<p>Is going to Princeton a bad idea for pre-meds? I know there's grade deflation, but how much would it matter?</p>
<p>Why is everyone always complaining about Princeton’s grade deflation? Why don’t you check the med school acceptance rates or something? They’re pretty darn high.</p>
<p>There is not a medical school nearby, which could make shadowing and volunteer work in a medical setting more challenging to find. Nevertheless, Princeton graduates seem to do fine and have probably figured out ways to get around the location issue.</p>
<p>I hear that it’s in the 90 percents, but I was just curious as to whether or not Princeton pre-meds get into the top medical schools like the pre-meds of Yale, Stanford, etc.</p>
<p>I should say at the same rate as those of Yale, Stanford, etc.</p>
<p>Probably very little. However, the best thing to do would be to contact their preheats advising office and see if they have statistics for placement of students into med school. Schools should have a table showing GPA and MCAT scores and how students do in terms of Med school acceptance.</p>
<p>For example, here’s an example for WUSTL</p>
<p><a href=“http://prehealth.wustl.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://prehealth.wustl.edu</a></p>
<p>Click on the link for prehealth handbook, go to Appendix A on page 21</p>
<p>Princeton’s prehealth site states that their students average MCAT score from 2008-2012 was 32.4 (national average 25.1)</p>
<p>Overall I would guess that the grade deflation issue isn’t a big deal.</p>
<p>I’m a pre-med at Princeton. I’ve been into Princeton Pre-Health Advising’s office and they do have a handbook with statistics of applying/admitted students throughout the years. It does seem that the majority of students who do apply have excellent grades and MCAT scores - part of this could be due to them discouraging less strong applicants to apply (I have not yet reached this stage of my own application process, so I am not sure, though I do know we have a committee that writes a consolidated letter of recommendation). </p>
<p>There is actually a hospital nearby - the University Medical Center is one of the best hospitals in the area. It is now housed in new facilities in Plainsboro and I know several students who are volunteering there. The Princeton TigerTransit has a stop by the hospital, and it’s free transport. </p>
<p>Regarding grade deflation - yes, I feel it, but I knew what I had signed up for when I came here. Do not let grade deflation deter you from coming to Princeton if you really like it otherwise. The level of undergraduate focus here is unparalleled and so undergraduates have so many more opportunities afforded to them. Besides, I have confidence that medical schools realize the rigor of undergraduate school as a factor in the admissions process. This point is hotly contested by many, but I still have faith in the system. And if you realize that medical school is not for you, then you’ll still have the value of a Princeton degree! That is, a liberal arts degree with which you can do a lot of things with - science majors going on Wall Street, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great information! Also, is it true that Princeton recalculates your high school GPA to not include freshman year?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Princeton takes into account cumulative GPA, which includes your GPA - I’m not sure where you heard that. However, Princeton generally looks more favorably upon an upward trend in grades, so if your freshman year wasn’t so hot but you kept improving, I wouldn’t sweat it.</p>
<p>Well my grades have been good (all A’s), but I heard from several places, including some threads on this site that Princeton doesn’t count grades from freshman year, so I was just curious about the validity of that.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m pretty sure Princeton counts all grades, but put more of an emphasis on your junior and senior grades.</p>
<p>WA2298- I’d either check their website or call the Admissions Office. They will have the most up-to-date information.</p>
<p>93tiger16 – thank you for the helpful insight. Is there a link to that type of GPA/MCAT = name of med school accepted at chart for Princeton? Do you have any idea how many of how many premeds from pton get into Harvard or Yale med schools each year? And with what stats? Thank you again</p>
<p>The GPA/MCAT vs. percentage of applicants accepted chart was in the booklet - I have not been able to find it online. As I said, the booklet is sitting on the coffee table in the Pre-Health Advising office. Perhaps if you decide to pay Princeton a visit or if you get in, you can have a look. I don’t have an idea of the exact statistics of where Princeton students go for med school, but I do have a faint recollection of a list of med schools (no idea of whether it was ranked by number of Princeton students matriculating) to which Princeton students have been successful at applying to. I’m sorry I could not be of more help.</p>
<p>The acceptance rate to med school runs between 90% and 95%. Med schools understand the grading system at Princeton. The grading system implemented a decade ago has not negatively impacted med school admission rates. </p>
<p>The requirement for undergraduates to conduct independent research means that premeds have the opportunity to conduct medical related research on the main campus. Here is a link to an earlier post about premed research at Princeton. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12441605-post4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12441605-post4.html</a> </p>
<p>Here is a link to med school admission rates for the past five years. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14861661-post7.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14861661-post7.html</a> </p>
<p>This link to premed advising states that In the last four years of the MCAT (Jan 2008-Aug 2012), the national mean for examinees was a 25.1 (a little over 8 in each of the three multiple choice sections), and about 32% of examinees scored in a competitive range (i.e. 29-45). Princetons mean score was a 32.4, with 80% scoring in the competitive range. <a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/hpa/premed/2012-HPA-FAQ.pdf[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/hpa/premed/2012-HPA-FAQ.pdf</a></p>