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It was suggested on another thread that if I provide my stats, some of you can suggest possible schools to consider.

I am just a junior so no PSAT, SAT or ACT test scores yet. I tested last spring in IB Spanish and received a 6 on the test. (Possible score of 7.)

My GPA has been around 3.8 (unweighted) but it will drop significantly this year. (For example, there are 32 of us in my chemistry class and the highest grade so far is a B-. I am #5 of 32 with a grade of C.) I nonetheless will be in the top 1%-2% of my high school class.

I am an IB full diploma student. Classes are:

IB Russian
IB Biology
IB Chemistry
IB English
IB History (Europen)
IB Math Studies (less demanding than IB Calc)
IB Theory of Knowledge(1/2 year)

My schedule will remain exactly the same senior year except that I will be done with chemistry and I will pick up a few requirements for graduation such as phys ed.

I don't do any extra-curriculars through school. However, I do 13 hours of gymnastics each week during the school year; 20 hours during the summer. (Tramp & tumbling; not an NCAA sport = no chance of scholarship.) If you are familiar with gymnastics, I am a USAG Level 10 and I hope to go elite next year in tumbling. I was on a competition dance team for 8 years but dropped dance this year in order to handle the homework associated with IB. (Probably not good to have dropped but just so many hours in the week.) I volunteer each Sunday for 2.5 hours in religious school, helping a child that is autistic. I also am teaching myself guitar as part of my IB CAS "creativity" requirements.

I would like to go to medical school but I would prefer a liberal arts rather than a pre-med program. I am ADD and know that I will function better in smaller classes and a smaller faculty-to-student ratio.

I have no idea what to major in at college. My parents think languages or English are a good choice since those come easier to me than math/sciences. I just need to make sure that I have a good science foundation for medical school and would like a school with a good med school acceptance rate.

I'm not sure about specific schools. My mom went to Vanderbilt but is not a big donor so we're not sure that will help much. I live an hour away from Carleton and that's one possibility. The University of Minnesota will be my "safety" but I'm not sure whether to apply pre-med or CLA there. Big classes, no matter what I take.

I like the idea of going to an Ivy League school but they all sound pretty high-pressure. I work hard but I am no genius and I am worried about getting in over my head.

Any suggestions for schools(reach, safety, match) would be appreciated! Thanks!

By Haon (Haon) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 02:08 pm: Edit

Middlebury would be good (a reach with good languages and english, maybe a match).

Williams and Amherst both have excellent english departmetns and would be reaches (however, WIlliams has a weaker romance language department).

Oberlin and Kenyon are two excellent schools that would be matches for you probably.
It largely depends on whether or not you break 1400 on the SATs (if you break 1500 Midd goes down to a match and oberlin and kenyon may be safeties).

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 03:12 pm: Edit

First, let's start with schools with good gymnastics programs - that might give you an edge in admissions or merit money. Stanford has a good women's gymnastics program and of course is strong academically. The University of Denver also has a women's gymnastics program and has a good writing program.

Aside from the gymnastics, Carleton, MacCalester and St. Olaf would be good places to start looking. Other schools to look at: Knox College in Illinois, Grinnell in Iowa, Whitman in Washington, The College of Wooster, Oberlin, and Kenyon in Ohio, Lawrence in Wisconsin, Willamette or Lewis & Clark in Oregon, Occidental or the University of Redlands in California, Earlham in Indiana, Rhodes College in Tenn., Trinity University or Southwestern University in Texas. These are all smaller schools with top notch academic programs and good pre-med advisors. They'd also all probably be matches or reaches for you (it's good to start by finding matches and safeties that you like then branch out to the reaches).

I'd suggest you get a hold of a college guide like the Fiske Guide at the library, bookstore or in your guidance office and start reading up on these schools to see if any appeal to you. Their web sites can be another place to get an idea of the programs offered and what the schools are like.

By the way, you are absolutely correct: it's not necessary to major in bio or chem to get into med school. In fact, students in other fields do just as well on Med School entrance exams as "pre-med majors" It is, of course, important to go to a school where you can fulfill the science requirements and have help from an advisor who can help you plan your courses so you do so. Good luck!