent in that tab. Unless you are an athletic recruit in a sport important to them
Financial Aid is all about the number. You need to get number from your parents’2017 tax returns for the applications, and yes, they verify. You need them for your custodial parent (and spouse) if your parents are not married for FAFSA and for your non custodial parent as well if you have that situation, for CSS PROFILE. Home ownership, owning a business, all that has to be revealed. It’s not the story of hardship that gets you Financial Aid for college. It’s the hard numbers. Your finances will come into the picture too and if you have assets, like your inheritance you mention, they’ll be hit up at , at least 20% by FAFSA formula each year you have them. Maybe more by the PROFILE formula.
So Very important in all of this is how much those stone hard calculators say you and your family can contribute ( which has nothing to do with what they will or can afford to contribute), and how much they will commit to paying for you. Also how much YOU are expected to contribute.
If you have a gap, that means you need to get scholarship money. It’s very difficult to get up to $75k in awards. Getting that from those schools on your list is truly a lottery ticket. Might as well bank on a Powerball lottery try as well.
Your most important school to put on your list are not those name brands that everyone and anyone can easily find and recognize. You need to find a school that will certainly take you, that has the academics you want, that is affordable and doable. That is the crux of college search, Those are the difficult schools to place on your list. Easy to list what you want. Harder to get realistic affordable choices.
Notre Dame is a part of myintuition calculator. I think for the schools listed here, at least for us the numbers were accurate. Others in the forum may have more experience on the accuracy of these as well.
and my school did not offer AP Physics that year.