<p>So I've been accepted to UChicago which I'm pretty happy about. I've got some major doubts though. I've read many threads on here and all i keep seeing is the school is "intense" and "I barely sleep" and things like that. I have kinda good time management and never have really struggled too much in high school. My SAT score is 2020 and I've had a 4.0 all throughout high school while still doing Varsity XC and Track. My questions are if I plan on doing the pre-med route what does "intense" exactly entail, will I be able to manage any extracurriculars, how does grade deflation which I've heard a lot about exactly work, and will grade deflation destroy my chances at getting into a top med school.</p>
<p>any advice from alumni or current students would be greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>Xuluea, where else were you accepted? If your primary goal in college is to get into a top medical school, some of Chicago’s peer may serve your needs more fully. Brown, Dartmouth, etc. may be better if you’re primary goal is acceptance to a top medical school.</p>
<p>Right now my other choices are UC Davis and honors program at UC Irvine. I’m waitlisted at UCSD so I dont know exactly how that will go. UChicago was really the only out of state that I applied to.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, while med school is obviously my primary goal, I also want to gain a broad education while in college. I’m just worried that it won’t be manageable to do school work, some extracurriculars and on occasion go out to relax and enjoy a little</p>
<p>sorry if this response isnt in the right spot, its my first time using CC haha</p>
<p>Lots of people express those concerns, Xuluea, but as a parent of a graduating fourth year and someone who’s followed that same question on this forum for years, I can assure you that Chicago students have plenty of time for extracurricular activities and relaxation. Yes, the work load is intense, and it’s possible that it will be a bit of an adjustment for you. But the fun coming to die thing is an inside joke, not a picture of the life before you. Those good time management skills you already have will serve you well, and it’s seemed to me that the pre-med students not only help each other out, they develop a lot of social contacts through their shared experiences.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that college is intense for pre-meds no matter where they are. If you are at UC-Irvine and you want to get into a “top” medical school, you had better be one of the top 2 or 3 pre-med students in your class, and there will be hundreds of them. If anything is different about Chicago, it’s that pretty much everyone works as hard as the pre-meds, not that the pre-meds work harder than they do elsewhere. Also, at Chicago if you want to be a Rhodes Scholar you have to be among the top 2 or 3 students, but a lot more people get into top medical schools than that. So you don’t have to worry quite so much about whether anyone else is gaining on you, and the atmosphere is very collaborative.</p>