Another issue is: what if OP for whatever reason doesn’t stick with premed (as most don’t)?
Which university will provide the best academics, experience, and career advice&support if the student chooses another path?
^^. With those choices, it really won’t matter. It’s not like he’s choosing between a low level directional and Notre Dame.
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A question and a comment. The question is does anyone think there is a chance med school admissions start looking more carefully at GPA? My guess is no, since the people doing it came through this same system. MCATs are presumed sufficient to normalize.
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I’ve read this a couple of times and still am not sure what you’re asking. Med schools have long looked very carefully at GPA. They also look at upward trends. GPA isn’t only presented as cum; it’s also presented year by year, so at a glance an adcom can see an upward trend. GPA matters a lot. Grades in particular classes matter a lot.
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The comment is my experience knowing peers going through this is a long time ago, but back then a couple of then kids at top ten schools with not great enough grades did a few years in a research lab, which seemed to bolster their admissions credentials to get them over the hump. Assuming a student is willing to do this for a few years, is this still a viable option?
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Maybe. Now it’s more common for such students to do a postbacc or special masters program, often one that has some link to a med school that might promise at least an interview if the student reaches some benchmark in the program.
@waitingmomla The GPA thing is really important to me and is the reason Univeristy of Michigan probably won’t be my choice because from what I’ve researched, that school seems to have the worst grade deflation. Overall I️ just want to go to a school that will give me a lot of opportunities like research and volunteering and where I️ can learn a lot but still be able to have so much fun without my GPA suffering. I’ve visited UT and it looks really diverse from what I️ saw which i️ like. I️ will be going to Notre Dame in April to see what it is like. I don’t think I will like Notre Dame because of the lack of diversity and the fact that it has a religious affiliation. I am a Christian but I am not catholic. The only other college I️ visited is Tulane but I’ve already ruled Tulane out.
@Trisherella what school out of my list do you think that is?
@mom2collegekids so what school do you think I️ can get the best GPA at?
the book “the Enlightened College Applicant” by Andrew Belasco and Dave Bergman answers some of the questiosn in this thread…they do research on top feeder schools for the top medical schools and other interesting datea. They do agree with the statement that GPA and MCAT are by FAR the determining factors. The question “what school do you think I can get the best GPA at” is a good one, but not sure how one would answer this really. Is it a question of going to the least-selective school? Sounds like your reserach into U Mich is a good start.
It’ll be very hard to have a high GPA at all of your colleges. Perhaps Emory.
@rjkofnovi and @Alexandre I wrote that I based my opinion on information available about the schools’ resources and student populations. To me, that implies I based it on many things, and not just on USN rankings. I clearly said that “one” of the things I used to form my opinion was the admission rate because - in my opinion - it is reflective of the profile of students who are enrolled at the school. For example, a school with an admission rate of 9% (Duke) is going to have a slightly higher bar for its students to meet than a school with an admission rate of 22% (Emory). In any case, I never said that was my sole or my main criterion. Of course there are many other things to consider, including academic strength of program. And in that regard, in my opinion, Duke still prevails. That is not to say that the other schools are not also excellent schools. Since my post, OP has answered my questions and stated that their priority is GPA, not “best school” in case they decide not to go the direction of pre-med. So I guess for their purposes this point is now moot.
@MYOS1634 thank you but I️ would like to know why you said Emory? Is this from experience or someone you know? Not trying to come off as rude you didn’t really explain why it may be easy to have a high gpa at Emory
@Sirens56 I don’t think it is easy to get a high GPA at Emory (especially if you are taking courses by the notoriously hard professors like Soria). What @MYOS1634 may have been referring to is that Emory would be the best choice for pre med based on research opportunities, environment, etc. Personally, I would say that Duke takes the lead for Pre-med and as a school across the board but Duke is very difficult to get into so IMO the next choice from there is Emory as it is considerably easier to get into yet has strong science programs.
It’s so silly to think you will get a better GPA at a school because it’s average SAT scores of the incoming class a few points lower than another school’s. Students in your pre-med classes aren’t going to be any less smart and motivated at Emory than say, Duke or UT-Austin. And high SAT scores does NOT equal performance in organic chemistry, biology etc. Then there’s the issue of fit… you will probably be happier and perform better academically at a school you are happy/comfortable at.
@WildestDream thank you! So there is really no way for me to know where I️ have a better chance of maintaining a good GPA. I️ mean I’m prepared to work hard and actually learn the material so I’m not looking for a place that just hands me an A for showing up but I also don’t want to be “burned out” or “weeded out”. Now that I️ think about it I️ should have considered less prestigious schools when I️ was applying to colleges because I️ think I’m stuck with all places that might hinder me to be honest. Sometimes I️ think schools that are really hard to get into attract really boring or pretentious students and I️ still want to be able to have fun and not be in such a toxic environment:(
Emory may have a bit more grade inflation and will definitely have less weedout than Duke or UMichigan. It’ll still be very difficult.
Working hard and learning the material is expected. You’ll be in competition with hard-working, smart, straight-A kids everywhere, and 75-80% won’t get an A in their classes. In premed pre-reqs, half will get a B- or less. It’ll be hard to get a 3.6+ everywhere because you’ll have to be top of your class in every class (and you can’t slack off in non pre-reqs since your GPA as a whole matters too.)
@Sirens56 Don’t psych yourself out. Work ethic matters the most wherever you go and if you had good stats coming in to a college you have just as much of a chance of success there as anyone else. Your work ethic will matter. My middle son is in med school now having graduated Summa Cum Laude at a Top 30 ranked school. I know he’d have done well wherever he ended up. He chose based upon fit and finances. It’s not like “everyone” who chooses higher level schools is doomed to a lower GPA.
Don’t forget to stay involved in other ECs too as those matter a ton. The thing to plan to eliminate (if it was ever there) are plans to be significantly involved in various party scenes. Those who major or minor in “party” rarely do well with their GPA.
@rjkofnovi Duke is not fully on par with HYPSM but also it is well above Notre Dame and Emory. Duke is more or less peers with non-HYPSM elites, i.e. Columbia, Penn, Chicago, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell.
Penn95, according to the academic world (which directly correlates with the OP of this thread since he is premed), Duke is not a peer of HYPSM. Every single academic rating pretty much places Duke in the same peer group as Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn and UCLA. Brown, Dartmouth receive similar rating, but they are far less research-based. That’s excellent company to be in to be sure, but HYPSM are in a league of their own…at least according to the experts.
Admittedly, Duke does have a slight edge (not well above as you seem to think) over Emory and Notre Dame…where academe is concerned.
For what it’s worth, I do not think medical schools differentiate between any of the five universities on the OP’s list. They are all considered top tier universities, but I do think that the presence of major medical complexes at Duke, Emory and Michigan gives those three the edge.
@Alexandre I’m curious to know what you are looking at (anything other than USNWR) that places Michigan and UCLA in that top peer group. Rather than a step lower with ND, Emory, Vandy, Rice, etc. You have referenced academe/academic ratings a couple of times, yet you yourself said there are so many factors that account for institutional quality…Also, @Penn95 said they feel Duke is not a peer of HYPSM, but rather a peer of the other ivies.
@MYOS1634
Emory does not have grade inflammation what so ever, don’t know where you got that from, and please stop overrating UMich… it is not a peer of Duke.
And when it comes to bio-sciences, Emory is a cut above ND and Vandy. And more similar to Rice and Duke.
I’m not entirely sure how the conversation got to this point in the first place.
How would you rate UVA among these schools for pre-med?
“I’m curious to know what you are looking at (anything other than USNWR) that places Michigan and UCLA in that top peer group. Rather than a step lower with ND, Emory, Vandy, Rice, etc…”
waitingmomla, it is common knowledge in academe that Michigan and UCLA are in that top peer group. Look at any peer rating, from the National Research Council to the Times Higher Education Ranking to the QS Ranking etc…The academics at Michigan and UCLA are top notch, and their reputation in academe is extremely well established.
Feel free to read Gerhard Casper’s (Stanford University president) description of Cal and Michigan.
https://web.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html
Casper’s sentiments are fairly commonplace in academe. He also explains why the US News ranking is questionable, and backs it up with irrefutable evidence.
That being said, opinions on the subject of institutional quality vary, and I would not consider comparing Michigan to universities like Notre Dame, Emory, Vanderbilt or Rice as a “step down”. Those are all truly exceptional universities. They are just not as broad or deep in scope, but the quality of education received at any of those universities is second to none.
“You have referenced academe/academic ratings a couple of times, yet you yourself said there are so many factors that account for institutional quality…”
There are other factors, naturally. Strengths of various departments, quality of faculty, availability of research opportunities, quality of the facilities, resources, professional and graduate school placement etc…I think Michigan holds its own nicely in all of these fronts.
VANDEMORY1342, first of all, either you are the one underrating Michigan, or the entire academic world is overrating it. I wonder who is right? 
Second, Emory is not better than Vanderbilt in the bio-sciences. According to all the rankings I have seen, Emory and Vanderbilt are rated roughly the same in Biology, Chemistry and Medicine. If anything, Vanderbilt is slightly stronger than Emory in Medicine…but not by a large margin.