There are a LOT of great colleges…many fly under the radar screen because USNew didn’t rank them highly. Please don’t choose your college based on rankings.
And while you are searching for an ED school, I would strongly urge you to find an affordable college that you like…where you are highly likely to be admitted. In my opinion, this is THE most importantly college on your applications list. You don’t want all reachy schools with very low acceptance rates. If that is what you are looking at, please let me know and I will link a thread that tells why that strategy isn’t a good one.
There are many, many schools that are filled with opportunities to take advantage of. There are safety and target schools that fit into this bucket, and you need to find a few. While you are certainly a competitive applicant for your reach schools, they are very competitive and students get shut out all the time. Nobody here can tell you whether you will be accepted. Your parents will be proud of you regardless of your school.
One more word about misrepresenting your accomplishments…I mean no harm at all as I recognize it was not intentional and you are learning. One day you will be interviewing for internships, research positions, medical school, grad school, jobs etc. It is very important that you communicate an accurate representation of your accomplishments, experiences, stories that you share etc. Not doing so can cost you the opportunity that you are interviewing for.
Hi, I understand completely where you’re coming from and I do have a list of safety schools I don’t mind going to as well cc&transfer if possible. I’m just looking for reach schools that might be a good for me right now that I may be able to ED to. I understand all the cons of applying ED, but I absolutely am sure that I want to ED somewhere. Sorry if i seem delusional or stubborn
I get it. I’m an immigrant myself and it comes down to parents’ pride where you go to college. Good school means schools they have heard of. Not some LACS like Amherst or Williams. But you will have to stand up and decide what’s good for you. Best of luck!
You don’t seem delusional or stubborn. But as a first Gen kid navigating the system by yourself, you seem to prefer relying on rumor and half truths rather than actual reality. And here’s reality- since you are not full pay, applying early is a risky strategy. You need to focus on finding the right academic, social, financial fit- strategizing right now about applying early, RD, EA, whatever is a total waste of time.
It is a rumor- fed by HS kids- that applying ED allows you to “jump” up a level in selectivity. This is false. It is a rumor- fed by overworked guidance counselor- that applying ED “helps you” lock in an answer early. Yes, it does that IF you get accepted to your favorite school and if the financial aid turns out to be what the NPC says it was going to be. If you do NOT get accepted, you are facing a very bleak December grinding out those “Why Clown College” essays which you never thought you were going to need. And if you get accepted and for whatever reason the aid is off (just look up old threads to see how often that happens- a lot) you still need the “why clown college” essays AND your anger that the brass ring was close at hand but you just couldn’t swing the finances.
Your comment that you are just going to spend down a savings account is both great news (yay for savings) and potentially troubling news. Is this your parent’s retirement savings? Do they not have an IRA or 401K-- is the savings account the money they’ve earmarked in case someone is disabled and can’t work?
So you are neither delusional nor stubborn, but you are going to learn a LOT over the next few months and you may decide to modulate your self-confidence that “I’m going to do what I’m going to do and none of you experienced middle aged people can tell me otherwise”. Or not. But I find in my life (I was also the child of an immigrant/refugee) it’s sometimes helpful learning from the folks who already know the ropes. And the times when I resisted their advice was often the times when I needed it the most.
I think you should look at Vandy because they give good merit aid for students of your caliber. Yale could be a good choice.
Are you looking at any BSMD programs like Brown, Case, URochester and Pitt?
There is no shortage of students with very high stats and excellent ECs applying to Vandy. It’s ok to apply…but expectations for acceptance and merit should be kept in check. I am not taking anything away from this student…who is clearly qualified. She may get in, she may not…we have no idea.
I would look at honors colleges at the University of SC, Pitt, etc. I also know a student from Ca with similar stats who received very good merit at the University of Washington.
Have you visited any college campuses yet? Will you be able to visit any college campuses prior to submitting an ED application? It is strongly recommended to visit any school that you’re considering EDing to make sure the school is clearly your top choice and a good fit.
I’ve visited both Williams and Northwestern before & I really liked both of them a lot! I know a lot of people feel that Williams is a bit isolating but I find it to be quite cozy
I’m going to be realistic, my chances at Yale or any of the BSMD programs are close to zero, and honestly I probably cant handle the workload of BSMD programs haha
That’s definitely a step in the right direction! Have you visited any other campuses? Will you have the opportunity to visit any other campuses?
If you will not be able to visit any additional campuses, and if you would be happy at Williams or Northwestern for four years, then I wouldn’t be looking for additional “ED” schools. I would select from the schools you’ve visited for ED and then work on developing the remainder of a balanced college list. There were a number of suggestions in posts #30 & 34.
I know and I understand, what I meant was I want to enjoy undergrad and have fun and not necessarily be in a fast paced program. I understand how hard the pre-med route is.
But will you be able to visit any more before it’s time to submit an ED application? For instance, upthread there were schools like Bates, Colby, Vassar, Rice, BU, Brandeis, WashU, Carleton, Emory, and Wesleyan listed. After doing research on the schools, seeing online tours, etc, if there were some favorite contenders, would you be able to visit them before ED deadlines? If not, then there’s little point in looking for other “ED” options if you would be happy with Williams or Northwestern.