<p>Well Duke is my dream school and I want to go there and be a pre med biology major. I have been researching it and it seems like Duke is the ideal choice for a pre med student. I saw that the average duke student's gpa was around 3.48 and I was wondering if anyone knows around what the average science majors gpa is since it is probably lower than that. Any help would be highly appreciated.</p>
<p>I know the average BME is around 3.1-3.2. The averages for the premed classes is a B- which translates into a 2.7. However, science majors are bound to take other non-premed science courses, so that could bump it to around a 2.9-3.0. Also, since a decent number of people drop out of being a science major after some tough classes, the average science gpa would probably be around 3.1-3.2 as well I’m guessing.</p>
<p>ok, that seems really low, especially since Duke is considered one of the best colleges for pre med. At duke is there a popular major that many people do pre med in? and also do you need to decide your major when you are applying to Duke or can be undecided for a little while?</p>
<p>You can go undecided until the end of your sophomore year. A lot of pre-meds seem to be bio majors and chem minors, but technically you can major in anything and still be pre-med. You get most of the minor just by fulfilling the pre-med requirements.</p>
<p>Pre-med is tough. Duke is considered one of the best for pre-med because it is tough. A lot of people drop out of pre-med along the way. This means that whoever is left is a high quality candidate with a good chance of getting into med school.</p>
<p>I think going to a prestigious undergrad to get into med school is WAY overhyped. Frankly, I know countless people at Duke who would have been better served going to State U and doing much better there. I know people who graduated with a 3.0 gpa biomedical engineering/chem double major, 36 on the MCAT (aka a GREAT score), and couldn’t get in anywhere…went to get a masters degree and then apply again. At a DO program now (still a doctor, but not an MD). I guarantee you had he/she gone to State U, gotten a 3.6 (which would have happened), and a 36 on the MCAT (which also probably would have happened; yeah Duke might prepare you a bit better, but if you’re smart and you take the same Princeton Review courses geared towards the MCAT anyways, you can do just as well), he/she would be going to a much better med school. Or he/she should have chosen an easier major(s) at Duke. </p>
<p>If you’re 100% committed to going to med school, I think getting a scholarship from State U, graduating with no debt, getting a 3.7+ GPA, and scoring well on the MCAT will suit you much better than going to Hopkins/Duke/Upenn. There are MAJOR caveats with that though. First, the VAST MAJORITY of people change their mind in college - majors, career paths, etc. If you end up liking finance, for example, going to Duke/UPenn route is significantly more beneficial than State U. Secondly, if you’re trying to get into Harvard Med (which shouldn’t be the goal; it should simply be to get in anywhere), then going to a prestigious school AND doing well is almost a must. Thirdly, I do think going to Duke/Hopkins/Upenn sets you up for great extracurriculars and research opportunities. If you go to State U, you need to make sure there are opportunities for research and you might have to be more proactive in seeking them out. But if you’re a top student there, I don’t think it should be a huge problem. Finally, public schools may not have as good of an advising program as Duke does, which certainly helps in the applying process. But if you’re motivated enough and smart, you should be able to figure it out on your own.</p>
<p>I may be in the minority in this opinion, but med schools don’t care that much about the prestige of your school and don’t factor in difficultly of curriculum as much as they should for GPA comparisons, in my opinion (both across majors and across schools; Princeton is way harder than Harvard, for example). Duke and the like set you up well since they give you access to great research opportunities and advising, but from the GPA/competition with your peers standpoint, it can be a killer. If I was 100% dedicated to medicine (which is NOT very common) and knew that was my lifelong dream, I’d seriously consider going to a “weaker” school (I’m talking like Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, still not bad schools by any stretch) and excel there. I just know too many smart people who got weeded out, while people I went to high school with who were nowhere near the same level are now at med school. Don’t get me wrong. I love Duke and think the experience of going there is priceless. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. (I wasn’t premed though, but took a lot of classes with premeds as a BME major). There is a lot more to college than simply getting into med school - socially, academically, and extracurricularly. But if you only cared about one thing - getting into med school - then I think my above argument holds water. Just one guy’s opinion, though.</p>
<p>Having said all that, I don’t mean this to sound discouraging but rather provide another perspective. I also highly encourage you to go to apply to Duke as it DOES set you up very well for pre-med IF you succeed. I guess it’s a good measure of if you’ll be able to survive med school, though, so might as well learn it sooner rather than later, I suppose. Good luck!</p>
<p>Bluedog does bring up a good point. Med schools do account for differences in difficulty between state schools and places like Duke, but how close that matches reality…who knows? The other side of that is if you’re a really excellent candidate, a 4.0 from Duke will place you much higher than a 4.0 from a state school.</p>
<p>Also, you gotta take into account that there’s a world-class hospital not ten minutes walk from your dorm, so there’s plenty of opportunities for volunteering and shadowing, which is equally as important as GPA.</p>
<p>To balance Bluedog’s story, my cousin graduated from Duke as a bio major/chem minor with a 3.0 GPA and around a 36 MCAT. He got into Vanderbilt (#15 in research). He balanced the low GPA with a ton of extracurriculars: lab work, research, volunteering, shadowing, etc.</p>
<p>thanks, that’s actually really helpful. So I guess unlike law schools, med schools want a well rounded candidate and they take difficulty into consideration.</p>
<p>Bluedog seems to have a point, but 80% or more of Duke premeds (that bear through everything) make it to med school. Compare this to the average 50% in state schools. The thing is, state school has limited resources that are in high demand. They can’t serve the needs of all their pre-meds because there are simply too many. Also the less intense atmosphere at state schools may also influence the student to slack off and whatnot. As SRB has said multiple times, you should not consider going to a state school for the sake of a better GPA. That said, I am considering dropping out of premed because it simply takes too long (upwards of 12 years) before you start making bank. Also, the hours are tough and the malpractice fees are unsightly. I feel that the cons outweigh the advantages.</p>
<p>Futurexreject, it isn’t about the money… it’s about helping and saving people’s lives. what’s more precious than that? Money isn’t just a gate to happiness… and going into this route for medical school is for people who want to make a real difference.</p>
<p>if money concerns you, go to Dental School or Pharmacy school.</p>
<p>better yet, become a nurse.</p>
<p>bluedog’s points are true. At Duke you have a class full of brianiacs and will work hard for a 3.3 GPA. The same kid can go to his public flagship (probably on a merit scholarship), skip classes, party 4 days a week, and graduate with a 3.9 GPA then prep for the MCAT and kill it. Kids from Duke however will be better prepared when they get to med school. After med school no one cares where you went to college.<br>
Cost must be considered as well because med school will set you back $250,000. If a doctor has 250K debt from med school and 150K from Duke plus 4 years of intrest growth while in residency you are talking about 450K of loans and a job that pays 150K. The numbers don’t work anymore for doctors.</p>