<p>I've always wanted to go into medical school and become a doctor. As a result, one of teh main reasons im applying to Rice is because it is right next to the medical center, which will give me plenty of opportunities to explore the medical field and gain valuable experience.</p>
<p>However, i have some questions. i understand that to get into medical school, i'll need a spectacular GPA. So i was just wondering what the grading system is like at Rice? Is Rice known for grade inflation? Also, how difficult are Rice science courses, particularly organic chemistry? Of course, the difficulty of something is hard to define, but i just want some opinions.</p>
<p>Any comments would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Premeds at Rice are ubiquitous--probably one half to one third of the freshman class considers itself to be premed. The medical center is a great place to volunteer, shadow, and do all sorts of medical stuff, but the huge premed presence on campus really dominates the scene. </p>
<p>On grade inflation:
As a freshman, I am not taking any courses in which grades are given out according to a normal distribution (bell curve) so there's not a whole lot of competition between classmates, fortunately. I don't think any such classes in fact exist. Nevertheless, my classes are graded on the standard 90, 80, 70, 60 scale. Furthermore, the GPA scale goes something like A+ = 4.33, A = 4, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, etc. Considering these factors, I would say that Rice GPAs are not particularly inflated.</p>
<p>On organic chemistry:
I am currently taking regular (not honors) orgo. Only tests count toward my grade. The instructor does not mandate homework nor textbook readings. It's simply up to the student to study the text and do problems in preparation for tests. Orgo is not designed to give you a hard time...you just have to keep up with the material if you want to succeed. The level of difficulty is entirely up to you.</p>
<p>Hope all of this helps :-)</p>
<p>thanks cave_dweller. that was just the information i needed! again, thank you so much.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. you said that about 1/5 to 1/3 of the freshman class aspires to become doctors. Well, most likely, those numbers will drop. if not, well, thats just amazing. Anyways, if they do, then is it mostly due to change of interest or the decline of grades?</p>
<p>Premed attrition, as I am sure you are quite aware, is a very common phenomenon at all colleges. Remember that not all freshmen will make it all the way through Rice and a significant percentage of those who do will switch to doing something else. The truth is that I really don't know why this occurs. My best guess is that a combination of other interests, difficulty of upper-level science courses, dropping grades, the MCAT, and the sheer competition for medical school leave only the toughest students to move on to medical school.</p>
<p>Since you want to go to medical school, I recommend that you apply to the Rice/Baylor program as a part of your Rice application. You just have to write a few essays and (possibly) do an interview in addition to the regular application process. The competition is fierce to say the least, but if you get in, you'll be guaranteed admission into Baylor Medical College (located in the medical center) without having to take the MCAT.</p>
<p>Woo hoo for Rice/Baylor! Competition is a bit intense, but guaranteed admission to medical school (Baylor being #13 in the nation) is priceless. If you have any more questions about the program, feel free to send me a private message. =)</p>