<p>I wanted some advice on this. You can see my list of colleges here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1405794-chances-brown-rice-texas-nyu-cal-tulane-others.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1405794-chances-brown-rice-texas-nyu-cal-tulane-others.html</a> . Basically, I’m wondering what the best option is in the event that I don’t get into any of these schools. I really don’t want to go to a Junior college, community college or a commuter college because I think I would spend my whole time there hating it and being spiteful towards those around me. Should I just sit out a semester or a year and take the SAT and ACT as much as I can? Or just give up on the matter altogether and go into labor? If you actually went through this dilemma, what did you do and what do you advise?</p>
<p>Sitting out a year is a possible strategy, but almost no one gets into a school they’ve been rejected at before. Scores are the least important part of the application once they are good enough to get your application read. Even if you take a full year off, you’ll be writing new applications in October of the following year. That only gives you the summer and a bit of the fall to do something that makes you a fundamentally more interesting applicant. I think a better plan is to find some safety schools you actually like.</p>
<p>I guess, I just have no idea what any good safety schools would be that are relatively close to where I live in SE Texas that would prepare me for med school at all</p>
<p>Why do you think a safety school has to be close to home? It has to be a college you are pretty certain to be accepted to, and also one that you can afford. That does not mean close to home at all…</p>
<p>I think you should get off your high horse and ditch the attitude of superiority. If you are going to be spiteful to your classmates at a “lesser” college, then yes, you should “go into labor” (I thought you meant have a baby!). Get a job and see how far this narcissistic, entitled attitude gets you in life.</p>
<p>You’ve heard the phrase “love thy safety”? There’s a reason it’s a mantra on CC.</p>
<p>Pick a school - not nec close to home - where your stats make it very likely you’ll get in and where you wouldn’t mind going. You might even get a great scholarship that would make it a better choice than a reachier school.</p>
<p>Med school? You should be looking at inexpensive schools where you can get as high a GPA as possible.</p>
<p>Yes, like many of these: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Or various Texas public universities which your class rank and/or test scores gives automatic admission, if they will give enough financial aid, if needed.</p>
<p>If you have your heart set on the Mercedes and BMWs, and you’re told you can afford something around $10K, do you ride a bike, bum rides or try go by public transportation? Sometimes, some people do. But once you realize you can do most anything with a good reliable car, and get off the name brand fixation, you’ll get where you want to go just as efficiently.</p>
<p>To the people suggesting that my safety need not be close, you must understand that I do find it pretty important to be somewhat close to home. Maybe an 8 or 9 hour drive but still close enough. Price really isn’t a factor as long as I can get my tuition and board down to around $35k. I know what I want so far as a major goes, its just finding a good college that will accept me. I don’t know why everyone here is acting like my scores are awful. They’re good enough for Automatic admission to UT-Austin and I keep getting letters in the mail from Trinity, Southwestern, St. John’s, NYU-Poly, Tulane and others telling me to apply early with a strong chance at some scholarships since my test scores made them interested in me…</p>
<p>If you are an auto-admit (top 8% class rank) to UT Austin, which is less than $35,000 in-state and less than 5 hours drive away from southeast Texas, and it has your major, then what are you worrying about?</p>
<p>Ok…I’m confused. You live in Texas and want to be close to home but you are applying to Brown and NYU?</p>
<p>Did you apply to Trinity in TX? It would seem that would be a reasonable safety for you. If you are an auto admit to UT Austin and you apply there, that would also be a safety. Did you apply to those schools?</p>
<p>If you need to be within 8 or 9 hour drive, that kinda knocks a number of schools off your list, eh? The Ivy’s, UW, Cal schools, NYU…I’m guessing are a bit further away if you are in TX. Also seems like price IS a factor. And as far as all the letters, all kids get LOTS of letters inviting them to apply early…</p>
<p>What DO you want to major in???</p>
<p>I want to major in something that will allow me to fulfill my Pre-Med requirements. Price really isn’t a huge factor for me considering my dad makes $350k + per a year. I would go outside of that 8 or 9 hour radius for a school I just loved, Like Brown or Washington or any of the ones on my list. But if I was pretty indifferent about the school, I definitely would not make the extra effort</p>
<p>You should learn how to use apostrophes if you want to get into those schools [ones, not one’s]. Don’t use apostrophes to make plurals.</p>
<p>I can assure you that I know how to use an apostrophe, thank you very much.</p>
<p>You can major in anything and fulfill the pre-med major requirements. My roommate’s boyfriend majored in Econ and even graduated summa cum laude to boot. What is it about the schools you listed that you like, because I’m not seeing anything much they have in common except being in urban areas and being fairly well known.</p>
<p>My favorites were really Southwestern, Tulane, Rice, Trinity and Brown because I enjoyed that they had smaller class sizes and I really felt that I could get to know my classmates and professors there. Yet they still felt like a real college. The draw to OU is that I am originally from that area and both of my parents went there. UT-Austin is really more or less my parents idea, I don’t think I would go there because quite honestly, I don’t want to have a ton of classes with 200+ people. And Washington and NYU are definite stretches at this point because of their distance from home and the fact that I haven’t visited either campus. Still, I do love Seattle and would love to go to a more temperate climate at some point so what better time than now right?</p>
<p>I think you need to look more closely at the SAT range on some of your schools. A 670 in math puts you in the 25% range at Brown, for example (the 25% - 75% range is about 670 - 770). At Stanford, you don’t even make it to the 25% mark. I suspect most of the other Ivies are about the same.</p>
<p>As other posters have said, if you really want to go to med school you should know:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can major in pretty much ANYTHING and still do the med school requirements. My nephew was history & philosophy double major, and still did the pre-med requirements and is now a doctor.</p></li>
<li><p>GPA is CRITICAL in getting into Med School. Going to a school where you fall near the middle or bottom of the pack in test scores is probably not a good idea. So all these high powered schools you are looking at are probably not a good idea unless you are a super high powered student. And honestly, I don’t see that in your statistics.</p></li>
<li><p>Med schools do put some more emphasis on personality these days in admitting students. Coming out to a forum and calling the adults who are trying to help you “Grammar Nazis” in your comments does not bode well for your ability to impress in that situation. There is an overall arrogance to your posts that make me think I would not want you as my physician… you need to work on that if you think you want to be a doctor, which typically requires a lot of contact with people.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Really, I’d rather go to school with some of the best and fail and just know I’m not good enough to be a doctor than go to some less prestigious institution (U. of Houston, Alabama, Texas-San Antonio, etc.) and do well because I’m not being challenged or pushed at all and then realize that later. Call it an inferiority complex, but I would not feel as if I am on the same footing with someone who studied at Rice, Tulane, Columbia, UCLA, etc. if I had a diploma from some less esteemed school. Honestly, that would lead to more frustration and resentment on my end than not getting in because I went to a difficult school would. Oh well, at least there’s always some way out if I want it.</p>