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Here is Princeton’s grading policy: [Grading</a> at Princeton | Office of the Dean of the College](<a href=“http://odoc.princeton.edu/faculty-staff/grading-princeton]Grading”>Grading | Office of the Dean of the College)</p>
<p>Tow points worth noting:</p>
<p>1) The policy applies for all UG classes.
2) Regardless of the limit of 35%, if a kid is in A-range, he/she shall be awarded an A.</p>
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<p>Correct. But my point is that, unlike in Texas, where top xx % guarantees admission to UT-Austin, the state’s flagship, in California top xx% only guarantees admission to the UC system and the lowest UC, which is UC Merced. </p>
<p>Cal and UCLA do not participate in the top xx % program; so your earlier post is still wrong. Berkeley does not “give automatic admission” to anyone – unless, perhaps, they are a #1 football recruit with solid grades. :D</p>
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<p>What UG did he turn down, what UG did he graduate from with a 3.9? Was going to the less challenging, i.e., easier to obtain a high GPA, university the sole reason for his college selection? Or were other factors in play?</p>
<p>I asked medical students I know if going to a less challenging UG to secure a higher GPA, for the purpose of applying to medical school, was a thing. They all said they’ve never heard of anyone doing that. Further, they claim the average 17 or 18 yo doesn’t have the foresight or understand the scope of applying to medical school, so attending a lower tier school just to possibly have a better chance at something 4 years later (that they really don’t understand yet) just isn’t very plausible. Intelligent 17 and 18 yo generally select the best school they can get into and afford.</p>
<p>The original policy is the top xx %, where xx = 10. Later, they reduced the number xx and added other criteria, and said that, without doing so, it would seriously hurts the “flagship” status or pretige of UT Austin. So it has been an ongoing power struggle between two camps. Sometimes one camp had an upper hand, and other times the other camp did. This saga will unlikely end anytime soon. In the mean time, i heard many kids from a rich school district needs to be “on the run”, to some colleges in other states if they can not be a longhorn or an aggie. This would be a big minus if these kids want to be in politics, as they must be a longhorn or an aggie in order to have an edge, imho.</p>
<p>When DS chose to go OOS to a NE college, some friend of my wife was genuinely concerned that DS would be misled or “polutes”. She really does not trust the professors in the national elite schools. She trusts the governer who was an aggie. In a recent abortion restriction bill that was just passed here, a Princetonian Senator was defeated badly after the governer had called a special session to make sure he would leave behind his legacy in this.</p>
<p>Although it says top 7% for UT at the moment, the admissions are major specific and people get admitted to the school but don’t get a major, getting dumped into general studies or something like that. Most kids in the honors designations seem to be top 2-3% with a 2000+ score.</p>
<p>One thing nice about going to UT honors - they are given benefit of doubt with gentlemen’s As from what I hear. :p</p>
<p>Gotta love Techsus! Go Big or Go Home. hahahahaha</p>
<p>For some family who can not afford or unwilling to have a super-sized mortgage (as many Californians do), it costs much less to raise a kid in Texas. You just need to be careful about setting a higher academic standard if you can not afford to send your kid to a prep school or a public school in a wealthy district.</p>
<p>Keeping some goats could help too, like in curm’s family :)</p>
<p>texaspg, what ARE those majors that are easier to get in on. we are ‘in state’ texas, and incredibly, without that top 7&, ds will have a hard time getting in. 33 ACT, top 15%, 4.1 weighted, 10 APs, eagle scout. We are at a “high draw” high school, too.</p>
<p>He will apply to Science/Biology, but I do hear education is easier. I know business and engineering are really tough. </p>
<p>Anyway, for UT, any advise on application? General studies, I suppose, for second choice on major?</p>
<p>ANy help would be appreciated, or if there is an ‘expert’ on CC, please pm me the name!!</p>
<p>Thanks all, hook 'em!! (glad it wasn’t so hard in my day!) UT class of '82!!</p>
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Since being accurate doesn’t seem to be your strong suit, let me FIFY - “so your earlier post is still wrong to mention UC Berkeley as an example of schools with automatic acceptance”. There is more in that is right, than otherwise.</p>
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Tell me about it 
I am trying to talk my 17 year old into going to Rutgers taking the merit aid (which he is highly likely to get). At the moment, the chances of that happening aren’t looking good :D</p>
<p>netkid - I think the 33 will get your son in if he applies in August into sciences. They do have the leeway to admit high stat kids. But you have to apply really early to have a good shot. Apply to honors also.</p>
<p>He can walk into A&M or any other school in Texas. </p>
<p>Please start a thread under UT so you can get more advice. People who follow UT may not be reading this thread.</p>
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<p>I wonder about the subset you inquired of… (or maybe the subset I know - we’re rural and prestige doesn’t count for much - some school names can have a negative vibe, unlike other areas). </p>
<p>Around here, contemplating the GPA and financial issues for potential pre-meds is pretty standard. Since we don’t live in a wealthy area, the $$ often takes the primary consideration spot (for all college kids, not just pre-meds). GPA-wise, it’s mainly recommended that potential pre-meds be in the top 25% stats-wise for their school. That also tends to help with $$, so it’s a win-win. Not all students take the advice. Those who don’t tend to come back with negative stories/experiences. I know of some with major debt and many who didn’t make it GPA-wise (but this latter could have happened at other schools too if they didn’t put the work in).</p>
<p>Plus, as stated before, many just plain change their minds due to finding something else they prefer (even when they have the grades).</p>
<p>Top students can get their best deals at very good colleges though - esp if their aid has a need-based component. Merit top students can often get great awards at many schools. Students who are “good” but not at or near the top have more financial issues to consider.</p>
<p>Programs are plenty hard at state public. Very very hard even for the top kids from private HSs. If you are looking to be challenged, I promise, you will be at absolutely any place. The reason is that no HS in the USA is preparing kids for college at all. It is up to a kid to bring herselft to the college academic level, including adjustment to a work load…yes, at the lowest ranked local state public college.</p>
<p>…to add, college GPA close to 4.0 and decent MCAT, reasonable amount of ECs will insure SOM acceptance from any UG (based on many examples)</p>
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<p>What’s that mean?</p>
<p>*Quote:
Yes, that is a good strategy. That’s the strategy my son used and graduated with a 3.99 cum GPA (one A- in a Spanish class) and a 4.0 BCMP. </p>
<p>The worst strategy can be happily getting accepted to an elite school (without being well-within the top quartile) and then emerging with a GPA that isn’t med school worthy. I’ve seen a number of those med school applicants get ZERO med school acceptances. If they had taken their ACT 33’s and had attended a mid-tier, they would have had a better chance at snagging those A’s if they had put forth the effort.</p>
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<p>What UG did he turn down, what UG did he graduate from with a 3.9? Was going to the less challenging, i.e., easier to obtain a high GPA, university the sole reason for his college selection? Or were other factors in play?*</p>
<p>He turned down 4 much higher ranked undergrads. He went to Bama. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.99 GPA/4.0 BCMP. He picked Bama because he loved it and because he knew that he wanted to be a doctor and didn’t want to blow his college money on undergrad Bama cost us very little after a near-full-ride combo of scholarship awards). </p>
<p>Bama wasn’t easy, he was a Chemical Engineering major. It wasn’t “less challenging.” You’re mistaken. The issue isn’t that the school was “less challenging”, as if the curriculum was easier. It wasn’t. The issue was that his STEM classmates were more in the ACT 29-36 range rather than 34-36 range at higher ranked schools…all clamoring for the limited numbers of A’s. </p>
<p>STEM majors are challenging at any good school. The semesters that he took OChem he severely limited his part-time job to 2 hours a week on Fridays. During other semesters, he worked 8-10 hours per week at the school’s tutoring center.</p>
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I’m not sure I would agree with this. My D attended a private prep that definitely prepared her. She graduated with 11 APs and 1 DC. She received 5s on all exams. Much of it was hard work and effective studying on her part (skills ingrained through home and the school), but much of the credit goes to her teachers. Two of them, for instance, actually write the national AP exam in their subject. There are phenomenal public high schools that prepare students for the rigor of higher learning as well. Many of my daughter’s current college classmates, for example, attended TJHSST; all were extremely prepared. I’m not trying to be confrontational, but I’m a teacher at a private prep so I’m a little sensitive to blanket statements like this.</p>
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<p>This is a complete contradiction. It was easier because it was EASIER for him to get a 3.99 at Alabama then it would have been to get a 3.99 at the “4 much higher ranked” universities he was accepted to. Very curious to hear what those 4 universities are. There’s a Mom in UMich’s forum claiming to be cross-shopping Bama and UMich, solely for financial reasons.</p>
<p>*texaspg, what ARE those majors that are easier to get in on. we are ‘in state’ texas, and incredibly, without that top 7&, ds will have a hard time getting in. 33 ACT, top 15%, 4.1 weighted, 10 APs, eagle scout. We are at a “high draw” high school, too.</p>
<p>He will apply to Science/Biology, but I do hear education is easier. I know business and engineering are really tough. </p>
<p>Anyway, for UT, any advise on application? General studies, I suppose, for second choice on major?*</p>
<p>I wouldn’t suggest Education or “General Studies” as premed majors. GS is the major that athletes take to “get thru college.” Being an education major won’t be an auto veto, but it might seem weird.</p>
<p>A student should pick a major that plays to his strengths. English? History? Chem? Comp Sci? My son’s undergrad has a CS-premed track. I forget the exact number, but I recall that the school said that about half of their ChemE majors were premed.</p>
<p>This is a complete contradiction. It was easier because it was EASIER for him to get a 3.99 at Alabama then it would have been at the “4 much higher ranked” universities he was accepted to</p>
<p>No it’s not. There’s a difference between “less challenging” (which has to do with curriculum content) and “less competitive” (which has to do with less super-stats kids fighting for the limited number of A’s.)</p>
<p>*It was easier because it was EASIER for him to get a 3.99 at Alabama *</p>
<p>the competition was easier, not the academic content. There’s a difference.
If you want to be a doctor, you need to know the difference. If you’re racing up Mt Everest with a few less experts, that is less competive, but the challenge of the climb is the same.</p>