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Can anyone offer any information about the pre-med program at Duke? I already know that it is excellent, but I would like to ask a couple of specific questions about it?
- How rigorous is the course load?
- Will other students and professors help you out? Are they friendly?
- What percentage of pre-meds from Duke actually get into med school?
- Is the competition extremely tough?
- How is the grading?
Currently I am debating between Duke and Penn. Can anybody offer pros and cons for the two. Any information on the pre-med program would be especially helpful.
Thanks for your time.
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- Like most other elite institutions, the science courses, and incidentally the pre-med courseload, are tough; however, that is not to say that they aren't manageable. If you plan accordingly and don't mind studying once in a while, you should be fine.
- Duke is different from a lot of other schools in that your peers are generally very friendly. You don't really notice any cutthroat competition at all, as far as I have experienced, even though most people are fairly determined to do well in their classes. If you ever need help, people usually don't mind explaining whatever you're having issue with if you ask. As far as professors, all whom I have had so far have offered extensive office hours and are always extraordinarily friendly outside of class. They are more than willing to help you with whatever you need; I've even had several offer to just go over papers with me outside of class before I turned them in.
- I believe last year the statistic was around an 85% admittance rate.
- The competition is going to be tough, admittedly, just because most of the people who matriculate into Duke are smart and goal-oriented, especially in the sciences. They are used to getting As and will continue to try to do so in college; most people I know are generally not satisfied with anything lower. That is not to say that getting good grades is impossible, though; it all amounts to how much effort you put into your classes, which, if you're premed, I assume will be sufficient.
- Grading in the sciences is usually curved to a B-/C+, so it can at times be tough to get an A, especially considering the pool of students. Tough but feasible, though.
Hope this helps.
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