Is this true about UG?

[Monkey.King]

So a friend of mine was telling me something I found to be interesting and also hard to believe, but after some thought it could be true. I was asking her what colleges she got into and she said she got into all the ones she applied too. She has a high SAT score and is a smart person, however she destroyed her highschool grades with a 2.1 gpa, and she doesn't have any extracurriculars in or outside of school, and she isn't really a interesting person, in fact, she's flat out boring. So I'm thinking, "how the f*ck?". And she told me, that you can pretty much get into any school you apply to that isn't prestigious or has a acceptance rate of 30% and below. She said that no college is going to turn down money, so good grades ect, are really only for scholarships and more prestigious schools. Is there any truth to this? She appointed to a lot of schools, she said some of them were good, I know Maryland university was one of them and I saw the acceptance letter for that myself. If this is the case I think I will just put in the extra money to go straight to a university for premed.

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[md-2020]

So a friend of mine was telling me something I found to be interesting and also hard to believe, but after some thought it could be true. I was asking her what colleges she got into and she said she got into all the ones she applied too. She has a high SAT score and is a smart person, however she destroyed her highschool grades with a 2.1 gpa, and she doesn't have any extracurriculars in or outside of school, and she isn't really a interesting person, in fact, she's flat out boring. So I'm thinking, "how the f*ck?". And she told me, that you can pretty much get into any school you apply to that isn't prestigious or has a acceptance rate of 30% and below. She said that no college is going to turn down money, so good grades ect, are really only for scholarships and more prestigious schools. Is there any truth to this? She appointed to a lot of schools, she said some of them were good, I know Maryland university was one of them and I saw the acceptance letter for that myself. If this is the case I think I will just put in the extra money to go straight to a university for premed.

Sadly, pretty much. Obviously not 100%, but for the most part less selective colleges will admit you if you offer to pay full freight. The admissions game for top schools vs. getting into college in general are complete different universes.

 

[eteshoe]

While it may be true I don't see how you'd be doing yourself any favors by not aiming to minimize your UG debt burden (e.g. getting as many scholarships as possible)

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Yea if your willing to pay the vast majority of colleges will accept you.

Hence why we see people with a degree in theater studies and 100k in undergrad debt churning out of random low ranked private schools lol

 

[22031 Alum]

Yea if your willing to pay the vast majority of colleges will accept you.

Hence why we see people with a degree in theater studies and 100k in undergrad debt churning out of random low ranked private schools lol

Yes, the phrase "need-blind admissions" is not something you hear from lower-tiered schools. There are plenty of colleges out there that will take ability to pay into account.

 

[avgn]

People only think college is hard to get into because the national media only focuses on top private school acceptance rates. The vast majority of the country attends community colleges where any old Joe can walk in to take classes. The vast majority of schools will accept most high school graduates like your friend. They don't care if the education they're offering is of any value, which is sad. But if you're someone who doesn't have crap grades, you should care about your quality of education, so don't take the easy way out and go to any old college that wants you to pay full fare. Gun for the money, always

Great piece about the reality of the college world as your dumb friend explained to you: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/shut-up-about-harvard/

 

[Monkey.King]

While it may be true I don't see how you'd be doing yourself any favors by not aiming to minimize your UG debt burden (e.g. getting as many scholarships as possible)

Because in my situation it's too late for that. Unless I get a perfect SAT score chances of a scholarship aren't happening because I didn't take school seriously until I had an epiphany about being a doctor. Well, at least my state schools are decent enough to get me into med school, and if it's needed good thing Goucher is one county away. Glad I found this information, no need for a community college then, though I still might consider it for the cost. And thanks for the link avgn.

And I guess teachers are to blame for these misconceptions. At my school teachers and staff make it seem like if you don't have the stats to get into a top tier school you aren't going to get in anywhere. Guess this emphasized it doesn't really matter where you go for UG

 

[Sardinia]

Because in my situation it's too late for that. Unless I get a perfect SAT score chances of a scholarship aren't happening because I didn't take school seriously until I had an epiphany about being a doctor. Well, at least my state schools are decent enough to get me into med school, and if it's needed good thing Goucher is one county away. Glad I found this information, no need for a community college then, though I still might consider it for the cost. And thanks for the link avgn. And I guess teachers are to blame for these misconceptions. At my school teachers and staff make it seem like if you don't have the stats to get into a top tier school you aren't going to get in anywhere. Guess this emphasized it doesn't really matter where you go for UG

Nope. Look in the mirror until you realize that you are the one at fault. Stopping the blame game before you get to university and realizing that your future is in your own hands will put you leagues above everyone else. You are where you are right now because you put yourself there. I'm not scolding you, just telling you that the sooner you own up to everything the better off you will be.

 

[Monkey.King]

Also, if most schools just want your money, are good lors recommended? I was laid back in school and even now since my gpa is immobile. I never really got in trouble, but I never did homework, turned in assignments on time, and talked back. I'm not bad student, just not a good one either, so I can't really think of any good things teachers would have to say about me besides "very persistent" (which from what I've read professors hate) and "doesn't turn work in on time, nor does he participate in assignments meant to help produce better work, but when a topic interests him he gives it his all and does excellent in it"

 

[avgn]

Wtf if you never did homework or turbines in assignments on time, you are a bad student. Period. Bad students do poorly in college, so be ready for that. Everybody thinks they're gonna change bad habits quick but few do. Beware.

 

[Stagg737]

Because in my situation it's too late for that. Unless I get a perfect SAT score chances of a scholarship aren't happening because I didn't take school seriously until I had an epiphany about being a doctor. Well, at least my state schools are decent enough to get me into med school, and if it's needed good thing Goucher is one county away. Glad I found this information, no need for a community college then, though I still might consider it for the cost. And thanks for the link avgn.

And I guess teachers are to blame for these misconceptions. At my school teachers and staff make it seem like if you don't have the stats to get into a top tier school you aren't going to get in anywhere. Guess this emphasized it doesn't really matter where you go for UG

Just a heads up, all most med schools really care about is that you have a solid GPA (over 3.6, preferably over 3.75), a solid MCAT, and some decent extracurriculars. If you don't have those, it doesn't matter what school you go to, you're not getting into med school. Unless you're trying to go to an elite med school, don't worry about prestige of undergrad. Just focus on actually doing well.

 

[DokterMom]

Because in my situation it's too late for that. Unless I get a perfect SAT score chances of a scholarship aren't happening because I didn't take school seriously until I had an epiphany about being a doctor. Well, at least my state schools are decent enough to get me into med school, and if it's needed good thing Goucher is one county away. Glad I found this information, no need for a community college then, though I still might consider it for the cost. And thanks for the link avgn.

And I guess teachers are to blame for these misconceptions. At my school teachers and staff make it seem like if you don't have the stats to get into a top tier school you aren't going to get in anywhere. Guess this emphasized it doesn't really matter where you go for UG

Curious about the Goucher comment... I had the opportunity to visit Goucher with a prospective student (relative in a similar academic predicament) and was pretty impressed. Small Liberal Arts colleges can (and often do) deliver a top-notch education that helps you get where you want to go.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to hSDN

 

[md-2020]

Curious about the Goucher comment... I had the opportunity to visit Goucher with a prospective student (relative in a similar academic predicament) and was pretty impressed. Small Liberal Arts colleges can (and often do) deliver a top-notch education that helps you get where you want to go.

My family actually lives a very short drive from Gouchers campus, and a lot of my high school friends went there. Excellent environment, excellent college town (that they share with Towson U) and tremendous placement rates from especially the post bacc program. But very very rigorous.

 

[Monkey.King]

Wtf if you never did homework or turbines in assignments on time, you are a bad student. Period. Bad students do poorly in college, so be ready for that. Everybody thinks they're gonna change bad habits quick but few do. Beware.

Well for one, homework isn't graded or checked. And when I said bad student, I meant one who never gave trouble. And I already changed my habits, I just don't apply it because it's too late for it to matter.

 

[avgn]

Well for one, homework isn't graded or checked. And when I said bad student, I meant one who never gave trouble. And I already changed my habits, I just don't apply it because it's too late for it to matter.

This is such a sophomoric high schooler comment. Makes me laugh. How can you have changed habits if you haven't done/applied the new set? Habits are actions. If your actions have not changed, your habits have not changed. This is by definition. This goes back to what I said – you THINK you can do it because you're an adolescent who thinks he's impenetrable but whether you can do it remains to be seen. Just all talk and dreams, no action and all excuses

 

[deleted688154]

You can get all your recs senior year dont worry about it. But start practicing those good habits now, it gets harder the later you start

You could really benefit from a community college setting I think. Smaller classes and more handholding.

 

[Monkey.King]

This is such a sophomoric high schooler comment. Makes me laugh. How can you have changed habits if you haven't done/applied the new set? Habits are actions. If your actions have not changed, your habits have not changed. This is by definition. This goes back to what I said – you THINK you can do it because you're an adolescent who thinks he's impenetrable but whether you can do it remains to be seen. Just all talk and dreams, no action and all excuses

Well ok then

 

[randomguy123456]

So a friend of mine was telling me something I found to be interesting and also hard to believe, but after some thought it could be true. I was asking her what colleges she got into and she said she got into all the ones she applied too. She has a high SAT score and is a smart person, however she destroyed her highschool grades with a 2.1 gpa, and she doesn't have any extracurriculars in or outside of school, and she isn't really a interesting person, in fact, she's flat out boring. So I'm thinking, "how the f*ck?". And she told me, that you can pretty much get into any school you apply to that isn't prestigious or has a acceptance rate of 30% and below. She said that no college is going to turn down money, so good grades ect, are really only for scholarships and more prestigious schools. Is there any truth to this? She appointed to a lot of schools, she said some of them were good, I know Maryland university was one of them and I saw the acceptance letter for that myself. If this is the case I think I will just put in the extra money to go straight to a university for premed.

yes