<p>Hey, I am considering applying to JHU but Im stressed pre-med is hard. Is there inflation in any of the pre-med science courses? I mean at Harvard, everyone does well (Grade inflation and 90% graduate with honors). At JHU, do the super-geniuses BMEs get all the med school seats plus really high GPas. I fear I may settle for a 3.2 at JHU. </p>
<p>I am considering also applying to Cornell pre-med or Duke pre-med or Penn pre-med. Of those, which may be the least brutal and easy for me to do well, while also maintaining a good pre-med atmosphere. I hear JHU pre-meds are viciously competitive. So overall, I want to have fun, be stressed at times, and do really well in college.</p>
<p>Admission officers are smart enough to look at more than GPA. They're going to see what school you came from, and if you had say...in the top 10% of your pre-med class in Hopkins, they'll count that higher than...say someone who graduated from honors from harvard but was at the very bottom of that 90% you said. Theres a reason why Hopkins is so prestigious as a pre-med school, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the gpa.</p>
<p>but I hear about the screening tests that if you are a bad pe-med, hopkins wont let u apply to med school. What eactly makes you a good pre-med to apss hopokins' qualifications?</p>
<p>I would not assuem that the admissoins committees adjust for the difficulty of the premed curriculum. If you look at the average GPA's of people who are admitted to med school from various colleges, it does not vary much with how hard the college is assumed to be. For example, U Chicago is widely considered to have little grade inflation, but its sucessful med school applicants have essentially the same GPA as students nationally.</p>
<p>Because there is no reason to assume that it is any easier to get a 4.0 at Penn State than at the University of Pennsylvania. That is why the adcoms do not appear any more impressed by a 3.5 at one place than at another. </p>
<p>Although the average student at Penn may be stronger than the average student Penn State, the Penn GPA is higher, perhaps fully reflecting the difference in student ability. </p>
<p>I would be very impressed by anyone with a 4.0 at Berkeley or Michigan, and I assume they would have excellent chances for med school admission.</p>
<p>The advantages you are buying at the elite private colleges for med school admission are more personal attention, perhaps more access to faculty (for research opportunities and letters of recommendation), and better premed advising. The simple % accepted figure is meaningless. Good advising will discourage those with poor admissions prospects, and gaming the system will block applications from those with poor admissions prospects. From the outside, both will look the same.</p>
<p>Hopkins wouldn't be such a competetive spot for pre-med if the graduates had trouble getting into med school. Also, the statistics show that Hopkins pre-med students have no trouble getting into med school.</p>
<p>thats because hopkins SCreens pre-med applicants. pretty much if u are below 3.0 gpa, or like a 3.1 with 27 mcats, theyll say "hey, we wont certify you and so well make our stats better of 95% rate to med schools!"</p>
<p>And you know this how? For your info, Cornell is one of the most grade deflated schools out there with gpas averaging at about B-. Look on their website, grade distributions are available for various courses. You are also wrong about harvard and the other ivies. Ivies are currently trying to combat grade inflation. Princeton this year decided to limit As to just 33% of all grades and harvard recently graduated 50% honors. Times are changing. Face it, if you cant get past the committee at Hopkins with its bar of 3.0, do you honestly want to continue with the process? Most decent med schools require a 3.5 to even be considered after receiving the secondary of their application. With Hopkins, you get research, volunteer opportunities in union memorial which is down the street from Hopkins, premed advisors from one of the top premed programs in the country who were admissions officials from Hopkins' own med school and others, and a strong background in the sciences which will honestly prepare you for med school and not just the mcats like other schools. What you hear about JHU premed competitiveness is just that, hearsay. You need to go there yourself and speak to students before passing off judgment or taking the word of someone who never went there. As stated by the following article, students can still go on to apply if they want. </p>
<p>I think the whole "grade inflation" issue is the single least important problem facing higher education today. I would rank just behind argyle socks.</p>
<p>However, a fact: A and A- grades were 48% of all grades at Harvard. If they are trying to "fix" the problem, they have a ways to go.</p>
<p>Odd article to quote if you are trying to disprove that Hopkins achieves high acceptance rates by heavily screening who it helps apply. From the article:</p>
<p>"For many undergrads, however, seeking guidance from Fishbein and Savage can be an intimidating, sometimes negative encounter. "</p>
<p>"I feel that they try to demean people who's grades are marginal in order to convince them not to go to medical school,""</p>
<p>"A few premeds expressed their concern that the GPA and MCAT requirements held by Fishbein and Savage are merely an effort to maintain the high admit-rate of Hopkins premeds to medical school"</p>
<p>"Both Fishbein and Savage maintained that they are simply advisors in the process, and that they do not feel they play the adversarial role MANY STUDENTS ACCUSE THEM OF" (my emphasis)</p>
<p>"A student with a much lower GPA can still insist on having their application sent to the committee, yet Fishbein stressed this will most likely reflect badly in their recommendation"</p>
<p>"when students decide to take the plunge forward despite our advice, they are showing [to the medical school] that they are not using their best judgment." </p>
<p>In other words, if you apply against their advice, they will see to it that you regret it. I am glad I was not premed at Hopkins.</p>
<p>they are there to save applicants from wasting their time and money. These people were ADCOMS in med school. They obviously know a hell of alot more about med school admissions than some of these retarded premeds coming out of Hopkins. "A student with a much lower GPA can still insist on having their application sent to the committee, yet Fishbein stressed this will most likely reflect badly in their recommendation"-Thats the point. They can foolishly go on if they want and obtain a recommendation (ive seen it happen before) but they sure wont have Hopkins' full backing. And they clearly don't deserve it.</p>
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they are there to save applicants from wasting their time and money
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<p>I suppose, but there is a big difference between TELLING someone that they have only a 50% chance, and letting them make the decision and trying to PREVENT someone with a 50% chance from applying. As I read the article, and assuming it is correct, the Hopkins premed advising works much more in the latter mode. I cannot see how this benefits the students. Those who have a great prospect of admission do not benefit from having the numbers of applicants restricted, and those with poorer prospects certainly are hurt. The only winner in this approach appears to be Hopkins itself. Hence "I am glad I was not premed at Hopkins".</p>
<p>Did you not read my message correctly? if students want, they can still push for and will receive a recommendation. Although the recommendation will not be entirely supportive (and once again it shouldn't be) the student will still be allowed to apply and the rest will be up to him/her. At other schools, its the same way. You can't expect a top recommendation and good chances with a low gpa. It doesn't work that way. Also, you are merely speculating. You don't and cannot possibly understand the facts without experiencing the premed curriculum and process here. Therefore dont make such judgmental statements such as "I am glad I was not premed at Hopkins." I have worked in the premed advising office at JHU, the people there are not as cold hearted as they are made out to be. If ANYTHING, its just the jhu premed students are as a whole incredibly whiny and bitter throughout the rigorous process and enjoy commiserating with one another.</p>
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I have worked in the premed advising office at JHU
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the people there are not as cold hearted as they are made out to be
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<p>followed by</p>
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its just the jhu premed students are as a whole incredibly whiny and bitter throughout the rigorous process and enjoy commiserating with one another.
<p>Perhaps you should look at Amherst's practice: </p>
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...but some "less-qualified" applicants were also successful. (Some reasons why: underrepresented minority status; being from a state with a medical school and a small population; having family connections at a medical school, plain good luck.)</p>
<p>By the way, the Amherst Health Professions Committee supports almost all applicants without reservations even if they are "less-qualified" by our definition. We take no account of MCAT scores in making recommendations, and we support even those whose grades give them little chance of acceptance, as long as we believe (1) they can do the work of medical school, which means getting grades at least in the "C" range in Amherst science courses; and (2) they have the integrity and maturity needed to be a physician.
<p>Your assumption that "other schools are the same way" is false!</p>
<p>Notice how Amherst said they support viritually everyone WITHOUT RESERVATION. I also spoke with health profession advisor at Northwestern and she emphasized how they do support anyone and told me how some other schools (apparently JHU is one of them) use different tactics to discourage less qualified candidates.</p>
<p>Amherst's admit rate is around 73%, if I remember correctly. Amherst's website says for the more qualified group, the admit rate is 87%. That's how much the difference is. I honestly think JHU's practice is very self-serving. Why discourage people who have less chance? What do they got to lose? 60$ application fee??? It's nothing more than applying to "reach" schools when you are in high schools! Like Amherst's website says, some less qualified people do get in and one of the reasons was LUCK. If I want to apply to med school, the last thing I want after paying 40K to an institution is to have one of their people telling me, "your GPA sucks and you recommendation is not gonna be great"!</p>