<p>Uhh . . . it is not up to your home institution what you take during your summers. And the physics was calculus based. He would have liked to do the easier one, which is acceptable to med schools but it was full so he took the one for engineers. The reason it was so easy was that the test questions were about the material covered in the lectures, labs, text. That is not what goes on Harvard.</p>
<p>Harvard discourages students from taking premed classes at other institutions but it’s preposterous to claim that Amherst or any institution outlaws it. There is no medical school at Amherst. What possible jurisdiction could Amherst have over this? </p>
<p>FWIW, his two semesters of summer physics was not submitted to Harvard to fulfill degree requirements. is that what you’re getting at?</p>
<p>@Nrdsb - I agree. When I have to wait for an hour for my kid’s annual at a pediatrician’s office, I would rather them not take time to explain how to use tampons. I envy you that you have the luxury to demand a service of that nature. My demand is to just not make me wait more than half an hour when I show up on time.</p>
<p>What may well be meant is that Amherst won’t provide an endorsement from its Health Professions Committee or other support for the application if the core science requirements weren’t taken at Amherst. I believe Amherst is a school that explicitly screens its medical school applicants, and achieves a high admission rate in part because weak candidates are strongly discouraged from applying, and it is clear to medical schools who has the college’s imprimatur and who doesn’t.</p>
<p>As Hunt stated, Amherst won’t give credit. Also, Amherst considers it “unfair to other students who take the sometimes more rigorous Amherst course.”</p>
<p>No, Harvard doesn’t, unless you take the courses at Harvard Summer School…another trick for boosting the science GPA for med school purposes. The professor and textbook may be the same, but the student body and thus the curve are not.</p>
<p>Re: 88%, I’d like to see that document, but even if it’s true, chemistry =/= “the sciences.” There are a lot of sciences offered at Harvard.</p>
<p>^ No, Harvard would not give credit for it. The summer classes at the other institution were purely for the purposes of medical school applications.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the rigor of an Ivy. Not sure if it is as rigorous as people make it out to be. My kid’s HS science teachers routinely comment how easy it is for their science students. In fact, some of them tutor former students who are at an Ivy for their Ivy science courses. They get to compare what they teach and what the Ivy teaches. They claim not as rigorous as what they teach at HS.</p>
<p>Same goes at Northwestern with Organic Chemistry. Must be taken at Northwestern or they won’t give you credit. If you need Orgo as part of your major, you are pretty much stuck - you have to take it Northwestern. I see nothing wrong with that requirement. NU is the one giving out the degree - they can require what they want.</p>
<p>Igloo, first of all, I didn’t “demand” anything other than that a practice which purposely states that its mission is to address girl focused issues make good on that promise. My kid was having problems. Her physician knew they were important to her. She used a model of the female anatomy to help my daughter understand where she was likely going wrong. My daughter “got it,” and had a lot of pain and frustration relieved. This is a practice devoted to this population, and education and attention to these unique issues is what they are about. If I wanted to take my daughter to an assembly line medical practice in order to spare myself a few extra moments, I would do so. Also, I don’t wait an hour for my kid to see the doctor-we schedule a time, we show up, and they generally usher us in. Depending on the nature of the appointment, it could be a long, thorough process, or in a sick visit, perhaps short and sweet. This is taken into account when the appointment is made. If you are tolerating having to wait an hour to see your physician for a scheduled appointment, it seems that you are the one with the luxury of time.</p>
<p>OK, Demand was too strong a word, should have been expect, ask of, etc. I am glad for you that you have it when you need it. Enjoy if you have it.</p>
<p>“And you don’t believe med school admission committees are cognizant of that trick?”</p>
<p>They are, but it doesn’t necessarily matter as much as we think it should. Med school is not as bad as law school on this scale, but the work of the admissions committee is judged in part by the numbers of the enrolled class. Those numbers, once aggregated, don’t reveal whether the student took physics at MIT or Podunk Community College. So there is an incentive to take higher numbers wherever they came from.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if any medical schools require the pre-med courses to be taken at the degree-granting institution? I don’t know of any that do. The ultra-elite group of medical schools, like HYPS undergrads, are in a position to choose among candidates with near-perfect numbers and strong interviews, but most medical schools are not.</p>
<p>"When son took his premed physics one summer at public land grant school it was just ridiculously easier than what he’d been dealing with at Harvard. "</p>
<p>-There is no such thing as premed physics
-All UG colleges have various levels of Physics, including, but not limited to for engineers, calc-based and non-calc based…etc. If one took the most difficult one at H. and the easiest one at other school, you compare apples to oranges
-summer classes are generally easier. I took many of them, was studying by the pool, nice!!! Summer classes are NOT recommended for premed requirements, not even at your own school, let alone at other UG.</p>
<p>That’s incorrect. Many students take premed classes in the summer, either at their own institution or another one. I have met several Ivy students, and even one or two from (gasp) Miami Ohio taking science courses at Vanderbilt for premed requirements. It is also not uncommon, as was mentioned above, to take the courses post-graduation. Several Penn grads I know took these courses at Temple following Penn graduation. It’s a lot cheaper, for one thing.</p>
<p>I also don’t agree that summer courses are easier. The grading might be a little more relaxed, but a LOT of material is crammed into a short period of time.</p>
<p>Hannah, re the 88% of Harvard chemistry majors going to ner school: no document, but direct statement by department chair. But was quite a while ago, when med school seemed to be a more popular option.</p>
Hunh? People do it all the time. Not necessarily just to take an easier course, it may also be that they can live at home and not pay room and board. Lots of people also take a post grad year and finish up pre-med requirements then, also not necessarily at their undergrad institution. I think part of the attraction of summer courses is that you can concentrate on just one course - so while they may not be easier they may feel easier. </p>
<p>As for looking at where the grade was earned, I can only speak for MD/PhD admissions (which my husband does), and he does pay some attention to where the grade is earned.</p>