<p>I was just curious how much does a GPA here actually help (for med school) compared to "average" schools? does like a 3.8 at XXX State University = a 3.5 here?</p>
<p>For example, Dartmouth Med says it's "average combined entering MCAT score is approximately 34, and the average undergraduate GPA is 3.8." However, 3.8 GPA would be pulled up by students from "average undergrads" whereas it would also be pulled down by "harder undergraduate schools".</p>
<p>It’s not so much you gain an advantage by going to Cornell. It’s that you are at a disadvantage for going to a state school.</p>
<p>I’m going to be perfectly honest: if you don’t attend a top 25 college, you have a really really low chance of getting into a top med school. And we’re talking about schools where the acceptance rates are in the 2-5% range already.</p>
<p>You think you’ll be competing against boatloads of state school grads. In reality, you are competing against boatloads of MIT, Harvard, Cornell, Duke, Berkeley grads. I had the fortune of interviewing at 13 medical schools, 6 of them ranked in the top 20. At the very top med schools, 3/4 of those interviewed came from a prestigious college. At my own medical school, over 70% of my graduating class came from a top 25 college. So, going to Cornell isn’t going to give you a step up. It only keeps you on an even field. When a top med school says its average is a 3.8, you’ll need at least a 3.7 to be competitive.</p>
<p>its similar, like a 3.8 is a bit better than 3.8 there but prob not as good as 3.9</p>
<p>I was trying to make the decision on whether or not to attend a state university, where my GPA would most likely be higher, or Cornell as a pre-med. In speaking with a med school admissions advisor, I was told that they “rank” undergrad degrees by level of difficulty. This particular med school used a Barron’s guide where Cornell undergrad was assigned a Level 1 difficulty, and the two state univ (1 in NY and 1 outside NY) were ranked a 2 and 3 respectively.</p>
<p>She indicated this was a factor in their decisions when reviewing transcripts, and that where they would require an overall 3.5 in the science classes from a level 2 or 3 university, they would require a 3.0 - 3.2 overall GPA in the sciences from Cornell.</p>
<p>She also indicated they are looking for the level of sciences taken, and additional weight was given to the more difficult level of science. For example, classes like biochem/cell biology/genetics they would be looking for a 3.0, but less difficult sciences they would want to see that 3.2.</p>
<p>Her advice? Take the hardest classes possible at Cornell, even if your GPA suffers, because they were aware of the level of difficulty and it would be a factor in their decision, versus a 4.0 from State U.</p>
<p>Norcal, thanks for that info/advice.</p>
<p>myfewcents - I’m sorry to say, but your info is way off! From what I’ve seen, 3.0-3.2 in sciences from Cornell & taking difficult courses is NOT going to cut it. I know several engineering grads with 3.6s & up who had difficulties getting acceptances this year- MCATs were between 34 & 40. My point is, don’t think that if you aim for 3.2 in sciences, you’ll get acceptances, because you won’t - not even at mid and lower tiered schools.</p>
<p>wow 3.6+ and 34-40 mcat and they had difficulties? those scores are very competitive!! sure prob wont get them into a top 25 medical school but id imagine there shouldn’t be a problem getting into a mid/low tier medical school</p>
<p>1 only got into 1 school, but its a top 25 school. (go figure). Another got into 1 mid level, another his state school. It’s great that they were accepted into decent schools, but I was surprised that they had only 1 acceptance & it wasn’t until the end of the cycle. All is well that ends well, but my point is that it’s not easy to get in, nor is having good scores, experiences, etc. a guarantee of anything.</p>
<p>Yea, I wouldn’t go into the application process expecting to get a huge break on your GPA just because you’re from Cornell. You’ll be disappointed. </p>
<p>So, don’t take the most difficult courses available. But, there’s no need to fill your schedule with underwater basketweaving or “chemistry of the clouds” courses every semester. You are still paying $40,000 a year for a very good college and you should take advantage of that with a challenging courseload.</p>
<p>I quoted the conversation pretty much the way it went; not sure if it matters, but it was about three years ago. I chose Cornell over state U, and haven’t let the fact that my GPA has taken a bit of a hit along the way, stop me from fully challenging myself and taking what classes I am interested in. That’s why I chose Cornell…for the awesome class selections. Hopefully, somehow/someday I will make it to med school, but if not, no regrets, and I will leave with a great education, and that is what it’s about. (That, and hopefully, a great job!)</p>
<p>i feel like cornell’s education isn’t really that great =, i dont know about you guys but it seems like i’m learning most of what i learned from reading teh textbooks, especially the science classes. i feel like i can do that anywhere</p>
<p>You actually use the textbook? </p>
<p>I dunno. I found my science lectures to be all that was needed to do well on the tests. The tests almost never tested anything that wasn’t in lecture.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the answers so far. I’m pretty worried about my chances into getting into med school because I got a 3.3 GPA for freshman year (after taking the usual premed courses). For any potential Cornellian, I do have to agree with norcalguy and his previous posts that Cornell really isn’t THAT hard as many people make it. In my case, my study habits were extremely poor (i.e. studying 2 days before prelims/finals or skipping chem lecture for 80% of the time).</p>
<p>That being said, and kind of a random question, but does anyone know (maybe norcalguy? hehe) how UMass Medical School is (I’ll have instate tuition)? I noticed that norcalguy said “if you don’t attend a top 25 college, you have a really really low chance of getting into a top med school.” Can you perhaps define top med school? I don’t know if I can really trust the rankings all too much (aka US News’ primary and research). For example, I heard that Dartmouth Medical is “very good” but then again, it’s not very high at all on US News rankings. I’ve also heard Umass Med is very good, but that was from Umass Med alumni and I guess people who have looked at the US News Primary rankings.</p>
<p>3.3 isn’t bad for freshman year. Even if you don’t do diddly squat to change your studying habits, your GPA should still rise as you progress through college simply because curves get more generous in upper div classes. I’d expect you to finish at around 3.5 even if you don’t make an effort to study more. </p>
<p>The US News Primary Care rankings are pretty much useless. When I say “top” med school, I’m talking about the ones ranked in the top 20 or 25 in the research rankings. So, by that definition, Dartmouth is a fine med school but not really what I’d consider a top med school. Of course, it’s really not necessary to go to a top med school unless you plan on a career in academic medicine.</p>
<p>i only use the textbooks most of the time. i keep dozing off in class cause the professors are so … boring. i find the textbook to be more interesting cause it covers basically everything the prof says and i can go at my own pace</p>
<p>@keyboard- </p>
<p>my studying habits are like yours!! haha</p>
<p>and your so lucky to be instate for UMass!! it’s so cheap but it accepts no OOS =( </p>
<p>most medical schools are very good, from what i hear, it’s not that important to be in a top medical school. i’m mostly applying to instate ones =D</p>
<p>what gpa do you need to get in to a respectable med school? (pehaps a step below the top tier)</p>
<p>Yeah, I heard / scanned some threads and apparently your residency is much more important. Cool, thanks for the responses everyone!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Mid tier med schools generally have median GPA’s of around 3.7.</p>
<p>Yupp, get the MSAR book if you need to look at the stats of the schools. you can also find those info online though, prob not as updated but still good.
id say top schools have at least 3.8 median gpa and around 36 mcat.
mid tier would be around 3.7 and a 33 ish
low is like 3.5-3.6 and a 31ish</p>