how are these schools for premed, and can i get in?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey, so I'm going to be a senior in high school, and I was wondering a few things about this whole pre-med business.</p>

<p>First off, I know that "pre-med" students actually just major in things like biology, chem, or anything they really want to. But I keep hearing "pre-med" like a label, and I'm wondering if there is something students have to sign up for to be pre-med? I know this is probably really retarded sounding but I'm kind of confused by just how much the term is used, and what you have to do to actually be pre-med.</p>

<p>Second, here are the schools I'm thinking of applying to:
Harvard
Stanford
Brown
Cornell
Wash U in St. Louis
Rice
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
+ a safety school.</p>

<p>Now Harvard and Stanford (and to some extent Brown) are sort of like dream schools on my list and I know my chances of getting into those are slim, so heres the question. How are my chances of getting into the other schools? Here are my "stats:"
4.0 GPA (like out of 4, as in all A's, including in AP classes. btw, how does the whole going above 4 thing work? ok whatever this is off topic anyways)
2200 SAT: 670 reading, 770 math, 760 writing
Took 1 AP in soph. year, 3 in junior, will be taking 4 senior year.
Extracurricular is OK, kinda like "meh." I was in the school orchestra (and its actually one of the best in the nation) all 4 years, and toured japan this summer with the orch. I had a job last summer that i left at the end of last summer (parents wouldnt let me do it in the school year, but i left on good terms) and reclaimed this summer (hey do colleges care if I kept one job for two summers? like does it show consistency? hmm). My volunteering experience is kinda mediocre. I'm sure I got other extracurr. but it's like 2 am right now and I cant think of anything.</p>

<p>So basically I have great grades, pretty great SATs, pretty tough class sched., and mediocre (basically just not very extensive!) extracurricular. The questions again are, whats the deal with pre-med, how are the schools I'm looking at for their pre-med, and how are my chances of getting into those schools? Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>jeez i just realized i typed like every question ive ever had about college above. well thanks!</p>

2

<p>Medical schools may look at the famous "IVY league" schools or something along the line and you may think that this is going to be an advantage on your side.
While this may hold true, medical schools look at schools that best prepares you for medical school (i.e. premed), whether it's in terms of academics, opportunity for research and patient contact etc etc. I'm currently attending University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which as far as I'm concerned is 3rd best in the nation in preparing for premedicine after UC-Berkeley and UCLA, so you may want to consider one of these schools as your safety.
I'm not against you applying or even attending one of the schools you listed, I'm just trying to give you a general picture of what's actually going to be important in the long run.</p>

3

<p>Berkeley and Los Angeles are both terrible places in which to be a premed. 1340 is probably on the low end for the schools you've mentioned, but you'll get better advice in the "College Search and Selection" forums. As for how to pick a good pre-med school, see:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/202936-good-pre-med-schools.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/202936-good-pre-med-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>bdm, why are berkeley and ucla not good places to be a premed?</p>

5

<p>Giant atmospheres. Terrible or non-existent advising. Poor results. No EC facilitation, essay reading, mock interviews, etc. High proportion of peers who don't know what they're doing and will pass on poor advice.</p>

<p>Grade deflation is NOT one of the reasons -- it is not only not particularly important, it's also a myth.</p>

6

<p>So then I take Michigan isn't supposed to be that great either?</p>

7

<p>Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Michigan.</p>

8

<p>To second bdm even if he added your scores incorrectly....LOL</p>

<p>A 1440 is going to be on the lower end for virtually every school on your list with the possible exception of Rice, Northwestern, and Wash U but the under 700 reading score can hurt you at any of them especially with mediocre ECs. I would focus on the reading portion of SAT to bring up that score and stop worrying about what school would be best for pre-med for now.</p>

<p>If you really like Wash U and FA $$ isn't a consideration, apply ED because historically their ED stats are lower than their RD stats.....guaranteed yield can be a wonderful thing.</p>

<p>Look at each school's profiles and score ranges then throw out the bottom 25% number which is usually going to associated with URMs, recruited athletes etc. and you will have a much better idea of where your stats will put you.</p>

<p>Put more than one safety on your list. Admissions to highly selective schools is a crap shoot even for those with 1600/2400 SATs. </p>

<p>Lastly as bdm also said, post this in other places on CC and you might get more responses since your questions are more along the lines of a "chances" post.</p>

9

<p>Whoops. That's a pretty major mis-adding on my part, too. Apologies.</p>

10

<p>At this point I am definitely not retaking my SATs, because I have to take my subject tests, and I am going to be very busy this fall with the whole application process, school, work, and volunteering. My safety school will likely be the University of Washington, since it is in state for me and I'm definitely getting in. I was considering an early action at Stanford, because it was my first choice, but with these recent posts I am now reconsidering... I suppose I will try and post this on the other part of the forums.</p>

<p>However, no one has answered my initial question, which is, what exactly is "pre-med," and does it simply mean you intend to go to medical school, or is it something you have to sign up for?</p>

11

<p>add duke to your list...</p>

12

<p>Pre-med means different things at different schools. At some schools it's actually a major (though, offhand, I don't believe that it's a major at any of the schools you've listed). At other schools, it means that you're taking the necessary courses to go to medical school. The best way to find out about the pre-med programs (or lack thereof) at the schools on your list is to ask people at the individual schools or to look around the schools' websites.</p>

13

<p>Be warned, though, that even at school where it is a major, it is a very poor choice of major. It's one of the few majors that medical schools really dislike.</p>

14

<p>Your SAT scores are fine. I got into Penn, Chicago, and Michigan with very similar scores.</p>

15

<p>as others said..post in the chance thread...regarding the whole going above 4.0 thing..lol..it's the "weighted gpa"..so if u've As in AP Courses...that means you definitely went above that 4 thing. ;) check w/ ur counselor/transcript person...btw..no SAT IIs?</p>