Give me advice on my college list.

[deleted822674]

I'm planning on attempting to complete a CS degree in conjunction with premed requisite courses. I'm also thinking about using my AP credits for Bio and Chem to place into higher level courses(I've heard of higher level courses having more lenient curves). I would love to have some advice on my list--I want to make sure all of the schools I apply to can allow me to feasibly and sanely complete a CS major w/ premed courses.

My list is as follows:
Boston University(Kilachand Honors College maybe, statistically speaking)
U of Oregon(Clark Honors College, based on stats)
U of Washington(might do a math degree w/ cs specialization if I end up here--i.e. ACMS program)
U of Virginia
U of Southern California(first choice)
NYU (maybe--might not apply because of tuition)
U of Michigan (CS program through L&S college)
UCI(honors program, stats wise)
UCSB(honors program, stats wise)
UCSD(maybe honors program, stats wise)
UCLA
UC Berkeley(seems doable--cousin graduated summa cum laude w/ MCB and CS double major)
Brown University(idk about Brown--it's one of my favorite schools, but idk if it would fit my academic goals)
Carnegie Mellon(I'm going to apply to their computational biology program)

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[efle]

GPA? SAT/ACT? ECs?

 

[deleted822674]

GPA? SAT/ACT? ECs?

GPA is ~3.75 at a competitive college prep school. ACT is a 33(retaking probably) and SAT is a 1520. ECs vary a lot; I've done lab research and CS stuff at usc, I run a monthly student publication at my school, varsity golf, etc. The only type of award I have (I guess) is my eagle scout.The schools listed after UCSD are my reach schools while the rest are match or safety(according to college acceptance data from my school). Thanks for any advice!

 

[Toutie]

Be aware that some universities will not accept AP credit to get into higher level Bio and Chem courses...UCLA, for example.
Also be aware that some medical schools will not accept AP credit for Bio and Chem pre-reqs.

 

[efle]

GPA is ~3.75 at a competitive college prep school. ACT is a 33(retaking probably) and SAT is a 1520. ECs vary a lot; I've done lab research and CS stuff at usc, I run a monthly student publication at my school, varsity golf, etc. The only type of award I have (I guess) is my eagle scout.The schools listed after UCSD are my reach schools while the rest are match or safety(according to college acceptance data from my school). Thanks for any advice!

I wouldn't worry about the whole AP thing - med schools still require you to take a year of Bio/Chem/Physics at your university anyways, and while it is true the upper levels are often a little easier with the grading, CS as a major is generally not graded on an easy curve. So if easy high marks is the goal, the whole CS/premed combo is a non-starter. On top of that, some of the schools you've listed like Berkeley and CMU are known for deflated grading overall. If you're gonna be able to ace your way through a CS program at schools like these, you'll also be able to handle intro genchem and genbio.

That said, I think you could actually use a few more reaches on your list! You are competitive enough to be applying to more than 3 top 20s. I'd personally add a bunch more places like any other Ivies you like, Duke, WashU, Rice, Vandy etc.

 

[deleted822674]

I wouldn't worry about the whole AP thing - med schools still require you to take a year of Bio/Chem/Physics at your university anyways, and while it is true the upper levels are often a little easier with the grading, CS as a major is generally not graded on an easy curve. So if easy high marks is the goal, the whole CS/premed combo is a non-starter. On top of that, some of the schools you've listed like Berkeley and CMU are known for deflated grading overall. If you're gonna be able to ace your way through a CS program at schools like these, you'll also be able to handle intro genchem and genbio.

That said, I think you could actually use a few more reaches on your list! You are competitive enough to be applying to more than 3 top 20s. I'd personally add a bunch more places like any other Ivies you like, Duke, WashU, Rice, Vandy etc.

Thank you so much for the advice! I wasn't too compelled to apply to many ivies when I visited them. I think I want to go to a slightly bigger school(partially because my highschool is pretty small and as a result has been pretty limited socially).

 

[efle]

Thank you so much for the advice! I wasn't too compelled to apply to many ivies when I visited them. I think I want to go to a slightly bigger school(partially because my highschool is pretty small and as a result has been pretty limited socially).

A few great schools are pretty small and not in great locations (like Dartmouth). But, most are in major cities and/or have student bodies that are huge relative to high school. My alma mater had ~7500 undergrads and I never stopped meeting new people. You definitely don't need to go to a university so large it becomes its own city (like UCLA with ~45,000 people) to have a big social life.

And that's not to mention that many of the public schools are extremely overcrowded, to the point where it can be hard to get spots in premed prerequisites, and many people need an extra year to graduate.

 

[deleted822674]

A few great schools are pretty small and not in great locations (like Dartmouth). But, most are in major cities and/or have student bodies that are huge relative to high school. My alma mater had ~7500 undergrads and I never stopped meeting new people. You definitely don't need to go to a university so large it becomes its own city (like UCLA with ~45,000 people) to have a big social life.

And that's not to mention that many of the public schools are extremely overcrowded, to the point where it can be hard to get spots in premed prerequisites, and many people need an extra year to graduate.

I have a quick question. I've been thinking about doing a math major with a cs minor or emphasis along with premed. If I don't end up in medical school with this combo, I can still pursue a masters in CS. Does this sound like a more feasible(grade-wise) combination for undergrad? Thanks again for the great insights

 

[efle]

Quick question. Alternatively, I've been thinking about pursuing a math major with some sort of CS emphasis in it in addition to premed. If I don't end up going to medical school after finishing this combo

I have a quick question. I've been thinking about doing a math major with a cs minor or emphasis along with premed. If I don't end up in medical school with this combo, I can still pursue a masters in CS. Does this sound like a more feasible(grade-wise) combination for undergrad? Thanks again for the great insights

At most places Math would still be tough, same with Chemistry and Physics and all the sub-types of engineering. The easy grading is over in the soft sciences and humanities departments (think anthro, socio, languages). But, this isn't something you're supposed to decide on right now. During your first 2-3 semesters you'll be able to take a little math, a little CS, a little chem, a little bio and a few other things that you find interesting. Then you can pick what majors/minors you want to go for. Med schools don't care what you study, so as long as you're finding it manageable to average about a 3.6-3.7 GPA or better, you can do any blend you want.

If you do end up finding it too much of a struggle, you'd probably have to choose between giving up on premed or switching away from the hard sciences/engineering. But cross that bridge if you come to it.