<p>ok so I was going to go abroad for medical school (5 years) but decided not to and go to undergrad then hopefully* med school. </p>
<p>So I'm a freshmen at a prestigious university right now. Getting the 3.5+ GPA should not be too hard. But, the only thing I am worried about is building my resume for med school. I'm trying to get involved in a lot of things on campus and off campus. If I do hospital volunteering for 5 hours/week, big brothers/big sisters, intramural tennis, basketball, and some petty research, would that be good enough for my first year? Because I want to do whatever it takes to get into med school- on the first try.</p>
<p>Yeah thats more than enough - don't stress yourself out too much your first year. Start to get involved in some activities that you know you'll enjoy and will be able to keep up with throughout undergrad. A few things that you get involved with and stay with for 3-4 years is more important than a million little things that you had only fleeting involvement in when it comes to med school admissions. You want things that you can talk about at interviews with conviction and passion, not "oh yeah, I went to the monthly meetings for that club, but thats about it..."</p>
<p>Many schools have strict grading curves particularly in the hard sciences; Princeton recently instituted one as an answer to the cries of grade inflation and it is now seen as grade deflation by some.</p>
<p>You've been in school for a week or two at most and have already deduced that it won't be hard to get all A's "with hard work and motivation." If you are at a "prestigious university" there will be many other very bright students there and they aren't all going to get A's in everything under normal circumstances and, if there is a grading curve, the number goes down accordingly.</p>
<p>I wish you well, sincerely, but also caution you that a B or two isn't the end of the world for med school admission.</p>