I don’t think that one’s entering stats are that predictive of ending stats. High school and college are very different. I admit it’s quite a while ago now, but my own kid probably graduated from high school and college ranked at about the same number. (Neither HS nor college officially ranked, but there’s enough data to make an educated guess.) Thing is…college class was roughly six times larger.
For my kid, college–and a top ranked one at that–was easier and more enjoyable than high school. Very, very few high schools offer classes in the subjects in which my kid excelled in college. When they do, it’s usually ONE course.
I also think there’s something to be said AGAINST going to the college where you are seemingly quite high in terms of incoming stats because you assume that will enable you to do well and get into med school.
I know 2 people who did this and didn’t get into med school at all. They actually had very good college grades. They bombed the MCATs though. Both took a year off and studied for the MCAT and tried to improve their profiles. Neither got into med school. One is a podiatrist and one is a physician’s assistant. I know another person who was able to get into med school after taking a year off and enrolling in a different college’s post-bac pre-med program. The money her parents saved by her going to a less selective school so they could “help with med school cost” ended up going towards paying for the post-bac year.
@wis75 says:
It ain’t necessarily so. H announces a valedictorian. I know that because one was my kid’s high school classmates (at a NYC public magnet) was the valedictorian of his class at H. And, BTW, while he was a better high school student than my kid, he was not valedictorian and did not win a single senior award–meaning he was not one of the top 3 or so students in any subject. His college major isn’t offered at public high schools.