<p>I want to address this and repost most of what I said in that one thread regarding pre-med at Wake. I think it's important. I don't want to scare you guys off from Wake because IT IS A GREAT SCHOOL! But, I do want to address some things I wish someone had told me before I applied.</p>
<p>I'm an alumni, and a current medical student. I am doing really really well in school, and feel that Wake really did prepare me for med school. But you have to understand that <strong><em>BEFORE YOU CAN SHOW HOW WELL WAKE PREPARED YOU, YOU HAVE TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL FIRST.</em></strong></p>
<p>Not many do get into medical school RIGHT AFTER they graduate from Wake. How many of them get into medical school after graduating by doing 1 or 2 more years of school (Masters maybe?), then I do not know.</p>
<p>I was a Chemistry major and had graduated with a 3.2 GPA. My humanities GPA were all great, it's my sciences that dragged it down. So, I had to take a year off and do a post-baccalaureate program (pre-med graduate program) after I graduated...then, I reapplied to medical school and got in. What bites about it is that <strong><em>MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN MY CLASS YEAR AT MEDICAL SCHOOL ARE FROM STATE SCHOOLS WHO GOT IN RIGHT AFTER THEY GRADUATED!</em></strong> </p>
<p>Not to bash state schools, but we all know they're not up to par with nationally top ranked universities like Wake. To make matters worse, there's the health professions committee at Wake. A lot of schools have them (it's a committee that recommends you to medical school). Everyone gets a recommendation as long as you apply. HOWEVER, Wake has a ranking system as to what your recommendation will say..."The Health Professions Committee recommends ____ w/ (good confidence, confidence, little confidence, and no confidence). The application process is already as much a hassle as the med school application itself. I was recommended with "little confidence" because of my GPA...(thanks a lot, Wake!)...my friend with a 3.6 was recommended with "confidence". That's what irks me is that they can't even give you support by writing you a good recommendation letter. Clearly, I made it to medical school and rocking GPA wise, so they're WRONG! But, you get my point.</p>
<p>I wish that someone had told me this before I applied as a pre-med student at Wake. <strong><em>IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET A DEGREE AND GO STRAIGHT TO WORK AFTER, THEN WAKE IS A WONDERFUL SCHOOL. YOU LEARN A LOT AND YOU COME OUT PREPARED. IF YOU'RE SET ON GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL RIGHT AFTER GRADUATING, THEN IT IS A RISK GOING TO WAKE.</em></strong> It makes you question whether or not you're good enough or whether medicine is the right field...which is awful, from a personal point of view. </p>
<p>The main point is this...</p>
<p>*** IF MEDICAL SCHOOL IS THE GOAL, THEN KNOW THAT COMING FROM "WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY" DOESN'T CARRY ANY VALUE ON THE APPLCIATION PROCESS.***</p>
<p><strong><em>As long as you're coming from ANY LEGITIMATE 4-YEAR UNIVERSITY, all medical schools care about is 1.) GPA 2.) MCAT 3.) Extracurriculars, in that order.</em></strong></p>
<p>If you still really want to go to Wake as a pre-med, then don't let anyone stop you by telling you about the workload. Yes, the workload is hard at Wake. Yes, there is hardly, if any grade inflation. But, clearly, it's doable or I wouldn't be where I am now! Just make your decision on whether or not you want to really challenge yourself (Wake) or you really want as much guarantee as you can get that you get into medical school (harder to do at Wake).</p>
<p>With that said, personally, 1.) I did LOVE Wake 2.) Although, I do regret going to Wake as a premed 3.) I do wish someone had told me this from a premed point of view. I hope this helps, and good luck with your decisions/getting in! :)</p>