<p>I was a premed BME at Duke (currently first year MD/PhD student elsewhere) so I can answer some of the questions:</p>
<p>1) Duke does not have an explicit weed out system. However, the set of required premed courses that all medical schools require premeds everywhere to take itself is difficult. Courses like OChem, biochem, molecular bio/genetics are not strolls in the park. So I don’t think Duke makes an effort to weed people out, the content and nature of the courses coupled with the large number of premeds naturally do that. </p>
<p>But the Office of Health Professions Advising which provides your required prehealth committee letter will not refuse to write you a letter. As long as you request one and do their mini-interview and submit the requested materials you’ll get a letter packet assembled for you. However, depending on your record, CV, essay drafts, and interview, the letter may be strong or just so-so. </p>
<p>2) Yes, it’s possible to study abroad. For engineers, Berlin and Australia was very popular because they were established programs. But Trinity students have a wider selection and many students (including premeds) do take advantage. However, a piece of good advice is to plan your courses out during your first year so that you can cluster your fluff courses for study abroad because you don’t want to fall behind or find out that the course that you HAVE to take isn’t available overseas. Generally it is advised that you pick a Duke-administered program abroad so that your courses show up as Duke courses on your Duke transcript instead of transfer credits from another institution. This saves you the effort of trying to get a transcript from a foreign school and then maybe needing to get it professionally translated and certified and all that jazz for the med school application. </p>
<p>3) Duke advising is very good at getting you familiar with the application process. When I was there (class of 2010) I wished they were more visible during the first 2 years but they were better about that when I left. Personally I didn’t use them very much because I chose to go MD/PhD which is a bit different and specialized than the general premed process but Dean Scheirer was still pretty helpful in that process. I hear they are very honest with you about your strengths and weaknesses. However one gripe I have is that they tend to be out of the loop by design regarding your situation, so you really have to fill them in on every single detail of your circumstances. If you don’t and they don’t know then they really can’t advise you very well. But if you are forthcoming, then they are pretty knowledgeable. </p>
<p>4) Academically, students are more than prepared. If you are asking about success rates, the latest data on the HPA website is from 2009 where 71% (202/284) Duke applicants were accepted. The rates for those whose GPA fell between 3.40-4.00 were all above 90%. The national average is usually around 44%. So Duke does very well in med school admissions. </p>
<p>5) Yes, research opportunities abound. Many professors are open to you just cold emailing or calling them and asking to volunteer in their lab. But there are also organized programs like the HHMI summer program for rising sophomores and the Pratt Fellows program for junior and senior engineers. There are also many medical shadowing opportunities, the Health Careers Exploration Program lets you do both volunteering and shadowing in the hospital in an organized fashion. The cancer patient support program is always looking for volunteers (1 year commitment, I helped out there). Many doctors are also open to just letting you shadow them if you email them. I got to go in the ER with the neurosurgeon that operated on Ted Kennedy (really Dr. Friedman is super nice) and went on rounds with the attending in the Bone Marrow Transplant ICU. You can also ask your advisors or lab PI whether they work with or know any doctors that they can put you in touch with. And of course, there are always non-medical volunteering opportunities at the community service center and stuff.</p>