<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I have been researching Umichigan's programs and looking through forums about how Pre-Med is at Umich. From what i have seen it seems that the courses are rigorous and difficult. I understand that Michigan is a wonderful school and thus will have competition but I am quite confused on how people can do a Science Major or simply pass the Prereqs for medicine with over a 3.6. i read somewhere that the average LSA gpa was like 3.2.</p>
<p>So my questions are basically the following:
1. Are the "weeder" classes designed so only a certain amount of people can get an A(possibly bell curve) or is it just the difficulty of the class that makes it a "weeder".</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What are the possibilities for a student to succeed? I understand that hardwork and perseverance is necessary but sometimes an individual may not be built to compete with other people. </p></li>
<li><p>For people going through pre-med right now...Compared to how you did in high school sciences how much more difficult is it to get an A? Im assuming that high school is cake compared to Umich classes..just wanted to get an idea</p></li>
</ol>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>asqwe123, my son is a sophomore pre-med student at Michigan, so I can share with you his experience so far. One big picture consideration is that grades are important for med school. There are threads on this Forum discussing whether it might be best for pre-med students to attend a less rigorous, less expensive school and get stellar grades in increase their med school acceptance chances. My son did not choose that route - he’s at Michigan, working harder than he ever has, to get the best grades he can, but it’s tough.</p>
<p>Regarding your questions:
- My son has taken a couple of the weed out pre-med classes. One he is did well in (B), the other, he didn’t do so well (C), which was really frustrating for him because he’s never gotten a C in any class, much less, a class that he studied super hard for. Fortunately, he’s been able to earn A’s in most of his other classes. Michigan is a great school with many super smart students. But there are curves built into the grading scales. You can also improve your chances of getting good grades by researching professors (on available rating websites) and heeding the comments of students who’ve taken the class - some professors are tougher than others. </p>
<p>2) The opportunities for pre-meds at Michigan are incredible - starting freshman year, with the pre-med learning community, research opportunities for undergrads, part-time jobs working at one of the hospitals or the medical school, speakers, volunteering opportunities, etc. This is an area where Michigan really stands out - the number of options available to undergrads is almost overwhelming, but they are there for the taking.</p>
<p>3) My son would say it’s a heck of a lot harder to get an A at Michigan than it was in his AP classes in high school. The avg. GPA at Michigan is about a 3.2. Obviously, pre-med students will need higher grades than that to get into med school, so it requires a lot of work, but it’s definitely possible to do it. </p>
<p>We’ve heard that a large number of freshman coming into Michigan start out as pre-meds and that by the end of freshman year, half of the students have chosen other majors. It’s a tough road, but pre-med is a tough major at any school. If you really want to pursue a career in medicine, you’ve got to be in it for the long haul - 10+ years of schooling - so you can’t let worries over grading, class rigor, etc, deter you.</p>
<p>Medical school admissions are farcical. You would expect a lot more of doctors. They treat a 3.8 GPA in a very challenging major from a school that is known for having major grade deflation the same as they would treat a 3.8 GPA in a much easier major from a university known for having major grade inflation. At least the MCAT scores, interviews, research, publications and medical internships experiences also play a major role in the decision. That is where the better candidates separate themselves from the rest.</p>
<p>@sportsmom
Thanks for your response. So would you say that the amount of work you put in directly correlates to your success. Did your son do poorly in some classes due to absolute difficulty or maybe because he was focused on other classes and couldn’t devote enough time to the class. I ask this because I am prepared to put the time but not quite sure about my capability of achieving a 3.6+ GPA.
Thanks</p>
<p>If you’re strong in science, you will probably do just fine as a pre-med at U of M. My son works hard and is smart, but honestly, he doesn’t like Chemistry, which was the class he didn’t do well in. No matter the difficulty of the class and/or professor, there always seem to be some students who get perfect or near perfect test grades. Thankfully, there’s still a built in curve. As Alexandre pointed out, given the different GPA standards at different colleges, there are other factors that can enhance your med school application, besides your GPA.</p>
I’m not applying to college right now but am thinking about going there for premed. Is he happy there or does he regret it? How large are the classes?
Current pre-med student
Here are my thoughts:
- Depends on the class. For some classes, what they'll do is take the average grade in the class, make that the "B" and scale everything around that (so technically it's not a certain amount get an A, just the number hovers around 20-25%). For other classes, there is a set scale from day 1 of what percentage you need to get an A (organic chemistry 1, physical chemistry, intro biology lab, etc. run like this) meaning that theoretically EVERYONE can get an A, but in the case for weeder classes like Orgo 1 and P-Chem, they'll make the exams intentionally hard so that the average will hover around the B-/B range.
- Work ethic is key. I've found that what's helped me the most to succeed in these classes is seriously showing up to class alert and paying attention the whole way through. This sounds really obvious, but you have no idea how many kids come to class for the sake of showing up to class. Paying attention reduces the amount of study time you have to do later on and you'll have a greater grasp of the material early on. Then following up on that, work ethic and time management allow you to master the material. Study efficiently, not harder.
- Easy cake walk in high school compared to now. The difference between high school and college is that a majority of the people around you are smart and have worked hard to get where they are.
If it’s any consolation, those that get A’s in one class tend to (key word… it’s not always true) get A’s in the others as well.
If you or anyone else have any other specific questions about pre-med life, let me know.
Hope that helps!