<p>I know there have been numerous threads regarding this topic, but there are still conflicting responses. Exactly how difficult is it to get good grades at CAS? I'm considering med school and GPA is extremely important, but I'm willing to work as hard as I have to if I decide to commit to this goal 100%. My question is... if you put in the extra effort (and I mean a lot of effort) and manage your time wisely, can you achieve As? Or is it one of those situations where you work extremely hard and a C is all you can get on a good day?</p>
<p>I believe that the hardest part about Cornell is keeping the "100% committment" you speak of. If you truly are willing to put in a great effort, and are smarter than at least 25% of the students here, you'll get mostly all A's for sure.</p>
<p>Most Cornell students don't lack intelligence, but rather the drive to do well and the time management skills to succeed. If you possess both of these, there won't be many C's in your future.</p>
<p>the pre-meds get overly dramatic when the grades come out lol.</p>
<p>a lot is about drive because people burn out a lot. i remember when i started, i was very driven but by the last 4 weeks, there was just so much work to do, i just wanted to get over with, and not worry whether I got an A or a B.</p>
<p>Ahhh,,, it sounds like Cornell hasn't changed a bit since I was there over 20 years ago. I came from a non-New York, non Boston public school. When I arrived at Cornell (pre-med) I kind of freaked out because of all these very intense, seemingly smart Long Island types. I was convinced I couldn't do well. And I was most definetly behind the curve in terms of what I had learned in high school compared to the kinds of classses these majorly intense kids had taken.</p>
<p>Well, it turned out that most of those intense NYC kids ended up with much worse grades than I did. I had a life (acutally a very, very active social and community life) studied when I needed to and got A's in pretty much everything. Was a bio major in A & S. Got into med school (cornell actually). Actually I got into a bunch of medical schools and went to Cornell Med.</p>
<p>Things I think are/were important: 1. always to go lecture. If you have a decent memory you won't even need to study all that much (at least as a bio major) it's all in the lecture. 2. Always to do the reading assignments. What's not in lecture is in the book. This is especially true for humanities classes. 2. pick your prof's carefully. I made a point of finding out who was known as a good teacher (note: not the same thing as a easy teacher.) Most of my profs were good but I did end up with a few surprise bad ones. 3. Be smarter than the next guy. It's all about the curve and if you are in the top 10% or so you will get an A.</p>
<p>Cornell is a wonderful school. I often think back fondly about my time there. It truly was the best experience (or at least one of the best) of my life. Don't work all the time and have fun. Med School ain't neary as amusing. Residency ain't amusing at all. Getting a job, and a life and money make things good again, but that's about 8 -10 years after you leave undergrad.</p>
<p>Most of my friends who wanted to go to medical school from Cornell got into a (US) med school. Many did not get into their first choice, but most did get in.</p>
<p>Pencilpusher-thanks for the excellent post, it was a great read!</p>
<p>Everyone, this is all very encouraging... I just wanted to know that hardwork is justified at Cornell. Pencilpusher, thank you for the wonderful advice! Anymore from anyone would be greatly appreciated.</p>