<p>I want to go to graduate school for Washing University in St.louis for med.</p>
<p>And I am just worried about if i can get accepted to undergrad first.</p>
<p>Admissions at WUSTL is getting harder and harder. I'd say the acceptance rate is in the low-middle 20%. Like every other admission counselor tells you, being well-round is one of the top criteria into getting into any university. And for universities like WUSTL, Columbia, Emory, Duke, Northwester, MIT, Brown and the list goes on, you need to be well round plus have stellar scores on the SATs/ACTs. And still that does not guarantee you a spot at one of the top universities. It depends on each individual because each case is treated differently. So basically what I am getting at is that I need to know your individual case so that we can make realistic and accurate decisions. If you could tell us the type of school, how it rates, your rank or how you compare to the rest of your grade, SAT/ACT scores, extracurriculars and any other information that you feel will be crucial in this or any other college decision.</p>
<p>no offense, but i feel like it might be a safer (and cheaper) bet to go to your state school - provided it has a decent science/med undergrad program, and then apply to washu for med school...unless youre really really really smart and can handle lots of really really hard premed classes.
i dont think getting in is all that hard (i know some not-too-intelligent ppl who got in, like some still couldnt spell "definitely" correctly. just show interest and i feel like you'll be fine if your hs record is fairly competitive), but the premed curriculum/competition is what gives washu that "hard" rep. ive heard that the vast majority of ppl who said they want to pursue medicine drop out after the first year.<br>
that being said, if you are insanely smart and a) have loads of money or b) can get most of your college expenses paid for, then by all means go for washu. your being stellar at washu will have greater weight to their med school admissions officer than your being stellar at another school, and i hear that washu undergrads make up the biggest percentage of ppl in the med school. its just a question of whether you can handle it
if not, go to an easier, cheaper school. goodness knows it'll be a while before you make any real money. and i know some schools (i.e. hopkins) kind of make it a bit harder for their undergrads to get in the med school than say university of maryland kids (ive heard for them its like youre in if youre top 2% in hopkins premed or some other insane percentage), whom i think might have more ppl in that med school than actual hopkins undergrads.
keep your options open and good luck!</p>
<p>Admissions to WU med is even harder. For several years they have been the most selective med school in the country.</p>
<p>You don't need to go to WashU for undergrad in order to go to WashU med for grad; but with that being said, WashU med does prefer WashU undergrads (not excessively so, but they really like WashU undergrads), unlike JHU med in regard to JHU premed undergrads.</p>
<p>WashU undergrad is extremely selective, and waitlists a lot of people. <22% acceptance rate, with a record high of 22,000+ apps this year (shocked me too!). WashU med is #3 med school (research, not primary care) and most likely much more difficult to get into than getting into WashU undergrad. </p>
<p>I applied to WashU undergrad and got in--and yes, they love demonstrated interest. If you do get in, you'll find the majority of your peers will be aspiring premeds because WashU is most associated with medicine (their strongest programs) and that's basically what their rep revolves around. WashU premed is extremely competitive, though I wouldn't go as far as calling it "cutthroat," though some may describe it as that. Premed is hard anywhere, but I would compare it to being similar to JHU undergrad premed but not as cutthroat--it definitely isn't a walk in the park!!</p>
<p>Like another poster said, if financial aid isn't a problem (full-ride scholarship, etc) and you can really focus and be diligent to succeed in WashU premed classes, then def go for it! Otherwise, you'd be better off going to your state school and getting a 4.0 GPA; unlike business/law schools, medical schools don't care where you went for undergrad, what counts most is MCAT score + GPA, with GPA being the most important.</p>
<p>"Otherwise, you'd be better off going to your state school and getting a 4.0 GPA; unlike business/law schools, medical schools don't care where you went for undergrad, what counts most is MCAT score + GPA, with GPA being the most important."</p>
<p>with that being said, there is a correlation between going to a better school and getting a better MCAT score, considering you have a more rigorous curriculum as well as more conceptual and reasoning based questions on your tests. Also, don't forget that there is, to a certain extent, leniency to getting a lower GPA at harder colleges. WashU med school, for example, has an average GPA for those accepted as a 3.89 last year I believe. Most, if not all, of the state school students accepted probably had a 4.0, which means that if you're from a school such as MIT or WashU, you would probably "only" need around a 3.8ish to get in. That's not to say that that getting a 3.8 at washu is easier than getting a 4.0 at a state school, because it probably isn't, but at least you are learning more for "thinking based" questions on the MCAT. And no you don't have to be "insanely smart" to do well in premed at WashU. For example, I know PLENTY of people much smarter than me at WashU who have done worse than me because of their lack of effort. </p>
<p>Also, I believe that 12.5% on average of washu premeds get accepted to WashU's med school. Considering that about 270 ppl from WashU apply to med school (from the aamc website), that shows that about 30 get accepted...which really isn't that bad.</p>
<p>Wash U has about 600 premeds in any beginning class, but that number drops quickly to (as the previous poster pointed out) 270.</p>
<p>But the ones who remain have a VERY high chance of getting into medical school, last time I heard it was ~85%.</p>
<p>There is no way to have 600 premeds in any beginning class, each class is about 1350/1400 students counting all the schools and engineering and business already take more than 500.</p>
<p>
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There is no way to have 600 premeds in any beginning class, each class is about 1350/1400 students counting all the schools and engineering and business already take more than 500.
[/quote]
You can have engineers that are also premeds...I'm doing BME as a premed. Besides, 500 in engineering/business still leaves ~900 - more than enough to have 600 premeds. Remember, you don't have to be in a medicine-related major to be a premed. However, I'm just saying it's a possibility, as I don't know the actual number of freshmen each year that intend to be premed.</p>
<p>[washupremedsv] is it 12.5% of all entering premeds, or premeds who stick it through to the bitter end?
b/c when i visited during this info session thing, two different ppl mentioned how the majority of premeds stop being premed. 12.5% of cutthroat medicine-driven ppl is actually a very low number</p>
<p>[lollybo] and when you say 85%, do you mean med school in general? b/c that many ppl at the washu med school seems a bit too high. how many spots are in each med school class anyway?</p>
<p>@inthemistylight</p>
<p>12.5% of premeds who stick till the very end get acceptances to WashUmed. And 12.5% isn't low at all, considering that WashU has been, numerically, the most selective med school last year (3.89 GPA and 38 MCAT averages for acceptees). But, of course, top premeds at WashU will have close to 4.0's and 40+ on their MCATs as well. And lollybo means 85% get into A med school. Although remember that not all premeds who stick till the very end are going to be very competitive for med schools since there are other factors such as how well the MCAT went for them and how well they did in their courses--just because you have gotten a few C's doesn't mean you'll drop out, and just because you didn't do very well on the MCAT doesn't mean you won't apply to med school. And I wouldn't call everyone "cutthroat" ;), although I'm sure some of them will be....it's like a survival instinct</p>
<p>holy crap, is it really 600 (how did they get that statistic btw, like through a survey or something or our college app)? that's crazy but I guess that's not too hard to imagine. I remember that during orientation week last year, almost everyone I talked to that wasn't in art school or architecture said they were thinking of being premed.</p>
<p>well since its mainly known for its med school (well, to the people i talk to anyway), im sure many who apply there prolly heard of it b/c of the med school, and have at one time entertained an idea of becoming a doctor. i did.<br>
then i realized that if i dont get x hours of sleep/day, i die.
i still think 12.5% is low. i mean, thats basically the stats for an ivy-caliber undergrad (according to us news, higher than mit/dartmouth/brown/penn/duke), and im sure many ppl who applied there couldnt have survived chem here.<br>
assuming that the applicant pool for med school is a bit more competitive/intelligent than for undergrad (they did survive some pretty tough classes), i think its still pretty hard.</p>
<p>It's very, very hard. USNWR ranked them sixth in selectivity (tied with Columbia). And it's not just that it's hard to get into, but the admissions are almost random. They won't just take people with good grades. You have to be pretty unique.</p>
<p>18% acceptance rate. Its a great school, on par with Cornell/Hopkins/Northwestern/Chicago. Little underrated on this forum in my opinion. For the record people go a little overboard with EC's and being unique, my brother got in and he is a a good student and had great scores and everything, but he had minimum ECs.. If your smart, interesting and a person that seems like he or she will contribute to the community than your in good shape.</p>
<p>srunni:
I got the 600 estimate from the number of people in Gen Chem. I assume the number will fluctuate around there; not all premeds take gen chem (some placed out or are transfer students, thus already receiving credit). Also, not all chem students are premeds. Thus, I believe the number is 600 +- 50.</p>
<p>inthemistylight:
12.5 percent is not low. Not all WUSTL premeds apply to WUSTL medical school. Also, the normal acceptance rate for WU med is ~5 percent. Thats more than a 100 percent increase in chances if you go to WUSTL undergrad.</p>
<p>Bescraze:
Yeah I agree, WUSTL is a great school. I think WUSTL has an advantage over Cornell/Hopkins, etc. in its small size. To me, it's a LAC disguised as a university, sharing the both of two worlds. I noticed a lot of haters on this forum are from Cornell (they don't like to share the #12 title) and other "lower tiered" (I hate that word, all ivies are great schools) ivies.</p>
<p>
[quote]
some placed out
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How do you do that? I thought you couldn't get out of Gen Chem if you were a premed?</p>
<p>that's what I thought. I got a 5 in AP Chem, but I don't get credit for Gen Chem, instead I get 6 units of credit for Chem 103 and 104 (whatever those are.) </p>
<p>From WashU's website</p>
<p>If you get a 5 in AP Chem you receive: "6 units of credit: 3 units each of Chem 103 and 104. These units do not replace Chem 111A or 112A."</p>
<p>you can take a placement test for chem 111 and/or chem 112...which is usually the previous year's final. This option is given during orientation week. So, for example, if you guys wanted to completely skip genchem, you can take our final from both semesters. Usually about 20 or so take the test each time, and a couple, and literally, like a couple, pass (as in get a C or above). Personally, if you're premed, I think it would be very stupid to not take the class. Not only does it provide you with the conceptual stuff you'll need for higher level chemistry and biochemistry courses as well as the MCAT, but it also builds your test taking skills and introduces you to the type of quantitative science exams you'll be given at WashU. Not only that, if you skip genchem you'll probably go straight into Orgo which will be your first college science class, which might turn out to be a world of hurt... If you really do want to skip, though, and think u've got quantum mechanics and stuff down, I would suggest skipping 111 rather than 112...just b/c 112 is most of the chemistry that you'll really be required to know as a premed, whereas stuff in 111 is what you only really need to know if you're a Chem major and will be taking Physical Chemistry.</p>
<p>Well, I don't really remember anything from AP Chem as it's been more than a year now since I took it, so I'm probably best off starting with 111 ;/</p>