<p>Hey I would like to make sure I'm making a sound decision by passing over other schools, such as UVA, Georgetown, UNC-Chapel Hill, to go to Pitt with a full-tuition scholarship to do pre-med and be competitive for medical school. Money is important, not because I am financially strapped because both my parents are doctors, but because of the costs I know medical school requires. I want to make sure that as long as I work hard and get good grades (GPA)/test scores that I will have top medical schools to choose from. Thanks.</p>
<p>I had to make the same decision, too (I chose Pitt over UNC-Chapel Hill). I chose Pitt because of the UPMC (Pitt’s medical center). I think there are (don’t quote me) about 5 or 6 different hospitals ON CAMPUS (this is really important because there will be alot more volunteer opportunities and hospital positions available to me at my fingertips. UNC only has one hospital on campus. Even though the Research triangle is down there, it would be alot more convenient if it was all on campus like Pitt.). Also, Pitt is one of the top 10 schools to recieve one of the biggest endowments from NIH for research, which will open a lot more doors for you to get involved in research (very important for med school admittance). Pitt’s med school is ranked in the top 15 and there are opportunities for undergrads in the med school (i.e volunteering in the hospitals). </p>
<p>But, I the main reason I chose Pitt was the full tuition scholarship or else I would have definitely chosen UNC. If I were you, I may have chosen any of the other schools over Pitt because of their recognition (don’t get me wrong, Pitt is great as well, but not as great as the other schools you got into) However, even though the prestige of a school does carry weight, it will not help you if you don’t have a decent/high GPA. You want to make sure that the school you go to is best for you (socially and academically). If you think you can do very well academically to get into medical school, choose one of the other schools, but note that Pitt does provide great opportunities for students, especially premed students because it does so well in the areas of biomedical sciences and research. </p>
<p>But, on the side note, even if you can afford to go to undergrad, why pass up the free money if premed at Pitt is great as well? In the end, its really going to matter when you enter med school already with more than $100,000 in debt. Med school is extremely expensive! </p>
<p>I think you made a practical decision. You can always go to one of the other schools for med school. Med school is what truly matters.</p>
<p>Ok well definitely having all the medically-related opportunities on campus makes Pitt appealing. But my main concern is that that having a great med school close-by does not translate into the strong pre-med education and experience needed to then get into top med schools. Yes the full-tuition scholarship has become my main factor now and I understand academics/social experience plays a major role. So if I can maintain a high GPA/test scores/medical experience I can go on to a top-notch med school from Pitt, correct? Pitt will be under 10,000 a yr while these other schools with be over 40,000-50,000 a yr so I want to be making a good choice too financially. Med school is what matters is the gist what you’re saying right jgirl? Thats what I’m thinking too. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>From what I understand, Pitt does have “weed out” courses that are intended to separate out the kids who are not that talented/motivated. As a premed, you will be taking these courses.</p>
<p>Ok I see. Are these “weed out” courses part of the general requirements or specific classes that all pre-med students have to take or only in the sciences? Do they include honors courses?</p>
<p>I mean bio, chem, etc., the regular versions that premeds take.</p>
<p>For med school, isn’t the GPA very important? If so, I would take the regular courses and start building the highest GPA possible.</p>
<p>Alright I see. So weed out classes in the regular science courses, LurkNessMonster. Yes I see your point too MTnest. Thats what I am wondering. Will med schools see that I have taken honors courses so that even if I have a lower GPA because of them due to their difficulty they will acknowledge my decision and base their decision accordingly? Or is it just best to take regular classes to build up a high GPA and med school adcoms wont penalize me for not taking harder classes?</p>
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<p>Yes.</p>
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<p>These “weed out” courses are part of the general requirements that any pre-med student needs to fulfill to get into medical school. Such courses include: Foundations of Bio 1 and 2 (plus labs), General Chemistry 1 and 2 (plus labs), Physics 1 and 2–calculus-based or algebra-based–(plus lab), Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 (plus labs), and 6 credits (2 courses) of English. Some schools require Calc; some do not. At Pitt, I’d say that the “weed out” courses are bio and o-chem. You can take the honors flavors of these required pre-med courses, but it’s not necessary.</p>
<p>Also, the courses that I listed are just the bare minimum requirements that a humanities/non-science major would need to take in order to get into med school. If you’re not interested in majoring in a science, you do not necessarily need to complete coursework beyond these requirements, but since you’re aiming for a “top-notch” medical school, I’d recommend taking some upper-level sciences as well. If you’re a science major, you’ll likely automatically fulfill these requirements, and you’ll be required to take upper-level science courses to complete your major.</p>
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<p>Higher GPA is definitely better.</p>
<p>The higher the GPA the better!!! They probably won’t look at how “rigorous” your courses are compared to others. Take the regular courses as Ochem is pretty tough already :(</p>
<p>Are the regular classes taught by the same professors as the regular ones? Actually, can someone elaborate on the pros and cons of taking a regular class vs. an honors one? Which one do you think prepares you better for the MCAT? Or does it even matter for the MCAT?</p>
<p>Honors classes are taught by different professors than the regular ones.</p>
<p>Oops, you already noticed that I meant “honors vs. regular”, not “regular vs. regular”…</p>