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<li> It takes time to adjust to the academic rigor at Vandy. Many students feel discouraged at this point. You are not alone. The good news is most students adjust their study habits.<br></li>
<li> Yes, STEM students get hit over the head with a 2X4 in the intro classes (and people ask why more students don’t go into STEM majors). Vandy should look into these classes and the grading scale and make significant changes. For the most part, you can take Vandy students & blindfold them, give them a test in Chinese, tie their hands behind their back, and stick a pencil in their mouth and they will still make >90% on the test. To have an average test score of 67% in an intro class with the top 1% test takers in the world is not valid. The upper level classes are not graded with the same curve.</li>
<li> Yes, you will be pushed and challenged at Vandy more than your state flagship. Most Vandy students will set the curve at most state U’s and never miss a party but you will never be pushed from your academic comfort zone.<br></li>
<li> Med schools are not dumb. They know which school inflate GPA’s and which do not. The major med school in my state uses Barons list to adjust UG GPA’s of students from different schools. They will add up to 0.5 to the GPA of students coming from top academic U’s. Yes, it is more difficult to stand out at Vandy than at your state school. On the other hand it is even more difficult to stand out among the thousands of med school apps with high GPA’s from schools with less rigor. </li>
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