<p>Hi, I am wondering how competitive Georgetown is and what the workload is like.</p>
<p>I would consider my stats below average for Georgetown with a 3.6 unweighted GPA and a 1990 SAT. (670M,670CR) I will have taken 8 APs upon graduation and I have received a 5 on Bio and 4s on US and World History. However, I have a major hook that will likely get me into the university, so please don't make this thread about how I won't get in. </p>
<p>I am wary of whether I'll be able to receive a good GPA (3.5+) at the school. I would like to know a few things... How are most classes graded and is there only a set percentage of students who can get each letter grade? How competitive are the classes, specifically, the pre-medical/pre-dental classes? What is the workload like? Are professors available for one-on-one time if I don't get something? Would I be setting myself up for failure by going to Georgetown?</p>
<p>I am interested in majoring in Economics and fulfilling the pre-medical/pre-dental reqs if you need specifics. I am just concerned whether or not I should go to Georgetown and possibly be set up for failure, or if I should go to a school I can get into with my stats, like The University of Miami or Maryland. I would love to go to Georgetown, but if it will hurt my chances of becoming a doctor or dentist, I will not go there.</p>
<p>Thanks, all imput is graciously appreciated.</p>
<p>I’ll leave it at that my dad has a very high up position at the school and he knows people on the board. I will also have a letter of recommendation from one of the VPs whom I worked under for two years.</p>
<p>Before I go on, a dentist is a type of doctor. Also, do you want to go to medical school or dental school because they are two different professions? Also, I wouldn’t let your stats stop you from applying to Georgetown if you really want to go there and feel that you can succeed.</p>
<p>My wife and I both attended Georgetown and she did pre-med (with a bio major). Generally, there is a fair amount of grade inflation at GU. The exception, however, is in the pre-med classes, expecially Org Chem, where the profs generally try to weed out about 1/3 of the students. </p>
<p>Profs at GU are very focused on students and usually available to talk beyond the regular hours. No curve grading even in Org Chem. </p>
<p>Have no idea about your in, but will say that GU admissions are very mercurial. Youngest son applied to GU last year with 2290 SAT (1540 M and CR), top 2% of class at competitive HS, solid EC’s, and 12 APs. He got rejected despite our double alum status (also consistetly gave over the years, although not huge amounts).</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I’m sorry he didn’t get in with those stats! That’s really surprising. I hope he got into another great school.</p>
<p>I also thought about the transferring system. I think it would be much easier to transfer out of Georgetown to say, Miami or Maryland, than to transfer into Georgetown from those schools. If I couldn’t handle the workload, I could always transfer out after two semesters. </p>
<p>I know I want to be in the health field, I just don’t know whether I want to be a doctor or dentist yet. The prerequistites are basically the exact same so I would have the freedom of choosing. I would shadow both and do volunteering in order to decide which is right for me.</p>
<p>The other thing you could think about is transferring into GU if for some reason the “in” does not pan out. MUCH easier to get into GU as a transfer. Also, being mercurial is not always such a bad thing as GU really does go beyond test scores et al (also does not use common app and lower admission % EA than RD). One last thing – there is a large difference between the atmosophere at GU and Maryland. Miami seems closer to GU. </p>
<p>PS–Nice thing about US is there are lots of good schools. Things worked out fine for son who got into WUSTL, Davidson, UVA and chose to go to WM for pre-med.</p>
<p>Yeah Maryland is kind of a back up school for me. I’d prefer a medium sized private school that’s near an urban center and has strong D1 sports scene. I’m a big football and basketball fan so Georgetown is a good fit with it’s basketball team. I guess Maryland could also be the cheap in-state option, though cost isn’t a concern.</p>
<p>I do think Miami is quite similar. The campus at Miami is only 100 acres larger and it only has 4,000 more undergrads. It actually has a better student to faculty ratio, though only by 1. I view Georgetown as more academic and think it would be a lot more competitive than at Miami. I would be below average at Georgetown while at Miami I’d be above average.</p>
<p>I will be interested in transferring in to Georgetown if my hook doesn’t pan out. I know getting in isn’t a sure thing for even the best students. I do know that I’ll try my hardest wherever I end up going. It would be nice to be a student where my dad works as opposed to living 1000 miles from home. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the input, I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I have a close associate who’s D is there now in the Bio major. New labs, great instructors, hospital on campus, and a chance to get involved with NIH funded undergraduate research were all reasons she is in love with GU.</p>
<p>Seriously, over the past several years the one unique indicator seems to be that GU has a love for those at the top of their classes. In the past two years, nearly 50% of the entering class was ranked 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their HS graduationg classes. While that is a high stat, it also says that the other 50% of the entering class were not at the very top of their classes.</p>
<p>Our son will be a junior this year and was in that group although his SAT scores were only in the 2150 range. He feels his essay and a summer intern program consisting of a medical research project put him over the top and got him in. He was the first in his school to apply for the intern project and did most of the work himself as his GC had no experience with the program. His bio teacher did help him with a recommendation and a lot of moral support, however. </p>
<p>Another school you might want to take a look at is Villanova as its about the same size and has good pre-med and dental programs. Good luck.</p>
<p>We went to GT cupcakes. I guess I do not understand the fuss - especially, since they did not have any sugar free cupcakes. In any case, my question is about admissions. Does knowing a board member personally help in admissions? Assuming that the applicant has the grades and other credentials, I believe it can act as a tie breaker. However, I do not think that a board member’s letter will make the difference if grades are not there. Now, if someone is willing to pony up the $$, that is a completely different thing - thoughts?</p>