<p>We are Texas residents - my son is trying to decide between the Health Science Honors program at UT Austin and Vanderbilt - he prefers the college experience and facilities at Vanderbilt but he is concerned that Vanderbilt seems to have grade deflation and may be difficult to maintain a 3.6 -3.7 GPA - anybody have any thoughts on Premed at Vanderbilt ?</p>
<p>I immediately began talking to my fellow freshmen pre-meds when I arrived on campus in the fall last year, and as soon as the undergraduate med school adviser office conducted talks and seminars for all of us, we jumped at every opportunity. I think there are things that need to be said for a school like Vanderbilt and a reputation for “grade deflation”. Dr. Baum, the head of the advisory office for pre-meds, cleared a lot of things up for all of us and for our anxieties.</p>
<p>First of all, Pre-Meds have all the options in the world for their major as long as they take the requisite classes. But majors are apparently weighed, so that traditionally difficult majors like Biochemistry or Astrophysics would factor in to GPA considerations, so that those taking the majors would only need a 3.5-3.6 or so, while those taking majors in less taxing areas such as Communications or Gender Studies would have no excuse not to obtain a 3.9.</p>
<p>Secondly, the name of the undergraduate school of origin seems to be terribly underrated; it matters much more for medical schools than what most people think. It factors in the same way as the major; there are those from Vanderbilt who have been accepted with 3.4 GPAs at top medical schools because of the difficulty of their course load taken into consideration (among other factors). I really just hope that you guys don’t feel discouraged from attending simply because you think it’s difficult. Pre-Med is difficult everywhere, but I want you guys to appreciate that considerations are always being made with respect to those who try to take a track they feel is easier or more difficult.</p>