<p>Thanks so much for your help, guys. 
I have a sort of specific question. Classes at a (public) university have been my whole high school curriculum for the past two years (I’m in a state funded program for gifted students; we’re enrolled in the university, live on campus, etc…). I finished cal 3 last semester, and I’m done with math. I’ve taken gen chem and principles of bio, and I’m in a neuro class right now. I know my ~70 credit hours won’t transfer to Brown, and I’ll end up having to take the minimum 30 classes anyway, right?</p>
<p>Is it better to place out of the basics that I’ve already taken, bypass calculus altogether, and take on an advanced courseload that will probably make it much harder to get a 4.0, or do I just retake my classes and increase my chances of obtaining a higher GPA for medical school admissions?</p>
<p>I honestly wouldn’t mind retaking chem and bio. My SAT IIs weren’t that great (actually, they were sort of terrible for ivy league. I took the ACT so Brown wouldn’t have to see my subject test scores. :/), so I’d probably benefit from retaking chem and bio. but I really, really hate math. I don’t want to take Cal 1-3 again, but I’d rather do that than have to take vector cal first semester freshman year… </p>
<p>Sorry this was so long-winded. D: Any advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>
I don’t actually know anyone with a 4.0 in any field. I do know for a fact that no one in my year has more than 23 As through 5 semesters, but that’s a long story.</p>
<p>I understand that, but you’re about to be a senior. It’d be nice to shoot for a 4.0 for at least my first semester, with the understanding in mind that it’s a lot harder to actually keep a 4.0, just to start off strongly.</p>
<p>True; it’s much easier to maintain a 4.0 early, and it’s a good start, even if you don’t end up with one. Just do your best, and be happy with the results.</p>
<p>:) I’ll try my best.
Any advice on the benefits of placing into a harder curriculum and ending up with a lower GPA or retaking the basics for a hopefully higher GPA?
Will the potentially increased rigor of my courseload impress medical school admissions enough to risk my first semester GPA? Or, in you brown students’ experience, do kids who place out of basic classes end up having GPAs that are as good as anyone else’s?</p>
<p>I personally think retaking the basics for the sake of one’s GPA is a bit silly (and I’ve seen it backfire on several premeds in Calc II who found out they didn’t fully understand integration and series), but I do understand the importance of good grades for premeds.</p>
<p>A few specifics - the chem department almost never lets students place out of Chem 33 (gen chem), which is roughly equivalent to, or a little more than, AP Chem. Chem 10, the only lower course, is mandatory S/NC and is meant for students with absolutely 0 chem background. Your path there seems set.</p>
<p>You <em>could</em> take Bio 20 (the intro), and it’s with a good professor, but you will find it easy if you have a college-level bio course. This may be the people I know, but I’ve never heard a pre-med complain about the difficulty of a bio class at Brown. Bio 20 is offered in the spring, so you have some time to think about that decision.</p>
<p>Calc…if you hate math, you’re in a bit of a bind (although I suddenly wonder if you’re required to submit these university grades to med schools as well, in which case all of this is moot). Placing into a higher math course would be a bit silly, because above calc 3, they’re all heavily proof-based. Calc 3 here is awful for non-math people. 18, the basic one, is poorly taught, and 35 is meant for people who will be majoring in math and are looking for a challenge. Calc 1 is mandatory pass/fail, which med schools don’t like, I gather. There are different levels of calc 2 that you could try, and APMA0650 is what pre-meds tend to do when they want statistics.</p>
<p>My friend at Stanford had to retake cal 3 and got a B. And, if I had to take a Cal 2 exam right now, I know I would fail, haha. I know it can backfire, but I’ve also heard horror stories of people “trying to be cute” and placing into higher classes at ivy leagues and having it backfire on them in more serious ways.</p>
<p>Yeah, it seems like I would take chem 33. So if I didn’t try and place out of bio, I’d take it in the spring? Do a lot of kids place out of bio?</p>
<p>At this point, I have no idea if I’m going to have to submit my university grades to medical schools. I’ve heard reputable sources conflict on the issue. But if I do have to submit them, how is this moot? Sorry if that’s a dumb question. I don’t think retaking chem and bio, at least, would look bad to them. </p>
<p>I was reading on Brown’s website about alternative math sequences…If medical schools will see that I made all As in Cal 1, 2, and 3 before coming to Brown anyway, I definitely want to just take statistics or something. But I understand that at least Cal 1 is usually a requirement for medical school admissions, so if they DON’T end up seeing the credit I earned in high school, I’d at least have to retake that. (It’s also really weird that it’s a mandatory S/NC at Brown. Whaaat?)</p>
<p>One more thing I forgot–physics. I hate physics more than I hate math, so I don’t want to take it again, but the required physics course at my high school program is calculus based and for engineering majors. I got a B in mechanics, and I’m probably going to get a B in electricity and magnetism this semester. So I don’t want to place into an even more difficult physics class, either. Would it look weird if I just took an easier, algebra based physics class at Brown? What do most pre-meds do for physics?</p>
<p>I think my situation would be something to talk to a pre-med advisor about ASAP, right? It sounds like at least my math and physics placements would depend on whether or not medical schools will see my grades from my high school program.</p>
<p>Chem 33 is set, no discussion there
Lots of kids skip Bio 20 but I don’t think you have to to be competitive
I took Math 10 at the advice of my advisor who said that if you don’t like math, don’t do anything harder than you have to. Med schools certainly dont care if you can do advanced math, so unless you want to, take the easiest route here you can.</p>
<p>I plan on taking the easiest math route. Thanks guys.
Any advice about physics…?</p>
<p>Treat it exactly like math. If you like it, take the more advanced ones, if you don’t, take the basic PH3-4</p>
<p>So basic physics and math is all that is needed for a medical school application? I have taken Algebra, Trig/Pre-Cal, and Cal 1 classes through a local college. Is this enough math (considering they transfer)?</p>
<p>You might only need MA9, but I’m not sure (and I think your Calc1 would count for that). You certainly don’t need more than 9-10, since that was all I had I placed out of 9 with a 4 on AP BC (I think, it’s been a long time). When you get to campus, find out from the Math department what courses you “have credit” for (quotes because they don’t actually count as credits). Then confirm with HCO if you need anything more.</p>
<p>So if Brown won’t take our credits from college classes we’ve taken in high school, what do you mean when you say “Calc1 would count for that”? I’d be ecstatic if I didn’t have to take any sort of calculus again.
Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They don’t count toward the number of units needed to graduate. But can they count toward a concentration? For example, can one skip Calc 1 and 2 with the proper BC Calc grade (5) and still get credit toward a math concentration, where they are required?</p>
<p>
This varies by concentration. A 5 on BC Calc counts towards a math concentration, though my understanding is that it does not count towards med school requirements. On the other hand, I cannot use AP credits for classics, even though they would give credit equivalent to one of the requirements for the concentration.</p>
<p>Uroogla,</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about med school requirements as I only took 1 semester of math at Brown, but fulfilled all math requirements for med school.</p>
<p>potterpie,</p>
<p>classes taken at a community college might transfer into actual credits and reduce graduation time, but I am not sure. AP credit certainly doesn’t.</p>
<p>I may be wrong, as I’m not a premed. I’ve just watched numerous friends be advised by the pre-med advisor to reject their AP credit for math so they don’t need to take Math 18; it might be that it counts towards med school requirements but doesn’t give them much information because they just see you took an AP exam, not how you did in the class? Alternately, I’ve heard the current pre-med advisor is not very good; they may be urging students to err on the side of caution and take the college version? Not sure…I’ve always wondered how I’d satisfy a 2 semester calculus requirement that a few med schools seem to have without AP credits, and it would make sense to me if AP credits were accepted.</p>
<p>Hi! I am currently a freshman at Brown and I have several questions about being a premed
- How important is the freshman GPA? I am taking orgo 1 and I am having a hard time getting good grades in the class (meaning getting an A). I am also having trouble with some of my other classes. I did quite well first semester but this semester I feel like I am having a harder time keeping up. Maybe that’s because I am taking 5 classes Xp? Hopefully my first year grade doesn’t crush my dream of going to med school…
- I want to get involved in clinical research but I don’t know how… If I want to start next year, should I be emailing professors now? Also, do I need to have taken advanced bio courses before I can jump into research? Can I get a science research experience although I am not a science major?
- I know that alot of students study abroad at brown but do majority of premeds study abroad? Also do alot of students take gap year?
- this question is not related to premed, but how strong is the history department at brown? I am considering history as my concentration and I want to know more about the department!
Thanks alot!</p>
<p>i<em>wanna</em>be_brown,
My credits are from a public university, not a community college, but it’s always been my understanding that private schools like Brown won’t accept my credits. Our counselors have told us this from the beginning. However, Brown doesn’t have a LOT of experience with my school, a math and science academy, so I’ll definitely be exploring my options there.</p>
<p>I just want to clarify that I only have two AP credits/scores, from my 9th-10th grade. All the math I’ve taken up to pre-cal was honors/GT, and cal 1-3 were at the public university. Uroogla, I’m not excited to hear that someone said the pre-med advisor isn’t very good. 
Isn’t Brown’s medical school acceptance rate supposed to be high?</p>
<p>smilee:</p>
<p>I got a C in CH35 and a B in CH36</p>
<p>Potterpie:</p>
<p>Dean Simmons definitely sucks as an adviser. As the head of the Health Career Office, he’s fantastic. The only complaints I have are that he is hard to get face time with, and that I think his advice beyond straight MD (I’m MD/PhD) is awful. I would imagine the reason Brown does so well in med school admissions is not because of him, and I would imagine that the med school adviser plays a pretty small role in getting you in regardless of where you come from. Your grades, MCAT, LORs from people who ACTUALLY know you, your ECs, your personal statement, and your interview will play far greater roles than the committee letter. I also have heard, from this board, that he is no longer the pre-law adviser, which should make it much easier to actually see/meet with him.</p>