<p>I frequently see people recommending schools like UC davis etc.(just turned them down in favor of W&M) over harder schools like cal and W&M since you can get a higher GPA at those schools. However, the med school acceptances at W&M are pretty fantastic in spite of the grade deflation. Do pre-med students simply have a similar GPA (and put in a lot more work) or what? I'm just trying to figure out how W&M has such a high percent of acceptances into med school/law school when they have such a reputation for grade deflation. I've heard that undergrad grade averages aren't considered by admissions people when admitting, but something has to be different. More research opportunities? Higher MCAT? Thanks!</p>
<p>Because the people doing med school admissions know about the caliber of difficulty at W&M. </p>
<p>W&M is well-known and well-respected in the professional fields, including medicine.</p>
<p>Also, yes, there are many research and internship opportunities available at W&M. I’ve heard that even freshman can get these opportunities.</p>
<p>And yes, taking up these opportunities will boost your resume for grad school. </p>
<p>There’s a number of factors that contribute to the med school/grad school acceptances from W&M. </p>
<p>Opportunities and the Caliber of the Education are just two of them.</p>
<p>It’s a lot of things. And a lot more I’m not knowledgeable enough to tell you about.</p>
<p>at a school with less talented students, it is easier to be at the top. That’s the bottom line.</p>
<p>Success is not made or broken by which school you attend. Success is made by the individual. W&M gives its students who are interested in attending medical school all of the tools needed to find success, from research to advising to classes in general.</p>
<p>W&M has a strong reputation for providing its students with a top quality education. Only 10% of the students at any school can by top 10%. So while it is easier to be in the top 10% at a lower school, it is not as impressive. A med school might only be willing to take a student in the top 5% at a lower school, while at a school like W&M they are willing to go further down in the list because they know they will still get a top quality student.</p>
<p>W&M is well-known to medical admissions committees as to both quality of teaching and preparation, and difficulty of the grading, so, say, a 3.5 GPA at W&M is “adjusted” to be similar to, say, a 3.2 GPA at Podunk U (of course, W&M isn’t unique in that regard - such “adjustments” or allowances are made for any undergrad GPA, both up or down.) They also like and appreciate (even “prefer”) students who’ve had the Liberal Arts experience - they want people with a broad educational experiences, not bio-science drones - and W&M is stellar in offering that kind of education and experience.</p>
<p>That said, the first filter in many/most med schools is, you guessed it, GPA and MCAT score. A 3.0 at any undergrad isn’t going to pass that screen at most top-tier medical schools. You’ll need, (very rough guesstimate) a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and a 3.4 science GPA, and a 30+ MCAT to get past those initial screens (obviously, 4.0’s and a 45 are preferred ;). People are admitted outside of those ranges, but it becomes more difficult.</p>
<p>There’s a defined curriculum you’ll need to take which conforms to the MSAR requirements defined here: [William</a> & Mary - Pre-Med, Pre-Vet, Pre-Dentist, and Pre-Pharmacy Program](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/undergraduate/advising/preprofessional/premed/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/as/undergraduate/advising/preprofessional/premed/index.php)</p>
<p>It may not seem like a lot, but you’ll need to plan your schedule well in advance to ensure you can complete them by end of junior year (and any others you might feel useful for the MCAT, like additional math or genetics.)</p>
<p>These courses will prepare you for the MCAT, and for most medical schools (some have additional requirements for matriculation, like microbiology or additional math courses - you’ll need to check each school you wish to apply to.)</p>
<p>After MCAT / GPA comes research experience (which W&M excels at), community service (ditto), leadership, breadth of experiences, and physician shadowing. Shadowing you’ll be more or less on your own to find that, but everything else, W&M offers a lot of opportunities - of course, you have to pursue and take advantage of them, but they are there for the taking. Freshman research is offered, and I’d strongly recommend you get involved as soon as you can - if you’re not sure about any of this, ask your instructors, or pre-med adviser. </p>
<p>You need not major in bio or chem, though many do (there’s some evidence that they actually can be a disadvantage in admissions.) You’ll want to take a variety of courses - philosophy, ethics, business, economics, foreign languages, and so on (not necessarily ‘all’ of them.) As I said, admissions committes want well-rounded students, and LAC’s like W&M do a very good job of that. </p>
<p>You will need to keep that GPA up, and do well on the MCAT. It’s certainly doable - as you’ve noticed, the admissions rate is pretty impressive - approaching twice the national average. So, obviously, when some 80% are accepted somewhere, (presumably first try), then clearly most can and do succeed here.</p>
<p>I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be “easy” - medical admissions are really competitive, and from a self-selecting group of high achievers. But that’s true no matter where you attend.</p>
<p>One of the nice things about W&M is there’s a much greater sense of community in the “pre-meds” - you’ve probably heard hideous stories about pre-meds at some schools, like refusing to share class notes, or deliberately checking out books from the library that other students might need and simiar acts of sabotage, and so on. W&M pre-meds don’t have that reputation (though, I’m sure someone, somewhere, has a story …)</p>
<p>Anyway, hope this helps, welcome, and good luck!</p>
<p>edit: by the way, you won’t be competing with W&M students; you’ll be competing with <em>all</em> students for admission. You may not graduate top 10% - but you don’t need to.</p>
<p>Additionally, Dr. Sher, the pre-med adviser is a great resource for students and she helps the pre-meds stay on top of what they need to do to be competitive med school applicants.</p>
<p>Additionally, the other opportunities at W&M (undergraduate research, publishing, the Scribe program at Sentara Hospital) all over wonderful ways for pre-med students to engage in activities that look great to med schools.</p>
<p>My god, Squiddy. That is a hell of lot of fine info. Is the pre-law story somewhat same?</p>
<p>Honestly, people are way too scared of grade deflation at W&M. The average GPA at W&M hovers around a 3.2, the same as UVA. That 3.20 is actually quite a bit higher than the 3.00 average GPA of public university students across the nation.</p>
<p>Ultimately, after spending three years at W&M, I can say people get the grades that they earn. If you put in the time and study, you will be fine. For pre-med students this will involve a lot of time… but pre-meds have to put a lot of time in no matter where they go to school in order to have a decent shot at med school admissions.</p>
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<p>of course, just because the average GPA is higher at one school compared to another, doesn’t mean that it is easier to earn higher grades at that school. If you traded the W&M student body with the U of Iowa (randomly chosen state school) student body, I would bet that the GPAs would move significantly.</p>
<p>not saying that’s what you were saying, just wanted to make sure that was out there =)</p>