<p>Is Cornell pre-med extremely difficult? I have been accepted into Cornell and Boston College. I have visited both and really liked them a lot (there were aspects of both that really appealed to me). I know that getting into med school is what you make of your undergrad, but which school would present more opportunities for research, internships, etc.? Which school is better for pre-med?</p>
<p>*<strong><em>Bump</em></strong>**</p>
<p>Both schools are probably similar in terms of caliber of students, grading, and opportunities. All things being equal, the Cornell name will give you an edge for the most tippy top of med schools. But, that’s assuming you have a spectacular application to begin with.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would choose based on fit and based on finances.</p>
<p>“Both schools are probably similar in terms of caliber of students, grading, and opportunities.”</p>
<p>Sorry but I really disagree with that, especially since i know a good number of nonhooked kids who go to BC (and some premeds). Definitely easier at BC, but more opportunities here.</p>
<p>Colene: “more opportunities here”? What do you mean by “here”?</p>
<p>At Cornell.</p>
<p>Premed requirements are hard, but as long as you get enough above the mean, you will get an A. Cornell also has a service (HCEC) that writes a letter for you evaluating your classes, grades, etc compared to other Cornell students. Many medschool admissions deans say that those are really helpful and when it comes down to the end between a Cornell student and a student from another school with similar stats, the Cornell student gets chosen because they know classes are really hard here.</p>
<p>“Premed requirements are hard, but as long as you get enough above the mean, you will get an A.”</p>
<p>Quite a bit above the mean.</p>
<p>"the Cornell student gets chosen because they know classes are really hard here. "</p>
<p>No they don’t. med school admissions are less about grades than they are about volunteering, your MCAT, research and interviewing skills. OP, consider that there are thousands of premeds here at Cornell with the exact same goals as you (getting a 4.0, getting accepted to do research at a lab, etc) while Boston College is far more laidback with a third of the competition.</p>
<p>Also, premed classes are curved to a B- usually, which is why most premeds find some other career.</p>
<p>@irl2012, I totally agree that MCAT, volunteering, research are super important too. I’m just saying if two people (1 from BC, one from Cornell) both have volunteering, research, similar MCAT scores, and similar GPA, the person from Cornell will probably get chosen.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t get too hung up over subtle differences in grading. If you use actual stats instead of just anecdotes, the grading of Cornell and Boston College are very similar:</p>
<p>[Boston</a> College](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/Bostoncollege.html]Boston”>Boston College)</p>
<p>[Cornell</a> University](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html]Cornell”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/cornell.html)</p>
<p>When people say, “so and so school’s premed is hard,” what they really mean is “premed is hard.” Premed classes are curved to B’s and below virtually everywhere. That’s just the reality of doing premed. </p>
<p>As I said in my initial post, consider which school you would actually like better.</p>
<p>Grades really do matter for premed. Cornell is a bit harder for premed for sure based on student quality to start off with and the curves are similar. That’s about all you can get from this.</p>
<p>Cornell is difficult for pre-med. Some people abandon the path freshman year after taking classes. I agree that you have to get well above the mean to get an A, considering median/mean grades are USUALLY B’s.</p>
<p>^ This is the case at any very good school- there are lots of smart kids and only so many A’s to go around. </p>
<p>It’s important to go to a school where you think that you can excel, and as long as your school is “good enough”, it shouldn’t matter where you are (e.g. 3. 8 Cornell = 3.8 Boston College). On the other hand, A marginal GPA is a tough starting point for med school, no matter how hard or prestigious your school may be.</p>
<p>I actually transferred from BC to Cornell after my freshman year and will be going to a highly ranked medical school this August. I was equally challenged at both schools and my GPA was roughly equal (actually slightly higher at Cornell). Cornell will provide more opportunities for research but if you do well at either school, you shouldn’t have much of a problem getting into medical school. My pre-med friends at Cornell and my pre-med friends at BC all got into medical school. I’d pick based on fit - there’s nothing wrong with choosing BC over Cornell.</p>