<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>First off, congratulations to everyone for getting in! We are an amazing group of people. Secondly, I've been browsing through some forums, and the issue of grade capping came up. The rumor is that the number of As given at Princeton is capped at 35%. Is this true? (for any current princeton folks).</p>
<p>Also, I'm interested in fulfilling the pre-med requirements while at undergrad at Princeton, so if any current Princeton undergrads could talk about their experience that would really help in my decision. Here are some questions I've been pondering:</p>
<p>-Because Princeton isn't near any "large" cities, there are less opportunities for volunteering in renown hospitals and whatnot. How does this limit on clinical experience affect pre-meds and their acceptance rate?
-How is the pre-med advising system like at Princeton?
-There is competition in any top school, but is Princeton a cut-throat-I'll-rip-out-the-orgo-refrence-sheet-from-the-school-library-and-flush-it-down-the-toilet kinda place?
-How many research opportunities are there at Princeton?
-(Alright I should so know this) What is the acceptance rate of pre-meds from Princeton?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys! If I think of any more questions (and I most likely will), I'll post again!</p>
<p>I'm just a prefrosh, but here's what I know.</p>
<p>Yes, A's are in theory limited to 35% of the class. Current students have told me that this policy is enforced strictly in intro courses and less so in some of the more advanced courses.</p>
<p>The pre-med acceptance rate is 95%.</p>
<p>Here is the health professions advising site: <a href="http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/%5B/url%5D">http://web.princeton.edu/sites/hpa/</a></p>
<p>Thanks weasel8488! Finally, someone responded. Haha, I'm almost decided on Princeton, but I really wanted to talk to some Princeton undergrads going through the pre-med requirements and med school application process. However, it seems that it has been difficult for me to get in contact with any current pre-meds at Princeton (I did manage to talk to one, but I don't think he's going to be able to get me in contact with another pre-med). I also contacted the Health Professions Advising office, but they aren't allowed to give contact info, and also are very busy this time of year with pre-med interviews. Any advice or people to suggest talking to?</p>
<p>The President of Princeton's Pre-Med Society is Neil Swami. His email address is <a href="mailto:nswami@princeton.edu">nswami@princeton.edu</a>. You might try sending him a few of your questions.</p>
<p>Princeton is easily commutable (about 45 minutes by train) to Philadelphia and New York City, which are pretty large cities. :) I'm not a premed, but my premed friends are all pretty clear on what they're doing, and I think that's because there is a recommended track that your academic advisor will help you through when you select courses.</p>
<p>Princeton is definitely NOT that cutthroat of a school (what you describe sounds to me more like Berkeley), and though premeds are generally a bit more nervous about their GPAs, people don't become malicious and evil over it. In fact, about half the time I forget that my premed friends are premed, because they're just as chill as everyone else. :)</p>
<p>There are a ton of research opportunities and funding at Princeton, and many students stay over the summer to do that kind of thing.</p>
<p>I'm a pre-med, but I'm only a freshman. I can try to answer any questions you might have, though, if I can.</p>
<p>Here's a few notes:
- It's not uber-competitive as a pre-med (I agree Lord Asquith... if you're from California, its DEFINITELY not like Berkeley!) I have a few pre-med friends and we work together and help each other with everything, even planning schedules around pre-med requirements, etc.
- Most people (60%? The number might be off, but its over 50%) take an extra year off between graduating and matriculating to med school to do something productive (peace corps, interning, research, something not medically related because they feel like they want to see the world before diving into the isolated training for medicine that will last quite a while)
- The HPA office on campus is wonderfully resourceful and do their best to really get to know you and write you a great recommendation when you apply to schools.
- We get quite a few Harvard admits, it's (not surprisingly) a favorite. Last week, we had a Harvard med school admissions officer come talk to us. The exact numbers are again on the HPA website, which is just loaded with information.
- There's a Princeton Medical Center about a 15-minute walk away from campus that you can volunteer at. There's also PFARS, the Princeton First Aid Rescue Squad, which is also volunteer work. I've heard that it's an awesome experience and am hoping to do it next year, but it has an enormous time commitment (30-hrs a week and training twice a week for the first half year). One of my friends works at a local clinic, but I think that she's doing mostly paperwork. I suppose there isn't a goldmine of choices for pre-med experience when you live on campus, but there's always something out there if you look for it.
- As an engineer, I've found it a little difficult to get my pre-med requirements to fit nicely into my schedule (especially organic chem) mostly because I'm not a Chemical Engineer (I think); if you are a chemE, all the requirements are basically built in. If you're an AB student, it shouldn't be too hard to cover the requirements, even if you're a humanities major. Many of them can overlap with departmental or distribution requirements, and one semester of English is covered by the Writing Seminar all freshman are required to take.</p>
<p>Hope that helped!</p>
<p>For experience, I'd like to add that you can also participate in EMT, which is basically an emergency rescue team that a premed friend of mine is doing.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the advice guys! I just turned in my Princeton decision card this past Wednesday and I'm going! Although Northwestern's HPME program is great, I think Princeton's undergrad experience is worth giving up that sense of security.</p>
<p>See you in September! :)</p>
<p>Asquith,
Is the EMT program at Princeton a volunteer activity, or could it count towards work-study/campus job?</p>
<p>It is a volunteer activity. EMT is actually a training program for PFARS or the West Windsor Twin W First Aid Squad (similar to PFARS, but a little smaller and covering a different area of town); if you choose either one, you must take the required EMT courses. One reason why I am worried why I might not be able to do this is because it is very time consuming and I also have to fulfill work-study. It is entirely volunteer work; you'll have to find a campus job somewhere else.</p>
<p>Yeah, that sounds like a lot of work (although it would be rewarding.)
Thanks!</p>
<p>I will be certified as an EMT by next fall. Do EMTs get any extra perks on campus like other colleges? (ie free room and boarding at a lot of state schools?)</p>
<p>I didn't want to start a new thread when my question can probably fit in here..</p>
<p>Where do you think Princeton stands in terms of science major/pre-med education or even medicine in graduate school?
Is it one of the best, top-notch research opportunities, large amounts of funding,...</p>
<p>I read the post that the acceptance rate to med school from Princeton is 95%. That's great!</p>
<p>It's the best undergraduate university in the United States, and arguably the world. So, if you are applying to a medical school in the US you will have a strong chance of being admitted since you have come from the #1 place for undergraduates. On a more micro level, some of the premed courses like EEB211 and MOL214 (to a lesser extent) aren't exactly enjoyable, but they're not "bad" so much as boring. There's only so much you want to know about plant sex.</p>