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Hi! I'm most interested in the 4 schools in the subject (UNC, Wash U, Emory, Michigan -- My safety is Mizzou), but I'd also really appreciate any suggestions for other schools that I should look into. Anyway, stats:

Female
St. Louis, MO
Prestigious, All-Girls Catholic High School
GPA Unweighted: 3.8, top 10%
Advanced Classes:
Soph/Junior: 6 honors classes total
Senior: AP Bio, AP Calculus, AP Lit
Although this courseload seems light in comparison to the competitive applicant pool, it's one of the most back-breaking schedules possible at my school.

Undergrad major: Neuroscience or Biology w/ Neuro labs/research. I plan on going to med school, specializing in neurology, and pursuing a career in Autism research.

SAT: 1440 -- 700V 740M (Taken once in March, will prob. take again in Dec)
ACT: 33 -- 36W, 30M, 32R, 33S (Taken once)
SATIIs: French 710, taking Writing in Nov.

Recs: should be great.
Essay: My college counselor (who worked on the Harvard AdComm) said it's going to be one of the best ones that AdComms read this year. She's actually sending it to publishers. So...yeah. I guess that will help me.

Extras:

Academic:
National Merit Semi-Finalist (Finalist app pending)
NHS
Brown University Book Award
6 Subject awards from my school
placed 7th nationally in the Grand Concours National French Exam (11th grade)

The Arts:
10 years with the St. Gregory Girls Choir
Now Head Chorister of that choir
7 summer training courses with the Royal School of Church Music
3 years on staff at these courses
Awarded the Dark Blue Ribbon for Choral Excellence
Private voice lessons (9-12)
Performed in 5 plays/musicals so far in high school

Service:
Service Learning Program (9-12), appx. 150 hrs
Senior Service Project – worked in a special education classroom for 3 weeks over the summer
Officer of Amnesty International (12)
Member of Impact Club (9-12)

Employment: Camp Counselor (10-12), After-School Receptionist at school (12), various office work at WUSTL (parent employed there) (11-12)

Thanks to any of you who waded through all of that, and thanks for any insight you might have as to my chances. Again, suggestions for other schools would definitely be appreciated as well.

By Corntastic (Corntastic) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:43 pm: Edit

I guess it's come to this, then?

Bump.

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 02:28 am: Edit

Great schools. I would say those schools you are considering are all matches. Are you also considering Northwestern, Penn and Duke. As a reach, I recommend you look into Stanford. They are all awesome in Biology. By the way, you should apply to Michigan ASAP if you haven't done so already.

By Corntastic (Corntastic) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 05:30 pm: Edit

Thanks so much! That's definitely reassuring to hear that I'm on track with my schools, since I was worried they were too reach-heavy. And thanks for the advice about Michigan, since I had been putting that off. I should be able to get that done by Friday. Again, thank you so, so much for your insight!

By Corntastic (Corntastic) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 06:27 pm: Edit

Any other thoughts?

By Neelesh (Neelesh) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 08:37 pm: Edit

UNC- very good chance
Wash U- In
Emory- In
Michigan- In

i dont know if this is helpful, but your SAT is in the top 70% in all the schools, so you are most likely going to be admitted to them all.

By Corntastic (Corntastic) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 01:22 am: Edit

Hey thanks Neelesh! That's definitely reassuring.

By Par72 (Par72) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 10:27 am: Edit

Might want to look at Duke, which would be a good match. Duke also has the advantage of having one of the top 3 medical schools on the same campus as undergrads. Other schools with great pre-med programs would be Holy Cross-might qualify for merit aid and Holy Cross is a very strong LAC with good reputation for the arts and service(Jesuit Volunteer Group). Might also look at Notre Dame.

By Jer728 (Jer728) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 05:21 pm: Edit

It is very difficult to be labeled "in" at Emory when applying RD. ED is a differents story.. I have a friend who had a 3.9 and 1470 and got waitlisted, while another friend with a 3.6 and 1360 and got accepted ED.

By Slipper2002 (Slipper2002) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 05:27 pm: Edit

That's also because Emory has a tendency to waitlist candidates it thinks are not serious. My friend got into Duke and Brown but waitlisted at Emory, go figure.

Corntastic, great list although most are matches. If I were you I'd apply ED to a reach like Northwestern, Penn, Dartmouth, or Duke. You have a decent shot at these, especially ED. Look into all of these, they are similar to the ones on your list...

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 05:59 pm: Edit

people on the emory board say if you don't show considerable interest, it doesn't matter how good your stats are

By Dreadpirate (Dreadpirate) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 08:30 pm: Edit

Agree that you should consider Duke as a reach school. Duke has outstanding extra-curricular opportunities in choral music that might fit your interests. If you are interested in a top research institution that really focuses on undergrads (only 2800) and has one of only two true residential college systems in the US, take a look at Rice.

By Corntastic (Corntastic) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 09:47 pm: Edit

Wow, thanks everyone for your advice, especially about Emory admissions. I might have to check on that Emory board to see what I can do to "show considerable interest." Hmm.

Several of you said to look into Northwestern, Penn, and especially Duke, so I might just do that. Thanks again, and as always, I really appreciate everyone's insight!