Hello, I was accepted to Duke RD recently! I’m planning 100% on being pre med during my tenure at Duke (yes I know many will quit but this is something I am very passionate about). I was simply curious if any former Duke PreMed students, especially those that have gone on to medical school from there, could answer the questions I have regarding pre-med at Duke to finalize my choices. Thank you to anyone that offers help!
I am a current Duke freshman on the pre-health track. I know that I may not be super helpful, but I would be happy to answer any questions that you have.
@15moel Thank You!
How stressful/difficult has Duke Pre Med been for you so far this year?
Do you have any suggestions on how to spread out the pre-reqs (assuming no gap year)
How do you and your pre med peers stay focused and motivated?
Are the intro classes like Chem, Physics, Bio, and Orgo purposely deflated at Duke?(this has been a rumor)
Do you have any tips that would help the incoming Pre Med class?
What kind of research/volunteer/internship opportunities have you or your pre med friends been able to do so far?
These were some things that I was curious about. Thank you for your help!
@Acquainted I have only taken Chemistry courses so far, but I have friends who have taken a variety of pre-med courses. I haven’t found any class to be too difficult, but that might change when I take Orgo next year. As long as you show up to class, stay on top of the material, and study, you will do fine. Do not procrastinate! Pre-med students do study more often, but that will be the case anywhere.
This depends on your science background. For me, I came from a high school that did not have a strong chemistry program, so I started one level lower than most other pre-health students. I would highly recommend Chem 99 if you are in a similar situation. It helps prepare you for 101, is an easy A or A- added to your science GPA, and gets you out of the “regular pack” of uber-competitive pre-health students in your class, most will take 101 or Orgo. Chem 101 at Duke assumes that you have a very strong Chem background, so I would only take it if you’ve taken AP Chem and done well. The schedule that I am following is:
Freshman:
Fall - Chem 99
Spring- Chem 101
Sophomore:
Fall- Bio 201 and Chem 201 (Orgo 1)
Spring- Bio 202, Psych 101 and Chem 202 (Orgo 2)
Summer - Physics 141 and 142 at the Marine Lab
Junior:
Fall- Chem 210 and Biochem 301
Spring - Stats 101 and other courses I am forgetting at the moment
We are all very motivated people who have similar goals. We often study together and spend much of our week doing school work, but we set aside time to have fun on the weekends.
My first Chem class was not curved and the one I am in now is curved to a B-. I think that most pre-med classes are very similar.
I haven’t gotten involved with research because I am not overly interested in it. However, my roommate is working with a neuroscience professor and is researching some very cool things. I also have friends who will be working with Mayo Clinic this summer and have a friend who is researching lemurs this semester. There are a lot of options.
Advice: Don’t overdo it. Stay sane. You don’t have to do everything, only do things that you want to.
@15moel thank you so much for your help!
Do many pre meds face a less than preferred GPA (<3.6-3.7) in their first year? I was planning on taking Chem 101 and Math 111 my first semester should I attend. How much would you say you and other pre med students study per day or per week at Duke?
I’m highly interested here, because of possible medical internship opportunities and duke’s top notch hospital for more opportunities to branch out
@Acquainted I have friends who currently have 4.0 GPAs, but I also have friends who are struggling. Most people do well if they are determined and work hard. They don’t just hand out As, but they are not impossible to get.
I study all day when I am not in class, eating, volunteering, or attending meetings (Probably 4-10 hours a day, depending on the day). I am in bed by 11pm every night Sunday through Thursday. I am not much of a partier, but I do like to have fun with my friends. I don’t study on Friday or Saturday evenings. I’ve never felt too overwhelmed and I am still doing a lot of fun things. There are also people who only study on Sundays. Again, it depends on the person and you will find a balance that works for you.
Also, have you taken AP Calc AB? Did you get credit for it? Calc classes at Duke are known for being unnecessarily difficult.
@15moel That sounds more than fair in a combination of academics and free time. This was a primary concern for me, i love science and am more than willing to put in the hard work, but wanted decent social time as well.
I do not have any Calculus credits, however I have taken Calculus in the International Baccalaureate program and was planning on taking intro Calculus my first semester. As a side question (which i’m sure i will know later on but am curious about), when we register for courses, do we get to sort out which classes and professors we desire prior to registrating and enrolling or must you wait till the window opens to select?
I am a current sophomore who has pretty much taken almost all of the premed classes at Duke except for orgo and biochem (but I took orgo at a college while I was in high school so I can compare the classes). Basically, the classes are curved to a B- or to a B+ depending on the course. Some courses are not curved or curved very little like Bio 201 and 202 and physics 142 while others like chem 110 and physics 161/141 are curved highly. In general it is not hard to get A-s in these courses. Each class has over 100 people in them which will be the case in any college since these are pre med courses. In a class of 100 people, there are always lazy people who study very little and who go out often, always. Therefore, as long as you don’t get distracted, you will have no problem getting atleast an A-. Getting an A is harder and often I have gotten A’s by the skin of my teeth but they are definitely possible. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that pre meds are smart-- they are not. They are smarter than the rest of the sociology and psych majors sure but no where near the physics and math people.
My general advice is this–you will do perfectly fine and even well in these courses even if you are not smart as long as you study somewhat. Make sure you get involved in research and volunteer work early on if possible as well. I have to say that Duke is probably one of the best pre med schools in the country to be honest with you.
@Acquainted, did you commit to attend Duke in the fall? Though not a current Duke student, I did attend Duke undergrad and went on to med school successfully, as did many of my undergrad friends. It has been a while, but all of the courses are still numbered the same as above, and over half are still taught by the same people. In general, the advice above is all fairly consistent with what we (former undergrad premeds) would have said when we were there. Plenty of us studied a lot (4 hours a day average would definitely be the high end, though, and far more than I averaged, not counting exam weeks), and plenty studied much less. Very few people started freshman year with organic chemistry and advanced level calculus, but some of us did–including me–and did fine. A few people back then started with more introductory levels than the standard premed freshman (chem 99, math level below regular calc), but I know of one who did and he ended up at Duke Med with me. He was a competitive athlete who had a lot to balance as an undergrad, and now is a successful orthopedic surgeon. All of us who wanted to had plenty of options for undergrad research, and there are even more options available these days. The vast majority of us did not have a 4.0 freshman or sophomore year. Most of us got better and more efficient at studying as we got more mature and into the higher level courses, so had an “upward” GPA trend. Our year applying to med school (later 1990s) was, by the raw numbers, harder than the last few years have been. Most science courses were curved to a B- then as well. About half of my undergrad premed friends who went on to med school had a science GPA of 3.5ish, some lower and some higher. If you have any questions regarding the perspective as an older/wiser successful physician alum, I am happy to help.