<p>ALright, how about we get back to more questions from the prospies? Tell me what you want to know and I'll try to help, or at least comment. </p>
<p>Other current students, please help me out with this, thanks</p>
<p>ok about the premed thing--i enjoy learning, socializing, and want to end up being a great doctor. I think im pretty smart (I got in didn't I?) but does it take a truly exceptional person to be able to pull off a good enough gpa for a good med school, have friends and party, time for a bit of ECs, and do whatever else you need to do for med school to get into a good med school. Or, at least at Chicago, if you want to go to a good med school, you need to have fun die for you?</p>
<p>I am not nervous about being challenged, or having to work hard. What I am nervous about is literally not having time (or feeling "irresponsible") to do other non academic things that are just as or more fun (in the case of partying and girls) than academic things. Can current students relate to this--do premeds get this a lot? Is this a staple of the school where "fun comes to die" or is this not so much as it used to be. I mean, of course there will be crappy weeks where there will be lots of work, but will it be a regular thing--will a week where I can have fun on weekends be rare as a premed, because I don't want that!</p>
<p>I think that's a really valid concern. I'm thinking about doing pre-med, and I plan to talk to my academic advisor about it at my next appointment. If you plan out your courses well, I think you'll have time to study, be involved in something that's not super time consuming (i.e. not mock trial), and have fun. You probably won't have time to party hard every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but it sounds as if you have a good grasp on the fact that you will need to work hard, so I think you'll be OK. </p>
<p>From what I've seen, the students for whom "where fun comes to die" is really true are those who are obsessed with getting a 4.0. In that case, you will always be stressed out, and you will probably feel "irresponsible" anytime that you're not focusing on your work. I think if you work hard, work smart, plan ahead, sleep some, relax some, party some, and accept that you may not get every page of reading done for every class or get an A on every exam, you can have a very successful time in college.</p>
<p>agreed corranged,</p>
<p>I know a few premed first years here and they seem to have an active social life. However, what I can't account is that none of them actively participate in any RSO's on campus (note: these are just the people that I know, not all premeds). It does take an exceptional person to pull all of this off and considering that you do get into this school, you're exceptional and you'll do just fine with the balancing act. Just be reasonable with your decisions, premed or not.</p>
<p>aw ****, it's jack reeves.</p>
<p>-"Old Man" Justin, transfer extraordinaire</p>
<p>are there students who double major at UChic or is that just social suicide?
i'm considering a double major in english and philosophy... but i donno...</p>
<p>i think i read that the stat is actually 20% of students double major. english and philosophy is quite doable, too.</p>
<p>I don't see why everyone is so worried about double majoring at the U of C. I could be missing something obvious, but the way I see it is you're going to be taking classes anyway, if you double major you're just taking classes in two focused areas instead of lots of electives. Right?</p>
<p>But yeah, you should be fine.</p>
<p>yeah I think you're right, I'll be meeting with my advisor soon, so I'll report back</p>
<p>According to one publication, over 70% of U of C students with a 3.3 GPA get into medical school. One can do it. S is premed, has a good GPA, has a very active social life, president of a sports club, Treasurer of an RSO and starting another, and did not take the easiest path (higher levels of physics and calculus than required for premed) nor choose the easiest concentration he could have. He will have all his core, concentration, and premed requirements finished at the end of next year, his third. We will have to wait awhile, however, to see how it all will turn out. He plans to spend fourth year taking 9 just for fun courses. </p>
<p>By the way, there are no bad medical schools in the US. And, as our physician relative likes to say, "You know what they call a med student who was last in his or her class? Doctor."</p>
<p>Perhaps another way of thinking about it is that you can't make yourself a better applicant on paper than you are as a student. I do not know enough about med school admissions to be an authority by any means, but I can only imagine that graduating from an "easy" school with a high GPA and graduating from a "hard" school with a lower GPA are somehow balanced against each other.</p>
<p>The only problem with that would be who really makes the call between what's a "hard" school and what's an "easy" school. </p>
<p>but yeah, i agree that however abstract the relation is, there is probably a balance somehow in most cases.</p>
<p>(note: that's another word that you'll come in contact with one thousand times at this school, "abstract" lol...I actually spelled it right this time....)</p>
<p>I agree-- hence the quotation marks :-)</p>
<p>but in simple terms, you have on the one hand a student from XYZ U who earned a 4.0, and on the other a U Chicago grad with a 3.5 (a GPA which is high enough to get you considered for honors in many departments). It's not clear that had the applicant who went to XYZ went to Chicago, he or she would have ended up with a 3.5, and it's also not clear that if the Chicagoan went to XYZ, he or she would have ended up with a 4.0.</p>