Pre-med at Tufts versus other top universities

tufts07
Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:47:42 +0000

Pre-med at Tufts was definitely pretty darned difficult. I particularly found Chem and Orgo (we might have different professors now, I took these classes 5-6 years ago) to be really tricky.
However, like anything else in life, you just need a lot of motivation, a lot of commitment, and a lot of discipline. The vast majority of pre-meds won’t be applying to med school- it’s just the nature of the beast. The difficulty of the courses will test your commitment to medicine, which is ultimately a good thing.

On the other hand, premed is just about the same anywhere, so you’ll really just want to keep your head above water, learn some great study habits (learning how to study well is maybe 80% of the battle) and keep your gpa as high as you can- pad it if you need to (many will tell you it’s a cop-out, but you’ll thank me later). When you apply to med school, you’ll be competing against people who had a way easier time of getting their high gpa’s. Ultimately you’re the victor in the sense that you’re likely better equipped to handle the med school workload, but it won’t feel that way when you’re applying. So keep your gpa as high as possible, and work your butt off when studying for the MCAT.

Oh, and definitely trust and listen to the premed committee people. Carol B-D is a fantastic resource and I know there are some new people there now as well who I’m sure are great. If you’re interested in specific med schools, the pre-med office should have a list of students and where they ended up- feel free to email them.

Finally, I think the appeal of going to a school like Tufts which has its own med school attached is the opportunity to work with some great faculty on research and such. It doesn’t hurt that we’re in Boston, too. Throughout undergrad I did research at MGH and Mass Eye & Ear which is a pretty cool experience. Take advantage of Tufts’ location and shadow, volunteer, and do research at the awesome hospitals downtown.

Feel free to ask more questions!