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<p>@old</p>
<p>I wasn’t the one that brought the topic out in this thread, re your reading comprehension fail, again. If you don’t like my posts or the topics there of, no one is pointing a gun at your head to read them. (I kind of wish you rather not read my posts) Besides, regarding law school admissions, it is people like you who come up with wrong information to others that I tried to fix. Don’t try to flame things up in every thread.</p>
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<p>Where I seem to agree with you is that Cornell/MIT or any other top school aren’t automatic GPA killers or whatnot for each individual. Obviously, plenty of smart individuals, just like yourself, have enough luck and intelligence to ace their UG courses and become successful med school applicants in the end. However, not everyone is made to get those A’s at these institutions - for these groups of folks, wanting to have an edge in getting A’s at ‘easier’ schools is a perfect justification, well because let’s face it - getting into a med school is a huge deal for premeds. </p>
<p>I think most people would agree with my point that it is more difficult to get a high GPA at MIT than other normal UG. Believe it or not, there are colleges that are rather easier to ace even compared to many rigorous high schools in the nation. (as OP alluded to) If you are truly a top student and ace your courses at MIT/Cornell - obviously there is nothing to worry about. But, what about many others? These kids may have better shot at attaining higher GPA at ‘easier’ schools and boost their chances. It is all relative, not absolute. Kids who get 3.5 at MIT, with same intelligence and work ethic, might as well pulling 3.9 at a State U.</p>
<p>This is an internet forum, it is hard sometimes to know what is truth. I would advise people to take everything with a grain of salt. It is like when people do the chance me thread, and having high school students chance each other.</p>
<p>I know quite a few posters here, and have a fairly good idea of what they do (and maybe who they are), so I am pretty confident of what they are posting are consistent and reliable, but not so much with others.</p>
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<p>I am afraid this holds true regarding your beliefs and assertions, especially regarding law admissions, and specifically law admissions at H Law.</p>
<p>I would like you to prove to me what I said about Harvard law admission is incorrect. Try to to use some real data, and clearly state your counter argument.</p>
<p>Lets go back to what your premise was - where you went to UG has no impact on law school admission, it is all number and GPA driven. I showed you an example, Harvard law school admssion (based on its data), which proved your belief to be incorrect.</p>
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<p>First, you need to figure out how the rules are played at law admissions, long before you even look at enrollment chart data and draw conclusions from there.</p>
<p>There are certain rules that law schools abide by in choosing its students. The process is very meritocratic, opposed to your view that it is not and Harvard Law ‘hugely’ favoring its undergrads.</p>
<p>I provided enough counter-arguments, yet you just don’t seem to get it. </p>
<p>Let’s talk about non-Harvard UG representation at Harvard Law. There are 100 Yale undergrads, 50 Princeton undergrads, and ~70 Stanford undergrads at Harvard Law. You really believe that Harvard Law favors Yale over Princeton Undergrads, to the extent that they admit Yale kids at twice of a higher rate than Princeton kids? There are factors that would influence the reasons as to why certain UG schools are more represented at a certain top law school. This alone should tell you (hopefully) that trying to figure out how the admissions are handled at Harvard Law, or any other top law school, based on your rationale is not a very good idea.</p>
<p>Following upon your logic - it is like Harvard Law admissions telling prospective law students: “If you don’t get into Harvard undergrad, no matter what your LSAT and GPA are, you are screwed.”</p>
<p>I’m going to chime in here without reading everyones posts.
This seems to be a common question for pre-meds.
Some stories: I do have a relative who did not get into any of his schools he applied and had to head off to a very low ranked state U. While there he was able to make a high GPA and then made a straight shot into their medical school. Today he is practicing in a well paid specialty.
I have another relative who breezed through an Ivy in Physics, Cum Laude and on to medical school. My point being that there are all levels in med school and practicing. Neither is a questionable physician. Intresting, but one of the finest physcians I know went to OSU. One of the most off-center I ever met had a fine pedigree.
I know of a girl top in her HS class went on to a first tier college. Found by her first semester that the competition was too tough for her to make the GPA necessary to be moved on through the pre-med track. She had always wanted to be a doctor.
Another girl went Ivy, made a B in a OCem class and the advisor told her that she would not have much of a chance in the pre-med track with that grade. I don’t think that a B would do that but neither here nor there, there is a weeding out.
I have know quit a few who decided to go to a low ranked college on merit and then attend the dental school there.
You do have a point. I do not think you have to believe the dream is over on a competitive undergad program.
The decison is a tough one. You have to decide if a proffesional program is definity what you want. If so you should have a plan to transfer to state U. While at Cornell make the best grades possible. Stay away from the weed out courses. With a high GPA, transfers are always welcomed back. I do not know about Cornell for sure but at other Ivy’s or near Ivy’s I have found that to be the case.
Another possibility is stay at Cornell and do a fifth year. Saving year five for the tough courses when your older and stronger academically.
Giving up an Ivy is almost impossible. You worked hard to achieve entrance and your identity becomes attached to a college to a varying degree.
I do not have the answer and maybe others here on the forum have some other insights or experiences they could share to help you with this tough question.
I have noted and always wondered how some of the top in their HS class, or the smart of the smart, had not even applied to a Ivy or top tier U but just made a bee-line to a UT extension. They do not even enter the admissions race. When I asked once why they choose this course they just said the objective was medical school and the best/easiest/cheapest way to get there. Another point they made was having more time to prepare for the MCAT’s.
Also, there is a book “Getting into Medical School Today” by Arco; that is a great short read that should be of help.
Good luck to you. I hope some of this helps.</p>
<p>Hey, just wanted to say, tks for all the kind words of encouragement&sage advice,
well, to those of you who actually gave me one…</p>
<p>And to those of you debating/debunking myths on med/law school.v
Well…I just wanted to say… I don’t get it.</p>
<p>What does it matter if what med schools think and if certain schools have
grade deflation and whatnot? What are you going to do with the complete
knowledge of med/law/graduate schools admissions? How is that going to help you
in any way?
What’s the use of obsessing with the technicalities of the process?
I thought all that was important was work hard, get decent grades, do some EC
stuff you like, volunteer, and be happy…at least mentally healthy… </p>
<p>To me, obsessing with the admissions process is just like hs seniors posting their stats up and freaking out that they’re lacking in some areas. What’s the point? What can they possibly do to change at that point?</p>
<p>I always find it baffling that people believe there are only two types of people in college: The natural born genius who gets a 4.0 without thinking classes at Cornell are difficult and the mediocre idiot. Simply amazing…</p>
<p>maybe thats y i didn’t get into medical school despite my 3.9, i got a b- in bio 102 hahaha</p>
<p>This is scary! I hope the OP finds out what they really want and is happy, because in the end, that’s all that matters.
I just got accepted into cornell, and I’m pretty sure I’m set on pre-vet, and I know that the most practical option would have been to go to my state school, but is it bad that I just wanna go there? Lol, hopefully cornell won’t disappoint…</p>
<p>Anbu,</p>
<p>I hope you try again next year or maybe the year after. You seem like a nice person with a humble sense of humor. I wonder how medical schools expect the pre-med programs to result in caring and compassionate MDs. Do they have some type of anti-brainwashing program to turn docs into nice people at the end of medical school?</p>
<p>Really, I hope you try again.</p>
<p>AnbuItachi:I can only imagine how horrible it must feel to have done so much the right way, at great sacrifice no doubt, and then have such a result. You are a smart guy no doubt, so you will figure out how best to proceed from here, and hopefully in the end will have a good result. Even if not the one you were expecting.</p>
<p>It is horrible the way things are in this country, where you extensively prepare for something first, and then later,only at the end, after you’ve done it all, find out if you can actually do it. I used to work in investment banking, and I see so many threads of people asking about courses, schools, etc, to be an investment banker. When I know that if they simply do not fit the mold, they will not achieve what they are hoping for, no matter what they take or where they go. Many will only find this out late in college when they are trying to get internships and jobs. Of course all these people are not relegated to permanent unemployment or a lousy life. But it’s too bad things here aren’t more straightforward.</p>
<p>Anyway, good luck.</p>
<p>Iwannabeavet: from everything I’ve understood you’ve picked a great place to accomplish this.</p>
<p>my degree is worth every penny that somebody else paid.</p>
<p>And I mean that in equal parts snark and equal parts sincerity. Same thing for my better half as where we both are now in life is a direct result of our Cornell degrees, no doubt. Compared to our high school peers, we are the lucky ones (not that luck had much to do with it, it wasn’t always easy)</p>
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Where’d you apply to med school and what were your MCAT scores?</p>
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<p>This sucks. I feel ya man. Sadly, this is the reality that many, if not most, of premeds face across the nation. Getting into any med school is a big accomplishment in itself. My older brother was a premed at college. He didn’t make the cut. Now, he’s at a top 10 law school and will be working as a lawyer starting this summer. You should ponder the possibility of other routes. (dental school and law school may be alternatives)</p>
<p>rlaehgund, I am also a second semester freshman at Cornell.</p>
<p>I have similar feelings toward the school; I’m unhappy here. I have a list of reasons why I’m unhappy here, but I don’t think I am going to list them. I am in classes with premeds as a Nutritional Sciences major in HumEc, although I am not premed. This school is undoubtedly challenging, and yes, the weather does suck! However, I have heard from upperclassmen that life at Cornell gets better after freshman year (especially after the first semester). </p>
<p>With all that being said, I am just completing my transfer application to Brown University. It was an annoying process, to say the least. I just filled out those tedious applications and gathered all of this paperwork one year ago, and here I am doing it again. Not fun. </p>
<p>Anyway, I wish you the best!</p>
<p>OP- Have you read or heard of this recent study?
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<p>The authors also said
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<p>College is not just about a credential or a gpa. It is about learning how to research, think, analyze and communicate.</p>
<p>Going to the easier school will most likely not help you in the long run as much as your rigorous courses at Cornell.</p>
<p>AnbuItachi, i’ve had friends who were in similar situations as yours. After college graduation, they spent a year working in labs, in hospitals or studied for a masters of public health while reapplying to med school; some even retook the MCAT after further study. They all were accepted into med school on their second try. If this is something you really want to do, it may be worth applying once more. My own S is considering pre-med and i’ve told him not to think of it as a race. Taking a year off betw UG and med school to work in a lab, hospital may be a good way to regain some energy as well as a second chance to apply.</p>
<p>To the OP: my S worked in a lab in nYC this past summer and met someone who as an undergrad at columbia was an english major. he decided senior yr that he wanted to go to med school. he began his science courses that year and after graduation did a post-BA premed program at columbia, supporting himself as a tutor. got into cornell med school two years later. he thought it was a lot easier to do well that way. there are other routes into med school. </p>
<p>monyday: loved your advice – it was spot-on.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, kids don’t think this way these days. Everything’s about getting the highest GPA and no one bothers to take classes they enjoy. Premed courses are intentionally kept to a minimum (just 8 or so courses out of the 30+ courses you’ll take in 4 years) so that people can learn what they want. And you should really enjoy learning if you want to become a physician. The stuff you learn in medical school and residency will be out of date within a matter of years. To keep yourself up to date, you have to do a ton of reading as an attending physician. That’s what makes medicine so fascinating. It’s continually evolving and you never feel like you have a good grasp of it.</p>