Journey To College :: Finalizing The College List

The Common App is officially open so I thought I'd update you guys on how the college admissions process is going for Courtney. If you're not familiar with the Common App, it's one single application accepted by close to 1000 colleges. It simplifies the process of applying. 

{Her speech at the ceremony}

Before going into detail, I'd like to share a proud Mom moment with you. For Courtney, being a anesthesiologist was something she had her heart set on for years now. Back in March, she applied for MD Camp at the Ohio State University. She had an interview in April and got the acceptance letter in May. Courtney was one out of 35 campers to earn a spot, with more than 300 applications received for MD Camp. I couldn’t be prouder of her. MD Camp is an intensive, three-week summer day camp providing participants an experience in the rigors of medical school. MD Camp students will have the opportunity to shadow clinicians and researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. By the end of MD Camp, students will have a greater grasp of what a career in medicine is like and how to go about becoming a successful physician. She got to work on cadavers, visited the emergency medical helicopter that helps transport people in emergency situations, learned how to suture a wound on a banana. Completing this program will increase her value tremendously in admissions officers' eyes. She had the opportunities to work with different types of physicians and it further confirmed that anesthesia as her first choice of career.

 

The Common App is officially open so we are getting the ball rolling. She plan to apply "Early Action" to every college that offered it on her list. The EA1 deadline is almost always November 1, while the EA2 deadline is typically November 15. By applying early action, she'll get an early decision but it's not binding. If your child loves one particular school but still wants to keep their options open, early action is the way to go. Early action also put them in line for more merit and scholarships before regular applications are due. Some schools will send a full financial aid package with early action acceptances but that's not always the case. We did visit a couple of colleges and will continue to do so before the deadline of November 1st. Below is the list of colleges that she will be applying.

1. The Ohio State University (3rd choice):
Biomedical Science (major) and Health and Society (minor). This includes pre-med track but also includes classes in other aspects of healthcare (policy, cancer...). OSU is one of only a handful of colleges in the country to offer an undergraduate major in Biomedical Science. It's a highly competitive program. They accept approximately 26 freshmen are admitted to the competitive major each academic year.

 2. Boston University - Her dream school (1st choice)
Biology (major) and no minor. This is a safer (less stressful program) compared to their 7-year Medical Education Program (SMED). She is thinking maybe looking into their BA/MS in biology?

 3. University of Pittsburgh (2nd choice)
Biological Sciences (major) and Sociology (minor). She is very interested in applying for the Guaranteed Admission Program (GAP) but I believe they only consider valedictorians. One of the huge advantages of this program is that the MCAT requirement does not apply to students admitted with SAT/ACT scores.

 4. Case Western Reserve University (4th choice)
Pre-med (major) and Bioethics and Medical Humanities (minor) or their Pre-Professional Scholars Program. This is an 8-year program and MCAT is not required.

 5. University of Cincinnati
Health Sciences Pre-Med (major) and Bioethics (minor).

 6. Northwestern University
Health Science (Major) and Sociology (Minor)

 7. Stony Brook University, State University of New York (5th choice)
Clinical Laboratory Sciences or Health Science or Scholars for Medicine

 8. University of Illinois at Chicago
GPPA Medical Scholars  (major). Medical Humanities (minor) 

 9. Hunter College of the City University of New York
Public Health (major) with pre-health program (offers early assurance pathways to med school)

 10. Temple University
Health Studies (major). Temple University offers the BA/MD Program. Students in this eight-year combined-degree program will complete their BA degree at Washington & Jefferson College. The medical degree is granted by Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
Sociology of Health (minor).

She decided to take UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego off the list due to the fact that they're too far from home. With the extremely high sticker price of college, money is one of the deciding factors for us. At this point, she'll more than likely will accept the ones that offer the most generous merit scholarships.

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Journey To College :: Finalizing The College List