<p>I can primarily speak for the non-engineering science classes but none of my classes have been graded on a bell distribution curve. You get the grade that you get based solely on your performance, not the performance of others. If however, say the average is a 72 in the class, it will most likely get curved to so that average would be a B and for example. So it works in your favor and never against you.</p>
<p>I think that most major universities calculate A- as a 3.67 (maybe some are 3.7?) but then pluses are .33 so I would imagine that would offset it. Im sure this would only be a marginal differences anyway.</p>
<p>My favorite classes were freshman biology because I had an amazing teacher, Dr Gustin and another favorite was poverty, gender and human development because it talked about world development from a woman’s perspective which I had never encountered before. Hmm, my last favorite classes I tend to forget lol. I think it has to be insect biology but only because I didnt like the subject matter and I had a lot of interviews and I didnt feel like my professor was very accommodating so we clashed a bit.</p>
<p>So I specifically looked at schools in the south for undergrad, just because I didnt want to deal with the cold. The first month here was something else! It was hot and muggy and I just wasnt used to that. But, eventually you do get used to it. I think the hottest times are in July and August and you’re only there a fraction of the time in August. Having said that, Ive stayed in Houston for two summers and the heat doesnt even bother me anymore. Another nice thing is on Christmas, it was a nice 72 degrees out (although it’s a bit colder now). I wouldnt let the heat deter you, now snow on the other hand…</p>
<p>So I actually did get involved in research my freshman year and it was pretty easy. I took bioc115 which is basically a seminar is research opportunities and that is where I was able to meet my grad mentor and I started working in her lab because she liked me. I think that as a freshman, it might be a little hard but if you talk to different professors (in person, not easily ignored emails) and sincerely express interest, it shouldnt be hard. There are a ton of labs on campus and MOST professors enjoy having students work for them. We also have liaisons who can help coordinate research at Baylor or in the med center if you’d like to do that as well. Credit and money opportunities are available for both.</p>
<p>I think I expected Rice to be incredibly difficult, and as such I studied more than I did in high school and got good results. I will tell you, I believe that the key to success is to be efficient in your studying. Turn off the cell phone, get off facebook and just buckle down for an hour or two, take like a 30min break and then go for another hour or so. I would do that each day for 3-4 days before the exam and I never had any problems. It was when I become overconfident in my abilities and slacked off is when my grades started to suffer a bit.</p>
<p>Lol I feel like premeds especially spend TOO much time studying, only because most are bad at time management. But it’s not an obscene amount and I think most people here have a very healthy dose of fun. I really cant say how much you’d study as that person and major dependent. I think realistically though, at minimum 12-15 hours a week, depending on if you have an exam, and including assignments, is about what most people would do I’d think. But again, that depends on you and your workload.</p>
<p>Research is where you get out what you put in. Ive seen some people go for 20 hours a week while others just do a couple here and there. It’s really based on you.</p>
<p>We have a lot of clubs here and a lot of students do get involved with them. Most clubs have commitments of 1-2 hours a week so you could join as many as you wanted. </p>
<p>It depends what the double major is. If you are history and hispanic studies and come in with a lot of credit, it’s probably not going to be bad at all. If you are physics and biochemistry and cell biology double major, well may God help you. I personally, worked smarter and not harder. I think you should major in something that you enjoy and take a few difficult classes as possible as your gpa for med school is important. Ironically though, I switched from an easy major to a harder one simply because I was doing better at it so again, only you can tell what you’re going to be good at.</p>
<p>It’s no problem :)</p>