<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Right now I'm deciding on what college I want to attend and my top 4 are VCU, UVA, VTech, & Northwestern. </p>
<p>I intend on pursuing a medical degree during my graduate studies, so I'm aware of the fact that I need to maintain a competitive GPA throughout my undergraduate years.</p>
<p>My major would be Biological Sciences/Behavior. Do any current VTech students know of the average GPA for undergraduates? Any idea on the matriculation rate to Medical Schools?</p>
<p>Also, as you might be able to tell, VCU is on my top 4 because of it's rather easy class rigor.</p>
<p>I've heard a few horror stories about Tech. One of the English teachers at my school used to be an assitant professor at Tech and tells us that Freshman courses are the hardest because Tech professors really try to weed the "Less studious" kids out.</p>
<p>Any info is GREATLY appreciated :)</p>
<p>I have experience with both schools, so I’d be glad to help. I transferred from VCU to be at Tech, so I’ve taken classes at both schools.</p>
<p>The weed out stories - definitely true. I know alot of people who drop Bio because they feel like it involves too much Chem, or because they don’t do well enough in Organic Chemistry.</p>
<p>That being said, the classes for Biology and Chemistry (that bio majors take) can be difficult. Not so much Gen Chem, but definitely Ochem. Much more difficult than VCU’s classes. The friends I have at VCU seem to pull through Ochem alot more easily…and come out with better grades. But when my friends from VCU and VT talk Ochem, VT students bring up things the VCU guys have never learned about. So in regards to that, you may get better grades…but will you be prepared enough for the MCAT?</p>
<p>Besides engineering, upper level Bio classes at are some of the hardest classes. I took an upper level bio class at VCU…it was a breeze. I looked at my friend’s test for the same class at Tech…I knew absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>The people I know who are Bio majors at Tech have great GPAs…all of them are at a 3.0 or better…and those with 3.0s are disappointed with their GPAs. I don’t really know what people’s GPAs are from VCU, but I imagine that they work far less harder for their GPA.</p>
<p>You’re right about class rigor at VCU. It’s easy as pie. I had a strong HS background with college level classes, and my first year was a breeze. I studied maybe like three times total, and I pulled over a 3.5 both semesters. It was just easy for me. Now, I’m struggling to get a 3.2 at Tech, with classes that are relatively the same. It’s probably hard to compare how students will deal at the two schools, so this is just my personal situation. </p>
<p>Now regarding acceptance/matriculation rate to Med school…I don’t think those kinds of stats are out there, for either VCU or VT.</p>
<p>Thanks, all of that information is really insightful and helpful.</p>
<p>If I were to go to VCU and graduate with say a 3.8-3.9, would I be a more competitive applicants than if I went to VTech and got a 3.4-3.5?</p>
<p>Let’s just assume I get a good MCAT score.</p>
<p>Uh…I don’t think difficulty should be a factor in your school decision.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to the difficulty of either school or how relative GPAs compare, but I think you should pick your school based on which one feels right and will make you more competitive for medical school. It doesn’t matter what school you go to; you’ll still need to be above-average and do very well on your MCATs if you hope to get into a good med school…so why even worry about average stats?</p>
<p>You’ll only survive in med school if you can outperform your fellow students, so might as well get used to it in your undergrad years. And forget med school; early years as a doctor are way worse than college!</p>
<p>Yes, if you were to graduate from VCU with a 3.8 you would hold a more competitive application than one coming from VT with a 3.5. But this also depends on which med schools you apply to. Many (most?) schools merely use the GPA as the cutthroat requirement - once you meet the GPA requirement it then matters little and the decision depends entirely on the rest of your application/interview.</p>
<p>EngineerHead is right. You’ll seem more competitive at first, because your GPA is high. But the rest goes to interviews, letters of recommendation, research, etc. I also think 3.5 wouldn’t be a GPA that would take you out of the running for most med schools (someone can correct me if I’m wrong) unless you’re only going for top-top schools.</p>
<p>You should go to the place where you feel you’ll be best prepared and will give you the most opportunities. In my opinion, taking the easy way out is NOT the right choice for med school.</p>