<p>Thanks... I think 113 is what he's talking about because he's also talking about a semester abroad. Do you think it would be helpful to take, say, a summer italian course at home before going into 113?</p>
<p>love -- has your son talked through the whole PreMed track w/ Dr. Lane? My daughter has, and was told it's very difficult to do a semester abroad and get all the courses in. Or, maybe it was also because her planned major is Biology? I know she's talking about doing a summer abroad instead as a result of her session w/ him. (And she finished her langauage requirement 1st semester.)</p>
<p>I'm not a fan of Dr. Lane (I was once premed)...he seems very determined to tell you that you have to pick his way to get to med school or you won't get in at all. My friend hasn't really followed his advice at all, and she's not going to have any problem getting into med school, I don't believe. She's got all the required courses done as a rising senior, plus she's going abroad in the fall, and she's double-majoring. So, it's definitely possible, although it may take some summer school to facilitate - that's how she did it.</p>
<p>It is difficult to do a semester abroad and be premed, but I did it. What you've got to do is go into Wake knowing that it's what you want to do. I was lucky the the bio department was going the semester that I wanted to go, but I know a number of other premeds who went with a non-science department. </p>
<p>Even if I hadn't been able to go with my major department, I still wouldn't have had any problem finishing my major and my divisionals (although the minor would've had to go). If you work it correctly, even if you don't get any major credit while abroad, you can still get your art divisional and a language credit (either intermediate or literature), which means that you're really only taking two electives.</p>
<p>I wouldn't trade my semester abroad for anything. It was the most wonderful experience of my college career.</p>
<p>I think Juba and I were writing our posts at the same time, so I missed her message. I feel like Dr. Lane has a ton of stuff on his plate, and as a result, until you're a junior, it's kind of hard to pin him down to talk to him. We really do have too many premeds for one person to deal with all of us (especially in the freshman and sophomore years) and teach classes on top of everything else. Last year, I had a senior (who was accepted to medical school) tell me that it was like mother birds not getting too attached to their chicks until it looked like they were going to be able to live. After you've weathered the storms and can still say that you're premed, then he gets a little more accessible. Until then, you probably don't come up with many questions that upperclassmen wouldn't be able (and willing) to answer.</p>
<p>Regarding Dr. Lane, the premed track, and going abroad, I've actually seen the exact opposite than Juba seems to have. I've always gathered that he's very in favor of going abroad. But you do have to be careful. It's not impossible by any means (and I should say that I've never taken summer school either), but you do need to plan way ahead of time. I believe that I e-mailed Dr. Lane about what it would do to my suggested schedule over a full year before I actually went abroad (and well before I was even accepted into the study abroad program).</p>
<p>Thank you both very much - you have been really helpful and I didn't even realize that I needed this help. I now will be able to have a much better conversation with my son. (He hates when I try to talk about things I don't understand.) I know he's plotted it all out and I think he thinks he can do it. He came in with a lot of AP credits; that may have helped. I asked him about Dr. Lane - he told me he has an inbox full of emails from him, but I don't think they've ever met one on one.</p>
<p>Sigh... so much to know, so much to know...</p>
<p>Yes, thanks ginny & juba -- I'll have a chat w/ my daughter. And it's good to hear not everyone has done summer school. Honestly, I didn't have anything other than the 4 year plan in mind when she decided on Wake!</p>
<p>lmk -- does the fact that you posted last night mean you're not in CA? Nasty weather!</p>
<p>Italian is hard. I took the 111 and 112 sequence (I'm in 112 right now) and I do struggle in that class. I mean I am learning Italian, but my grades aren't showing it so much :) I'm just upset because my teacher now is leaving Wake, and he is awesome (Corradini), so I won't be able to take him again. I think he is going to Duke actually... grrr...</p>
<p>Shoot, I was hoping that Corradini was going to stay at Wake. I've heard that he's amazing.</p>
<p>First time poster, but I graduated from Wake in 2004 and really wanted to weigh in on this discussion. Biology was one of my majors at Wake (not pre-med track though I did end up taking most of those courses minus one chem class) and though I don't know Dr. Lane personally I know him by reputation. By all accounts of my fellow Bio majors he is notorious for being very regimented in his thinking about how students should go about getting into medical school. There are plenty of ways to be pre-med and still study abroad if you are focused. One friend got the requirements out of the way and studied abroad senior year; another also took the courses early and studied for the August MCAT over a summer to avoid the pressure of preparing for the MCAT during the year. It takes hard work and at times creativity, but there are many wonderful professors and administrators at Wake that would be happy to help any student satisfy his or her goal of med school AND foreign study. My goal wasn't medical school but it was to double major in a science and a humanity, study abroad and take interesting electives. It took being very aware of my major requirements, taking two summer courses, and some planning with my academic advisors but it all worked out great. There are a ton of great professors in the Biology department who always had time for me, so that may be something to pass along to your sons and daughters. </p>
<p>I also wanted to respond to the poster who was worried about no grade inflation and the "work forest" reputation. In my experience of working for the past few years, Wake is certainly highly regarded. It may not have the same name recognition or wow factor as an Ivy or a Duke, but I can promise you I had an easier time finding a job as well as an easier time getting graduate school recommendations from past professors than many of my friends who went to "name" schools. I honestly think that is in part because so many of my professors were really focused on teaching and cared about the students and forming personal relationships with them. I know getting into medical school is really tough these days, but luckily it isn't just a numbers game and as long as the GPA is solid, not having a 4.0 isn't a death knell. I think I only finished with a 3.5 overall (bit higher in my majors) and I'm still headed to Yale for graduate school in the fall.</p>
<p>demondeac11 -- thanks for the info. We'll be having some discussions w/ our D about all this. She has already found some great professors in the Bio department (& other depts. as well)</p>
<p>I saw this post and I had a question. Seeing how most agree that the average GPA at Wake is around 3.0, do graduate schools take into account the lower grades of wake students when comparing them to students from easier schools?</p>
<p>For instance, if one gets a 3.2 at Wake and works very hard with harder material than a student who gets a 3.5 at a weaker institution, do graduate schools take wake's difficulty into account?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>according to my biology prof (i go to wake) whenever an official transcript is requested by another school, there is a notecard enclosed with it that states the average GPA of the school and maybe compares it to those from other schools. something like that. so yes, i'm pretty sure that most graduate schools have an idea about the gpa.</p>
<p>Depends on the major. There are easy majors at every university, even at Wake. I am in the business school and the coursework is very rigorous. It is stressful, but you need to realize the rigorous courses will adequately prepare you for life outside of Wake. At the end of the day, I would rather go to a school where I feel happy about earning a B in a course rather than a school where I coast by with A's and have not pushed my limits. Wake students possess stellar work ethics due to the difficult cousework and subsequently have a higher success rate in work environments once they graduate. </p>
<p>Having been through the interview process as a Junior, all of my interviewers respected and acknowledged the lower GPAs of Wake students compared to other students from other universities. With that being said, this is a small sample size (only interviewed with 3 companies), and some students have expressed contradicting experiences. </p>
<p>In summary... is the "Work Forest" rumor true? Yup, although there are a few 'easier' majors that exist at Wake. If you don't want to experience the Work Forest rumor, go to a large state school where you don't have to show up to a single class and can cram for a final to easily pull an A. Seems appealing on the surface, right? Make A's at [insert local large public university] and party it up instead of working your butt off for B's and C's at Wake. Well, most employers recognize the difficulty of Wake, so you should not worry about graduating with a low GPA. More importantly, a Wake Forest education will pay dividends in the future in terms of gaining a vast amount of knowledge on a variety of subjects, opening many career opportunities, and developing your work ethic. Oh, and you can still party it up at Wake... we throw great parties.</p>
<p>Work Forest Story.
My professor moved his midterm from March 26th to March 5th on one week's notice. This is a 35% Quantitative Analysis midterm. I tried telling him that I had another midterm on the same day, but he told me I had to take it on that day. Many of yall don't know this class yet, but you'll hear about it as soon you're here. SO now, I have two Calloway exams on the same day and I haven't slept a wink last night. What I am trying to say is that the Work Forest reputation is true only for some classes; divisionals are real easy if you keep up with the work, but as you start taking higher level classes, getting B's is hard. For eg, for the first Quant test, I did all 40 practice problems and I still ended up with a 63 (avg: 66). And this second test just gets worse (from what I hear, last semester avg was 56).</p>
<p>Just giving a specific example of Work Forest, (Pray for my quant grade)
Saket</p>
<p>If the average is a 66, it sounds like the profs teaching this one is a miserable failure. What seems to be the problem?</p>
<p>Well, its not the professor's fault. It is the nature of the class. Its basically statistics with probability theory and binomial theorem etc. It is probably one of the hardest classes here. </p>
<p>It's full of curve balls.</p>
<p>I actually disagree to some degree about upper level classes. Yes, they are much harder, but they are also generally in what you are interested in. Everyone told me intro math, econ, etc. would be a breeze, but I struggled in them. This semester I am taking all classes that I am interested in and my my two highest grades are in my 300 level history classes. Sure I am doing more work then freshman year, but it is in my major so I actulaly enjoy doing it. I had the most trouble with my divisionals.</p>
<p>I concur. I've had a much better time with my upper-level courses than my divisionals and my lower-level courses. The 200- and 300-level courses in my major (and the ones I've taken outside my major) have been chosen based on what I was interested in, and I've enjoyed learning the material more than I did in my divisionals. As a result, it's been easier to make myself study for the classes and push myself harder for them.</p>
<p>Wake actually has an average GPA of 3.21, which is not statistically distinct in a significant from it’s peer institutions (and that slightly higher average is containing UNCCH, which is pulling it upwards). Coming from an NC highschool, I can say that the students accepted at Wake aren’t especially strong students in any regard, and are generally a weaker pool of students than those that go to UNC, Duke, Davidson and out of state schools. A few students at the institution I attend applied to Wake as a safety school, but a few were too appalled overwhelming number of coke headed floozies they encountered to even apply. I have numerous friends at Wake and it is a HUGE PARTY SCHOOL; several of my friends from High School at Wake now have severe drug problems because of the ubiquitous nature of substance abuse at Wake. While Wake students grovel and refer to themselves as “Work Foresters,” Wake has yet to receive any major national acclaim (Princeton Review, USNWR) for the workload, only attaining superlatives form PR such as “Biggest Greek Scene” and “Least race and class interaction.”</p>