<p>I was accepted at both UVa and W&M. Which would be the better school for psychology studies? Any difference in acceptance rates into med schools? Has more success in placing students into top medical schools? If I get a low GPA at W&M because of grade deflation, will medical schools give me some slack?</p>
<p>WM has a med school acceptance rate of 80%. I believe from what I've read, that UVA's is around 60-66%. 15% of students major in Psychology at WM. The Neuroscience department is pretty big too.</p>
<p>I was accepted at William & Mary and at UVa -- 27 years ago. I chose W&M but I majored in English and History. I preferred the smaller size and it just felt right. My son is now trying to decide between W&M (for English and Religion) and Ithaca College (for Journalism). </p>
<p>Go to the school that feels right to you, study hard, work hard, and get the most out of the experience -- and stop obsessing about minor statistical differences in graduate/law/medical school acceptances. Be determined that YOU, and not your undergraduate degree, are the one going to grad/law/med school. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>--K9Leader</p>
<p>I was accepted to WM 11 years ago (I was out of state and didn't apply to UVA b/c it was too big) and I agree wholeheartedly with K9. Go where you feel most comfortable, find something you like to do, do it really well, and don't worry so much about the percentages. At the end of the day, grad schools are enrolling people, not numbers. Trust me, though I'll understand if you don't--it's hard to see the forest from the trees when you're starting college. But you're going to have to eventually relinquish control to the admissions committee, anyway, so obsessing about it won't help you one whit. The absence of grade inflation at WM is real, but if you do your day's work, getting between a 3.5 and a 4.0 (which will put you in PBK and some sort of cum laude range) is not just manageable, it's pretty easy, and yes, impressive to med schools, too. I majored in psychology and biology and both were great, great departments. Almost all of my profs are still at school, and the worst one (a psych prof) died a few years ago. As for grad school, I applied to both psych programs and law schools, got into top 50 programs for both, and ended up getting a master's in creative writing (the English department was fantastic, too) at a top 25 program instead because that's what I realized I really wanted to do and I think the admissions people could see that from my application, so you never really know what might tickle your fancy. Take a deep breath. Nothing you do right now, least of which choosing either UVA and WM, will have any bearing on the bigger picture. I mean it.</p>
<p>Most pre-med students, by the way, major in neuroscience.</p>
<p>FIT FIT FIT</p>
<p>I'm following you around the board, haha. I slightly disagree that a 3.5 is "pretty easy". Tell that to the 80%+ of Freshmen who have a gpa under 3.5 and the 100% of freshmen who combine to average a solid 2.9 their first year, and the 100% of W&M students who graduate with a combined average GPA of about 3.15.</p>
<p>That said, W&M has good grad school/med school acceptances. You can browse them on the career center website by major, if you wish to do so.</p>
<p>To me, honestly, from what I know about you (which I will quickly admit isn't very much), I think you would fit better at W&M, but that definitely doesn't mean you wouldn't have a great time at UVA.</p>
<p>Excellent advice. I attended a top-three graduate program in my field, and you'd be very surprised at the mix of undergraduate schools represented in my class. Those from Ivy schools and the likes of Stanford were in the minority. Students are selected based on ability and potential, regardless of where they were undergrads. FWIW, only about 1/3 of us actually finished our degrees, and there was no obvious relationship between the perceived quality of one's undergraduate college and likelihood of finishing. Don't obsess on minor differences in ratings and acceptance rates, which are blunt-edge measures anyhow. Attend the school that clicks for you, work hard, get to know your professors, and the rest will take care of itself.</p>
<p>I really like W&M's small classes, focus on undergraduate education, and beautiful campus. The only thing I am concerned is the grading system. Is the workload managable? Is it possible to get at least 3.5 GPA? Are ALL classes deflated?</p>
<p>3.5 first semester is kind've a challenge, I didnt think so, but it places you in the top 10% of freshman at a minimum I'd say...It's really not that hard if you are dedicated</p>
<p>While GPA is something you need to be concerned with, remember that GPA is simply one way of measuring what you have learned. In many ways it is a very arbitrary method of measurement. A 3.5 wasn't in the cards for me when I was a student at W&M. I graduated with something just below a 3.0 smack in the middle of the class (340th or 350th or so out of about 750). I worked hard, did well in classes and in activities (editor of the yearbook, officer in the Student Association, fraternity, met the love of my life), but I was an average fish in the W&M pond. I contented myself with the knowledge that it was a very talented and deep pond. </p>
<p>Maybe a 3.5 is doable for you or maybe you will have to adjust your expectations. Both are a part of the growing and maturing that are a more important part of getting an education than is GPA. Or maybe you will be unable to adjust your expectations and will make yourself crazy, in which case you will have missed out on a large part of the college experience. </p>
<p>I didn't go to graduate school right out of W&M. No employer ever asked about my GPA and none cared whether it was 2.97 or 3.0 or 3.5 or whatever. When I finally did go to graduate school it was more than 20 years later (I graduate in two weeks) and in a different field than my degree and in a different field than that in which I worked for those 20 years and it was at a school chosen more for its proximity and convenience than its prestige and name recognition. My undergrad GPA was not a concern there, either. </p>
<p>My point is still the same as earlier: Go to the school that feels right to you, study hard, work hard, and get the most out of the experience -- and stop obsessing about minor statistical differences in potential GPA. Be determined that you are going to get an education that will make you a better person, a better citizen, a better son/daughter/husband/wife/parent/friend/employee/neighbor/or whatever. You are not going just to get a number that will be tattooed on your forehead so that graduate school admissions people will have an easier time deciding if they get to validate your worth. </p>
<p>I know there is intense pressure -- from parents, from peers, from society, from yourself -- to get your ticket punched with all these basically superficial measurements (GPA, U.S. News ranking of your college, offices held, recommendations, LSAT/MCAT/other scores). Go where you will be happy and where you fit and where you will get the most from the experience. The other stuff will take care of itself and you will find that it really doesn't matter all that much in the long run. I probably could have gone to some other school and gotten a 3.0 or 3.2 or 3.5 or better (or worse!), but I went to William and Mary and got the education that was right for me. I hope you end up where you will get the education that is right for you, whether it is at William & Mary or that second university of Virginia.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>--K9Leader</p>