Any Good Pre-Med Schools For Me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello College Confidential Posters,</p>

<p>I rarely post on this website, but today I have come for some much needed help. I'm a high school student with a very bizarre HS record. Though, Let me just tell you a bit about myself before I start talking about my stats. I'm a first-generation college bound student who is the oldest in a family of 5. Never have I taken an easy way out, I've always tried to make the most out of school by taking the hardest courses offered. The trumpet has been in my hand since I was a fifth grader and I'm still playing it. I was an outstanding student and received many presidential scholar awards before enrolling in high school. Silicon Valley is my home, so I have always been into computers, and dabble in a bit of programming. However, One of my greatest passions in life is to be a Surgeon. This is not a new founded dream, but a one that started when I was a wee little sixth grader. I've always wanted to help people and make a difference in the world, so becoming Surgeon is what I want to do. Though, whats stopping me at this point is my HS Transcript and College Admissions. I want to go to university, but desire to get into a well accredited one. I know that I can't go to schools like UC Davis or Boston University, though are there any that will accept a student like me? I plan on not following what I did in high school and study very very hard in College.</p>

<p>Here Are My Stats:</p>

<p>SAT: 2350
Cumulative GPA (Weighted) 2.822
Cumulative GPA (Unweighted) 2.667
CA Cal Grant GPA 2.36
Weighted 10-12 A-G GPA 2.64</p>

<p>EC's: 3 years March band, 3 years Concert band, Cashier Experience. I use to play video games and created a clan with 500+ people, but I don't think this is an ec. </p>

<p>I skipped 2 years of math b/c of summer programs. I did very well in them. geometry and precal.
took an online course b/c I failed AP English. :p</p>

<p>Grade 9:
Adv Biology-P
Advanced Band-P
Algebra II-P
AS English I-P
Latin I-P<br>
PE-1
World Studies 1-P </p>

<p>Grade 10:</p>

<p>Advanced Band-P
AP Calculus-AB-HP - Failed this terribly D/F
AS Chemistry-HP
AS English II-P
Latin II-P
Mod Euro Hist-P
PE-2 </p>

<p>Grade 11 ( I dropped 2 AP's for second Semester. to help gpa):</p>

<p>AP Comp Sci 1-HP -- Probably the easiest AP I've ever taken.
AP Eng./Comp.-HP --- Dropped for Normal, Failed had to take Online Course for it.
AP Physics-HP ----- Dropped, Failed
AP Statistics-HP - Failed both semester with D's, but not dropped.
Latin III-P
US History-P</p>

<p>Grade 12:</p>

<p>Sadly Everything this year will be normal and only 5 courses. 2 of them being electives.</p>

<p>Film Critique
Band
Human Bio
History
English</p>

<p>All my credits are fine, Atleast I have this on track. :D</p>

<p>I want to go to a school with a Strong Pre-Med Program. Money is no object to me, So out of state is fine. I live in California. What schools do you think I can get into? Please share, I hope this thread can help future peers in my situation. I want to major in Biochemistry.</p>

<p>THANKS A BUNCH!</p>

2

<p>You might get into Cal State Fullerton and CSU-Long Beach.
University of Arizona is also decent for sciences.</p>

3

<p>I want a Strong Pre-Med School, not a 5% average health profession school. Thank you for your response though :)</p>

4

<p>Hate to say this but its not possible to get into a strong pre-med school like UC-San Diego, UC-Berkeley, JHU, Stanford etc. with that GPA.</p>

5

<p>You seem like the type of student that could blossom at a small liberal arts college with more one-on-one attention and no way to slip through the cracks. I know College of Wooster in Ohio has a marching band, and you might get some merit aid for that. Ursinus in PA is strong in pre-med and sciences, so take a look. There are many, many others. Your GPA is not helping you, but the very high SAT should get you some merit aid at less selective (but solid) schools.</p>

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<p>Yes. I’m aware that my grades are extremely poor. I’m not looking at top schools, rather ones that won’t be too looked down on by Medical Schools. Ursinus looks like an option.</p>

7

<p>Why did you fail the classes? No homework? Love interest gone sour? Is there anything about that GPA that you can put into an essay? Colleges will want to know what YOU plan to do differently to not have the same thing happen in college. A high SAT with low GPA stereotypically suggests a lazy student that doesn’t “play well with teachers.” Many colleges do not want to see that feeling the same thing will happen with professors… You’ll need to show them why you don’t fit the stereotype.</p>

<p>Otherwise, start looking at Top 30 to Top 100. Any of those schools are more likely to give you a chance - esp being full pay and with a good essay and/or interview plus any of them are good for pre-med.</p>

<p>Are you looking for an urban, suburban or rural school? If urban, try Pitt or Case Western - U Rochester might even be a possibility. For LACs, consider Franklin & Marshall, Ursinus or Muhlenburg. All are known for pre-med and sciences. These are just some suggestions off the top of my head this morning. I’m positive there are others I’m just not thinking of at the moment. If you look in the right category, you’ll likely have options - not just “one choice,” but those options aren’t likely to come in Top 20 schools.</p>

<p>Once in, realize you will need to get a great GPA for med school. Some undergrad places might cut you some slack (esp if you can explain it). Med schools are highly unlikely to do the same.</p>

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<p>Money is no object to me</p>

<p>What does that mean? Does this mean that your parents will pay however much it costs to go to college? </p>

<p>You put a Cal Grant GPA in your post, that suggests that your parents’ income isn’t high. You can’t borrow your way thru college, so who would be paying?</p>

<p>Why did you fail classes. YOU CANNOT fail classes if you want to go to med school. You need a top GPA.</p>

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<p>ps I’ve seen students truly blossom in college. Generally they are those who found high school super easy, so were bored, and therefore lost their attention in class + didn’t care to do assignments. Once they reached college they found their peers, new “interesting” info, and did really well. The latest one who came to mind is a sophomore now. In high school he did so little that he ended up being put in remedial classes due to his “performance/grades” and was even more bored (yet he tested gifted). He’s now doing extremely well in college as a Physics major and is happy. I saw him in the mall a couple of weeks ago. It can happen, but, of course, it all depends upon you.</p>

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<p>*Would I be able to get into an Ivy league College or a UC if I apply with a 3.87 GPA, High SAT/ACT Scores, </p>

<p>However, My only cons are that I got a D in Calculus AB my sophomore year and many C’s my freshman year. *</p>

<p>Why did you put that GPA in your other thread?</p>

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<p>Mom2college that is a very old thread I created. I was guesstimating back then. Sadly this is what I have know.</p>

12

<p>When you apply to medical schools, they will not be seeing your HS grades, only your college GPA and MCAT scores. You seem to do standardized tests well, which is an advantage. Med schools don’t particularly care if you major in bio or not, just that you’ve completed all of the pre-rec’s.</p>

<p>That said and because of your uneven HS record, I think that you might be better off targeting some mid-range, smaller but recognizable, privates. You may get lost in a sea of pre-med’s at the larger CSU’s. Your GPA with several un-remediated D’/F’s will probably take the UC’s off the table, despite your stellar SAT.</p>

<p>For med school, you want the highest GPA possible, not just a name brand. Look for schools that do not have ‘weeder’ classes or grade deflation. Smaller class size and more individualized attention may suit you. Schools that fit this model, who send high percentages to med school (in no particular order) are:
RPI
LSU
Drexel
Willamette
CSU Monterey Bay (dedicated pre-med)
Quinnipiac
Loyola Chicago
St. Louis University
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (direct entry programs)
Washington State University
Oxford at Emory> Emory
Rhodes
Northeastern
University of Hartford
George Washington University
College of Wooster
U Northern Colorado
U of Utah</p>

13

<p>Barian…you put a Cal Grant GPA on your post. How much will your parents pay for college?</p>

<p>You say that “money is no object” to you, but is that what your parents are saying? If not, how would you pay?</p>

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<p>Mom2College, I copied that off my transcript. Every student in my school receives that information. My parents are not going to be paying for my college tuition. I will take care of that myself through student loans!</p>

15

<p>

You might want to lose a bit of that attitude. For one thing, there is a limit on the amount you can borrow without a cosigner. Its $5500 your 1st year. Good luck paying for most colleges with that. People here have been trying to help you, and given how you respond you seem to deserve what I suspect is just down the road.</p>

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<p>Barian I think she was only trying to help, unclear information can really limit how people can aid you. I don’t want to turn this thread into an argument, but that’s just my take on it.</p>

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<p>Ok Barian, calm down. I think your being a bit irrational. First off, I’ve seen a bunch of mom2collegekids posts, and they’re actually quite helpful. You want to go to medical school, which is very costly. That is why you want to get the least amount of debt as possible in undergrad. I don’t know what kind of school your targeting but if your going to just pull out a lot of loans to finance your education, that’s going to put you in a deep hole. Have you also thought about the amount of interest the loans will accrue? It’s not going to help you in the long run, WHICH is what mom2collegekids is trying to help you with. There is no need to be rude because were just trying to offer you guidance. If you don’t want to accept the advice that is being given to you, fine because at the end of the debt and all the problems that come with it are not going to affect me; there going to affect you.</p>

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<p>Seriously, a good Pre-med college doesn’t exist. How you benefit from college is determined by what you do with it. No school will help you be better off. The top student in my medical school class went to a small liberal arts college that I had never heard of until I met her. Number 2 person went to Princeton. Number 3 had a 2.5 UG GPA from UNC and had his med school application rejected twice. It is not the school that matters.</p>

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<p>FlyEagle, your response is very well put out, and I know she is “trying” to help. I realize that debt will be an issue, but this can be taken care of with the high salary. Student loans are 100% tax deductible (from my knowledge) and a surgeon can pull off numbers in the mid 6 figure range. If I was planning on becoming primary care then yes you would be extremely right. I have thought these dilemma’s out. :)</p>

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<p>Yes, Adcoms do look at what school you go to in a sense. A student who attends UCLA and gets the same grades, research, volunteer work, MCAT ,and major than a student from a CSU will look much better. I hope I’m not being too naive though.</p>