<p>I do like Lehigh, and did send in my enrollment and everything, but I think after Candidates Day at Lehigh it has actually made me more skeptical rather than reassuring my choice. Mainly because I realize their biology department is not at all strong, and its also supposedly extremely difficult. (By strong I mean, I always presumed Lehigh to be strong in all its sciences as it is with Enginerring, or just slightly under) In addition, I questioned a panel of teachers and a counselor about medical admission, and she informed of a mere 50-60% acceptance rate at medical school. I wish to attend a top twenty five medical school, but just looking at Lehigh, I feel as if it would be an extremely difficult path?</p>
<p>Also reading a review of all teachers posted by former/current students on this one website, none of the biology teachers seem that great. The technology they used for Lehigh also was the same exact caliber as we use in high school too, but is that common in all universities? My dad is also skeptical now, and thinks maybe I should go against my enrollment and switch to Ursinus or Gettysburg, but there is very little chance I do such a thing, I just need some reassurance from a current/former student or parent about this medical school ordeal.</p>
<p>I though that medical school acceptance rate across the board are only 45% or so. If that is correct then Lehigh’s stats appear to be very good.</p>
<p>***"According to the same report, 90 percent of 2006 Lehigh graduates who applied to medical schools with a GPA of 3.48 or better were accepted. </p>
<p>The national average for accepted applicants with a 3.48 or better in those programs was 44 percent."***</p>
<p>[Taking</a> a shot at medical school - Lifestyle](<a href=“http://media.www.thebrownandwhite.com/media/storage/paper1233/news/2008/01/25/Lifestyle/Taking.A.Shot.At.Medical.School-3166883.shtml]Taking”>http://media.www.thebrownandwhite.com/media/storage/paper1233/news/2008/01/25/Lifestyle/Taking.A.Shot.At.Medical.School-3166883.shtml)</p>
<p>Pop over to the premed forum to see what good placement rates are for med school. If you’re really serious about applying to med school, you’ll be better prepared if you start reading about it now.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing: most students (at any university) who start out as premeds end up changing their minds, either because they discover that they don’t like science as much as they had thought or because their grades aren’t good enough. Just because a student gets As in high school, it doesn’t mean that he/she will in college. Next, for those who DO apply to med school, most don’t get any acceptances their first time around. (I gleaned this information from the premed forum, so you’ll have to do the research to see whether this is accurate.) </p>
<p>The premed advisors at some schools actively discourage weaker candidates from applying to med school, and that makes their numbers look better. Does Lehigh do this? I don’t know. Do Ursinus and Gettysburg? You’ll have to ask.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www4.lehigh.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/admissions/LU_placementsummary09.pdf[/url]”>http://www4.lehigh.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/admissions/LU_placementsummary09.pdf</a></p>
<p>91% of the Lehigh Class of 2009 candidates who applied to allopathic (M.D.) medical schools with grade point averages (GPAs) of 3.66 or better were accepted. (3.66 was the national average of students accepted into medical schools).</p>
<p>Following up with what momwaiting was saying, you should also look at the strength of the overall university in case you decide to not go to Med school.</p>
<p>If you attend a lower quality college in order to get better grades for med school, but decide not to apply to med school, then your choices of top majors might be limited compared to Lehigh.</p>
<p>mumof2boyz-True, but I always thought Lehigh was strong in the sciences was expecting higher?</p>
<p>Japanoko-90% with a 3.48 or higher? Sory, but that does not seem like a reliable statistic the brochure they handed out though did state those with 3.67 or higher 88% were accepted </p>
<p>Momwaitingfornew-Good tip about looking at the predmed forum, will do that, also as for the discouragement in applying to medical school in the first place, I am pretty sure Ursinus does have a “weeding out” process in which after first year if you do not have a certain grade in the sciences you are asked to change major or something along those lines. And at first that is why I though Lehigh’s medical school acceptance rate was on the low side because they did not practice such a thing, but the lady informed me that before applying to medical school you must be first approved by a council to see if you should you even apply in the first place, if not they will not write a recommendation for you</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
<p>Japanoko-Thanks for the link, they have that paper, a more update one, today. That is why I liked Lehigh though, the easiness to change majors without a hassle, even though I am stern on going to medical school. However, how are grades at Lehigh? Are there very few A’s, I forgot to ask this, but would you say there is grade deflation, reading online it seems teachers are trying to limit As in a sense, which would hinder my GPA. Would you say you would certainly have to be at the top of your class to get a 3.75 lets say?</p>
<p>Also another generic question, does Lehigh do top 10% in class awards? Or a Dean’s Award for having a certain GPA after a semester?</p>
<p>Yes, a high GPA is critical for getting into medical school. You also have to have good test scores (MCAT), extracurriculars/community service, and health care experience. </p>
<p>There are trade-offs between attending a rigorous school/getting a slightly lower GPA and attending a less demanding one. While your GPA may be better at the second, your course preparation for the MCAT may be better at the first. </p>
<p>If I were you, I’d just attend the school with the best education, whichever you feel fills that role.</p>
<p>I guess I am unsure what you mean by you thought Lehigh’s sciences would be “better.” They are particularly known for engineering and science. </p>
<p>I can answer some of your questions about GPA and awards etc. Lehigh is a hard school, but 3.75 is not the top of the class by any means. My son and several of his friends have 4.0’s. There is a Dean’s List with a reception each semester. There is an Honor society for rising Sophomores who attained a 3.6 or better. There is an honor society for Juniors and Seniors as well. I know there is also an Engineering honor society - not sure about the other majors but I am sure you can find info on the website about this. Juniors and Seniors have an Honors Convocation where GPA and other awards are given out. Also, Lehigh is a Ph Beta Kappa school.</p>
<p>More comments about GPA: </p>
<p>Engineering GPAs tend to be lower than the rest of the university’s, mostly because certain upper level courses are tough. (As I understand it, Engineering 1 and 5 are relatively easy As; the easiness ends there.) Across the country, this is the norm. </p>
<p>If you’ve heard that Lehigh has grade deflation, it’s probably mostly due to engineering and the weed-out courses (physics, calculus II and III, cell biology, organic chemistry.) Of course, some students get As in the difficult courses, and that differentiates them from their peers. </p>
<p>You also need to keep in mind that college is NOT high school. If you didn’t have to work hard in high school or don’t have good time management or study skills, you will struggle at first. Freshmen are often shocked at the higher standards, and many get their first Cs and Ds. I would choose your first semester courses with care in case you discover that your high school did not prepare you as well as you thought.</p>
<p>And to put things in perspective, MIT’s medical school acceptance rate is 84.8%. The national average, according to MIT, is 46%. </p>
<p>[Preprofessional</a> Stats - MIT Careers Office](<a href=“http://www.mit.edu/~career/infostats/preprof.html]Preprofessional”>http://www.mit.edu/~career/infostats/preprof.html)</p>
<p>You can’t get much better in science than MIT.</p>
<p>To get some insight as to how rigorous the biosciences are at Lehigh view the recorded class videos they post on the web; they’re fairly impressive:</p>
<p>[Bioscience</a> in the 21st Century](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/inbios21/public/www-data/videos.html]Bioscience”>Lehigh University's Bioscience in the 21st Century)</p>