<p>I agree. My friend who is off to med. school this fall, never really took a full prep. course. She studied for the MCAT four weeks (she was a chem. major who transferred from Alabama) and she got a 33 or 34, I forgot. She said that she didn’t have time to study several months b/c she needed to work, and she found it hard to believe that people had so much time and money for it. Either way, she wasn’t really aiming for top med. schools, like many, she wanted to go back home (Alabama), so she really just wanted to go to UAB, and I don’t blame her because top med. schools cost way too much unless you are a scholarship candidate which is extremely difficult. I have another acquaintance like this who scored a 41\3.85 (Emory also) and simply wants to go back to Nevada. To me, these are the rather humble people at Emory. Or they at least realize that going to a top med. school for a huge amount of money vs. becoming a doctor is not worth debating. </p>
<p>Also, many people who do that well(35) actually have lower than 3.7 GPAs, though that’s kind of rare at Emory and common at the other schools. I have another friend who scored about 36 with a 3.4-3.5 b/c he took the most challenging courses/profs. He’s also off to med. school in the fall. Another is off to WashU med with his 3.8?(or 3.7?) and 38 MCAT. He did the same thing. My associate and former Co-TA approaching his second year at Harvard (keep in mind, he followed the money, he was offerered full scholarship) is also the same. </p>
<p>I think you’ll be fine Colleges, just keep working on it. You had the right approach, you will get there. And if not to the top school range (you still apply to one anyway if you really are interested in what the particular school has to offer), you will still become a doctor, and you’ll make a damned good one too. It’s just many of your peers that worry me. The “I just want an A crew”. Don’t know their chances and could care less. Some of these people should not have gotten past gen. bio. Bio and chem. need to start handing out D/Fs again (I think bio used to give plenty) and the curves in orgo. are too generous to the bottom (many of whom should have definitely got a D/F, instead their exam average has to go below like 45-40 for that grade). It’s kind of a “Save the Suckers” curve.</p>