<p>Hey, well i'm new to the CC forums and I have been reading through everything and I have a few questions about things that are not clear to me.</p>
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<li><p>How hard is it to get an A in a premed class compared to high school classes or AP classes. I already go to a prestigious private school and when it comes to math and science I am usually top of the class in honors and AP classes (unfortunately I have a harder time in english, french, and history). How much harder would a pre med college class be (I hope to get into a good college like Duke, cornell, or stanford all of which I noticed have pretty good grade inflation)?</p></li>
<li><p>Where can I find research opportunities and volunteer opportunities? and also when should I start these? I am not in college yet (almost) but if I do volunteer now (probably, too young to do research would it help in a med school app?</p></li>
<li><p>I saw in a resent post that even if your stats are as good as the average stats of people admitted you still probably won't get in, I plan on doing a lot of ECs, volunteering, and research, could someone explain to me why you still probably won't get in?</p></li>
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<p>Thanks in advance to anyone who answers my questions and please don't say i'm too young to be thinking about this because honestly that annoys me, if I want to be prepared for the future don't try to stop me.</p>
<p>1) Shockingly, there are some people who feel it’s pretty similar IF you are used to a high level class with a number of motivated classmates. I don’t thing the classes themselves are easier, but with less fluff/crap to maneuver through many students can spend more time learning the material rather than negotiating day to day HS life. As long as you don’t get lost in all the freetime and distractions that are available it sometimes can seem easier. That most certainly doesn’t mean studying 20 hours a day b/c college can be a royal blast if you manage your social and academic time appropriately.</p>
<p>2) Check with upperclassmen, the Premedical or Preprofessional Committee or Alpha Epsilon Delta chapter (I’m assuming that’s still the PreMed Group), check with various departments and professors about things they may have going on you might interested in.</p>
<p>3) Some people with the Average Stats have no Extras, a personality flaw that comes out under interview, a lack of anything to make an average candidate stand out among all the average stats applicants, they don’t live in the correct state (for public schools anyway), special personal situation or advanced plans, research or special skills that a particular school is looking for, Underrep Minority status and other diversity wishes of a particular school, even a school which doesn’t want 85% Bio majors and wants a few ‘Oddball’ applicants who bring something unique to the program. EC’s and all the other things do end up mattering. There will be people with lower Stats, but will get in over people with higher stats due to all the other things that will into the decision. These things sometimes become more obvious as you progress through the process and aren’t always easy to quantify. Depending on number of applicants some schools may end up accepting 1 of 3 or 1 of 5 people with those exactly average stats.</p>
<p>1) It’s hard to say how difficult it will be since we know nothing about you. In the math/bio/chem/physics classes that pre-med need to take, you will have some pretty challenging competition. Some of the strongest students at the university will be in your classes. Are you smarter and more hard-working than 85% of your peers in those classes? (Just remember you don’t have to outrun the bear…)</p>
<p>2) How to find volunteer opportunities? Look around. Contact your local hospitals, elder care centers, community service programs–there are lots of places you can start making an impact. (D2 started volunteering during middle school at a local hospital.)</p>
<p>Finding research opportunities during high school is harder. Start by asking around in your high schools science dept. Contact faculty at any colleges or universities nearby. (D2 found a position in high school by emailing a resume & individualized, targeted cover letter to every single biology/neuroscience prof at the local university.) Research positions in college will be easier to come by, moreso if you are strong student with good grades and a good work ethic.</p>
<p>And yes, significant research (a first or second author on a paper) will help your med school application.</p>
<p>3) Medical school admission is a crap shoot. There are many more applicants than there are seats available. Average is just a statistic and doesn’t mean that every “average” candidate will be accepted. If your numbers for a particular school are “average”-- that means is that are probably dozens (or more) of equally qualified candidates. Some will get accepted; most won’t.</p>
<p>Sure Stanford is known for grade inflation – it’s up there in the top few for awarding a bunch of A’s. BUT, science classes are curved, so even in a grade-inflated school such as Stanford, ~20% might get a C in the premed sciences. Since the vast majority of students in those classes earned nearly straight A’s in HS, scored 2100+ on test scores, and took AP/IB with 5’s – but are repeating the course – the friendly competition ain’t all that easy…</p>
<p>ok thanks, I feel like an excellent school like Stanford would be in probably most peoples reach section when they are looking at colleges and as you said everyone who gets in probably got excellent grades in high school so what is the difference between the student who gets C’s in their pre med classes and the one who gets A’s? Does the student who gets A’s pick the teacher with the best grade distributions, or do they study all the time and have no life, or what is it that makes them different?</p>
<p>^^some are just brilliant folks, with IQ’s in the 150+ range…others work their butts off, and are in the library while their buddies are spending Saturday afternoon at Stanford Stadium.</p>
<p>So is it possible to have a social life and be the A student or do you have to give one of them up? Also it seems like it is a better and better idea to choose an easier major, what would you suggest in terms of majors? </p>
<p>I feel like i’m in a pickle. Biology is the science that interests me the most but then if I do major in biology it will only make it harder for me and if I don’t get into med school i’m stuck with a useless major.</p>
<p>Both D1 and D2 have managed to have a social life while in college. Both also worked PT on and off campus and did research and did volunteer work and kept 3.5-3.8 GPA in challenging majors (physics & math double major for D1; bio & math double major for D2). So it can be done. Time management is crucial. </p>
<p>Choose a major that interests you. There is nothing worse than taking coursework (and lots of it) in a field that holds no fascination for you. Every major has its challenges. </p>
<p>Biology isn’t a useless undergrad degree. While it’s unlikely that it will lead directly to a permanent professional position, it does position you to go into a variety of career fields. D1 is in the med school application cycle this year–if she doesn’t get into med school, she’ll likely go to grad school in medical physics or nanoscience. D2 hasn’t decided if she wants medical school or grad school yet. (She’s a college junior.) But beside those 2 options, she’s also positioned with her majors to go into a number of medically-related fields (audiology,optometry, etc) grad school in biomedical engineering, teaching, medical or pharm sales, plus a half a dozen of others I can think of right off hand. (She’s recently discovered she enjoys stats and probability–which open still other fields for her like risk management for hospitals, medical groups and insurance companies).</p>
<p>Thank you soooooooo much, thats actually really reassuring. Does anyone know anything about neuroscience in terms of how hard it is compared to biology?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. At some schools neuro is a subfield in the bio dept. IOW, your major is biology and you will need to fulfill all the general bio major requirements plus some additional ones that are specific to neuroscience. At other schools, it’s within the psych dept.–and I’m not sure how it works at those schools. I don’t know if the emphasis is on behavioral psych or on the biochemical side of brain function.</p>
<p>At D2’s school, neuro is considered to be the most difficult of all the bio tracks and has more required courses than any major in any field offered at the school. It’s also the only program at the university that requires an senior research project or honors thesis of all its students. </p>
<p>But the exact requirements for a neuro major are going to vary a great deal by school.</p>
<p>That is really the wrong question to ask. It really depends on YOUR interests. </p>
<p>Some students find studying the brain fascinating, so they don’t mind putting in the time, even if it requires more time than a general bio degree. Or, they just might prefer studying synapses over population/evolution/enviro science – some of the required courses in general bio. Other students might just love population/evolution/enviro science and hate brain science…</p>
<p>Others might prefer to study Russian Lit and take the premed courses on the side…</p>
<p>So is it possible to have a social life and be the A student or do you have to give one of them up?</p>
<p>Interesting question that went unnoticed. This really depends on what you want and how willing you are to settle with is reality. Realistically, if you maintain a 3.6-7 GPA in an engineering major at a state school you won’t have much time if any to spend pursuing extracurriculars. This comes into major importance when people argue a lot about “study what interests you.” Of course, always study what interests you because you don’t want years of ruin but also keep in mind of what your final goal is and adjust accordingly.</p>
<p>Are you willing to put in the time for the 3.7 GPA and also put social life on the back burner so that you can study what you love but then have to forego major extracurriculars and put you back severely for medical school (1+ year(s)). Many variables: or are you not willing to decrease your social life/fun; or are you not willing to decrease your extracurriculars. Not willing to settle for either (or worse, not willing to settle for both) will obviously result in a lower GPA, are you willing to fight for medical school spots with a lower GPA and rely on your MCAT score?</p>
<p>I think the ambiguity in choosing majors, especially when people argue do what you love!, applies largely to engineering majors. You love thinking & learning by theory (vs. reading/memorizing) by working math problems but you severely risk your end goal (med school). Of course, all of this primarily pertains to engineering. You can see how the beautifully stated & sounding cliche of studying what interests you can really trouble some students.</p>
<p>So the short answer: it depends on how difficult a specific major is taught at a specific school (aka it depends). Maintaining a high 3.7 GPA in engineering at a state school definitely means you will have to forego having a life. Maintaining a 3.8/9 at the same school in Biochemistry may not.</p>