<p>I was wondering which pre med program is more prestigious and which program has less competition?</p>
<p>there is no such thing as a “premed program,” there’s a set of requirements in the sciences and humanities which taken together is called the premed track. I bet if you asked all the med students around the country, 9 of every 10 will have taken a different set of undergrad courses to fulfill their requirements. So it’s rather hard if not impossible to make a comparison.</p>
<p>I meant which one looks the best for med school and which one is the least competitive</p>
<p>uchicago is notoriously bad for premeds… its a great school, but its a GPA killer and stresses people out. </p>
<p>here’s a post from bluedevilmike about pre-med that i always refer posters to. it COMPLETELY drew me to duke when i read it back when i was applying.</p>
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<p>northwestern is a great school as well. unfortunately don’t know tooo much about it though :/</p>
<p>@eatsalot</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.
Do you go to Duke</p>
<p>yeap. pre med student, in fact haha 
if you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to ask. i’ve looked into pre med stuff at a lot of different schools extensively</p>
<p>btw, i finally found the file i wished to show you. <a href=“http://premed.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007-annual-report.pdf[/url]”>http://premed.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2007-annual-report.pdf</a></p>
<p>duke likes to be very clear about its process. this report also reveals how successful our advising team here is this is just the 2007 report. there have been many years where the success rate was even higher. i hope this helps :)</p>
<p>Duke is one of my top choices<br>
I have a couple of questions if you dont mind,</p>
<p>I am an okay test taker and on the practice ACT i got a 32, do you think that a 32 would be good for duke?</p>
<p>How is life at Duke?</p>
<p>How are the professors?</p>
<p>Is it difficult to keep a high GPA?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help</p>
<p>Also did u apply early</p>
<p>i’m actually a freshman ahah 
i am not an incredible source of help yet, sorry! but i hope to be soon.</p>
<p>i can answer a few questions though. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>as for your ACT, it depends on the context of the rest of your application. if the rest of our app is very strong, it should be okay. a 32 is definitely not going to HURT your application, but it most likely will not help it either. you need to have other aspects of your application that bring you to life. keep in mind that very strong applicants are rejected. what’s your GPA like? your extracurriculars? do you have good relationships with your teachers? writing abilities?</p></li>
<li><p>duke actually has grade inflation (thank god). many classes are curved to a B, which is good for premed students as you will be more likely to maintain a higher gpa. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>i’m sorry i’m not too much of a help 
you might want to PM bluedevilmike, mondo, senator noodles, or SBR for more. they know a lot i hope that helps.</p>
<p>oh and to answer your last question, no, i did not apply early. kind of wish i did though ahaha. the stress was unbearable from like december until decision day fhdsgfhs</p>
<p>My ECs are:
Speech Team, State Finalist this past season
Debate Team
Will be in NHS and SHS
Scholastic Bowl
Captain of a student found organization, Humanitarian Army
I volunteer at a hospital
Over 300 hours of community service at my temple
We have annual walk a thons and medical fairs </p>
<p>By the way, I will be a junior next year </p>
<p>Are these good extracurriculars for duke</p>
<p>Academically
3.9 UW
Top 5%</p>
<p>you are on a good track. i have to say from experience that admission into a top10 school is almost like a shot in the dark. but your grades are definitely good enough. extracurricular-wise, i’m somewhat unclear on a passion. but hey, thats what the essays are for keep up the good work. continue to excel in places… that’s what helps. building relationships and focusing on a specific thing (which leads to the whole excelling business lol) is what will truly help you get your foot through the door.</p>
<p>A 32 ACT won’t hurt you but it won’t help you stand out either. You have time to improve your testing admission stats. Ideas that worked for our son who just graduated from Duke…ace your SAT Math Level 2 and another SATII. These are one hour tests and the practice exams will help you do well–do not take them cold. Do not quit taking your ACT or SATs. Our sons improved greatly senior year which frankly I attribute both to increased motivation, increased prep at home and determination and simple maturity which could have been more wiring upstairs at age 18 compared to age 17… One of my son’s retook his SAT Math Level 2 in Jan of his senior year after his apps were in, and greatly improved it and sent it to all his colleges…a few accept them that late, but a one paragraph memo in January to your college admin officer gets read…Junior and Senior years in HS are notoriously draining and some Saturdays you just can’t be in testing mode at all. Retake Retake.<br>
The premeds who did well and are going to fine (very fine!) medical colleges in my son’s class…I have to say, had true vocations early in life and knew exactly that they wanted med school…not so many wishy washy “unsure” students are premeds at Duke…kids at Duke in my opinion on this track are extremely Pre Professional in outlook.</p>
<p>My son was a tour guide at Duke and 25% of the class has perfect or near perfect entry math scores which is true at most peer institutions as well…this does not signify that their math ability stops at SAT level math…it means that a significant number of Duke students have natural math ability that is beyond the talent tested on an SAT and you will see your peers are very prepared for the premed track rigor. I suggest you work on your test scores also because you will need that level of performance in class…that level of motivation.</p>
<p>On the plus side, Duke med is very service oriented with many students doing serious summer foreign aid service and your ECs are good for essays and presentation of vocational interest. </p>
<p>My son’s friends in med school are also fun people who loved Duke sports and had friends across campus. Premed does not isolate you socially in any way.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys</p>
<p>Also faline2, how much does it help to apply early</p>
<p>Early decision gives you better odds but you must understand that the stats for early decison admits are not weaker than those admitted in April. Admission rate to Trinity this year was just under 17% I think overall including ED and RD. If you have your sights on Duke and premed, you really need a lot of determination daily in class to stay on top of things, so I sincerely suggest you start with improving your already good ACT. One day you will look back and realize that that was a relatively “easy” challenge and learning curve. You have time to retake in the fall.<br>
You shouldn’t worry about NW vs Chicago vs Duke so much as where you think you can make the grades in premed required, get the emotional support in an atmosphere you find upbeat for college overall socially. Apply to a selection of colleges looking for schools with an over 80% Admit rate to med school. GPRs matter of course but med schools do recognize standards of difficulty at various undergrad programs and they have a history of knowing which colleges prep well. At Vandy where second son is student, Med admit chair told parents that a history of solid research experience is a huge plus at least one summer, possibly more of your tenure in undergrad during regular sessions. He also said the number one quality looked for after the basics is personal integrity from your personal faculty recommendations and interviews. What you major or minor in can be of interest past the premed requirements…noted several Spanish major premeds when we sat in on premed advising hour at Vandy for parent visitation day, but evidence of comfort in science labs is obviously a plus.<br>
don’t forget not to hyperfocus on only Duke. Duke is a reach college for any student just based on odds, not who deserves entrance. Make sure to apply to a match college which also does a great job and to emotionally visualize yourself there. One of my son’s match colleges was Wake Forest for instance and his state flagship colleges, one of which also has an 80% Med school success rate. Of my son’s friends that went to UVA…one is in at Columbia Med, two at Medical College of Va and one at UVA Med…so do not forget to recognize there are many roads to …you know.</p>