OH Senior w/ not great ECs (No spike until recently). Would like to know whether college list is impractical [3.95 GPA, 35 ACT, biology or similar major]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic (Born in Cali)
  • State/Location of residency: Ohio
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Public
  • Other special factors: First to apply to college in the U.S. Single-parent household, no money saved.

Cost Constraints / Budget

Will need financial aid. Mom’s okay to pay for whatever I get into, but the more money saved, the better.

Intended Major(s)

Biochem, Animal Science, Biology, Zoology

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores (As of start of Senior Yr)

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.95
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.3
  • Class Rank: Prob top 10-15% out of 400
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 35 (36 Eng, 34 Math, 35 Reading, 36 Sci)

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: AP Lang (4), Classical Mythology (OSU CCP)
  • Math: AP Calc AB (5), AP Pre-Calc (5), AP Calc BC (current)
  • Science: AP Biology (5), Honors Physics, Medical Terminology (OSU CCP), AP Chemistry (current),
  • History and social studies: APUSH (5), AP Gov (5), AP Euro (current)
  • Language other than English: Honors Spanish 4 (4 years)
  • Visual or performing arts: Honors Wind Ensemble(4 years), Marching Band(4 years), Gold Jazz Band(4 years) - lead tenor sax, lead quints for marching
  • Other academic courses:

Awards

Silver volunteer Service Award, Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, AP Scholar w/ distinction, Varsity (xc, track, and Honors Band).

Extracurriculars
Shadowing Veterinary Clinic (80 hours so far), Accepted into Buckeye Vet Camp (hands on vet experience), Swim Instructor, Trainer, and Lifeguard at Goldfish Swim School (over a year), Cross Country (JV/Varsity Swing, 6 years), Track (6 years, JV/Varsity Swing), Taekwondo (8 yrs, Elite demo team captain, won multiple state tournaments for sparring and breaking) - also started getting paid to work as an Instructor and camp counselor throughout the year when I was 13 and worked until I was 16, Youth Jazz Ensemble (6 years, lead tenor sax), Club Swim (1 year, competed senior meets), Environmental Club(co-pres, led/participated in projects), Shadowed infectious disease lab at OSU(only for a month, 4 times), volunteered at library, food pantry, and community farmers market (60+ hours).

Essays/LORs/Other

Written 1 draft for personal statement about working with a kid at Goldfish; I think the story is good, but the ending falls flat/is not unique. Prompt was: “reflect on time you challenged a Belief/idea”. Overall, I think it is a 6-7/10, but I think it can get a lot better w/ editing.

LORs will probably be good (counselor, Bio teacher of 3 years, Band director)

Schools

I am aiming for scholarships for any of these schools if possible. Will most likely apply to all early.

  • Extremely Likely: tOSU
  • Likely: University of Washington-Seattle Campus, Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Oregon State University, North Carolina State University, Washington State University, Texas A & M University-College Station, University of California-Davis
  • Toss-up: University of Florida, University of Sydney (family)
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability: Stanford University, Cornell University, UC Berkeley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Most schools geared towards pre-veterinary path, but also looking for schools good for bio. Like places with lots of nature, parks.

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Do either of your parents have a degree, from anywhere?

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Yes, both have a BS from a Sri Lankan college, and I’m pretty sure that my father had a Master’s as well.

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What are you talking about? You have great long term (multi-year) extracurriculars! Kudos to you for being so active.

“Mom will pay whatever”… so she’s willing to pay $70k a year x 4 years = $280k? Some families can do that, for others it’s a pipe dream. It would be helpful for your college selection process to have a numerical range figured out with your Mom.

All schools on your list are big research universities. And the public universities outside your state are unlikely to give you much financial aid. To answer your question, your list is practical enough but not if you want to maximize financial aid. You may want to include some private colleges with high endowments. I think you’d be very competitive at many LACs and some of them could give you great financial aid.

Many LACs have a stellar record for their students being accepted to graduate programs and medical schools.

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Thank you! When I said that my mom would pay for whatever, I meant that she told me to disregard tuition when applying to schools. I know we aren’t great financially, so I honestly do not know how we will pay.

I will definitely look into more LACs; I wasn’t aware of that path. Thank you again for the advice.

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Ok, so you won’t count as first gen.

You have an excellent profile. I’m not sure if I would categorize some of the out of states as “likely” (UW, UCD, NC State) for example, but they would probably be targets. However, the issue for you looks more to be funding. Davis is excellent for the vet track, of course, but California publics - and many flagship and other publics -don’t give much aid beyond federal aid to out of state students.

This:

Is a little contradictory to me - do you have an approximate $ budget per year to work with? Have you run the net price calculators for each school to see what the likely cost would be? (Edit: just seen the post above. Please try gently explain to your mom that it’s not helpful to disregard finances, as there’s no point spending time and money on applications to colleges you won’t be able to pay for or get funding from.)

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Yeah, I just used the school links system to categorize the schools, and it put those in likely; I know they will definitely be harder than that, though.

I talked to my mom again, and she still isn’t sure, but she said maybe max 20k a year. I know that probably knocks off a ton of schools on my list. She still wants me to apply, see what scholarships I can get through the school and outside of it, though. I am not sure if it’s worth the effort, but at the same time I’d love to go OOS (esp UW seattle, UNC).

I haven’t done any NPCs, but I will do them ASAP.

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Congrats -

So the first thing that you need is a budget.

When you say will need financial aid but mom will pay what she needs to - hmmmm - how?

How will she pay for any school? You can only borrow $5500 the first year. Yes, she can borrow more - but she will have to pay it back - and can she get credit and afford to pay it back? Loans are dangerous.

With your stats, you can go to college for $20K out of state - and I’m guessing you’d have a low in state cost too.

But you need to be budget friendly - not worry about a name, especially if you think you are going to vet school - which will cost a lot.

So you can’t say - mom is ok to pay. Some schools are $100K - unless they decide you need aid.

So come up with a budget - what can she pay - but your ECs are less relevant but you have some Southern colleges and midwestern colleges like Mississippi State or Central Michigan where you can be $20K ish - as well as W Carolina. And I’m guessing you can find an Ohio State or Ohio U at a low cost.

As for your list -

OSU is extremely likely as are CSU, Oregon State, NC State, Wash State, and Texas A&M. UW and NC State are likely.

But here’s the thing - how will you pay for any - they are all $50K+ a year - and you are out of state. They provide aid to their in state residents, so short of being a national merit finalist at Wash U, I don’t see any of these schools as affordable. So in that sense they are a waste.

I can see you getting into UF - but it’s $50K. I agree UF is a toss up but lean in

This goes back to - you need a budget.

It could be your low probability meet your need. Have mom fill out a net price calculator but many schools will require your dad (if alive) to fill out. I linked Cornell’s below.

But as strong a student as you are, you need an affordable school I don’t know if $30K or less is affordable - but as noted a W Carolina, Miss State, C Michigan. U Kansas or Kansas State are worth a look but close to home how about Ohio U or Marshall. You might also look at WVU. There’s more.

But settle with mom on a budget - that’s what matters most. What can mom pay? Your statement that she’s willing to pay anything is not realistic unfortuantely.

In short, your list short ofthe low probability needs to be completely redone - unless mom can afford $60K or so a year - and it doesn’t sound like it. btw - UNC (and UVA) both meet need - so I put the UNC calculator below as well. Very few schools - namely those two - meet need (as they determine, not you).

When you have a budget - and we don’t know what it is yet, you have to build for the budget, not the perceived school names you’ve read about are strong for vet/pre vet.

Hope that helps.

Financial Aid Calculators | Financial Aid

Net Price Calculator - Office of Scholarships and Student Aid

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OK - so what in state programs are there - because room and board is $15K a year plus.

Will you qualify for any of these??

A Mississippi State will get you to $20K ish with auto merit as will C Michigan and W Carolina - but C Michigan goes up the final two years.

Then you can apply to meets need schools - like LACs (I’ll put a list below) in the NPC shows a good amount.

Talk to your school counselor about programs for low incomes students - the Ohio State regional campuses have one I believe, as does the Buckeye Opportunity Program. I’m sure an Akron and Bowling Green type do too.

There will be lots of accomplished kids just like you.

In the end, budget drives the decision.

You might also look at some of the PASSHE schools in Pennsylvania - but I’m guessing they’ll be over budget - like Slippery Rock or Millersville.

Hope that helps.

State Grants & Scholarships | The Ohio Department of Higher Education

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The Ohio State University has a VERY good DVM program (it is ranked “top 10” in at least some rankings). It is also very good for premed and pre-vet students. I think that it would be an excellent choice for you.

Ohio State also offers merit aid for some in-state students. Your excellent results in high school is likely to help you in this regard.

Also, the required premed classes and the required pre-vet classes are the same classes. One daughter was pre-vet (she is a veterinarian now) and she knew a lot of premed students from these classes. Many of the premed / pre-vet classes will be very tough. It is for example entirely normal to hear stories of classes full of very strong students with tough mid-term exams with class averages in the 40’s or 50’s. Being very well prepared by doing very well in high school is likely to at least improve your chances of doing well in these tough classes.

And if you look at the students at very good DVM programs, or very good MD and DO programs, or very good biomedical PhD or master’s degree programs, you will find that they come from a huge range of undergraduate universities. Some will come from schools ranked higher than tOSU, some from schools ranked about the same, and some (probably a majority in most cases) will from schools ranked lower than tOSU. What the students will have in common is having done very well as undergraduate students wherever they were, and also having some relevant experience. You can get this at any university on your list.

Getting a DVM is a long and difficult path. Eight years of university requires a lot of work, a lot of time, and can be expensive. You would be way better off to find an affordable university for your bachelor’s degree, and if possible avoid debt for your bachelor’s degree.

You should run the NPC for Stanford and Cornell (you might need to have your mother do this) and see how much need based aid you qualify for. If they are not any more expensive than tOSU then they might be worth an application. If they would be even remotely close to full cost then I do not think that they would be worth the cost even though they are very good universities. As an out of state student, UC Berkeley is just not going to be worth the cost. I would drop it from your list. I would say the same thing about other Universities of California, including Davis. I do not know what UNC would cost you, but again I would not spend significantly more than the cost of Ohio State.

Your excellent stats and hard work in high school plus being in-state should at least in my opinion make tOSU a solid safety for you. You might think that given how hard you have worked in high school that you could go elsewhere, and in fact you almost certainly could go elsewhere. However, the main point of all this hard work is NOT to attend other universities further from home. For anyone who is considering being pre-vet, or who is considering any other major that overlaps significantly with premed classes, the main point of having worked so hard and done so well in high school is to be very well prepared to do well in the tough premed / pre-vet classes. If all this hard work also brings in some merit aid that is just so much the better.

I might add that my older daughter graduated with her doctorate in veterinary medicine only a bit more than a year ago. She has been working as a veterinarian since. She loves it. While she was still a DVM student she told us that most of the students in her DVM program were taking on way too much debt, and most did not want to talk about it. We specifically made a point not to mention this at all when we visited for her graduation. Graduation was an opportunity for all of the graduating doctors to celebrate, and we did not want to make any of them feel bad about the debt that they had taken on. However, our daughter was very, very happy to have chosen affordable schools for both undergraduate and her doctorate, and to have her total debt very much under control. This of course is helping her a lot right now as she lives on her salary as a relatively young veterinarian.

You would similarly be way better off to keep the cost of your bachelor’s degree down as low as you reasonably can. Also, tOSU really is a very excellent university, and you are lucky to have such a good university as an in-state option. The fact that it looks very likely for admissions for you and that merit aid appears possible is something that to a large extent you have earned through your hard work throughout high school.

And if you pivot to be premed, or to want to go into biomedical research, or to do any one of a very long list of other things, tOSU will still be an excellent choice.

Best wishes.

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Thank you for all the words of advice. I will try to have a more in-depth conversation with my mother and will develop a budget. As for my father filling out the net price calc, he is incarcerated, so I don’t think he’ll be considered.

I’ll take a look at all the links as well - thanks again.

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Not vet school exactly but check out these stats, to give you a sense of what LACs can do for you for graduate studies:

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You’ll have to apply for a waiver for him at most schools. Others can tell you more.

Honestly, the budget is most important. Kids don’t want to hear it but even living home and going to community college works. You are a stud student - so you’ll be fine no matter what.

But not only do you have four years - if you go further, then there’s that cost.

It’s far but a Mississippi State has a zoology track in biology.

It’s cost - as an example - is $45,286 for OOS. OK - looks like they lowered them so you’d get $19K - so not as good but they have competitive ones. So maybe that’s not the right fit. A U of Alabama is similar - it’s $52K and you’d get $28K off.

UAH is a smaller school - in a small city, sort of suburban, parks not far. It’s direct cots are a tad less than $42K and you’d get $22K off.

Again, I think you will find an Ohio U or school like that in state to be a great hope - about $31K before scholarships and or low income $$.

Talk to your HS counselor.

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Thanks - the veterinarians at the clinic I shadowed told me the same as your daughter: that I should keep undergraduate students as cheap as possible. I agree that the UCs will probably not be worth it, but I’ll do all the NPCs you recommended and compare them to OSU.

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Thank you, will do

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It’s not the UCs won’t be worth it - it’s that they are $80K+ a year and you have no chance to afford it if $20K is your limit?

Who is going to give her a loan for $60K + a year and how would she pay it back? And btw - you don’t get what you borrow - because they take out a junk for fees, on top of the interest you pay.

Cost has to be your first priority - and it’s not close as to what is 2nd.

Hopefully your counselor can help.

Does your mom make $65K or less? If so, perhaps Questbridge can be an option but I think time is running out.

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I believe she makes around 70-75k. And yeah, I think QuestBridge is not an option anymore. I will talk to my counselor ASAP as well.

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Unless your Mom has big assets, based on ~$75k salary alone, I don’t think colleges will expect her to pay $20k a year. To me that sounds like a heroic amount on a $75k salary — your Mom obviously is aspiring to do her utmost for you. But I’m going to guess EFC will be more like $5-8k.

Run the NPCs at a few schools and I hope my intuition will be confirmed. Just as a point of reference, try running the NPC at Denison University (in OH). They have a strong endowment with very generous financial aid to their students.

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I bet it’s good. The important question isn’t whether it’s unique. It’s whether it reflects who you are with some authenticity.

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For privates, absolutely.

here’s a list of meets need schools. Look at the schools like Kenyon and Denison as noted - and other rural ones you find on here. Note they are need aware - so if you need too much, they can’t turn you down for that reason. It doesn’t mean they will but they can.

Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid · PrepScholar

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