<p>Again, Im not positive about these two things, but</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I believe that means 85% of who applied to med school got in, and</p></li>
<li><p>that WashU retains 50% of its previously-declared pre-meds compared to the nation-wide 10% (I’m relatively sure I read this on one of the WashU threads recently)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not very positive, since I did leave the info session early, but I think it’s 85% of their med school applicants got in.
I would assume less than 85% of their “pre-meds” actually stay in pre-med, since it is designed to weed people out.<br>
There are very few schools with better numbers though, but I would caution anyone thinking of going to their med school. Very few med schools like to accept undergrads from their own school, as seen by the 8%.</p>
<p>“Nobody here is mentioning the very real possibility of undergraduate students not going to med school but instead continuing with a biology or chemistry major and graduating with a bachelors, masters or doctoral degree in the biological or physical sciences.”</p>
<p>Indeed! My son has mentioned pre-med but I’m not convinced of his passion for medicine, and fear he doesn’t have the work ethic, so I’m encouraging either BME or a health science track that can either be a pre-med track or a stand-alone degree. After a BS in health science, he could go 2 years for physician’s asst and those jobs apparently pay 70k. There are many other paths in health care that people don’t think about because they focus so heavily on pre-med.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That sounds about right. My Gen Chem class had about 550 people in it. My Orgo class has 240 near the end of the year.</p>
<p>Is the progression from General Chemistry to Organic Chemistry? If yes, does that mean only 43.6% will remain in pre-med track after org chem? Out of the remaining 240 how many will actually apply to med school(s) and how many will get admitted to at least one?</p>
<p>I can certainly answer the first question. Yes, it is most common to take General Chem in your freshman year, and Org Chem is your sophomore year. General Chem is a prerequisite to Org Chem.</p>
<p>“By the way, are WashU courses graded on a curve? are some curved and some aren’t?
I’ve heard that all science tests are free-response only, do students find it more difficult than in high school where you have maybe half free-response and half multiple choice?”</p>
<p>Depends on the course. Are curved in general because tests tend be more difficult than in high school (for example, I once got a 40% on an exam, but it was the best grade in the class=a quantum physics course, not a run-of-the-mill pre-med class so don’t freak out).<br>
It’s funny that you should mention free-response vs. multiple choice. In my experience, the multiple choice science exams I’ve had at WashU have been infinitely more difficult than the free response; college-level science just does not lend itself well to the multiple choice format. That said, there is often a mix of short response/fill in the blank and longer free response questions (which are usually more focused on problem solving) on intro level tests. </p>
<p>I would also like to add that WashU has a fantastic reputation among medical school admissions committees. I didn’t realize this myself until I started interviewing for MD/PhD programs last fall and was told by program directors from the likes of Harvard, Yale, Duke, etc. med schools. </p>
<p>A note on the pre-med “dropout rate”: I think that people underestimate just how many students realize that science/medicine is not their passion. Orgo is indeed difficult, so why take it if you realize that your interests lie elsewhere? I feel that I am of average intelligence (among people at a top 25 college, anyway) and average work ethic, and have always done well here with minimal pain and suffering. </p>
<p>I’m about to graduate, though, so I may just have forgotten the bad parts…</p>
<p>Another note about the pre-med dropout rate: WashU handles pre-med in a very unofficial way, where you don’t have to “declare” pre-med or officially drop it. When I started WashU I checked the box saying I was interested in pre-med too… just because I wasn’t sure, and I wanted to make sure I got all the relevant information sent to me. I didnt’ ever really want to go to med school, but I guess I’m considered a pre-med dropout too :)</p>
<p>hey gby, good luck in the future!
do you know where you’re headed for med school yet?
how are your classmates doing in terms of med school acceptances?</p>
<p>Thanks nooob!
I’m heading to Duke for medical school-classes start in early August :O</p>
<p>My classmates have been doing quite well in terms of med school acceptances. Of my friends applying MD/PhD, I know one girl who was accepted by every med school in the top ten (although her application is spotless…), another who is deciding between UW, UCSF, UPenn, Hopkins, and WashU. Another friend was deciding between Baylor, WashU, UTSW, and Vanderbilt. I ended up deciding on Duke for personal reasons (read: significant other getting a PhD there), but had been seriously considering WashU, Yale and Harvard.<br>
On the MD side-I’m not entirely sure given we MD/PhD nerds tend to keep to ourselves. I do know a handful of people that were accepted by one or more of the following: Harvard (and the Harvard-MIT combined program), UPenn, Duke, Stanford, Hopkins, UW, Case Western, Mayo.</p>