Great observation.
I note this is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if some of those people (took all the classes, but didn’t get the grades in the end) would have been better off choosing a different college track well before then. Meaning the data you are pointing out suggests to me maybe there is not too much discouragement, but in fact too little, at the system level at least.
Depends on what you mean by different track.
At least when I was in school, the “Pre-Med” majors were Bio/Chem/Biochem/Microbio/Kinesiology majors which if thy didn’t get into med school, most of them end up in Dental/Pharmacy/Grad schools. People who go pre-med generally prefer a study in life/physical sciences as opposed to Social Science / humanities. Most accept if they need to get a job in a lab, they are ok with it. In the end, there is still a love for science above everything else. Med School is just an avenue to put that into a paying career.
My neighbor at the dorms finished up his Bio degree and went back home to be a farmer with his dad. Even with C in bio, he was happier than switching majors to something he didn’t like.
Actually, you are right. The ones who didn’t make it were the ones who really didn’t love science. So, I guess students need to be honest with themselves.
Biology is obviously relevant to farming, so that major made sense for him.
Parent of a M3 here. The whole journey is a filtering out of students. Those who struggle with their premed classes will likely not have a strong foundation for the MCAT. The chemistry sequence of classes leads to struggles for many. Many struggle with Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. These days med school admissions likes to see students going above the minimum reqts and take upperlevel sciences and do well in them as evidence of being able to handle the rigor of med school. Lately after the pandemic I am hearing of more attrition going on in med schools. Too many just focus on getting in but one needs the skills to thrive the next 4 years to match. As far as admissions academic stats is the first threshold but after that having the competencies that med schools are looking for as reflected in the ec’s one participates in comes into play. A strong student will not get in without clinical exposure. As far as students getting weeded out in undergrad understand the path only gets harder. The fast pace of med school is very different than undergrad and often referred to as drinking from a firehose. One could continue if they start out with a low gpa but going forward they would need to show a consistent upward trend. The focus should not be doing the minimum required to get in but building a strong foundation to thrive that first year and beyond. In med school you don’t get to spread out your classes, take a lighter load, drop a class and/or take it over the summer. In preclinical years students are expected to manage 6 to 7 science classes at a fast pace. They need to pass all exams. Failing a class could lead to a student going in front of the probation board possibly facing academic dismissal. Many join freshmen year as premeds but to be successful you need capability, motivation, discipline, and resilience. I used this group during my child’s early undergrad years and just happened to see this post and respond. There are so many opportunities these days in healthcare and premeds should take time to explore them. Med school is not for everyone but one could still find their career in healthcare.