FightingIrish01

Is there grade inflation at ND? Especially I plan on doing premed and I hope that Notre dame does not have any cutthroat problems such as Hopkins or Cornell where premeds suffere a lot gradewise in science classes.

Thanks.

irish68178

Pre-med is very tough at Notre Dame, there is no doubt about that, but it isn't as bad as some other schools. Part of the reason for that is that it has been my experience that ND students are much more willing to help each other than at other schools; so that helps some. While you are competing against each other it still seems as if you are on the same team instead of tearing each other down.

ND's pre-meds definately are very busy but they do very well when applying to medical school and I think it is a great program. It also doesn't seem like Notre Dame tries to get premeds to quit like other schools do. I actually started at Creighton University and they took pride in getting kids to quit pre-med (which I did and was part of the reason I went to ND) but I haven't seen that at Notre Dame. However, I haven't been pre-med at ND, so it is just my perception.

It is a good program and it will be very challenging but it isn't like one of these programs where they try to kill you in the process. Good luck!

nemo2001

I would state the following...do the PreMeds help each other out like irish says....yes.

Does ND try to weed you out? Yes and No. Classes such as orgo inherently do that for the school. Personally I know many teachers who have more respect for the concept of someone getting a BS in Bio, Physics, Chem or BioChem and going on to Med school than they do for the premed majors. It is significantly easier for the premeds to skate by doing the minimum. Plus you will find that the hard science majors sometimes have veiled disgust for premeds, as do the Grad TA' ( I know of some who were keeping lists of people who they were tracking to see if they dropped premed)

Now then, the above really doesn't answer your question so much as give you the dynamics that you might encounter at ND. It is called a PreProfessional program in the curriculum. There is not significant grade inflation that I have seen, in fact just the opposite. I know teachers who don't care whether they give premeds B's or C's. On a whole the premeds tend to be rather grade-obsessive (I've sat through classes with them such as physics although thankfully they were tracked in a different orgo section).

Like any school, the program is as hard or easy as you want to make it. It is possible to get by with a B when doing little to no work. It is possible to bust your ass and get a C. It depends on what kind of student you are and what your motivation is. The teachers are always willing to help you at their office hours though.

If you have more questions or want me to explain further feel free to ask. Also for the record I am not premed nor have I ever been...