<p>premed program, compared to other top schools</p>
<p>also, how is its track/cross country. thanks</p>
<p>Stanford premed, usually embodied in the HumBio and Biological Sciences departments, is among the best in the country, if not THE best.</p>
<p>Stanford cross country usually wins the NCAAs, at least for women. Track, I don't know about.</p>
<p>But those depts have really high attrition rates and classes that screw kids GPAs, too, so that the kids that graduate are either the ones that are bio geniuses or work 24/7 for it...</p>
<p>You're right Ashveer, but it's also a matter of WHICH major. HumBio, I believe, requires much less chemistry, which is what tends to weed out kids. The introductory chemistry series (31X/A/B, 33, 35) is very difficult at Stanford.</p>
<p>i'm scared..... ah... juz joking.. bring it on</p>
<p>The Stanford women XC team just won the NCAA Division I title!</p>
<p>The humbio core is KILLER though, isn't it? I did the first over the summer and it wasn't cool, and I later learned that its a whole lot easier then, too. It's difficult for the reasons that I said. The weeder classes are still here. It just makes me sad, regardless of its necesity.</p>
<p>Ehh, enjoy your undergraduate years. When else in your life will you be able to take class for the sake of learning? Fulfill your premed requirements in a post-bac program. That's my plan. I'm going to be a humbio major and I want to combine these two concentration: health law & economics and international health& development.</p>
<p>You'll find out that there are many ways to get into medical school, and that if you really want to get in, you will no matter what. So don't worry about the caliber of Stanford premed program. </p>
<p>On a random note, I'm starting chem 33 next quarter and I'm super excited.</p>
<p>Actually, I think I read somewhere that physics majors have the best MCAT scores, and grad schools are always looking for diversity. Physics is a relatively un-demanding major. It works well for me, because I want to major in physics and I'm still leaving med school open as a possibility.</p>
<p>If physics is relatively undemanding, what is demanding?</p>
<p>I mean in terms of the number of credits you have to take. It's not like, say, engineering, where you really have to load up on the major-specific courses.</p>
<p>Wow, danny, you did not just say the physics major isn't demanding. The units required to complete the physics major is as rigorous much compared to, say, HumBio (79 vs min 80 [see it's just as much work]). But unlike the softcore science, physics is actually hard. The physics major are more self-selective than other majors. It's not a major one would "settle on" because there isn't another major.</p>
<p>Moreover, the required classes that the physics dept ask you to take is ridiculously demanding. For example, Physics 130-131 Quantum Mechanics requires you to take Math 131, which is Partial DEQ I, which requires the Math Multivariable 50s series. An upper division HuMBio class has no prereq like that. Hell, I'm taking Humbio 160, and I'm doing fine, whereas I would have failed QM.</p>
<p>The physics major is difficult, but that doesn't mean it's "really hard." For those who are interested in math and physics, the 50 series isn't really all that difficult judging by the grading. Physics at Caltech, for example, is much more rigorous.</p>
<p>Well, obviously, physics isn't something you take if you want an easy way out. I was trying to say that there are other majors you can take if you're on the med school track. And whether physics is harder than the "softcore" sciences depends on what you're good at.</p>