<p>Hi ZFanatic,
I apologize for the delay in responding- I have been swamped the last few days, and it seems like I’m the only one answering Arkansas questions on here right now :). I was a biology major (B.S. track, also premed), so hopefully I can provide some useful insight for you. The entry level sciences (intro biology, general chemistry, etc.) have multiple sessions offered tailored to the type of student taking that class. There’s the biology that “everyone” takes, but I chose to take the honors biology class because I felt it would be more useful, and it was a bit more challenging. Chemistry is the same way. There’s General Chemistry, and for those going a bit more in-depth, there is Honors Gen. Chem, or Chemistry for Majors (which also has an honors section, and is supposedly quite difficult- I wasn’t that adventurous). Once you get into the 2nd year level, the sessions get more major-specific and of course, a bit more rigorous. By 3rd and 4th year, most of the sciences are challenging, but you have a measure of personal choice in what upper-level sciences you take for your major and can normally find plenty of information from current or former students about whether the honors sessions are a good fit, which professors are the hardest/easiest, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t know if that’s helpful or not, my point is simply that you’ll have options in what types to classes you take, and should be able to find a good challenge amongst the upper level sciences and honors options. </p>
<p>As far as potential goes, the University has been doing very well at getting its students into medical schools, graduate schools, and professional programs in the last decade or so. On the medical front- our first time acceptance rates are well above the national average overall acceptance rate- in recent years, 67-72% of our first time applicants have been accepted to medical school. Amongst our honors students, the acceptance rate is 90-95%. These numbers have been pretty steady and are often some of the highest amongst schools our size. Students have gone to a number of public med schools (mostly within this region of the US) in the past several years, and many have been accepted to a number of other medical schools, including Baylor, Cornell, Emory, Johns Hopkins, McGill, Tufts, University of Southern California, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Washington University in St. Louis. For students looking at grad schools, I unfortunately do not have grad school acceptance data, but this year we had 12 students receive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, 2 more Goldwater Scholars, a James Madison Fellow, 2 Truman finalists, and a number of other fellowship recipients from awards I’m not as familiar with. The point I’m making (as a recent student, and yes, an Admissions Counselor) is that if you’re ready to put in the work, the institution will give you the resources and faculty advisers you need to succeed.</p>
<p>Good luck with finals, and let me know if there are any more questions I can help with.</p>
I believe the OP is from Texas, so I assumed that may have factored in his consideration if he was transferring closer to home.