It seems like the more I look into it, the less clear it becomes on deciding which colleges I should apply to. Could I get some suggestions based on my grades/scores/ECs?
-Graduating class of 2018
-Male
-ACT: 35
-GPA: 4.76 (My school has weighted GPA, I don’t know what it would be exactly unweighted but I had all honors/AP since freshman year and all A+'s)
-EC’s: Lots including captain of speech and debate team and president of Model UN team
-Valedictorian
-Went on a service trip to Paraguay this summer
-First generation immigrant from Pakistan (if that matters)
-Plan on majoring in Neuroscience or Biology and then go onto Medical school
What I am looking for in a school(can compromise on these points)
-Academically rigorous but not too hard
-Ethnically diverse
-Within a day’s drive of Toledo, Ohio
-Near a decent-sized city
-Good campus
-Near good natural spots (I love hiking and camping)
Congrats on your hard work and success! Case Western is pretty rigorous but would be close and have great programs for you. Miami of Ohio is another possibility. We love Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)–hands-on, project based learning; 3 classes at a time; beautiful campus with a great vibe. All (but especially Case and Miami) give generous merit aid, and you’d be a candidate. I’ll note, neuroscience/bio on a pre-med track will be very challenging anywhere you go. You’ll be taking lots of science classes with difficult material and will probably require something like a 3.6 or higher to be accepted into med school. It will be important to get off to a great start freshman year.
Here’s a great table that shows the range of merit aid you might expect at Miami of Ohio. Good luck!
On the smaller side, but with good science/premed programs, University of Richmond in VA (might get merit aid), Franklin and Marshall College in PA (meets 100% demonstrated need, but no merit) , Ursinus College in PA, merit aid likely).
Also in Richmond, is Virginia Commonwealth University, which has a good medical school, and their Honors program has a guaranteed admissions program for graduate health programs aid http://www.honors.vcu.edu/guaranteed/index.html
You would probably be in the running for some merit aid at VCU.
Your stats will open up a lot of possibilities for you but there actually aren’t that many schools that satisfy all your criteria. Rigorous, diverse schools within a day’s drive of Toledo but near a largish city with access to hiking aren’t all that common. I would say New England schools might be your best bet Check out schools in/near Boston: Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Brandeis, BC, BU. Not sure what you mean by “not too hard” but all these schools will provide challenging coursework. U of Rochester is a good option as well. Maybe Cornell, but it’s known for its heavy workload and isn’t really near a city. Its proximity to hiking and camping can’t be beat among prestige schools, though. In Ohio itself, check out Oberlin. Excellent academics and not far from Cleveland. There’s also UMich, which has the academics, reasonable proximity to both urban and rural, diversity, etc. Have you been to Ann Arbor?