<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm new to this forum (I have no idea if it existed when I was applying to colleges, but it's pretty awesome!) and I would love to offer myself up as a resource if you need- hopefully I'm writing this in the right place. </p>
<p>I graduated from Tufts in 2007 and I was a double major (biopsych and a nonscience), was very involved in the music scene on campus, and I was premed. I now go to a top med school elsewhere.</p>
<p>If you guys have any questions about being premed at Tufts, trying to be premed while double-majoring or majoring in something other than bio, taking time off between college and med school (I took 2 years off) or applying to med school, feel free to ask! Anything about Tufts in general is fine as well though I suspect current students are probably more useful than I am for that.</p>
<p>In general, I absolutely loved my time at Tufts, it's an incredible place and a really warm community to be a part of.</p>
<p>thanks for the offer. How many core science courses did you take the first year (to satisfy prerequisites for med school)?</p>
<p>I only took Bio 13 and 14 (the two basic premed bio courses) my freshman year because I knew bio was my strongest subject (I had gotten a 5 on the AP) and I wanted to get used to studying at a college level before taking some of the tougher stuff. Some people start with chem 1 and 2, which is also totally legitimate, and fewer people start with physics- all of this is really a matter of how comfortable you are with each subject. I also took a math class (basic calc, I think) my freshman year to fulfill the basic math requirement of the med schools.
My main piece of advice is not to load your freshman schedule with too much premed stuff. Your core sciences will likely be some of the tougher classes you take in college, so it’s good to start slow. Remember: med schools care about your gpa more than any perceived difficulty of your schedule. Meaning, they won’t be impressed that you tried to take 3 sciences at once but they’ll be upset when your gpa is low. Focus on doing your best and don’t try to overextend yourself, especially in the beginning.</p>
<p>
While I agree with your post, I do think that the advisers here push not doubling up in sciences (genchem/bio) too much. My pre-major adviser/the pre-med adviser went so far as to verbalize that she would not “okay” anyone’s schedule if it contained two science classes first semester. However, she did not even go out of her way to get a good understanding of the students’ background/academic capabilities to be able to make sure a sweeping generalization that no/most students can handle it. </p>
<p>It is very commonplace to do at other universities, and only YOU know how well you will be able to perform taking 2 lab sciences at once. Of course only do it if you aced both AP chem/AP bio in high school + are not taking difficult of classes on the side. It is very do-able.</p>
<p>Hi!
I was wondering what the average/lowest gpa for tufts premed person to get into medical school… I’ve heard some random stories about ppl with low gpa getting into medical school and ppl with high gpa getting rejected…thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t know, I guess it depends. In my experience, you really don’t know how strong a student you are until you actually start taking college classes and realize how you’re tested. If you’re lucky, using the same skills you used in high school will lead to the same result (great grades). But if you’re not, it’ll likely take you a bit to adjust to the workload and the caliber of people you’re in class with, as well as all of the distractions inherent to college. The reason why they emphasize taking one science so much is that in this case, it’s REALLY better to be safe than sorry. If you take one science first semester, what’s the worst that can happen? Well, you might have to double up later…that’s about it. If you take 2 sciences first semester, the worst that can happen is that you can bomb them both, bring down your science gpa, and maybe ruin your chances to get into the med school of your choice. Ultimately, it’s a risk they’d rather not have you take. It makes sense to me.</p>
<p>Don’t make the (common) mistake of thinking that since you were a great student in high school, you’ll be a great student in college. Sure, good study skills and critical thinking and discipline will serve you well. But ALL of your peers were good students in high school- they wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t been. And half of your class will be in the bottom half. Simple as that. Be confident, but not cocky. Know that things might be more difficult, and that’s perfectly fine. You’re not in a rush to get through every possible premed class. I double majored (in majors that didn’t overlap with each other or with premed), did my pre-med requirements, worked every semester, was president of a few clubs, did research…all in 4 years. And I took one science each semester of 1st year. There’s no shame in that, and I’m glad I did it. </p>
<p>Oh and APs really aren’t very good indicators of what a college class is like, in my opinion.</p>
<p>letsgomedical: I believe the average when I was there was about a 3.5 (both cumulative and science). But I’d ask for the current average just in case. </p>
<p>As for the stories you’ve heard- they’re probably true. You’ll learn when you apply to med school how much of the process is truly a crapshoot. Also, the MCAT is a big deal (since it’s the only standardized measure we have), extra-curriculars are a big deal, research is a big deal, and where and when you apply to med school is a big deal (some people apply only to reaches or apply late in the season or apply without great letters of rec or interview skills, etc etc). So many things can factor into an acceptance to med school that trying to figure out how likely you are to get in based on just a gpa is basically useless.</p>
<p>I’m a pre-med student looking for a hospital to volunteer at in Boston for my four years at college. Does anyone have any suggestions for which hospitals are good with maintaining relationships with long term volunteers, such as providing letters of recommendation for medical school, or for example allowing students to develop relationship with the doctors/nurses they see all the time during their shifts? I know some hospitals volunteer programs are rather disorganized and don’t get to see what work students are doing, making it hard to get to know them. any suggestions are helpful, thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I’m currently debating whether I should transfer to tufts from BU. I am pre-med and have just completed my first year. I want to major in Neuroscience/Cognitive Sciences. According to rankings, BU stands at #60 and Tufts is at #28. But, I am not sure if I am reading too closely into the rankings. If the education for pre-med is quite comparable, I dont think I would prefer to uproot myself from my friends and the leadership positions I have attained to start all over again. But, if it will give me a more competitive edge for med school, I’ll do it.
Also note, that my GPA would begin at a 4.0 again if I were to transfer, but organic chemistry is supposed to be the filter class at tufts, whereas I have already been through the filter classes at BU (i.e. Gen Chem and Gen Bio).</p>
<p>I do plan to begin research and volunteer at nearby hospitals next year! I do not have a preference for one campus style vs. the other. In short, I am not sure the change is worth it…</p>
<p>I’d appreciate any feedback!</p>
<p>Rankings don’t matter all that much. StudentDoctorNetwork and CC are both in agreement on that; read the relevant forums. In addition, your GPA doesn’t restart if you transfer; you have to submit all post-secondary transcripts for medical school applications.</p>
<p>If you’re happy at BU, then stay there. Tufts is lovely, but there’s no need to start from scratch just to move up on the rankings.</p>
<p>GPA is what matters for med school. If you are happy where you are you should stay.</p>