Shabaz Baig

Period
3
Language

AP

College
Research
Project

The college admissions process is exhilarating and daunting for anyone. From
speculating what school you might be going to, or how distant it will be from home, to how
much the school will cost. It all begins when you get your first letter from college, Hello
Shabaz. For me, this was really cool since I was only in 10th grade. I was overwhelmed with
thoughts. Why me? Should I consider this school? That was until I started receiving dozens of
college advertisements per week. Since then I have actively been trying to narrow down my
choice of colleges. Half of the fun of applying to college is selecting where you want to go. I
quickly narrowed down my top ten schools, as they had fit my criteria. My first criteria when
selecting colleges was cost. The college I was going to attend had to have a tuition of no more
than $50,000 so it wouldnt go over my budget. All of my top 10 colleges fit into that criteria.
My second criteria was if the college I was going to attend had my intended major, which was
pre-medicine. What is the point in spending $50 for the application, and attending if the college
doesnt have your intended major? Again, all of my top ten colleges included this. My third
criteria was that all of the application deadlines were on or before January 1st. 9 of my 10
colleges met this requirement. Thus University of Wisconsin, which had a deadline of February
1st, was eliminated form my college list. This is important to me because the earlier the
application is due, the faster you get the results of entrance. Some schools stand out from this
requirement, though most schools have a strict policy of deadlines and results. My fourth criteria
was location. I mostly want to stay in, or around Maryland. This eliminated five of the remaining
nine. Among those five were Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Penn State. Though to
make sure the last four schools fitted within my criteria, I went ahead and checked if they still
fell within my range of remaining preferences. My fifth criteria was sports, more specifically
football. To me, if I cant watch football every weekend, I would not want to go there. Three of

the four do include football as a sport. The college that does not is University of Maryland:
Baltimore County. Though this is something I do not want, I am willing to keep this school on
my top four because it fits the rest of my criteria, including location. My sixth and final criteria is
amount of students enrolled. I wouldnt want to go to an overcrowded school, though at the same
time, I wouldnt want to go to a school with a very low amount of students enrolled either. My
wish of amount of students enrolled ranges from 6,000 to 27,000. Again all of the remaining four
schools fit into that criteria. The remaining four schools are Johns Hopkins University, George
Washington University, University of Maryland: College Park, and University of Maryland:
Baltimore County.
Johns Hopkins University is a renowned school for its prestigious ranking. JHU is ranked
#12 nationally. It also has an acceptance rate of 17.7%, so it is highly selective. Johns Hopkins
also has a Pre-Medicine program which fits my need of a major. Johns Hopkins is also the top
ranked hospital in the nation, which would make it a magnet for all medical students. JHU is
located on 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. This is within my range of location
because it is in Maryland. Aside from this school having honor, there are many fun things to do
on campus, The Hopkins Blue Jays compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference
(1). JHU is better known for their dominance is boys lacrosse. Campus life outside of school
shows that students have a lot to do in their free time, There are at least 350 student groups and
organizations on campus (2).There is also a sizeable Greek community with a membership of
more than 1,000 students. The student-faculty ratio at Johns Hopkins University is 10:1 (1)
which make education more personalized with small class sizes. JHU also surpasses my
expectations by emphasizing the importance of security on campus. There are secured dorms, 24hour foot patrol as well as vehicle patrol. There are also late night escort services, if you dont

feel secure going out late. Also, to cover the cost of the college, Johns Hopkins provides needbased financial aid for 44.5 percent of students.
George Washington is another highly ranked school. Coming in at #52, GW provides
many benefits for their medical students, such as accelerated BA/MD programs. These special
programs allow you to finish pre-medicine, and medical school in just 7 years. This also opts you
out of taking the MCAT, the Medical College Admittance Test, which is dreaded by medical
students. Outside campus life is exhilarating. You have many tourist attractions to visit like to
Washington Monument, the National Mall, and the White House. Campus life isnt boring either,
with more than 400 organizations on campus, and students can start their own clubs with an
original idea and nine other members (4). Also for sports, George Washington has 23 varsity
sports (3) that you can join. GW is located 2121 Eye Street, NW, Washington, D.C., WA, D.C.,
20052, so it is close enough for me to stay at home. GW also has a 31.1% acceptance rate, which
is considered selective among colleges. George Washington also has campus security, such as 24
hour telephones, lighted streets, and 24 hour patrol. GW gives 41.7% of their students need based
scholarships/grants.
University of Maryland: College Park, which is located on 1101 Main Administration
Building, College Park, MD, 20742. This is an ideal location for me because it is really close to
my home. UMCP is also ranked 62nd nationally. Many of the attendees are from local high
schools, which raises my chances of getting in. The acceptance rate is 46.8%, and the in-state
tuition is $9,162 compared to $28,348 out-of-state. College Park has many opportunities to have
fun in sports club which have a variety of sports, from badminton, to wrestling. But you dont
have to focus on sports. University of Maryland: CP also has about 35 fraternities and
sororities (5). UMCP is also famous for their official sports teams, Maryland Terrapins are

notorious competitors in the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (5). Also, 43.5% of
students meet need-based scholarship requirements. UMCP also has the highest amount of
students with cars on campus, 47%. Maryland does provide more freedom with their policies,
and also have more activities to do on campus.
My fourth and final school is University of Maryland: Baltimore County. Located on
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD, 21250, UMBC is ranked 158th nationally. UMBC has an
acceptance rate of 60.4%, making it the least selective school in my top four. UMBC also has a
sizable difference between in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition. In-state tuition is $10,068,
which is slightly more expensive compared to University of Maryland College Park. The out-ofstate tuition is $21,642, which is cheaper than other schools out-of-state costs. Though UMBC
doesnt have football, there are many other sports to watch, such as baseball, basketball, and
track. UMBC has about 250 student organizations. If youre into the Greek scene, UMBC has
20 fraternities and sororities which you could join. UMBC also has many college events that
you can attend such as the spring carnival. UMBC also meets the need of 49% of people who
qualify for need-based scholarships.
Based on the statistics, and programs of the colleges above, I have ranked George
Washington University as my number one choice for college. This was an easy selection for me.
Because I am going into a pre-medicine program, GW seemed obvious. George Washington has
many pre-med options such as the accelerated BA/MD program. It also excuses medical students
from taking the MCAT, which is a stressful part of medical school. The location is also great for
students who want to explore off campus. My second overall choice is University of Maryland:
College Park. This school has an array of activities you can do while not engaging in academics.
This ranges from sports to club activities. University of Maryland: CP also has more freedom

than my other choices, because the students are allowed to do as they wish, rather than being
governed on everything. My third ranked college is Johns Hopkins University. Though the
school has the #1 hospital in the nation, JHU doesnt have many activities off of campus. Johns
Hopkins is also the lowest ranked school in student rights. My final school is University of
Maryland: Baltimore County. UMBC is more expensive for in-state than UMCP, and like Johns
Hopkins, dont have many off campus activities. Also the school doesnt have many of the
activities I enjoy, such as football.
The great part about choosing a college for you, is that you get to decide where you want
to go. You can choose your own criteria, and decide which school would be a good fit for you. I
choose Johns Hopkins, George Washington, UMCP, and UMBC, because those were the colleges
closest relating to my criteria, from distance, to programs for my intended major. Through the
roller coaster of the application process, to finally deciding form your choices, the school you
want to go to should be about you and your needs.

Interview Questions
1) What school did you attend?
2) How did you feel about the schools location?
3)

Works Cited
1) http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/johns-hopkins-university2077
2) http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/campus_life/
3) http://www.gwu.edu/athletics-recreation
4) http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/george-washingtonuniversity-1444
5) http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-marylandcollege-park-2103
6) http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-marylandbaltimore-county-2105

7) http://www.admissions.umd.edu/
8) http://about.umbc.edu/