<p>Like I said, is it? Does anyone know their acceptance rates. I hear so much about their liberal arts and economics and not so much about their natural sciences. I am a biologist, and would like to do lots of wetlab biology research, I mean they do have a cancer institute which is pretty cool, but how good are the profs/school in general for biology and premed? I am going to Berkeley right now, would I better off staying here, specifically in terms of success at getting into medical school, or going to Chicago?
Thanks guys</p>
<p>Well you have to realize that getting good grades at Chicago will be very, very tough. That's just the way they do things there. </p>
<p>Considering that GPA is the first factor in medical school admissions, and already Berkeley might be better for pre-med.</p>
<p>But, I dunno.</p>
<p>I'm not pre-med, but I know some pre-meds, so I can give you a little general information. I'm sure you can find the acceptance rates on the Chicago website; if not, feel free to email Admissions for the info. There is also something on the website called PSAC. You can ask a question, and it will be sent to a current student (in this case someone who knows about or is pre-med) to answer. I've met a good number of bio/chem/etc. majors, so you don't have to doubt the presence of non-liberal arts majors. I think majors here tend to be relatively spread out, with a larger portion studying econ than at most schools. The University of Chicago Hospital is on campus and very easy to get to if you're doing any work there. Since I'm not pre-med, I don't know the details. As Dearsiryes said, getting As at Chicago isn't an easy task, so you may graduate with a higher GPA at Berkeley, and they are both, of course, excellent schools. Why else are you considering the transfer? I suggest you talk to someone in the Admissions office to get your questions answered.</p>
<p>According to one of the pre-med publications, Chicago students with a 3.3 GPA have a 75% acceptance rate for Med School. I read somewhere that Chicago is in the top 10 of schools in students accepted into medical school. (Remember, all of these numbers are biased by the fact that many decide they don't have the numbers to apply in the first place, this is true for all schools. This is what makes Chicago's 3.3 GPA numbers so interesting) There are pre-med student groups on campus. One I know is the pre-med chapter of the American Medical Students Association. Here is the national link, perhaps one can find the Chicago info from there: <a href="http://www.amsa.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.amsa.org/</a>. Since it started just this year, they may not yet be listed. There is an AMSA Facebook group for U of C. There is also another pre-med group at Chicago as well.</p>
<p>I contacted the school and they e-mailed me back saying that they have an approximate of 70% medical school acceptance rate. They didn't say anything else though. one-sentence email...</p>
<p>I'm considering going ot Chicago next year, and I'd say I have a fairly strong work ethic/motivated. How hard would it be for me to maintain a 3.8+ at Chicago as a bio major?</p>
<p>Highly dependent on your classes; specific numbers are harder to gauge. Hesitantly, I would even say that Chi isn't the right place to have a "I need THIS GPA" mindset. If you're are motivated, work hard and study a lot, you'll get a GPA that will reflect that, and when grad schools look at it they will DEFINITELY account for the fact that you went to U of C. </p>
<p>The other big factor is that at Chicago you'll find it incredibly easy to rack up work/lab experience, in the school itself and through the school's connections with outside companies, facilities etc. Grad schools weigh work experience heavily.</p>
<p>If you get over a 3.8, and score 37 (I think) on MCAT, UC has a relevatively new program that accepts you in your jr year and pays the entire freight for med school. You finish UG degree with a regular sr. year but are committed to UC med school. Last year 3 people applied (or perhaps were able to apply) and one got in. Good luck.</p>
<p>yeah I'm really attracted to Chicago's programs, but at the same time, I do'nt want my GPA to take the plunge, because Med school admissions unfortunately places so much value on GPA, so i'm in really a bit of a crisis :(</p>
<p>According to some published data, students with a 3.2 have a 65% admit rate, and those with a 3.3 a 75% admit rate. Get a 3.4 or 3.5 and one should be a good shape (at least as GPA is concerned). The overall national admit rate to med school is about 46%. That is, 46% trying for med school are admitted to a med school. This is not to be confused with individual school admit rates. And, as my very well known and respected physician relative said to my S, there is no such thing as a bad med school in the US, one will get the same education no matter where one goes.</p>
<p>I read on the U of C pre-med advising website (which is now under construction, so I can't link it) that students getting into med school from the U of C have the lowest average GPA of any college in North America. In other words, though med school admissions certainly place huge value on GPA, the school is considered, at least to some degree.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you get over a 3.8, and score 37 (I think) on MCAT...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So if you're a god and would get in at all the top schools anyway, Chicago guarantee's that it will take you ;).</p>
<p>I would not worry about getting low GPA at Chicago.</p>
<p>I have spoken to many med school admission officers and they do know about the grade deflation at Chicago. In fact, I have even heard some "unofficial" comments that they add 0.2 to normalize Chicago students.</p>
<p>The same comment applies to those who apply to law schools and b-schools. </p>
<p>I heard that as long as you get anything above 3.4 and do well in MCAT, you are fine.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I read somewhere that Chicago is in the top 10 of schools in students accepted into medical school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>However, at 70% (genius1639), it's far from being the top 10. Duke/WashU have over 80%. Cornell has over 75%; % for Tufts and Vanderbilt are in low 70s. Princeton has ~90%. If little GPA deflation doesn't hurt, then something else is missing. Maybe the premed advising...</p>
<p>^ ^ Good point, Sam. How is pre-med advising at UC?</p>
<p>I wonder if Chicago even keeps year-to-year data on their med school acceptance rate. My guess is the 70% figure was an off the cuff response based on an earlier study that found that 75% of those with a 3.3 and 65% of those with a 3.2 (an average of 70%) were admitted. It would be interesting to see what the national admit average for those with a 3.2 GPA is.</p>
<p>lolabelle,</p>
<p>I have no idea. I wasn't a premed so I am not familiar with the whole process. I just read that premed advising is very important; it was just a pure guess when I said that may be the reason UChicago is "underperforming" (as compared to its peers and even some of those ranked lower than (or not as highly regarded) it).</p>
<p>idad,
The math doesn't work that way. Normally, most applicants do have GPA >3.2 (some colleges even discourage anyone with below, say, 3.3 apply to boost their overall admit rate (e.g. Johns Hopkins; the schools I mentioned earlier don't practice that from what I gathered and that's why I listed them for fair comparison). I am pretty sure the number of applicants with >3.3 far exceeds the number of applicants with <3.3 at Chicago. Therefore, those with less than 3.2 likely have very low %, not 65.</p>
<p>I was simply speaking of the quick though process of the person on the phone saying 70%. </p>
<p>My S is pre-med and has attended many meetings. He has never been told an admit number, or has he been told someone might have it, but that is difficult to know for sure. They simply say don't worry about it and get a 3.3 or above. He asked an admissions official we know from a nationally recognized med-school who said a 3.5 from Chicago was considered a top GPA and 3.3 would not keep one out. Interestingly, they consider the language and humanities courses at Chicago to be the greatest challenge to GPA, not the science courses. Concentrators in those areas get the most slack. And, yes they do look at the transcript, contrary to popular belief. There is one science sequence that makes a real difference, however, a B+ or above in O-Chem at Chicago is considered a good indicator of med school success.</p>
<p>Chicago student here who had a lot of friends in O-Chem 1 this past quarter. I'm not sure if my friends' sections had ANY grades above C+.</p>
<p>I know of one. :)</p>