<p>My high School GPA was a 3.4 and my science gpa was like a 3.3 (I did bad freshmen year in all my classes but got straight b) but i got a 4.0 in AP BIO. I was wondering, how hard would it be to maintain a good gpa and science gpa at pitt?? I plan on staying focused and studying my bottom off like i did in ap bio. is it crazy or is it possible if i study while im not in class to get like 3.7 or above?</p>
<p>Easy, Pitt is a diploma mill.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen Rising Chemist on this forum before, and not sure where he/she gets this information from… would guess that he/she may not be very familiar with the competitiveness of Pitt’s pre-med track.</p>
<p>From my D who is a freshman at Pitt, I hear that Bio is a very difficult “weeder” course and difficult to get a good grade in. Depending on your major, Bio may be required, and if you don’t get at least a C I believe you have to repeat it. </p>
<p>My D was advised by her peer mentors, if you don’t need Bio for your major, don’t take it.</p>
<p>S/he is some parent who is an alum of Tulane and has a child there. Probably both were rejected from Pitt and now feel the need to â– â– â– â– â– the Pitt Forum.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/956107-chance-former-slacker-rising-senior.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/956107-chance-former-slacker-rising-senior.html</a></p>
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<p>My daughter is a junior at Pitt. She has taken lots of math and physics classes and has found them challenging, but grades are curved in some classes. She was a National Merit Scholar and in general a pretty good student. She also studies an Asian language each semester. She has just over a 3.5. She could probably work a bit harder if she felt like it, but no one is complaining.</p>
<p>My son is a Freshman at Pitt. He took Chem 2 (skipped Chem 1 due to taking AP Chem) and taking Honors Biology. He found that even thought he had a strong science back ground, he had to work very hard to get good grades his first semester. It’s very doable, but you do have to work!</p>
<p>For some, it will be easy to maintain a top GPA, and with little effort. For others, a good GPA will never happen no matter how much they try. For most, it’s somewhere in the middle.</p>
<p>The question is: Given your ability, can you (and will you) do what it takes to maintain the GPA that you need? That’s the only thing that matters.</p>
<p>Know yourself.</p>
<p>I agree with MisterK. The science classes at Pitt are tough. You have to know yourself and be willing to work hard to do well in them. If you are really set on pre-med though (which I am assuming by your username), then you will be able to find the motivation to study hard and keep that GPA up, even if it requires some sacrifice.</p>
<p>I would also advice to strongly think about whether or not you take Honors Classes (if that is an option to you) for your science classes. The honors chem and physics classes are really tough-- but they are curved more than a regular class. Back when I was a freshman, the professor who taught honors bio was said to be easier and better than the regular bio professors. Honors Calc is also a very difficult, very theory-intense class.</p>
<p>So really, it comes down to: How much work do you think you can handle, how rigorous do you want your courseload to be, and how good of a GPA do you want. Thinking about your schedule in those terms (and things like how much time you want to devote to studying vs. being in clubs vs. hanging out vs. etc. etc.) will help you determine what kind of classes to take to get the GPA you want to.</p>
<p>hey guys,
I really truly appreciate all the help so far. I’m planning on spending most of my time in the library or in my time studying if I’m not in class or eating. to get away from the books I will probably workout for 35-50 minutes a day by running or possibly playing intramural sports if they DO NOT get in my way of studying. I plan on getting at least a 3.6 gpa and I hope its possible because I really was lazy throughout high school and got a 3.4 high school gpa and 3.3 science gpa (I never studied freshmen or sophmore year for science but when i studied for ap bio I got a 4.0 and had one of the toughest teachers in the area). I really will work my bottom off, I just want to know if its possible even with the weed out courses because frankly my older siblings were finance majors at PSU and NYU so they really didn’t deal with the tough science classes.</p>
<p>Just a word of advice–having a good GPA is definitely important for getting into med school, but not at the expense of no involvement on campus. Don’t forget that med schools like to see that you’re committed to activities, interests, and hobbies outside of your classes. So sign up for those intramurals (or any other club you may be interested), even if it does cut into your study time a little bit. ;)</p>
<p>I mean I plan on participating in intramural sports and volunteering at the hospital or researching in the lab but i just want to know how tough is the science curve?</p>
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<p>It depends on the class. Upper level science classes (O-Chem, P-Chem, Neuro) might curve to a B or a B-, lower level (Chem 1, Bio 1, etc.) may curve to a B- or a C+/C. Honors will tend to curve a bit higher (generally to a B). There is no set curve for the classes, it all depends on the professor. </p>
<p>And like clarinetz said, staying in the library all day will do you NO good. I know someone who doesn’t really do clubs, but got a 40 on his MCAT and a good GPA. He hasn’t gotten into a single med school yet. Someone else I know has mid-30s with a decent GPA and a lot of interesting clubs (theater clubs, band, volunteering at a hospital, research) and has gotten into 2-3 schools already.</p>
<p>PITT- ****ty professors, but great opportunities if you seek them out</p>
<p>I mean its impossible to study non-stop and yea i will probably have a life. I just want to know how tough it would be to maintain a strong gpa in the sciences. In high school, i had a 3.2 science gpa and 3.4 overall gpa (I slacked off freshmen year but aced ap bio). I’m taking ap calc bc and physics will those classes help for the pre-med requirements ?</p>
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<p>Absolutely. If you get a 5 on your AP Calc BC exam, you can skip calc 1 and 2. If you take the physics C exam and get a 5 you can place out of physics 1 and 2. That will help you open up space to take other classes, and also make you feel better about your mastery of the knowledge when it comes time to take the MCAT</p>
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<p>I don’t know what kind of classes you have been taking, but I don’t think it’s a good generalization to say that all Pitt professors are bad. I’ve had a few bad ones (one CRAZY Ethics professor), but mostly they are pretty good and care about the students, especially if you get to know them outside of class (i.e. in office hours)</p>
<p>anyone mind helping out?</p>
<p>Awesome, how tough would pre-med be for a high school student who had a 3.4 gpa and 3.4 science gpa (fooled around freshmen and sophmore year in sciences) but i have loads of ec which keep me really busy.</p>
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<p>Well how have you been acting for your junior and senior years? Has your GPA dramatically increased? Are you still involved with clubs? If you are able to maintain a good GPA (I’d say 3.75+) in harder, upper level science classes while being involved in activities, you will not have a difficult time transitioning to college/pre-med classes at Pitt</p>