<p>First off, check out <a href=“http://www.studentdoctor.net%5B/url%5D”>http://www.studentdoctor.net</a> for info about medical school stuff. The forums have TONS of information but I recommend lurking for a while and doing a search before posting - a lot of times whatever you’re having a question about is a very common question and has been answered several dozen times already.</p>
<p>Now for the premed talk.</p>
<p>One thing I really, really recommend is to think seriously before going to a school “well known” for its premed program. I’m not saying, “Don’t go” but realize that there are drawbacks, mostly related to the hyper-competitive, cutthroat nature of some of these programs. Some medical schools also are reluctant to take too many applicants from their own undergraduate school in order to get a more diverse class. For example at Hopkins they tell you on the first day that if you think that attending Hopkins undergrad will improve your chances at Hopkins Med, think again. Placement %‘s can also be misleading - premed advisors may block applicants from applying to medical school in order to preserve their percentages if they feel that an applicant does not have a good chance of getting in. Definitely talk to current premeds at a school to find out the premed advisors’ policies. Ask questions such as:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does the premed office support every applicant, or will they discourage or even refuse to write a committee letter of recommendation for applicants they don’t like? (A committee letter is a highly recommended component of a medical school application - it summarizes all of your letters of recommendation and is basically a letter of recommendation from your school. If your school has one and refuses to write one for you, it’s a very, very bad sign to medical admissions committees.)</p></li>
<li><p>Does the premed office often encourage people to give up medicine in favor of a related health profession? (This is a common tactic by premed advisors to get people to not apply and thus preserve their placement %.)</p></li>
<li><p>How long has the premed advisor been at the school? (Sometimes a new premed advisor will have absolutely no clue about the entire medical school admissions process.)</p></li>
<li><p>Does the premed advisor ever write in the committee letter that an applicant is “not recommended”, or do they just differentiate by saying “highly recommended” versus just “recommended”? (This might be harder to find out. While just “recommended” is not good, “not recommended” is infinitely worse.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Now to CMU specific information:</p>
<p>CMU has a FANTASTIC health professions advisor - Dr. Amy Burkert. Talking with students from other schools, I can’t believe how lucky I was to have such a great advisor. She gives the absolute best advice to every single person in the program, no matter who you are or how well or badly you’re doing. She lets you know up front that she will support your decision to apply whatever your circumstances, but will not lie to you about your chances. But if she tells you your chances are low, she will also tell you exactly what you need to do to improve them. This stands in contrast to stories I’ve heard from friends at other schools, whose premed advisors will tell them that even though they have a 3.5 GPA and 28 MCAT (average stats) that they should start thinking of other careers. Or advisors who refuse to write them a committee letter of recommendation, or who will not explicitly refuse but will delay the committee interview until very late in the cycle, hoping perhaps to discourage someone from applying that year.</p>
<p>I never once heard CMU’s placement %, and I don’t care what it is. All that matters is that the entire faculty is spectacular and knows how to get you into medical school. I personally switched majors from computer science to cognitive science/premed after my senior year, at which point I had a 2.35 GPA. At another school, I probably would have been told that I had no chance and to look for another profession. Not at CMU - Dr. Burkert told me that my GPA was very low for medical schools but also told me exactly what I had to do in order to improve my chances. I did basically exactly what she told me to do and I am now holding an acceptance to SUNY Buffalo as well as waitlist spots at Pitt and Case Western.</p>
<p>Also, CMU’s premed program is not hyper-competitive. I mean that in the good sense: it’s clear that the students are brilliant but there is just not that competitive atmosphere that you find at other schools. Nobody will sabotage you, nobody will loudly brag in class about how they didn’t study at all but aced an exam, etc. Most of the time I couldn’t even tell who was a premed student and who wasn’t - this is a very good sign. I think this is mostly because there aren’t all that many premed students at CMU - most people are there in order to go on to do research, not medicine/dentistry/etc… This is a very good thing - it helps establish a less competitive atmosphere when you’re not taking classes with a bunch of people who perceive you to be a threat to their chances of getting into medical schools. This is also due partially to the fact that there is no grading on a curve. If you get a 90% (or 89%, or whatever) you get an A, no matter how many other people have gotten 90%+. This way, people worry less about how you’re doing and just focus on doing well themselves. And they won’t mind helping you out either - it’s no skin off their backs if someone else gets an A.</p>
<p>I’m not going to lie - classes at CMU are very difficult, and it IS difficult to earn A’s. But medical schools are very aware of this, and if you do well you will be complimented in interviews about earning good grades from such a tough school.</p>
<p>I can’t thank Dr. Burkert and the rest of the CMU Health Professions office enough. I highly, highly recommend that you consider CMU for your undergrad premed experience.</p>