Would you like suggestions for other colleges?
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Yes!!! I would appreciate that!
Thank you!
Not an expert on pre-med, but donât see how going to SJSU or Cal Poly Pomona can hurt your application. There are plenty of hospitals nearby at both schools.
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UW (Madison) is not a safety for you as an OOS applicant. I would call it a match, maybe a high match, with your high SAT and relatively low GPA.
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Have you looked at University of New Mexico? Hospital right there and costs would be favorable too.
And the Arizona publics as well.
These could be true sure thing options.
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I agree Cal Poly Pomona might be an obvious in-state option.
Out of state public universities, I would usually be thinking about colleges like Indiana, Arizona State, and Colorado. Maybe Miami (Oxford) if you wanted a different vibe.
For privatesâI mostly hesitate to recommend full pay privates for a possible pre-med. But you could try chasing merit at like a Gonzaga, Marquette, or University of Denver.
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In terms of suggestionsâŠif you save your parents money on undergrad schoolâŠwill they then divert that money to medical school costs should you get there?
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Yes, they will do that. Given Iâm not 100% sure of med-school - Iâm also trying to go to a college that gives me a good foundation for bio medical research - if thatâs where I find out my interests lie.
UCM, UCR, UCSC?
Just to be clear on this, your parents will pay $90K per year for some of these schools?
Have you identified at least one affordable highly likely/safety school that youâd be happy to attend? Neither UMass nor Wisconsin are safeties. I would categorize UW madison a reach and UMass a target.
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OP, Can you calculate your UC GPAs?GPA Calculator for the University of California â RogerHub
So one obvious direction is to just do one of the big flagship research universities. Again, I believe all of Indiana, Colorado, both Arizona State and Arizona, and so on have a ton of Bio research going on, lots of people end up doing PhDs (assuming they do well in college) and so on.
But you could also consider a small Liberal Arts College, again particularly if they might offer merit. Some of the less reachy and more merit heavy options that actually place a relatively high number of grads in Bio PhD programs include St Olaf, Kalamazoo, and Allegheny College.
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if you got into COSMOS with the lower GPA, then it is entirely possible that the very good ECs you have are looked upon favorably by the UCs. In that case UCR with a medical school and a direct admit option might be possible.
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Unless you qualify for financial aid, the total cost of attendance at Tufts is currently about $95,000 per year. If you are applying to start in a bit more than a year, and if you get accepted without aid, you should expect to spend about $400,000 or perhaps slightly more for four years there. Medical school could be another $500,000 if you get accepted.
Regarding âWUSTL, Tufts, Emory, and Dartmouthâ, I would not expect any of them to happen with a 3.53 unweighted GPA. I think that your chances are poor in spite of having a great SAT score.
U.Mass Amherst is not a safety. U. Wisconsin is probably a reach. Your matches are all reaches. Your reaches are IMHO very unlikely.
So, there is good news and bad news. The good news is as @thumper1 said you can complete the premed prerequisites and get a very strong education at any one of a very, very wide range of universities. One piece of bad news is that premed classes are generally very academically demanding at any one of a very wide range of universities, and will be full of very strong students. If you want to keep open the option of getting accepted to medical school, then you will need to keep a very high GPA in very tough classes.
You are in a WUE / WICHE state (WUE is the undergraduate part of WICHE). You might want to consider some of the California State Universities, as well as some of the WUE universities.
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Below are my guesses as to what your chances for admission might be at the schools on your list.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Likely (60-79%)
- UMass - Amherst (closer to toss-up)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
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U. of Washington
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U. of Wisconsin
Lower Probability (20-39%)
- Case Western
Low Probability (less than 20%)
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Rice
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Tufts
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Emory
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WashU
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Northeastern (if you want acceptance to the Boston campus your first year)
At U. of Washington, many of its majors are capacity-constrained, meaning that even if you met all prereq requirements, youâre still not guaranteed a sport. âThese majors often have application forms and application deadlines; some of them require standardized tests, recommendations, and/or interviews,â and this is AFTER youâre accepted to UW and have fulfilled the prereqs for the major (source). Amont the capacity-constrained majors are biochemistry, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, bioengineering, bioresource science and engineering, health informatics and health information management, public health, etc. (source).
Iâll be back in a little while of some additional schools you may want to consider. One thing you mentioned liking was colleges that in close proximity to hospitals, and being in an area that has frequent direct flights home. Additionally, your family has expressed its willingness to use any money âsavedâ on a less expensive undergrad and using that toward grad school.
Do you have any other preferences about the college experience you hope to have?
- What size classes do you prefer?
- What size school do you prefer?
- How do you feel about Greek life (fraternities/sororities)?
- How do you feel about significant enthusiasm for intercollegiate sports?
- Will climate, politics, or religion play a role in your college decision? If so, how?
- Are there areas of the country you prefer, or prefer to avoid?
- Are there any other interests youâd like to pursue that you havenât mentioned yet?
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This site limits its recommendations to just a few schools. Nonetheless, it may offer you ideas for colleges to explore further:
As an opinion, I donât see a college on your current list that would be better for your goal of reaching medical school than, say, Bates, which appears in the site, would be.
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Iâll wait to hear more about your interests in college, but below are some schools that I think would be extremely likely admits that you may want to consider:
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Agnes Scott (GA): This womenâs college with about 1k undergrads is located in one of the most walkable areas of Atlanta. Itâs in a consortium with other Atlanta-area schools, including Emory, that allows students to take classes at the other schools. It has a popular public health program that is run concurrently with Emoryâs and you can read more about its department here.
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Cal State â Chico: About 13k undergrads and less than a mile from a med center.
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Creighton (NE): About 4300 undergrads in Omaha. Strong bio and health options here with convenient access to medical facilities.
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Seattle U. (WA): About 4k undergrads and lots of medical options in the area
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U. of Denver (CO): About 6200 undergrads and lots of medical options in the area
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U. of New Mexico: About 16k undergrads at this college in Albuquerque thatâs steps from a medical facility.
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A common barrier for California Asian students looking for less-reachy schools is that a lot of the good options are much less diverse (especially in terms of Asian representation) than theyâre accustomed to.
Seattle U is a notable exception to this trend; the undergraduate student population there is 37% Asian. Definitely worth a look, in addition to other mid-sized Catholic Uâs. (Asian percentages at a few others: U of Portland: 23%; Santa Clara: 20%; U of San Francisco: 26%)
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I got into COSMOS after freshman year when I finished with a 4.0 GPA. A+ in all subjects. I dont think I would be considered now
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