For people in Med School

bluedevilmike
Sat, 22 Apr 2006 22:09:45 +0000

Hi liu,

I’m much more qualified to answer your specific questions about Duke than anything else.

First, if I read your handle correctly, your son is an overrepresented minority (Chinese). If that’s correct, I would express some concern about his board scores if they turn out as you describe as far as Duke admissions go. Duke does not place a very high emphasis on SAT scores, but a 2150 is an average of 717 (if I did the math correctly), which is pretty low for an Asian student applying to Duke.

Second, your declared major at Duke does not affect your admissions chances. There are some slight exceptions: if you are applying for engineering, then your application is evaluated differently. It is equally difficult on average, but students with B’s in English and A’s in Math will have a better chance at Pratt (our engineering school).

Third, I would not make any assumptions about test scores and GPA. If research indicates that students at Case find their classes easier and their MCAT scores turn out comparably, I would not be surprised, but I do not think you should assume this. It might well turn out to be that Duke students have higher MCAT scores and grades turn out higher at Duke, too. My point is not that you are wrong, merely that you should research it.

Fourth, let’s assume your son will get the same MCAT score and a higher GPA from Case. Duke does have a reputation which medical schools pay attention to. Some argue that this is not the case; I believe numbers prove them wrong. Duke’s reputation is not enough to overcome a huge gap in GPA - so it depends on how much higher your son’s GPA is. Among students admitted to medical school, Duke students average a 3.54 GPA. You can see that, for example, MIT students average a 3.7 GPA, which implies that medical schools will prefer Duke kids, even if we have slightly worse grades. I do not know Case Western’s number, but such a number would be useful to you.