<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I can understand that premed is pretty tough, but is it AS bad as everyone says where you are staying up till 1 A.M everyday? Would someone like me who truely enjoys the sciences and math, and who is near the top, but not necessarily the best in his school be fine? I mean I have a decent GPA (around 3.88 UW in the hardest classes), but a horrible ACT (30), so am I too dumb to do premed, or is it fine as long as I just continue to work hard like I do right now?</p>
<p>lol 1AM, are you kidding me? I went to sleep at around 3-4 AM every weeknight last year.</p>
<p>Are you really 27?</p>
<p>haha i agree. 1 AM? Thats on a very good night…and i’ve only completed my freshman year.
Anyways, i don’t think a 30 on the ACT is bad, although admittedly i don’t know much about that test. I believe i had an SAT score comparable to your ACT score, and i’m doing just fine. I work pretty hard, but it has been very managable thus far.</p>
<p>wow, im on the other edge of the spectrum…I led a very cushy life this year, and if i went to sleep at 1AM, it was because I was playing video games/watching movies. I have a 4.0 Science GPA btw. In general, it differs from school to school, and as I’m transferring to a more competitive pre-med place next year, this is likely to change…</p>
<p>Obviously this depends on your own capabilities, which are not completely summarized by an ACT score.</p>
<p>imran, are you transferring out of or into WashU?</p>
<p>1 AM would be considered a good night - that’s been established. BTW, I got a 30 on the ACT (I know, I know, by CC standards it’s “horrible”), and I’m now a rising sophomore at Cornell with a 3.95 BCPM GPA and a 4.0+ cum GPA.</p>
<p>I am transferring into WashU</p>
<p>it depends who u are… my parents…both in science… went to bed on time… it’s when u are lazy and go and waist time (partying) that u must stay up all night.</p>
<p>In my experience as a freshman, partying was not a waste of time. I don’t think i would have finished the year sane if i didn’t take a break once in a while and go out and do something. Sometimes that did force me to stay up a little later in order to get my work done, but i also think going out made me work more efficiently overall. Of course, there are those that get way out of hand with the partying. Unfortunately, it can be an easy trap for some people to fall into.</p>
<p>Imran, i was getting worried that you were transferring out of WashU for something more competitive, lol. Good luck over there.</p>
<p>Doesn’t the difficulty of pre-med in general have to do with what school you go to? You would think that pre-med would be more difficult at Hopkins rather than the University of Missouri-KC, for example. Am I right?</p>
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<p>You would be right. The difficulty of premed is, in large, equivalent to the difficulty of the required classes at the school you are attending. A premed attending Harvard would probably be one of the smartest kids in a Missouri-KC chemistry class and since most profs scale the class average, that kid will likely get a grade in the “A” range. Obviously this is not a given, but you get the idea.</p>
<p>The reverse can be said about other aspects of a premed, like EC’s and the MCAT. You can make the argument that these aspects are easier at the more prestigious school because, odds are, you will have more opportunities for high quality research at those schools. You might also say that your skills will be more refined at Harvard than at Missouri for a number of reasons, which would lead to higher MCAT scores. This would be an inference based on logic, though.</p>
<p>about the times and stuff i think there could be a lil confusion…i mean in highschool, at least at my high school scshool starts at 7:20, thus we hvta get up at like 6:30…thus going to bed at around 11:30-12 is normal for us…however, in colleges (from wut i hear) early classes start around like 8:30 ish and some start at like 9…so that makes going to sleep at 2-3 look not as bad…what r the schedules like anyway?</p>
<p>Also, most kids will avoid the 8:30 classes. If you want (and if you are lucky) you can devise a schedule that doesn’t start until later in the day (11:30 ish), this is tough, though.</p>
<p>do you guys really stay up that late? Man, I watch TV from 8-11 pm and sleep at 11:30pm. Wake up at 7 am. But I study like 3-4 hours in the afternoon and you guys study at night and you guys probability have afternoon classes so I guess it evens out. How much study time per day do you guys study?
Anyways, if you guys do have morning classes, isn’t it hard to pay attention in class if you don’t get enough sleep? Not to mention your health.</p>
<p>I spend the mornings and afternoons either in class or taking a nap. I don’t really begin studying until after dinner. Maybe that’s why I have to go to bed so late.</p>
<p>I think most people find themselves wondering after a couple months in college how they ever woke up at 6:30 for high school. At least in my experience, 8:30-9:00 became very early. I avoided 830 classes, but my premed courses tend to be at 9:30, so i still have to wake up at a reasonably early time.</p>
<p>On most days, i would go to my 9:30 class, then come back for a break until 12:30-ish. Perfect time for a nap. Then i’d get back from my afternoon classes around 3ish (or later depending on labs). Studying usually didnt happen until after dinner because i like taking breaks after class. 2 AM is a typical bedtime for me during the week by the time all my work/studying is done.</p>
<p>what do you guys do say…4-8pm after classes? can’t you study then?</p>
<p>I would usually take a break between classes (ending 3-330) until 5ish, then maybe get started on some work that is due soon. Then comes dinner. After that is typically when i really get to work. I also had lab once a week from 6-9, so that really ate up my evening.</p>
<p>It’s usually studying that keeps me up a bit later than i’d like. I really like to get a head start on the material in my science classes by skimming my textbook or starting hw problems in advance. My chemistry class had exams every other week, so it was important to stay on top of things.</p>
<p>It all depends on the type of student you are.</p>