<p>Hi everyone! i was recently admitted to cornell CAS early decision, and am really excited about my first year:) so i am a premed student planning to major in molecular and cell biology, and i have a ton of questions! now i know i have like 8 months to relax before i get to Ithaca next august, but it wouldn't hurt to start thinking about it...anyway, any comments would be GREATLY appreciated!!! :D </p>
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<li><p>is it possible for a premed bio major to graduate in 3 years?</p></li>
<li><p>how/when do we choose our classes? when we get there at orientation week? </p></li>
<li><p>most importantly, i have heard rumors that premed at cornell is really hard. how can i create my first year (especially first semester) schedule so its the least stressful? i mean like saving the harder classes for later when i am more settled in...lol </p></li>
<li><p>in wat year do most premed students start participating in research? </p></li>
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<p>haha thanks in advance for all the advice... YAYY for Cornell!!!</p>
<p>Well I only know the answer to your first question, and that is it is definitely possible, but it would also definitely suck. You would have to take a ton of extra classes each term, which in all likely hood might end up ruining your chances of getting into a good med school.</p>
<p>Possible? Yes. Advisable? No. Med schools want older, mature students. Not young 20 year olds.</p>
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<p>Yes. </p>
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<p>You can’t expect to have an easy freshman year and still graduate in 3 years. A math class (calc) + a bio course + gen chem freshman year is pretty standard. </p>
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4. in wat year do most premed students start participating in research?
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<p>Anytime you want. Most probably start in their sophomore or junior years. But, as a freshman year you can start out doing some scut work in a lab and work your way up.</p>
<p>I have an additional question just to add on that didn’t really get answered yet. Cornell has a reputation of being the hardest Ivy to graduate from and also of giving out lower grades. I was wondering how hard it really is GPA wise for a bio major compared to other similar schools such as dartmouth and duke? I realize getting a good GPA isn’t “a walk in the park” but are the only kids who get good GPAs in Bio a cornell “that kid that sits alone in his room all day and studies?”</p>
<p>Cornell is not any easier or harder than its peer schools. No, you don’t have to be a hermit to get good grades a bio major at Cornell. It’ll be a challenge but not impossible at all.</p>
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<li><p>I agree with norcalguy. </p></li>
<li><p>You actually choose your classes before orientation week now. It is done online. Since you are a prospective biology major, the Office of Undergraduate Biology (OUB) will give you a student advisor to help you. He/she will send you a letter over the summer introducing him/herself.</p></li>
<li><p>Adding onto what norcalguy said, I think Freshman year is the most difficult. You are making new friends, adjusting to the college life, taking college courses, etc. I would make sure to start out strong by reviewing your notes after lecture and coming up with questions that you can go to Professor’s office hours for. Besides during prelim weeks, the office hours are usually very empty. I would recommend to make a schedule to stay on top of your work and follow it. You will definitely want to blow off some steam, so that is what Friday and Saturday nights are for. </p></li>
<li><p>If you just want to go to medical school and become a doctor that only does clinical work, I would not recommend doing research. I would spend the time you would have on research by participating in clubs, volunteering at hospitals, TAing, etc. Many of my friends who have not done research have been very successful in getting into medical schools. On the other hand, depending on the research that you do, does help you understand a lot of concepts presented in courses. </p></li>
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<p>Most premed students I know that get something significant done start research either the second semester of freshmen year or the first semester of their sophomore year.</p>
<p>I don’t really agree with this. Everyone who wants to go to med school should at least try research for a semester. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. But, you need to at least show medical schools you’ve tried research. If you look at the MSAR, 85-90% of medical matriculants have done research.</p>
<p>The point of doing research isn’t just prepare you for a career in academic medicine. It’s to help you start to think critically. It’s to get you to start reading research articles and critique and analyze them. As medical students and as attending physicians you will read a ton of research articles to keep up to date. Review books and textbooks aren’t enough. Your teachers/attendings will be reading articles every day and you will need to have knowledge of research from 2009 and 2010 that hasn’t made its way to the textbooks yet. You need to do research to gain an appreciation for what you’re reading.</p>
<p>you definitely do not need research to get into medical school. However it is recommended and try to get as much of it as possible. it is especially important for higher ranked schools.
i did 2 years of research and applied to mainly mid tier schools (like rank 60). i applied to 21 schools and received no acceptances and many rejections pretty quick. a friend of mine has lower stats but has been accepted to several already. she also did not do any research at all. so you definitely do not need research.</p>
<p>premed at cornell is rough. but premed at any top privates is rough. my friend from mit, after 4 years of hellish work, got rejected from every single med school he applied to. he regrets his decision to attend mit. my other hs friend who attended Arizona State, on the other hand, already got into 3 med schools. probably attending an easy state school is better strategy for a premed.</p>
<p>so AnbuItachi if you had better stats (I assume GPA and MCATs?) and research and your friend had lower stats and no research, is there any reasonable explanation for the difference in your different results besides just luck? did your friend apply to lower-tier schools, perhaps?</p>