Pre med - keeping a high GPA/research & shadowing opportunities/vibe/etc

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this has already been a recent thread!! I would just like to talk to perhaps some cornell graduates who were in this program or anyone else who is knowledgeable about the Cornell pre med experience. Feel free to answer one or more of these questions or just give me any advice you have :slight_smile:

I know it is really important to maintain a high GPA to get into med school, and I also hear there is a lot of grade deflation at Cornell. Does that aspect negatively impact one’s chances of getting into med school from here?

Next, the Cornell med school is in NYC, which worries me because I know med schools often have great opportunities to research or shadow or make connections. Where do the students go to intern or volunteer to enrich their pre med experience?

Cornell’s a big school, and the pre med track is pretty popular. Are all the class sizes really big? Coming from a small prep school, I prefer smaller classes, always. I would also like to get to know my professors well enough so they are able to write med school recommendations for me too.

finally, are the pre med students generally more competetive or collaborative? Cutthroat individuals are near impossible to avoid no matter what school you go to, but i wonder if the majority of the student body is like that.

this is a lot and kinda specific but to be honest anything you have to say about pre med here would really help me out. If it matters, I’m choosing between Cornell, tufts, and Georgetown.

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Cornell is not grade deflated and is actually grade inflated, like the rest of the Ivy League universities. Average GPA is over 3.4. As late as a few years ago, Cornell published the median grades of each of its classes and the vast majority of classes were curved to a A- or B+ median, including most upper level science courses.

There are plenty of research opportunities on campus if you are so inclined. Cornell has an externship program that pairs you with local physicians to shadow. In addition, many premeds volunteer at Cayuga Medical Center for additional clinical experience.

The bio courses and the introductory premed classes are big (over 100 students) so you will have to work to get yourself noticed. I suggest going to office hours, which few students go to. In addition, many of the humanities classes and upper level science classes are much smaller so you should be able to develop relationships with professors then.

It’s a big school. You are going to develop your own group of premed friends with whom you’ll study with. No one goes around sabotaging lab experiments or tearing pages out of books if that’s what you are asking.