i need some advice...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>hey everybody. i am currently a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major at the university at albany (don't let the elaborate name of the major fool you into thinking its super-impressive or rigorous. thusfar i have taken the same classes as biology majors [B.S. degree]. its in my junior year that i start taking the classes that are more specific to the major[calc based physics, biochemistry w/ lab, etc.]). </p>

<ul>
<li>as of the end of this semester i should have a gpa that is at least a 3.85 but could be up to a 3.9 (i even have A's in organic chemistry 1 and 2). </li>
<li>i'm an RA and i do community service and all of that, volunteer at stony brook hospital in the summer, etc...</li>
<li>i just got letters of recc. [for med school] from my english instructor and organic chemistry 2 professor (i was in the top 5% of both of their classes)...</li>
</ul>

<p>my ultimate goal is to go to medical school and needless to say i've worked my ass of to set myself up pretty nicely. with that said...</p>

<p>i just found out that i was accepted into cornell in the biological science program at CALS and i'm 99.9% sure i'm going. but i'm slightly apprehensive...</p>

<p>HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:
SHOULD I TRANSFER TO CORNELL??
WILL IT GIVE ME AN ADVANTAGE FOR GETTING INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL??
furthermore, i'm kind of scared i'll screw up. i realize that it's a different ballgame over there (although i do realize that medical schools know this too). i'm the hardest worker i know, but i'm still kind of nervous...</p>

<p>i would appreciate if some current students could give me some insight..</p>

<p>regardless, i hope everybody has a great time at cornell next year. best of luck to you all.</p>

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<p>Really good stats and ecs.
I would definitely advise u to apply to Cornell.
Though I'm not yet at Cornell, I can tell you that if you work, you will do well at Cornell. Give it a shot...:)</p>

3

<p>Arjun, Cornell Hopefull has already been accepted :)</p>

<p>I think you have a good opportunity, you've already set yourself up nicely with most of your required med school classes at Albany and done really well in them.</p>

<p>Yes, it is rigorous here...but if you can pull a 3.9 at U Albany, it's my impression that you will do well at Cornell as well. If it puts anything in perspective, I have a friend that transfered from a community college and she handled organic chemistry (one of the hardest classes) absolutely fine. From my experience, if you work hard here, you might still get the occasional C on an exam (it's hard to win them all), but overall its perfectly manageable to get an A, but you will have to work for it.</p>

<p>I can't speak from a Med School admissions board point of view, but I think that if you have a good GPA at Cornell it looks impressive. Also, be aware that med schools know that this is a difficult school, I know a couple people with 3.3 and 3.4s that have gone to med school from Cornell.</p>

<p>I'm assuming you're in-state, so it will be a little bit of an increase with tuition, but not bad at all because you get the in-state tuition break. Might not be any difference cost wise at all with financial aid factored in, but I don't know.</p>

<p>I just finished up my freshman year (my chem final was this morning)...So I guess I can say I'm a sophomore now? lol.</p>

<p>I was very intimidated by Cornell's rigor, and so far the only sad story gradewise I have to tell is about the time I totally botched a math exam, but I still ended up with a B, so not a very scary ending.</p>

<p>I absolutely love it here at Cornell...I think the experience has been really rewarding and it's a great place to go to school. Feel PM me if you have any questions, or my AIM sn is the same as my name on this board.</p>

4

<p>PS: On a side note, it looks like you've already taken most of the "hard weed out courses" (namely orgo and the intro sciences) at Albany, the median grades for upper level classes are a bit more friendly....so I don't think you have to much to worry about. Genetics is probably the only really difficult one you'd encounter.</p>

<p>Where's norcalguy....he could tell you all about those.</p>

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<p>oops...my bad...didn't c the part where u said u were accepted at CAS...congrats :)</p>

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<p>arjun i think you mean CALS</p>

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<p>cornell hopeful, what were your high school stats?</p>

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<p>ummm.. nothing to brag about</p>

<p>3.84 GPA
1330 SAT</p>

<p>why do you ask?</p>

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<p>A 3.9 is pretty damn good and I'm sure you'll do well on the MCAT. That combo will set you up nicely for med school.</p>

<p>Should you transfer? I guess it depends why you wanted to transfer in the first place. If the sole reason for transferring to Cornell is to have a better shot of med school acceptance, then I would suggest staying where you are. You are doing well, have good connections with your profs, and are active in the community. Are there other reasons why you want to transfer (besides the name)?</p>