Parents! Please Help!

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hello! I am a first generation student here in the United States, and my parents know that the Ivies are pretty good schools, but don’t know some other schools that are good for bio/premed area. I was wondering if you could possibly give me some recommendations of schools and my chances of getting into the schools I’ve listed below. Thanks so much! You are the best!</p>

<p>Here are the stats:</p>

<p>residency: Pennsylvania
Ethnicity: Asian
GPA - 3.8 (weighted)
Rank- 58/424 top 14%
Completed 8 honors courses and will have completed 8 APs by the end of my senior year.
APs :Junior- Calculus AB, Chemistry, European History, English Language,
Senior- Calculus BC, Biology, Statistics, and English Literature
I’ve also taken a college course at university of pittsburgh during my sophomore year ( Chemistry ) - got a B</p>

<p>SAT I: verbal: 570
math: 650
Writing:630
(I have only taken the SAT I once, and will be taking it again on oct. 14)
(expecting the scores to increase- studied all summer)
(taking the SAT IIs in November - Math I, Math II, and Chemistry)</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars -</p>

<p>Volleyball (9th and 10th) -JV and Varsity
NHS (10-12)
Spanish Club (9-11)
Continental Math League
Volunteering at hospital ( ~130 hrs)
Starting a “Morning Choir” program at the hospital
Student Council Representative
Junior/ senior class representative in youth group
Stainless (christian group 3yrs)
Praise Team member in youth group
Mission trip to Ensenada (12 days)
Concert Mistress in Senior High orchestra (9-12)</p>

<p>Passion- Music (performing arts- instrumental- Violin)
PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Education Association) district orchestra (2 yrs)
" " honors orchestra (3 yrs)
" " regional orchestra (2 yrs)
" " all-state orchestra (2 yrs)
Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra (1 yr)
***I am also nominated for the all-eastern orchestra which will include top string players from all the 13 original colonies ( I will be the first one to go in our school history)</p>

<p>Senior High Orchestra - concert mistress

  • president
  • leadership award
    -directors award</p>

<p>PHEW… ok so here is my college list:
Johns Hopkins University (ED)
Carnegie Mellon University
Lehigh University
Rice University
University of California- SD or Irvine
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of Washington</p>

<p>Please tell me what you think my chances are for these schools- (reach, good match, safety etc.) And any other recommendations will be totally helpful! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! =D</p>

2

<p>Well, you have a nicely balanced list, imo. Your SATs at their current level will make it a bit tough at the most selective schools and even the more selective schools on your list, so I am going to assume it will go up as you have been studying hard. IF you can get that math SAT over the 700 mark, I think you can put Lehigh in the match/reach category. JHU/CMellon/Rice in the reach/reach-y category. I don’t know about the others. </p>

<p>Looks like you prefer a mid-sized U to a LAC? Looks like you are a female (“concert mistress” :wink: ). Consider Wellesley - has always been super strong in med/law/B-school placements. Consider schools which don’t require SAT/ACT - <a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5B/url%5D”>http://www.fairtest.org</a>. In that group, Bates College comes to mind if you will consider small LACs as it is strong in science.</p>

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<p>Sorry to say this, but you are going to need to persuade your parents that Ivies are not in the cards for you. And you need some less-selective schools on your list. I like small liberal arts schools for pre-med as you can get a bit more attention from faculty and other staff and many have good track records for med school admission. A few in your area that come to mind are Allegheny College, College of Wooster and Franklin and Marshall, though you will need a boost in your SATs to make the latter a good bet.</p>