Princeton Molecular Biology

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I was wondering if I can get some opinions about the difficulty of the molecular biology major (or relative fields) at Princeton. I read on the department website about the requirements but I was wondering how competitive are the students within the classes? Is it like a cutthroat environment where everyone competes for an 'A', or does it have a more laid back atmosphere? </p>

<p>Generally, is molecular biology one of the tougher majors at Princeton? How doable is a 3.7+ at Princeton as a molecular biology major? </p>

<p>About the grade inflation/deflation: I heard something about recommending professors to cap the grade distribution and assign 'A's to 'A' level work. Can someone clarify?</p>

2

<p>I read that around 35% of students receive A’s. There was also a FAQ about the grading policy. </p>

<p>[Princeton</a> University - Dean of the College - FAQ](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/faq/#comp000047219e980000000c8178c0]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/faq/#comp000047219e980000000c8178c0)</p>

<p>Has this still been a big effect on admission to medical school? (Despite them saying they top 10 lists of 93% acceptance.)</p>

3

<p>Don’t count on getting a high GPA, but most ppl get into med school for sure, but usually not the best ones</p>

<p>Then again for an MD it doesn’t really matter where you go, so long it’s accredited in the US</p>

4

<p>A 3.7 in any science field at Princeton (or any field, really) is very difficult to obtain. It’s not impossible, of course, but a vast majority of people will not breach a 3.7 GPA in the sciences.</p>

5

<p>peytoncline, how about mechanical or electrical engineering?</p>

6

<p>I honestly don’t have any idea about engineering (I’m an AB student). If it’s the same question as above (getting a 3.7+), then it’s the same answer. All I can say is to try your best.</p>

<p>Personally, I didn’t have the best of experiences with MOL214 (one of the 2 introductory classes you can take for Mol Bio, the other being MOL215). I’m not a Mol major, but I had considered it as a possibility. I tried really hard in that class, but ultimately ended up with a B. But of course, 30-35% of people did make A-'s and A’s in that class, so it’s entirely possible to do really well in it. But don’t be distraught if you have some classes that don’t go as well as you would have wanted.</p>

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<p>MOL is tough-- but I enjoyed it. Coming out of princeton you don’t need the 3.8 to get into a top med school-- I know a lot of people who went through the med school process, and most people did quite well. The core classes are tough to get an A in, but the upper level ones are graded much more leniently. </p>

<p>Grade deflation didn’t affect the MOL department-- it already had 35% As prior to the policy. Grade deflation actually inflated the PHY department- they used to give 20% As and have brought it up to somehting like 30.</p>