Match Me, Michigan HS Junior

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Junior in High School

Demographics

  • Permanent resident
  • MI/US
  • Public School
  • Other special factors: First gen for college

Cost Constraints / Budget
No budget constraints around 100k net price

Intended Major(s): Biochem, Neurosicence

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.2 (no -/+, so an A is a 4, a B is a 3, and so on.
  • Class Rank: 1 from last year
  • ACT/SAT Scores: none yet, PSAT 1300

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: 9/10th english, IB English HL
  • Math: (including highest level course(s) completed) honors alg 1, honors geometry, honors precal, IB Math HL
  • Science: (including which ones, such as biology, chemistry, physics) Honors biology, physics(virtual), honors chemistry, IB Bio HL, IB chem HL
  • History and social studies: world history, APUSH, IB Psych HL
  • Language other than English: (including highest level completed) french 1-2, IB French SL
  • Visual or performing arts: Computer science essentials, AP computer science

AP scores: APUSH(4)

In progress: AP Calc BC, IB exams next year.

Awards

-AP honors

-honors roll all of HS

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

-Soccer since 7 yrs old

-Fencing

-Bio and Chem Olympiad(member)

-Math Olympiad(member)

-Working on research paper

-Making Neuroscience Club this year

-Summer programs/internships science based

-Track for 1 year in high school

Future: Brain Bee and NHS

Essays/LORs/Other
LORs for now: Math HL teacher will give me a great rec letter, Bio HL teacher will give me a good rec letter, Counselor will provide me with a good/but not amazing rec

Haven’t started essays

Schools

I’m currently in Michigan(in-state), family in Texas

I’m not great at making these types of charts. I don’t necessarily understand the layout and would appreciate some assistance with admission diagrams since I’ve heard they’re beneficial.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): Wayne State, UM-Dearborn,
  • Extremely Likely: Texas Tech, TMU, Oakland University
  • Likely: York university, Texas A&M, Michigan State
  • Lower Probability: U of M, UT Austin,
  • Low Probability: Rice University
2

Is your soccer or fencing on hs teams, etc?

Assuming a 1400 SAT, I’d chance you as:

What college is TMU - Truett Mcconnell?

I can’t change the Canadian school but:

Yes to Wayne State, Dearborn, Texas Tech, Oakland, Michigan State.

Texas A&M is a match but I’m bet a yes with a 1400.

No to U of Michigan, UT Austin, and Rice

If your SAT goes to 1480+, still unlikely but worth of an app.

Your list is fine.

If you decide Neuroscience, UT Dallas seems to be a popular choice on this website that you might want to look into. It’s likely safe for you.

3

There are majors where some form of graduate study is relatively likely at some point in the future. PhD’s are typically fully funded, although admissions can be very, very competitive. Master’s’ degrees and medical degrees (such as an MD) are typically not funded, and can be expensive.

Do you know what you are likely to want to do with a degree in biochemistry or neuroscience?

If you have an unweighted GPA of 3.8, and if you are the number 1 top student in your high school, then you are at a high school with a tough grading scale. That is okay. University admissions will interpret your grades in the context of the school that you are attending, and seem to be pretty good at figuring this out. Actually many years ago I did attend a high school with a similar grading scale, and this did not seem to be a problem for any of us.

I assume this is York University in Toronto, Canada. Why York? Are you a Canadian citizen? I think that your chances for admissions to York are very good, regardless of whether you are a Canadian citizen or international student (from York’s perspective).

Of course as a permanent resident to the USA you are a domestic student for universities in the US, although I am not sure that I understand what you are doing in Michigan if your family is in Texas.

If you want suggestions for other universities in Canada there are a few of us on CC who have some connection to Canada.

4

Yes, I’m a Canadian citizen. I’m not too good with the selection process for picking colleges since there are so many options. A small portion of my family is in Texas and I can attend there if necessary. I would be thrilled to receive some suggestions, thank you!

5

My daughters and I have dual citizenship (US and Canada), but live in the US. Both daughters were born in the US and attended high school in the US. At one point I sent email to a Canadian university asking whether they would pay tuition as a Canadian or as an international student. I still remember the first sentence of the reply: “Your daughter is a Canadian citizen”. The rest of the response was very compatible with this first sentence.

As a Canadian citizen you would pay tuition as a Canadian (for universities in Canada). For at least some universities in Ontario this might save quite a bit compared to the cost for an international student.

What would you like in a university? Most of the universities in Canada are relatively large, although there are some good smaller schools as well. A few of the best known schools (Toronto and McGill come to mind) are known for grade deflation which might put me off a bit, particularly in a major that will overlap quite a bit with premed classes.

Coming from Michigan, if you are really the number one student in your high school, or close to that, I might be tempted to at least consider applying to Queen’s University in Kingston.

Yes there are a huge number of universities to consider.

6

My soccer and fencing are not on a team. I’ve been doing it since I was little, and I’m fairly good at both of them. I hope to do sports related to them in college. I’ve done a fair share of practice SATs and did well (1500-20), but I realize it won’t be consistent with how I might actually do on the test. I feel that my awards section is fairly weak; I would appreciate some recommendations on awards I can apply for. I wanted to confirm what “first gen” meant; I’m the first person in my family to go to college at an American university. My parents went to college abroad but currently work at US universities. Is there anything I can take advantage of being a first gen? I would be delighted if you could provide me with ideas that might assist me in strengthening this application, since I still have time. I looked into UT Dallas; it’s a great school. Thank you for the recommendation!

7

Per year?

Where are you considered an instate resident for college admission and tuition purposes?

2 Likes
8

I asked about your sports because there’s a difference if you play on a team just for fun in regard to ECs although you have others.

Most don’t have awards or meaningful ones. I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s about what you’ve done, not what you’ve been recognized for. The kid scooping ice cream at Baskin Robins has a job, doesn’t get an award. Or the kid walking dogs at the shelter - no award. So don’t worry about that.

As noted up front, your list is fine. Lots of likely admits - as long as you are happy with them all good.

1 Like
9

I do not think that this makes you “first generation”. At least as I understand it, “first generation” is the first in your family to attend university at all, not the first to attend university in the US.

To me your ECs look very good. Really ECs are not all that important, with one exception. The one exception is for students who are very close to being academically perfect and who are applying to very highly ranked universities (on the Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford level). For something like 10 or 15 really top schools, they get 80% or more applicants who are academically very close to perfect, and need to find some way to get down to the 4% or 5% that they actually accept.

However, you can get into very good universities with relatively little in the way of ECs. Both daughters, and years ago I, applied to some very good universities in Canada that did not even ask about ECs (and between us we were 8 for 8 on acceptances in Canada, based only on academics that were not quite perfect for any of us). Similarly your in-state public schools are very good (assuming you are in-state either in Michigan or in Texas) and are not likely to care all that much about ECs.

The other exception would be if you are recruited for sports. For example if you are an exceptional football player, and the coach of a university’s football team wants to recruit you, then this can help a student get accepted. However, the vast majority of us get accepted to very good universities without any help from athletic recruiting.

I also agree that you are likely to get multiple admits from the schools on your list. Two things that you should keep in mind: Make sure that you and your parents are okay with the likely cost of whatever schools you are likely to get accepted to. Look for universities that will be a good fit for what you want in a school. Visiting a few schools and taking tours can help you to figure out what would be a good fit for you.

10

Do either of their universities offer reduced tuition, admissions advantage, or tuition exchange for employees in their employee designation?

11

U Toronto and McGill are two of the top universities for Neuroscience in the world (my kid is now in McGill’s Neuroscience PhD program). I don’t see why you would choose UT Austin or Rice over either of these.

If that is per year, then you should remove UT Austin and Rice and replace them with UCSD and Northwestern. Replace TAMU with U Pitt (which has an international reputation in Neuroscience). If you want more Low Probability, you can add Emory or Wash U, and Rochester also has a well regarded Neuroscience program for Lower Probability. For other OOS possibilities, U Washington, Bing, Wisconsin, and UMN may all be likelies. All have world class Neuroscience programs.

U Michigan is excellent, and while it is challenging with your GPA, as an in-state applicant, it is within reach.

While “top departments” do not always translate into “top undergraduate programs”, Neuroscience is a field that generally requires a graduate degree, and access to the top neuroscience researchers in the world means getting the types of experience and the letters of recommendation that are critical for admissions to a graduate program.

12

I think OP chose Texas schools based on family nearby.

13

Yes, but the distance between Rice University and Texas Tech (both on the OP’s list) is substantially farther than the distance between most places in the lower peninsula of Michigan to Pitt, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and WashU, and only slightly further than the distance to UMN. Texas is a big place.

Of course, U Washington and the UCs are not close to either. For residency, the OP would have to live in Texas for 12 months before they enroll, so that is not a likely scenario, nor a good idea.

However, we do need to know whether the OP means $100K annually or $100K total.

2 Likes
14

Will take the distance into consideration for selection. My parents are fine paying the out of state tuition to be in a school in Texas as long as it doesn’t go over 60-70k per year. We are willing to spend 100k total for in-state tuition(MI) but are flexible depending on the university. Sorry for not clarifying. One of my parents live/work in Texas for the past year so would that make me eligible for their in-state tuition?

15

In state Texas - no.

$100k total is different than $100k

They need to run the NPC for Rice.

Even U Mich will cost them well over $100k.

So you need to get tight on budget.

What’s the figure they can pay - it shouldn’t differ based on where Ohio State is close to Michigan and could get close in price would that work ?

UT will be over $60k. You said $60-70k - which is it ?

Unless you have a tuition exchange, they / you need to learn about costs or choose alternatives like C Michigan or W Michigan etc. if they hope to spend only $100k in state. But I don’t know why they’d say $60k for one and $25k for another.

TTU / UTD you’d be ok. There are schools in the South you can do for $100k with automerit if they count permanent residents but will be flagships in places like Alabama or Mississippi or a school like W Carolina.

I think you need to sit with them and formalize a true, works for all, budget.

16

Colleges that consider this will ask about parental education and go from there.

Note that many colleges define “first generation to college” as meaning that neither parent has a bachelor’s degree from any university in the world.

1 Like
17

This is also something a student shouldn’t worry about. You should apply to the right schools for you. If it helps, great if not, no worry.

I thought the student did, given they said no budget or $100k - turns out they have a budget and some may not work.

18

UMich in state tuition is 68,912 over the course of 4 years - well under $100k. The issue is housing, food, etc which brings the total cost over $100k

19

Yes I included tuition, room and board.

Don’t forget, U Mich (this year) is for LSA $18,346 but the last two years are $20,648.. So it’s more than you are saying but yes I factored in room and board which take it well over $100k.