<p>so I'm really falling in love with wharton (as most of the people on the forum are), but I would still like to potentially go to med school after undergrad. How common is it for students to be pre-med in wharton and how successful are they?</p>
<p>I've also heard that wharton is pretty intense when it comes to grades: I heard somewhere on CC that the average GPA was a 3.3 or something? So since your GPA matters so much in med school admission, if I didn't get a very good gpa from wharton how badly would that affect my chances?</p>
<p>ask yourself what you would want to study in wharton and if you could get the same kind of experience by taking a few wharton courses instead of a full curriculum - or through an interschool / business-focused minor, such as the biological basis of behavior / healthcare management joint minor</p>
<p>i do know someone who is a wharton alum but took her mcats and wants to be a doctor after doing some consulting</p>
<p>So, in addition to be taking Wharton courses, you would have to take a lot of science courses in the College. The combination of Wharton and heavy science courses could be rough.</p>
<p>Med. Schools would know about the rigorous Wharton curriculum just like they would know about the grade deflation at MIT and Caltech. They aren’t idiots after all.</p>
<p>don’t let these guys scare you - there is nothing difficult about Wharton coursework. It’s just about not making mistakes. It’s also not time-intensive (aside from a couple courses). The real question is whether you can survive your science courses. You will not have room in your schedule to take courses to hedge your GPA. However, I will tell you that a 3.6+ should be do-able.</p>
<p>Well, I was in your situation exactly this time last year. I actually made this exact same thread literally around this time last year. Heres what consensus seems to be: “Ya, you absolutely can be premed at Wharton. However, why would you want to? Wharton won’t be a huge help to your career and it still is a fairly rigorious place.” </p>
<p>Now, I do tend to agree with that consensus. If I were you I would apply to the Life Sciences and Management Program at Penn…you get a degree from Wharton and a Life Science Degree (Bio, Biochem, or BBB) from the College. Many people in the program are Premed focused…in fact they have a sample schedule set up on their website now for a premed student. However, to be brutally honest with you, if you dont get that program, don’t go to Wharton if you are completely set on Premed. I certainly would be attending Dartmouth rite now had I not gotten in.</p>
<p>I heard from Life Science and Management kids that the professors are bent on research and don’t like kids who are there for non-research motives (salaries / grad school). In fact, the program tends to tank your gpa to the point where you’re more or less forced into med school.</p>
<p>That being said, I still stick to my initial assessment that this is do-able. Just don’t do a full degree in the college for your pre-med stuff, keep it to the required courses. Also, don’t hope on getting multiple concentrations - that can’t be gpa-friendly either. Basically, prepare for a gpa-friendly concentration (can’t advise you on which one that is), pre-med courses, and a bunch of classes that are irrelevant to anything you do but where difficulty hovers below a 2.</p>
<p>You certainly will know more about Penn/Wharton than I do as you are already a student there. However, I have spoken with a fair share of LSM students and here are a few things they say about the program:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Getting above a 3.6 GPA is very do-able for most people</p></li>
<li><p>Many students enter into program as pre-med…well I think something like 10/25 are focused that way this year…I am actually considering dentistry so at least 11 out of the 25 of us are looking to go to grad school</p></li>
<li><p>According to Dr. Pauly (one of the leaders of the program), the majority of students in the class of 2011 are planning on going into financial fields (as in field more salary focused)</p></li>
<li><p>All the advisors in the program that i have spoken with have encouraged me to enter whatever field I want and understand salary is an important aspect of ones’s career</p></li>
</ol>
<p>very true and that has been what I have seen too. But I also see those kids dying under their workload to get what otherwise kids get with less effort.</p>
<p>If you want med school, go for a premed track with a more or less traditional major in college. If you want finance, do Wharton. The combo keeps both open but you pay a high price for that option.</p>
<p>And if you have a decent gpa with the program, imagine what you would have had without it ;)</p>
<p>^^^
Gottcha and I am willing to pay a high price to keep my options open…it sounds like the OP might too. However, keeping one’s options open isnt the only thing LSM gives you. You get special advising, some course requirements are cut to make getting the dual degree in 4 years do-able, two great internships, and access to a special alumni network. Plus, I have been told having the LSM name on your app will help you quite a bit when applying for those healthcare consulting/banking jobs. But ya, as necro said you do pay for those benefits. Just something to consider</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help guys! I think that since I’m not completely set on finance and because of the difficulty involved in doing both premed and wharton I’m not going to apply to wharton. </p>
<p>And thanks so much for the information about the LSM program, but I don’t think I have the highest test scores with the exception of my math II subjec test (I got a 790). I also had a 720 in bio, 710 in world and 690 in chem. My ACT is a 33. and considering the program only accepts like 25 people haha my chances are slim i think. </p>
<p>So i’ll probably end up applying to the engineering school.</p>
<p>I’m in LSM. My Wharton GPA is impeccable relative to my “premed” college GPA. It all depends on your foundations and background though. From personal experience Wharton actually raises my GPA.</p>
<p>GPA is super important for med-school, and where you got to school barely matters with that aspect. However, as a business major? you’d have an advantage in med school admissions because med schools prefer a non-science major.</p>
<p>Many people I know involved in medical school admissions have said that where you go to school is definitely considered. Going to a top school alone will not get you in, but if you use the resources available there, it gives you an advantage over a student who is a big fish in a small pond. Also, at many universities, doctors in administrative positions have business experience and some even go to school to get their MBA, so I think a program like LSM could really help prepare you for a position like becoming the Dean of a medical school. A lot of these administrators are paid very significantly.</p>