Hey everyone. I’ve done a lot of research and really like the opportunities offered at Emory University, both the main campus and Oxford campus. I plan on applying next year, but I was just wondering what the pre-med situation is at the Oxford campus specifically. Are any shadowing/ volunteer opportunities available? I’m aware that it’s in a small town and that there is transportation to the main campus if I could find opportunities there. Both campuses have their own pros and cons, but I feel that Oxford’s clinical experience opportunities are somewhat limited in comparison to the Emory College. Is this true at all. Thanks to all who help me out!!
In your freshman year as a pre-med what you should be focused on is getting As in your classes - not shadowing, not research, not medically related volunteering. Too many freshman pre-meds crash and burn because they underestimate the difficulty and time-intensiveness of intro bio, chem and other pre-reqs and get over-extended. Then they are back on CC asking if there is still any hope for them with a 3.0 GPA.
S (now 4th year med student) did not do a single medically-related activity during the school year (he was an athlete and that took many of his waking hours when he wasn’t studying - and he wanted a life too). He did the research, shadowing and volunteering over the summer and during breaks. He could have done research if he’d really wanted to make the time in sophomore and junior year but he felt that his summer credentials were strong enough. They were.
So, go to the Oxford campus. Make sure you have the grades you need and look for the medically related stuff later, when you’ve proven that you can handle the coursework and the challenges of transitioning from high school to college. That will be more than enough to keep you busy as a freshman.
Thank you very much for the reply! I completely understand; I would never start any clinical stuff before knowing for sure I could handle it while maintaining a competitive GPA. The idea of doing everything over the summer and breaks is actually a very good idea, one which I have considered, but I guess reading threads on SDN made me feel that if I didn’t have hundreds of hours of experience, I wouldn’t make it. I really appreciate the advice, and I will make the most of what you said.
my D currently is a freshman in the Oxford campus. She is a Sociology major and is on premed track. she absolutely loves it there. you cannot go wrong in picking oxford over emory if you want a small campus and community experience. just to give you an idea, she was looking at very big schools on the east coast until she got an oxford scholar and to reassure herself that is what she wants, she attended the summer camp in oxford called “own oxford” that is offered for admitted freshmen. and, those 3-4 days she spent there was a deal maker.
I would highly suggest applying to oxford and I wold not worry much about the internships and research opps during your freshman year. in fact, my D did get an unpaid cardio internship for the second sem and she loves it. so, if you make the grades and maintain good connections with your profs and look out for intership and research opps, you will get them at oxford.
you will also get Student instructor postions or lab assistant positions, besides the other extra curricular club positons all in oxford if you maintain a great gpa in the first sememester!
@RLindemann98 Thanks so much for creating this post! and thanks to the people who have responded! I was really curious about this too especially since I really REALLY want to go to Oxford and was accepted at both but just needs to decide if I can afford it (after finding out money etc.). Thanks especially @jrParent for the information as a parent of an Oxford Scholar :). I was also curious about premed mostly because I have been finding it difficult to find information on it and everything.
@BlackHuntress : I honestly think you simply be better off starting at Oxford for science and math in general. There are “some” exceptional teachers for the first two years on main, but main usually just shines on how well some upperdivision courses are run(lower division courses on main are more interestingly taught than those at several peer private institutions, but the sizes still impose limitations do not exist at Oxford. Oxford was overachieving before it opened the new Science Building) .Usually Oxford provides a more interesting and unique STEM experience that is more likely to keep you wanting to do the pre-health program or go into science in some capacity. Med. School related ECs can be handled in summers for example. You want a place that will give you the most solid foundation for something like the MCAT and Oxford doesn’t play when it comes to that. I would try to go there (if you get the money) and do as well as possible while also getting the most out of your coursework.
@bernie12 ok. So from what I’m understanding (and feel free to correct me) is go to oxford first and try to to do the med school required courses in the summer but go to oxford because of the benefits such as more interestingly advocated courses, less people etc. ?
Courses? I meant EC activities like shadowing and volunteering. Definitely try to do beginner level courses at Oxford if you can.
Also: It is never recommended that you do too many pre-med cores during summer as it makes it look like you’re dodging rigor…as in, you can’t handle them in context of a full courseload. 1-2 sequences is likely okay especially if it is demonstrated that you were doing it to more readily and quickly take on advanced work. But even then…many summer science courses lack the “fire” of semester courses. The rigor primarily comes from the increased pace but often at expense of depth of understanding. In addition, it is often expensive if you want to take them at Emory or a reputable school. You don’t want to get caught making a pattern of taking summer pre-med core courses at what may be regarded as easier schools.
Ok! Thank you so much! @bernie12
@jrParent If you don’t mind me asking, as a scholar how much was she awarded?
As oxford scholars, the award amount is very different for each student. All scholars selected will be invited over for a scholars weekend at oxford and you will have meet professors and other fellow scholar candidates and outgoing freshman and sophomore scholars as well. This is a platform for you to connect with other scholars who may end up studying with you at oxford, if you choose to go there. You will be able to compare yourself with other scholar recipients and that would give you a benchmark of where you stand in the pool of scholars. The reason i am saying all these is because you should know that the scholarship awarded is purely based on the achievments of each scholar and i do not know “how” that amount is determined but it is a culmination of your achievements in high school as a student, your interview performance during the scholar weekend and other things that as a parent we will never know unless you are part of the admission process. That said, i believe couple of them get full ride, couple full-tuition and a few like $20K something like that (every year) and some a base amount which i dont remember. You will be briefed with these numbers during the scholars weekend by the admission office.
it is a fairly big award that you cannot and wont want to pass on unless you are a bright candidate who has received a full ride or full tuition from your local university who i know would want to grab you. hope this helps.
thank you! @jrParent