<p>Well–what I found interesting was that you drew the conclusion that, because kids that apply from grade-inflated schools might perhaps have more time to spend on ecs/getting to know professors who’d write them excellent recs, that might be a reason they’d have better chances with slightly below-average (average being ~ 3.5, perhaps) GPAs. If I could maintain participation in health-related ecs and do serious undergraduate research, would that mitigate a 3.6 or a 3.7? Further, when you talk about MIT in particular, are you assuming bio or engineering majors? Would majoring in something, well, for lack of a better descriptor, “less challenging,” be a better option?</p>
<p>I really have to say that it’s positively unnerving that fractions of GPAs matter so much in med school admissions–or in any admissions, for that matter!–but I suppose that’s a reality of life.</p>
<p>The average GPA of accepted premeds is like 3.5 or 3.6 something I think, the average MCATs is liek 10. So if you have around a B+ or A- average, and do good on your MCATs (10s or higher), then your probably going to get into med school?</p>
<p>I thought the highest score on the MCAT was a 45. Do you mean 10s in subscores?</p>
<p>The average MCAT score is around 24-25. The average MCAT score of matriculants is around a 29-30.</p>
<p>That’s what I thought. You got a 37 or something, didn’t you norcalguy? Would you recommend me applying to Cornell to pursue a pre-med study? I know there’s like 3 days left to apply, but I can do it if you believe it’s worth it. The only thing that worries me is that I hear it’s almost impossible to keep a high GPA, especially for someone like me who hasn’t been exposed to too much mathematics in depth (I’m only in Calc AB, since that’s the deepest my school goes). I know Weill is an amazing medical school though.</p>
<p>No. I don’t think I have the right to tell you where to apply. The quality of Cornell’s med school is irrelavant in deciding whether to apply to Cornell or not. Weill’s acceptance rate is less than 5% for both in-state and out-of-state residents. Getting in is a long shot for anyone, Cornell undergrad or not.</p>
<p>Phrases like “almost impossible” are exagerrations. Last year, more than a quarter of Cornell applicants to med schools had 3.8+ GPA’s. Around 60% of those applicants and 30% of all Cornell applicants had 35+ MCAT scores (compared with 5% nationwide) so Cornell certainly does prepare you well for the MCAT.</p>
<p>Well, perhaps Cornell prepares one well for the MCAT, or perhaps the type of kids who goes to Cornell also happen to do well on the MCAt.</p>
<p>Are grades for science courses averaged or based on a semester bases? I assume on a semester basis but just wanted to be sure.
So I received my chem grades and I will have to retake first semester chem over(C-) but I am taking chem next semester and will be getting a tutor so hopefully I will get an A. Can I take one semester of a course over or should I just take the entire course over?</p>
<p>ah man reading this post is pretty scary
i got into jhu bme and im wondering if they have grade inflation or deflation. its not on the site.</p>
<p>if there is deflation, i’ll just have to work my butt off.</p>
<p>They say extreme deflation. Good luck with that butt. :)</p>
<p>yea just found out they use a bell curve…
ne advice from neone regarding study habits or classes to take or what not? I really like the major, but i definitely want to get into med school… this could make it harder than i thought lol</p>
<p>So I talked to my dad, finally, and he gave me some advice and said I could go either way with retaking the course but suggested emailing the schools I am interested in and finding out their stance which I will start doing tomorrow.</p>
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<p>Yeah, but I wonder how much that has to do with the Cornell weeding. For example, I would submit that a lot of Cornell students who would have done poorly on the MCAT don’t even take it because they get weeded out by the premed courses. After all, if you’re getting bad grades in your premed courses, you know you’re not going to get into med-school, so you don’t even apply, and if you’re not going to apply, then there’s no point in wasting your time and money in taking the MCAT. Only the strong students “survive” to take the MCAT, so we shouldn’t be surprised to see that those strong students do well on it.</p>
<p>Weeding out takes place at every school (thank God, since people who can’t handle it shouldn’t be doctors). The comparison is made between Cornell premeds who survived the premed process to premeds from other schools who survived. Part of it is, of course, that Cornell students are naturally intelligent but I believe part of it is the school. I took MCAT class with premeds from many of the top local schools (Stanford, Berkeley (esp. well represented in my class), UCSD, UCLA, etc.) and was fairly unimpressed with their knowledge.</p>
<p>Cornell students are naturally intelligent . . . damn, I should have gone there so as to magically become such, too. Sure, certain types of people tend to be attracted to certain schools, and certain schools tend to attract certain people. You think, norcalguy, that it was Cornell that made these students smarter, and not that they would have been the same elsewhere?</p>
<p>They would be just as smart elsewhere but perhaps not as knowledgeable. As I said, there were many Berkeley students in my class. I presume their intelligence is on par with the average Cornell student (correct me if I’m overestimating the intelligence of Berkeley students). However, their knowledge of the actual MCAT subjects were atrocious. I can only attribute that to the difference in schools. Of course the sample size is small so I really can’t comment on Berkeley’s premed program based on my experiences. However, I have taken the premed courses at Cornell and studied extensively for the MCAT and, in my estimation, Cornell’s premed courses prepare very well for the MCAT. </p>
<p>Heck, I never took any physics in HS, came to Cornell with no physics background whatsoever, and after taking general physics at Cornell scored a 15 on the Physical Sciences Section. You can attribute it to my individual intelligence and drive but I’ll give the credit to Cornell.</p>
<p>norcalguy, why would I know? I don’t know the average intelligence of UCB students, and I most certainly don’t know the average intelligence of Cornell students. I would guess that the average pre-med students were about the same, but i don’t know, and I don’t really care that much. Good job on the physical science section. What’s that out of, anyway?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am new to this forum and found it in my search for tips on a succesful application to a competitive med school. I just want to know realistically what are my chances to get accepted in schools such as Columbia or Hopkins or should I downscope my Med school list. I am somewhat befuddeled with the process. </p>
<p>I am currently a Freshman in a small tech school in NJ called Stevens as it gave me a very pleasing financial aid package. I am contemplating the idea of transferring to a liberal arts college such as Swarthmore or Columbia. My SAT scores were very weak as I received 650 in Math and 550 in English. I received 550 on Writing 690 on Math 1 and 600 in Chemistry in the SAT II exams. Moreover, I don’t intend on transferring until the end of my sophomore year.</p>
<p>In addition, my intended major is Biomedical Engineering and I currently have a GPA of about 3.79 but they curve the science courses considerably and I should have recieved a B rather than the A- I actually was given. In my lab I had an A and in Calc. an A and etc. </p>
<p>I am considering the possibility of transferring because the school is somewhat weak statistically and traditionally in sending students to Med school , and I also want to enter a more prestigious school. However, I also want to save money that is why I intend on transferring in the end of my sophomore year. I also intend on volunteering in hospitals and doing some research in the summer. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated and apologize for such the long post.</p>
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<p>That’s exactly the point. Some schools will weed more extensively than others. Those who do will end up with a more ‘refined’ group of students taking the MCAT. From what I gather, Cornell is one of the most hardcore when it comes to weeding. </p>
<p>Furthermore, I would submit that weeding doesn’t happen at every school. Exhibit #1 would obviously be those combined BS/MD programs that hardly do any weeding at all. In fact, their whole appeal is the lack of weeding. As long as you stay eligible, which most do, you are guaranteed a spot in medical school. That’s the whole reason for the existence of these programs. I am convinced that a lot of people who went to name-brand schools but don’t get into med-school could have instead gone to one of those no-name BS/MD programs and then gotten into med-school that way. </p>
<p>The point is that the weeding process is far from perfect. Somebody who went to Cornell (or Berkeley or wherever) and got weeded out might have made it to med-school if they had chosen a different path.</p>