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As S has already applied to several schools with good bio programs and cost is not significant consideration,</p>
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<p>I wonder how true it is that cost isn’t significant. The OP has started at least 3 threads expressing concerns about merit scholarships at various schools. </p>
<p>@lenny2 If your child doesn’t get merit at FSU (I doubt he’d get much, if any), if you’re OOS, don’t bother paying full or near full freight there. Not worth it. </p>
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<p>IDK why all classes aren’t this way. </p>
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<p>Yeah, well welcome to college, which has a bunch of “high performing kids” (by definition) particularly in the premed courses. I guess I still don’t see your point, tex. </p>
<p>The top privates grade on a say, ~3.0 curve for the premed courses, 3.3-3.4 overall. Cal is right about the same overall, but a little lower for the Frosh-Soph science courses. (And I’m no way trying to compare Cal to Brown or the Ivies. Cal has a lot of low performing matriculating Frosh and transfers.) </p>
<p>(btw: Brown and Pomona are well over 3.5 overall.) </p>
<p>The only reason I mention Brown is that it is the ONLY undergrad that I know of that has a ‘curve’ such that it is, that enables over half of a class to earn A’s in the premed prereqs. The other Ivies ain’t close.</p>
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<p>Ahh, but there’s the rub and misconception. Technically, Cal does not curve Gen Chem (so as to discourage competition - hahahaha); everyone who scores a 90+ will earn an A. But here’s the hint: no STEM prof worth his/her mettle will allow that many kids to score that high – it’s against their DNA; instead, they design the test so the mean is ~70%. I think Cornell and Emory do something similar (as do many other colleges). </p>
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<p>But that is a grading distinction without a difference. In essence, all premed prereqs are curved, whether they admit it or not. </p>
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<p>At many schools, the premeds are taking the same courses as the STEM majors, so a Gen Chem class with have a mix of Chem, Bio, Eng’g, Physics, Math and non-STEM premeds. </p>
<p>I think it’s in the student’s and the school’s best interests to encourage students who aren’t strong enough to be premeds or STEM majors to “move along” into other majors before investing/spending too much time and money in areas where they would likely eventually fall by the wayside if allowed to continue. Passing students along year to year only delays the inevitable, and that’s not doing anyone any favors.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids, cost is truly not a factor, although it sure would be nice to get some merit money, given that our D is full-pay at Vanderbilt right now. S is very cost-conscious, though, especially given that medical school may be in his future. But, we will send him where ever is best for him, regardless of whether he gets merit money. We are just trying to figure out where that is. We are in-state in Florida. With a 33 ACT (superscored; 32 unsuperscored), FSU should be a safety for him, so we were just wondering whether and how much merit money he would be likely to get (on top of Florida Bright Futures). It’s enticing to think about not having to pay a huge bill every six months, but that won’t make or break any decision for us. And FSU is at the bottom of his list of choices. As far as state schools go, if he gets into UF (fingers crossed), that would be his top choice.</p>
<p>I’m not sure where all the discussion of the UC schools came from in this thread, but we do appreciate everyone’s input. </p>
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<p>Are both attending MD or DO med schools?</p>
<p>Both are enrolled in MD schools. Neither applied DO. Both had multiple MD acceptances. </p>
<p>It’s about the kid–not the school.</p>
<p>WOWMom is right. It’s about the KID…not the school. </p>
<p>MD med schools (Allopathic) do not care about the name of the undergrad.</p>
<p>My son went to Alabama…a mid-tier flagship…on nearly a free-ride scholarship ( Free tuition plus $5000 per year plus some one-time awards.).</p>
<p>He applied to 6 MD schools and got accepted to 3, which is a very good percentage. ( I would have had him apply to more, but who listens to mom??? lol ) His premed classmates also had multiple MD acceptances. My son didn’t apply to any DO schools because the Bama premed advisor assured him that he’d get at least one MD acceptance. </p>
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With a 33 ACT (superscored; 32 unsuperscored), FSU should be a safety for him, so we were just wondering whether and how much merit money he would be likely to get (on top of Florida Bright Futures). </p>
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<p>Merit is usually based on a single-sitting, not a super-score. </p>
<p>FSU and UF are strange about merit. They seem to rely heavily on BF to provide merit to their instate students. The other lower FL publics seem to give merit. </p>
<p>For your son to have the best chance at surviving premed with a high GPA, then he should go where he will shine and be in the upper-quartile.</p>
<p>@lenny2</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan </p>
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<p>2 things to keep in mind:
<p>Given those facts, 55% is pretty good.
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<p>I certainly well know that UCLA doesn’t do committee letters. I am a Calif native. And, I certainly know that Calif is the hardest state in the country to get into a MD school. Since the majority of students at UCLA are CA residents, of course the majority of premeds are CA residents… So, I don’t know what you think I was implying.</p>
<p>55% is lousy. The app process is extremely time-consuming and costly. Calif residents should be outraged that UC SOMs are accepting any non-residents (outside of MD/PhD). </p>
<p>@lenny2, </p>
<p>FSU has a new Presidential Scholarship - $4800 per year or oos state tuition waiver plus $12,000 for study aboard, research, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t think any FL state school beats UCF in merit money though,</p>
<p>@bluebayou - I understand the profs figure out a way to ensure not too many As are given but my question is why should anyone attend such a school when they are serious about becoming a doctor. One of the interesting things I keep reading in premed forums from people who are already in med schools is that very little of org chemistry they learnt was ever used which makes one wonder why so many people give up medicine because of one lousy organic chemistry class they took in college.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with Malcolm Gladwell’s theories about not attending the school unless you expect to be at the top (people might quibble that this is not what he said but I interpret it that way) but I believe his theories are accurate for premed majors and being weeded out of areas they might have been really good at if they had not gone to a specific school.</p>
<p>There are 1000s of people who might be doctors today if they did not attend very competitive colleges and lost interest or were told they could not make the cut. The med schools don’t cut any slack because they attend UCB or UCLA or UT or whatever where they get weeded out and get lower GPAs. In most cases they treat UCB 3.8 as equal to a 3.8 from Pan American University on the border of Texas. My advise for someone set on being premed is to tell them to go to a school where they will maximize their GPA. If they are not sure that is the only goal they have, go to the best school on their list they can afford.</p>
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<p>Very sage advice. </p>