<p>Well said, BDM!</p>
<p>i’m surprised pitt has a high attrition rate.</p>
<p>it’s actually my first choice. I think a 3.7 is possible to keep up in college… no? i mean, in a program, just pad your GPA with easy courses (there is no minimum science GPA)</p>
<p>also, are you SURE there’s a minimum MCAT? all I heard about it (talking to the dean of admissions at Pitt) was that you have to take the MCAT.</p>
<p>i’m not doubting your friend, but i’d just like you to ask him once more.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike…thats not a silly thing to claim. The purpose of a program is to be able to take it easy and go to medical school. Getting a 3.8 GPA is extremely difficult esp. at a school like WUSTL (equivalent to JHU pre-med). Your Ochem class will be on a curve and to get an A, you have to be 2 standard deviations above the average…and the entire class is hardcore, intelligent pre-meds. A 36 MCAT is phenomenal. Why can’t a 3.8, 36 MCAT not get you into WUSTL. It definitely can if you have all the other extracurriculars. There is no defined GPA/MCAT that will get you in. There are people who don’t get into any of the medical schools they applied to with low 30 MCATs.
It is NOT premature to talk about attrition rates. So far it has an extremely high one. If you want to take the chance by going to it, go by all means. But the probably that you’ll get weeded out of the program is high and that makes it a very un-guaranteed program. Not what I would want if I wanted to take it easy during undergrad and be set with medical school in the future.</p>
<p>Pitt either has an MCAT requirement or a minimum MCAT…I’m not sure on the details. The bottom line is you have to take it. That itself is a pain in the ass. It’s not really that necessary for medical school preparation either. But Pitt is an excellent place, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying it has high requirements. A 3.7 in college is obviously dooable, but if people have gotten kicked out, it must’ve been slightly difficult. Thats all I’m saying.</p>
<p>A 3.8, 36 is certainly possible for admission to WUSTL med, but to receive a guaranteed admission for numbers that are actually *below average *is quite a guarantee, indeed. I didn’t say it wasn’t difficult.</p>
<p>Specifically, I don’t think it’s appropriate to refer to it as “not a program” when, in fact, it’s guaranteeing you an admission with no EC/research requirements and numbers that are below average.</p>
<p>
I’d be shocked if there were a “high” proportion of students who have already taken themselves completely out of the running for a 3.8*. And surely none of the kids have taken the MCAT for the final (third) time yet. They’re barely halfway through their sophomore year.</p>
<p>*Surely the program can’t require a 3.8 each semester, but rather over your undergraduate career.</p>
<p>I applied to U-Pitt and I’m going there to interview for the med program in March. </p>
<p>Everything I know about the program I got from this web page. It makes no mention of the MCAT.
<a href=“http://www.pitt.edu/~oafa/guarantee.html[/url]”>http://www.pitt.edu/~oafa/guarantee.html</a><br>
(scroll down to School of Medicine Guarantee)</p>
<p>My questions: is a 3.7 really hard to maintain at a state school like U-Pitt? I mean, I’ve met their tough minimum requirements, so I like to think I’m fairly bright. </p>
<p>Does anyone know about U-Pitt? Do they grade on a curve and actively try to weed-out people? I’d be interested in some opinions/insights.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Brown PLME sent me this brochure. the avg SAT was 1470 i think</p>
<p>This thread is starting to turn into an argument thread.</p>
<p>First off, a 3.8 gpa is actually the norm of med school, not a 3.9. Heck, northwestern’s medical school’s average college gpa is a 3.85, and that’s tied with harvard’s. Furthermore, a 36 on mcats actually is enough to go to some of the less well known medical schools. Also, gpa and mcats aren’t the only factors to get people into medical school. Thus, I agree with gangsta’s pov.</p>
<p>
The numbers were quoted specifically for WUSTL Med, not medical school in general. A 3.8, 36 is a very strong track record and will certainly create interest among some of the medical schools in the country.</p>