<p>I’m interested in the brain and cognitive science major at rochester, after reading the course description and the department. Is it a good choice if I want to go to medical school? How hard is it compared to, let’s say, neuroscience? (Just the average stats)</p>
<p>I don’t have any statistics, but I know that BCS is a great department. You might want to call the premed advising office or the department head to discuss medical school admissions and BCS.</p>
<p>My D is also drawn towards both neuroscience and BCS. She’s also interested in pre-med. There is considerable overlap betwen the two programs.</p>
<p>Both BCS and neuroscience can lead to successful pre-med experiences and over the past 5 years, both degrees have seen students successfully admitted to medical school. (Somewhere on the career center site is a .pdf which lists how many student who have applied to medical school over the past 5 years, their GPA, their MCAT score, degree program, # of applications made and # of acceptances. I don’t have time to go look right now, but I’ve read it closely in the past.)</p>
<p>It’s hard to say which program is “easier” as that’s going to be a subjective call based upon your own strengths and weaknesses as a student and your personal interests. However, BCS is somewhat more theory oriented than neuro. BCS requires higher level math, computer programming and symbolic reasoning courses–something neuroscience doesn’t. On the other hand, neuroscience requires 4 semesters of chemistry (general and organic)–something BCS doesn’t. I think neuro also requires biochem, but I’m not sure about that.</p>
<p>And if it makes any difference to you, BCS will accept Bio AP credits towards your degree; neuroscience doesn’t.</p>
<p>So it all comes down to personal preferences.</p>
<p>
But medical school does.</p>
<p>I know Med school requires the chemistry. BCS “strongly recommends” all its students take general and organic chem courses, but they aren’t required for the degree.</p>
<p>Also in the interest of full disclosure: medical school will not accept AP or IB credits for required med school pre-reqs like calculus I, Bio and general chem. You <em>must</em> have a college transcript that shows you took the required courses at an accredited 4 year college or university. (Many will not accept credits taken at community colleges.) And you must have a grade recorded. Med schools will not accept pass/fail or placement by examination grades either.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to the .pdf with info about medical school matriculations.</p>
<p><a href=“Applying to Health Professions Programs : University of Rochester”>Applying to Health Professions Programs : University of Rochester;
<p>Applicants are in descending order by GPA. The data includes: Overall GPA, science GPA, MCAT score, major, class year (covers 2003-2007), state of residency (in-state residents are given preferential admission to state supported medical schools), schools applied to, schools accepted at, and school to which applicant matriculated.</p>
<p>You will see 1 or 2 students who do not have a MCAT–these are REMS applicants who are guarenteed acceptance into Rochester’s Medical School so long as they meet a minimum GPA requirement and complete the program.</p>
<p>Major Key:
BIO=Biology-general
BNS=Biology-neuroscience
BBC=Biology-biochemistry
BMG=Biology-molecular genetics
BCD=Biology-cellular and developmental biology
BMB=Biology-microbiology
BME=Biomedical Engineering
BCS=Brain & Cognitive Science
MTH=Mathematics
PSY=Psychology
PHL=Philosophy
CSC=Computer Science
CHM=Chemistry
APM=Applied Mathematics
CLS=Linguistics
SP=Spanish
ECO=Economics
HLS=Health & Society (Public Health)
JPN=Japanese
HIS=History
ENG=English
FR=French
ECE=Electrical & Computer Engineering</p>
<p>My goodness… I didn’t realize how tough it is to get into medical school. It doesn’t seem like many people get in… is the matriculation rate higher at other schools, or is this rather commonplace?</p>
<p>The number of students who apply to medical schools varies depending upon a number of factors–including the economy. (More people tend to apply to medical school when the economy is bad since medicine is perceived as a “safe” career.) However, the number of seats in med schools is fixed–that is there are no new schools being opened and there’s no way to take bigger classes. This make acceptance into med school very competitive.</p>
<p>Rochester has about a 60% placement rate–which is above average. Some schools --like JHU–have a much higher placement rate; others have a lower rate. Please note that UR’s 60% rate includes applicants who go through more than one round of applications. It’s not unusual to get rejected to medical school, then spend another year or two or three improving one’s resume (by doing medical-related volunteer work, getting a graduate degree, by doing research/working in a medicine related field, etc) and then re-applying to medical school. </p>
<p>Medical school acceptance requires good grades, strong test score and lots of ECs–just like getting into college does. Generally speaking, unless you have a 3.5 GPA (slightly lower GPAs are acceptable for engineering and physical science/math majors, but most schools have a stated minimum acceptable GPA of around 3.2-3.3) and a MCAT of 28 (minimum), plus lots of volunteer hours, medical career exposure and excellent recommendations --you can pretty well forget writing an MD after your name. Research is helpful but not essential. Teaching experience is helpful but not essential. Having good people skills and interviewing skills are critical since all med schools require an interview for applicants who survive the first rounds of cuts. You’re basically accepted/rejected based upon your interview since all the applicants who survive that far into the process are qualified.</p>
<p>There are lots of hoops to jump through when applying for medical school. It takes determination, diligence and resolve. And good pre-career counseling–which UR does have.</p>