Miami for premed?

<p>I've been accepted to UMiami, and got a 3/4ths scholarship... But since my original interest in Miami was due to its marine biology program, and my interests have shifted... Is it still a good school for me to attend?</p>

<p>I hope to attend a prestigious medical school... How good is Miami for premed? Is there rampant grade inflation/deflation? Do the advisors know what they're talking about?</p>

<p>So far I've also been accepted to Case Western (also with scholarship money), and I'm waiting impatiently for Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, & Wesleyan.</p>

<p>Money is a significant factor, since I want to have as little loans as possible from my undergrad education.</p>

<p>Thanks for any input! :)</p>

<p>UM medecine is supposed to be tops. I think its in the top ten. getting into their pre med program also guarantees ur admittance to their medical school so thats a huge advantage. My grandfather is a doctor and tells me UM is an amazing medical school. has top notch recognized hospitals (I.E: Jackson Memorial).</p>

<p>yeh im the same exact boat as you aphoticmelody. do you mean pre med major or the dual program in medicine for a guaranteed spot in the medical school?</p>

<p>I heard somewhere in CC that Pre Med guarantees u acceptance. Listen either way, UM has a great medical school. its one of the best in the Nation. However the only thing that might be negative is that UM is really expensive and if u like a historic campus look, Miami does not have it. Its mostly a tropical, cosmopolitan look of a campus.</p>

<p>Getting accepted pre-med is not the same as getting into the Medical Program.</p>

<p>^^^^^ True. However, Miami has a certain, preference?, for their freshman medical school class for people from their undergraduate programs. No question the medical school is top notch. They are consistently the number one in Opthalmology ( above Harvard's Mass General !), and the Ear, Nose and Throat program, Neurology and Neurosurgery, and a couple of others were ranked in the top 25 in the nation last year.
Personally, i do not want to go to the same undergrad and med school....I just want to get to know a couple of different places...but who knows? Med School is becoming more and more competitive each year..!</p>

<p>First off...it is no problem switching from one program to another. My son was accepted to the Marine Science program as a freshman, but switched to a more pre-med program. Specifically Microbiology/Immunology. Also, when you are admitted to UM, you are admitted to a "school" not a program. Re: in this case your are being admitted to the school of arts and sciences, so switching programs in that school is very easy. You don't "declare" a major till your sophmore year anyway. I would recommend; however, that you do get in touch with the pre-professional advisor immediately. (There isn't really such a thing as a pre-med degree...it is just a set group of courses that you will need to get into med school.) Most medical students come from a bio/chem/microbio background, but it is not mandatory. You could be an art major and still get into a good med school with the right prereq's and great MCAT scores. </p>

<p>Next.... just being "pre-med" does not guarantee you admission to UMiami med school. Now...the medical scholars program does...but that is a whole different application process as well as interviews, etc. My understanding is that UM also prefers FL residents for this particular program. I don't want to discourage you either.... It is very possible to get into a great med school from UM. Theirs or others. The things you will want to make sure of are great GPA (3.5 or better), at least a 30 on the MCAT, excellent LOR's (which need to be started asap), medical shadowing or volunteer committment in medicine, and perhaps some undergrad research as well. For a great site to help with pre-med and medical school issues you may want to check out studentdoctor.net.</p>

<p>Hope this helps you....good luck with your decisions.....</p>

<p>1tcm, what are LOR's?</p>

<p>Letters of Recommendation</p>

<p>Thanks for all the advice! :)</p>

<p>I'm declaring premed along with my biology/psychology double major (still hinging on whether to do psych, chem, or something else entirely for my second major - thankfully I have a couple years before I really need to worry about that ;)), and I understand it's not a major and I'm not guaranteed acceptance to the medical school. :) (I plan on attending med school in the Northeast, if at all possible.)</p>

<p>not sure if this will factor into your decision but the science courses are very tough and they assign (+)'s and (-)'s which can greatly affect your GPA...</p>

<p>aphoticmelody-You may want to look into the neuroscience major. UM has a very strong program and it sounds like it might be just what you're looking for.
<a href="http://www6.miami.edu/umbulletin/und/artsci/neuro.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www6.miami.edu/umbulletin/und/artsci/neuro.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>ladyconfused ---- by plus's and minus's, do you mean that on the GPA scale an A- is worth less than a solid A? I've never heard of that before. I also got a 3/4ths scholarships, and I'm starting to consider Miami now that I didn't receive money from my top choice, UW-madison. I live in Illinois, and I REALLY don't want to go to U of I. I want to go premed but i'm worried about getting a good GPA, so is it tough for students to receive good GPA's in the sciences at Miami?</p>

<p>A+, A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7</p>

<p>And so forth.</p>

<p>
[Quote]
so is it tough for students to receive good GPA's in the sciences at Miami?

[/Quote]
</p>

<p>Is it tough? Yes and No. I think there are 3 factors here: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>The course itself. If you are well prepared coming out of HS then the basic 100-level introductory courses shouldn't be any trouble. </p></li>
<li><p>Amount of study you are willing to put into it. </p></li>
<li><p>Aptitude. And I feel this one is probably the most important. My S was a science guy, so for him, while he did have to study a lot in certain upper division classes (U PhysicsII, Orgo I and II, etc.) he did much better in those than he did in some of his lower level humanities classes. He just isn't an "arts" kind of guy. So, if you are inclined towards the sciences, I'd say you'll be fine. If you hate science and math, you will really have to buckle down, but it will be very possible for you to do well, depending on your work ethic. Miami has a some great tutoring possibilites if you fall behind in a class, so please don't hesitate to use all the resources available to you if you find it necessary.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck - (My son graduated from an Illinois HS, turned down U of I also, and he LOVED everything about his UM experience...I'm sure you would too.)</p>

<p>P.S. Hey M-3-S--- haven't seen you at PS for some time, just to let you know, he got into one of his other fav grad programs, so I don't think he'll be attending UM for grad school.... but stop by and catch us all up.....</p>

<p>1tcm-Will do. 2006 was not the best year for our family (several serious illnesses) and I cut down on my ECs :( , but 2007 is off to a good start and I plan on coming back. :)</p>

<p>I always knew your S would have great options.</p>