<p>How is premed at Vanderbilt? How help are the advising departments? Is grade deflation a huge problem (gradeinflation.com listed vandy's average gpa at a 3.3 in 2008 whereas most ivies were listed at 3.4+)? How come the percentage of premeds that get into med school is only 70%, whereas closely ranked institutions like Brown have rates closer to 80%? What is the average MCAT score of the accepted Vanderbilt premed (I couldn't find this statistic online anywhere)?</p>
<p>Well, Brown is unique in that you can take a ton of classes pass/fail. Overall, I wouldn’t really worry too much about grade deflation, average MCAT scores and stuff of that ilk. There could be a whole slew of different explanations for the differences in numbers between schools. As you’ll figure out when you get older, statistics don’t tell the whole story and can oftentimes be misleading.</p>
<p>Yes, I have the same question. I’ve heard repeatedly that Vanderbilt has pretty significant grade deflation and this makes me seriously reconsider Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Also, how are the research opportunities? Are there a lot? Can anyone who wants research get it regardless of grades, major, etc.?</p>
<p>Does Vanderbilt have a cutthroat environment like Berkeley or JHU does?</p>
<p>Premed at Vanderbilt is super difficult. You will be prepared for med school if you can get through the program. It is cutthroat, competitive, and incredibly challenging.</p>
<p>^I don’t think that’s true. It’s certainly challenging. Physics, orgo, and chem are some of the more difficult classes offered here. Tons of kids come in as pre-med and get weeded out. But I mean, you can pick any major to go with your pre-med, and there aren’t all that many required courses for the pre-med track… If your major is Biomedical Engineering, it’s going to be hell. If your major is psychology, it won’t be bad at all.</p>
<p>If all you’re looking for out of college is a good GPA, this may not be the ideal school for you. There’s a lot more to college than your GPA though.</p>
<p>Rupee, what exactly makes you call it cutthroat and competitive?</p>
<p>I went to Vandy (in the 90s) and then med school. Obviously things may change but when I was there, there was MASSIVE grade deflation. It was a big problem for pre-meds, I had a lot of really smart friends who never could get into med school because it was so damn hard to get A’s.</p>
<p>Fast forward to med school, and it was a breeze after Vandy. But then again, it made me pretty resentful because my med school classmates from other colleges were far less intelligent than some of my Vandy friends who couldn’t get in-- they had gone to state schools and breezed and got 4.0’s, and a few even failed out of med school because they were so unprepared.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think Vandy does a big disservice to its students with their grade deflation-- it serves little purpose and really just limits opportunities for students in the end, with little payoff. I didn’t find that Vandy’s reputation for grade deflation was known or respected around the country either, so I had a competitive disadvantage.</p>
<p>Med school is all about getting in-- there is no reason to kill yourself in undergrad and go through extra, unecessary stress. You will have plenty of that after college if you choose medicine.</p>
<p>If you do go pre-med, I will just say choose your classes wisely. Pick classes where you can get an A, and avoid notorious profs who are stingy with grades like the plague. That’s the sad truth.</p>
<p>Chem and Physics are super easy here if you are serious about premed and academics. If you don’t care about grades then going to an easier school is the same thing.</p>