<p>happy? Moviebuff, you're completely wrong about "people not wanting to post their GPA's to the internet" necessarily equals "people here are cut-throat/overly defensive." It's simply not a polite topic of discussion; it's like asking people about their salaries. </p>
<p>If people openly sharing, and obsessing over, their GPAs is an important priority for you, then by all means find a school where that's in vogue. But at Chicago, the general feeling (as has already been stated numerous times before) is that you can't just break down a person's academic experience and potential into one little number. If I were a prospective student at the school I would be much more concerned with the overall quality of life and academics than a number that may or may not accurately reflect some arbitrary abstract of a real person's experience.</p>
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But at Chicago, the general feeling (as has already been stated numerous times before) is that you can't just break down a person's academic experience and potential into one little number.
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<p>Who implied this? I'm pretty sure many other students at other top schools feel the same way, and I don't understand how one feels their value as a person is being judged simply by their GPA.</p>
<p>Hmmmm. I don't know S's GPA. He seems happy with it and is still planning to apply to med school so it must be okay. I do know that he really enjoys the school, and, for the most part, his courses. He did say he had one class of about 95 students where only 7 (as announced by the prof) got an A, and most got C's and C+'s, if that is any help.</p>
<p>I don't think anyone is really being defensive, per se, but as corranged and unalove both said, why bother talking about a number? Does it reflect who someone truly is, does it say anything meaningful or important? Who cares, even if it is anonymous?</p>
<p>I think many of you from Chicago who are posting in this thread are missing the point. Yes, as prospies we understand that the "general" attitude around Chicago is that GPA is unimportant. However, some of us have grandiose plans for graduate studies (whether it be a top 4 law school or a top medical school), both of which have unbelievable GPA requirements (generally range from 3.8-4.0). </p>
<p>Yes, people say that graduate schools take into account Chciago's rigor. However, do you think a 3.5 is a high enough GPA from Chicago to go to Harvard Law?</p>
<p>If a bunch of Chicago students post their GPA, it makes it easier to get a feeling for what the school is like GPA-wise so we can realize if Chicago is the best place to go to for grad school preparation.</p>
<p>It is unnecessary to "hide" one's GPA because we as CC users are missing the point. You don't have to teach us a lesson.</p>
<p>I agree entirely with Cardene. I really want to be a doctor, and I am terrified that Chicago's rigor could result in a gpa that will not get me into med school. My highschool doesn't do gpas, and I am not looking forward to getting used to one. On that note, Cardene, I think 60% of the kids who apply to med school with a 3.2 gpa get into med school (I read that somewhere here, have no idea how valid that stat is). I also remember reading a story about a girl who had a 3.4 and got into Harvard med school along with UMich's and Yale's med schools. So to that end, I hope that helps in terms of Chicago's gpa affecting professional school admissions.</p>
<p>I believe only one or two students earned a 4.0 in the last 10 years or more. A 3.8 is also rare, but it does happen. A 3.5 is realistic. Believe me, grad schools, med schools, etc. know about the curriculum at Chicago. A 3.5 combined with high LSAT scores, and the right recommendations, etc. can get one into Harvard Law. Remember it is not just about GPA. As I have posted before, an MD on the admissions committee of a Medical School ranked #1 for primary care & pediatrics , and #7 for research said a 3.5 from U of C was consider quite good enough for admission, and even a lower GPA still had a good shot. U of C students typically score very well on MCATs etc, as well.</p>
<p>Still a college prospie and already worrying about grad school? I only wish I had the confidence (or foolish consistency) necessary to say exactly who I will be and where I will go in four years time.</p>
<p>well being a doctor has always been my dream--really just helping people in general has been. I intend to keep an open mind, but since I like science, and love interacting with people, being a doctor has always been what I want to be in life--as far was what type, I have a few ideas but I'll save that for later.</p>
<p>As far as worrying about it now--the sooner you start, the better prepped you will be for when you apply. Prolly the only reason I got into the University is because as a freshman I told myself: you are going to have a fantastic application for college, so you will start working hard NOW.</p>
<p>First of all, it's absurd that a college would be giving out 4.0 GPAs with any regularity. My mother's boyfriend in college graduated one of the UCs with the highest GPA in the school's history, and it wasn't a 4.0. </p>
<p>Second, I do think it's early for you to be worrying about specific law schools. You don't really know what GPA you are capable of getting at any school. Most students here had similar grades in high school. I had lower high school grades than one of my friends here, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting higher grades in the College. It's difficult to predict how you will succeed in a college environment, particularly in U of C classes that are very focused on critical reading, writing, and discussion. </p>
<p>I don't understand how a few current students posting their GPAs will make it easier for you to understand what the GPAs are like since you already have the average GPA. You can ask me or other current students specific questions about classes and their respective grading--I'll even give you my grade and information about my strengths, the amount of time I put into the class, and my history in the subject. In the end, though, my GPA alone will give you very little information.</p>
<p>Agree with Cardene and Smirkus. However, I have read that a 3.2 is too low for ANY medical school. That would have to be compensated by some outstanding MCATs and ECs ( research ) or perhaps URM status. Those stats are widely available for anyone to check. </p>
<p>And yes, .....if you are thinking of med school, you better start planning now. In only three more years, we will be going thru all this once again. ECs, research, letters of rec and to be confident at least a 3.5 GPA. </p>
<p>It is ridiculous to suggest that people at a particular school "do not care about their GPA". Lets be real.</p>
<p>This was published by the pre-health professions advising office in 2001. I wouldn't be surprised if students from the U of C have continued to do better with med school admissions in the past few years.
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What is "enough" GPA? Professional schools do understand the rigorous nature of our College curriculum and look carefully at the transcripts of our applicants. In 1998, the National average GPA of those matriculating to allopathic medical schools 3.58; from the College 3.48. This was the lowest for any college in North America, and clearly indicates that the professional schools appreciate and understand the rigor of the curriculum you have experienced here. In 2000, students from Chicago who scored the national average (~8) or higher on each section of the MCAT and had a GPA equal to or greater than the College Deans List (3.25) had a 67% rate of acceptance. With a GPA of 3.30 the acceptance rate was 75%. So, making the Dean's List should be a goal for you. Applicants from the College with these academic credentials who were not accepted generally failed to have a plan to enhance their personal development and/or explore and test their decision to enter the health professions. Or, they may have excellent grades and MCATS but failed to achieve independence and ownership of their learning.
<p>wow, Corranged, that is everything I ever wanted to know about medicine and Chicago as a prospie! Thanks for posting it, but where did you find it? Next time im procrastinating/wasting time I might want to read up on that more.</p>
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A 3.5 combined with high LSAT scores, and the right recommendations, etc. can get one into Harvard Law.
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<p>That puts one well below the 25th percentile for a Harvard Law entering pool, which is at a 3.8. Does the bottom end of the Harvard Law GPA's consist of Chicago students?</p>
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That puts one well below the 25th percentile for a Harvard Law...
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Someone has to be. To be accepted to Harvard Law, or U of C Law for that matter, one needs more than a high GPA. It requires something to make the student stand out among the may applicants who apply. An interesting little fact I read was that over 60% of those admitted were from non Ivy League schools.</p>
<p>I sympathize with you guys, really. You're at the point now where you're going to have to make a choice that will shape the direction of your life, and of course you're nervous about whether or not it's the right one. But honestly, you have to realize - and this is coming from somebody who was right where you were last year - that we're not just trying to be catty about the GPA issue. We're being dead honest. </p>
<p>If you come to Chicago, and you work hard and put in the effort that one would expect of the type of person who would become a doctor or a lawyer, I can %99 guarantee you that you'll get the GPA you need to excel in your field. If you take all the required classes and can't meet the minimum requirements for a demanding grad school, then the field is not for you. Do you honestly think that there are people walking around going "Oh, I would have loved to have been a doctor or lawyer, but they graded me too hard in college!"? Furthermore, do you think elite grad schools simply base their decisions around a single statistic, or even weight GPAs as heavily as you think they do? </p>
<p>Bottom line: GPA is too individual of a measure to do anything towards helping you understand the school and its grading better. It's entirely dependent on the personal goals and standards of the person who has it. If you're highly-motivated enough and work your ass off, it's going to show, through internships and work experience and teacher recommendations as well as grades. Grad schools aren't interested in the highest-GPA students, they're interested in the ones who apply themselves the best (which there is more than enough opportunity to do at Chicago). The fact that most of the admitted have high GPAs is more correlation than a cause for their admittance.</p>
<p>Here's a crazy idea: Maybe a group of people posting on College Confidential don't know enough about the various grad schools and their individual requirements to answer your questions. Simply relying on percentiles and statistics, like some of you have been, is even more misleading. You know who can actually answer your questions a lot better? Your admissions counselor. Send them an e-mail, see what's up. They're ten times more knowlegeable about this than you and I.</p>
<p>Oh and for the love of god, hold on to your dreams, but keep your minds open as well. You haven't taken a single class here yet. There are literally hundreds of people walking around who were absolutely sure of what they wanted to do - until they took the first required class and realized that it was not for them. It seems one out of every two first years thinks they can take a few economics courses and i-bank their way into the Hamptons, and of course maybe %10 of them actually make it past the first econ series. So yeah, it's great to have dreams, but remember that you're holding onto an idealization and it won't really mean anything until you start getting into the brute work involved with the major.</p>
<p>I've been reading this thread as a parent of prospie, and I just have to say I really appreciate the UC students being firm on this one. My son has always had a very high GPA in schools, but he's never cared, because that's just not who he is. He spent a summer at Stanford and left with a 3.85 (A+, A+, A-), but also with the realization that Stanford does give A's away pretty freely. </p>
<p>Two of his top schools are Reed and U Chicago, in part because they're rigorous, but not freakishly competitive.</p>