Barnard Pre-Med Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

<p>My D wants to do a science major (with the pre-med track), but also minor in a liberal arts subject. She likes New York City/Barnard and also has some questions about Barnard’s. </p>

<ol>
<li>Does the school have a good balance between liberal arts major and science major?<br></li>
<li>What % of the total student body graduate with a science major?</li>
<li>How many students start freshman year intending to do pre-med?</li>
<li>How many students apply to medical school?</li>
<li>How many of those applying to medical school get into one of their top 5 choices (or a medical school in New York)?</li>
<li>What is the average GPA of a pre-med student applying to medical school?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for helping.</p>

2

<p>A lot of this should be on the website. My estimate is that about 20% of the students start off premed. I base this on the difference between the number taking gen chem and P. Chem, the final common course for chem majors. Many realize that they are interested in something else early on like my first D; others drop it after O chem; and others like D2 take all of the courses and the MCAT but think of it as a backup. The premed advising is good but you have to give them something to work with. Tell them right when you get there and keep your grades up. Medical education is pretty well standardized across the country. I wouldn’t worry about getting into a particular school. Worry about your residency. D2 is a film studies major and a physics minor.</p>

3

<ol>
<li>Does the school have a good balance between liberal arts major and science major?</li>
</ol>

<p>Science majors are in the minority, but the programs are equally strong.</p>

<ol>
<li>What % of the total student body graduate with a science major?</li>
</ol>

<p>There are around 20 seniors graduating with a biology degree this year, which is one of the more popular science majors. Chem + biochem are less than 10 each. I don’t know about physics, environmental sciences, or neuroscience.</p>

<ol>
<li>How many students start freshman year intending to do pre-med?</li>
</ol>

<p>The premed meeting during freshman orientation is usually really well-populated (50+ students), and I think the number wanes over the course of the four years.</p>

<ol>
<li>How many students apply to medical school?</li>
</ol>

<p>See above. I don’t know the number, but the pre-health dean seems pretty busy.</p>

<ol>
<li>How many of those applying to medical school get into one of their top 5 choices (or a medical school in New York)?</li>
</ol>

<p>Med school admissions, as someone who just went through the process, is a TOTAL crapshoot. Way more so than college admissions. There is absolutely no pattern to the schools who showed interest in me, and I don’t think I could have done anything different to change that. That said, I’ll be attending NYU next year with a friend of mine from Barnard. I think New York schools tend to favor students who have had New York experience.</p>

<ol>
<li>What is the average GPA of a pre-med student applying to medical school?</li>
</ol>

<p>Applying, I have no idea. Accepted to med school, I think the number is around 3.65, but I could be wrong.</p>

<p>I’m a senior who just went through the med school process (and the biology major). I was also the former president of Barnard’s pre-health group and very involved with the bio department. If your daughter wants to talk to me in more detail, PM me and I can give you my email address.</p>

4

<p>This web site will give you a detailed breakdown of majors for students who graduated last year:
[College</a> Navigator - Barnard College](<a href=“College Navigator - Barnard College”>College Navigator - Barnard College)</p>

<p>There were 57 total in the biological sciences; 10 in physical sciences - plus a smattering in math & environmental sciences.</p>

5

<p>Thanks mysteryflavored.</p>

<p>Since my D wants to directly go to medical school without taking an off-year, she may have to start doing research and internships from her freshman year.</p>

<p>I understand that it is easy to get internships; what about getting research with doctors/researchers in hospitals? </p>

<p>Is it very competitive to get these research opportunities? We visited a very well known pre-med university yesterday and they talked about significant competition among undergrads to get these research spots. </p>

<p>Are these opportunities restricted by college (Barnard vs Columbia)?</p>

<p>Thanks for answering the questions. the answers are very helpful to us and to other readers.</p>

6

<p>My D did not have any difficulty finding research opportunities as a neuroscience major. And she was even awarded a pretty competitive summer research fellowship (the Amgen Scholar designation) after her second year, and that was a Columbia program. Her suitemate (who was pre-med) also was involved in research. I never heard of anyone having difficulty getting a spot. And i seem to remember my D telling me that at least one Columbia prof said many PIs actually prefer Barnard students…</p>

7

<p>Many labs who seek out undergrad researchers will contact Barnard. Either the pre-health office or the pre-health clubs will then notify all premed students of these opportunities. Barnard also makes available a ton of different science-related research internships for summer work, which can be pursued throughout the academic year as well.</p>

<p>Check this out: [Where</a> can I do Research? | Biology](<a href=“http://biology.barnard.edu/where-can-i-do-research%3F]Where”>http://biology.barnard.edu/where-can-i-do-research%3F)</p>

8

<p>Mysteryflavored, you mention that more than 50 were in the pre-med track to start with. How many got admission to med school along with you?
What are the other students pursuing? How many of them are still in the sciences?
How hard is it to maintain a good GPA? What is the average course load per semester if you intend to take MCATs in junior year?
-hypermom</p>

9

<p>I actually don’t know of many students who applied to med schools yet. The trend is definitely leaning towards taking a year or two off to work, so I wasn’t really surrounded by a club of people going through the application process. That said, everyone I know who applied to schools this year got in.</p>

<p>I also don’t really know what happens to some of the girls who drop the premed track. I know of several people who instead decided to go into research (psych or chem or bio or whatever), and a few people who switched majors entirely.</p>

<p>My GPA fluctuated over my four years. I started off VERY strong (possibly because I really didn’t do anything other than study), and hit my lowest GPA during soph year (when I was involved in wayyy too many clubs and dating and dealing with some personal stuff). I evened out my junior year, even though I was the busiest I think I’ve ever been in my life, owing to my research goals and MCAT studying and club leaderships. I know other people who struggled freshman year until something clicked and they aced the rest of college. It really depends on the person.</p>

<p>I took 15-16 credits every semester until I took the MCAT at the end of junior year. This allowed me to take all of my premed classes (year of bio, two years of chem, year of physics, year of math), as well as some of my Barnard 9 ways and major requirements. I also got a couple of fun classes in. I definitely don’t think students need to push the credit limit to complete all the premed classes.</p>

10

<p>Thank you so much MysteryFlavored. You are such a great resource!
If you don’t mind, can you post a typical premeds class sequence
(Bio - 1st sem, Chem -2nd sem etc…) (only if you have time and don’t mind)
THANK YOU!!!
-hypermom</p>

11

<p>My daughter who completed the premed requirements said you can take the MCAT at the end of second year. The chem sequence is General for one semester then Organic fo two and the the second semester of Gen Chem. She says that there is enough info in the first two semesters to take the MCAT.</p>

12

<p>I don’t know if there is a “typical” premed sequence, because it depends on what your major is and how badly you want to put off physics. :P</p>

<p>I did:</p>

<p>1st sem: bio+lab, calc III
2nd sem: bio+lab, physics+lab
3rd sem: gchem+lab, stats
4th sem: ochem+lab, physics+lab
5th sem: ochem
6th sem: gchem</p>

<p>(for the record, I took physics at Columbia)</p>

<p>I agree it is possible to take the MCAT without those last two semesters of chem, but I highly suggest waiting. Ochem2 really solidifies your organic knowledge (and covers spectroscopy, fairly useful on the MCAT), and the second semester of gchem covers a lot of really useful quantum that physics only glosses over. I did really well on the MCAT and don’t think that would have happened had I taken it a year earlier.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you can take bio and chem starting your freshman year and be done with everything within two years, but Barnard advising highly discourages it. Apparently people have trouble taking two labs their first semester. I don’t know how true this is, so I won’t really comment.</p>