<p>This question is completely hypothetical. I'm only a junior in high school and I haven't even applied to colleges yet. So to the point: I'm wondering what would be a "better" choice for me in this hypothetical situation. Go to Umass Amherst and do well (3.7 gpa in an ideal world) or go to Tufts (3.3 or lower =/) and struggle. Which scenario would Med Schools prefer? Would they want the kid from the more prestigious school or the better grades?</p>
<p>For sure Umass, but unlikely that such a difference would occur in GPA just based on difficulty of the courses.</p>
<p>Also, if you are going to tufts because you think its name is going to give you a leg up in medical admissions… don’t.</p>
<p>do you think it would be easier to get good grades at a less exclusive school since the science courses are graded on a curve?</p>
<p>How should i decided which college to go to then. Should i go somewhere where I can do well and sacrifice some of my comfort, or should I go somewhere more comfortable to me.</p>
<p>The general wisdom that is often posted here is to go to a school that you like and you are challenged but not overwhelmed. BDM once posted that, as a rule of thumb, your standard test score (e.g., SAT) should be within the top 25-30 percents of your class. (In another post, he seems to make an exception for the very top schools though.)</p>
<p>Another point: Are you very good at building up ECs that medical schools are looking for? Some said if you are not particularly good at lining up your ECs, being from a very top school could you some slack on not-so-astonishing ECs. But I suspect tufts may not be one of these very top schools. (No offense to the students from tufs, as it is a respectful school at a nice location/city. But I think this is what mmmcdowe meant when he posted: “if you are going to tufts because you think its name is going to give you a leg up in medical admissions… don’t. .” — For a record, DS did get an interview invite from tufts medical school. This sort of proves he does not look down at that particular school.)</p>
<p>No 3.3 if considering Med. School, please. How do you know your college GPA, being HS junior? I am lost on that one. If you posses some magical means of knowing your future, you should know which college to go and which Med. School will accept you, then it is easy.</p>
<p>One of my nephews is at Tufts…he does feel that the grading curve is harsh there. He had gone to a good private high school prep school, so he was used to tough academic standards, but he feels that the curve is tough in the sciences at Tufts.</p>
<p>Why do you assume that you will end up with a 3.3 at Tufts? It can’t be that hard…If you are smart enough to get in, and if you work incredibly hard you should be able to pull of a 3.7 at Tufts.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>I think maybe the person is concerned that Tufts will be filled with a lot of high stats prep school kids who didn’t get into ivies despite their ivy stats. Therefore, the curve in the sciences will be harsh.</p>
<p>I can totally understand why a student might think he might end up with a lower GPA at Tufts. Maybe not the extreme that he’s putting forth, but certainly a lower GPA could be possible. I am rather certain that my nephew at Tufts would have had straight A’s or near-straight A’s this last semester if he had gone to a UMass-like public. At Tufts, he had a 3.5.</p>
<p>While the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.8 may not be earth-shattering for most career-paths, it can be “make or break” for pre-med students.</p>
<p>mom2ck, I think there are a set of colleges whose top students are as good (on academics) as those in the very top colleges like ivies. The only difference between these two groups of students are their ECs. What may be “worse” in these colleges is that their students may be interested in academic only – so they pour almost all of their energy/time into academics, to the exclusion of other meaningful activities. This is because this is what they are good at and what they do before college.</p>
<p>Also, you may see more of these kinds of students in some department with a “catchy” name, e.g., a department whose PhD program is highly ranked and some high school students think they can learn more there even though they are just undergraduates there.</p>
<p>I am not sure whether tufts is one of these schools though.</p>
<p>(Hmm…Is it possible that we see the same at the medical school level?)</p>
<p>mom2ck, I think there are a set of colleges whose top students are as good (on academics) as those in the very top colleges like ivies</p>
<p>Oh I agree…I do think Tufts is one…Vandy is another… When we were visiting top schools, there clearly were “ivy hopefuls” touring these schools as “back ups.” Since ivies/MIT/Stanford could all field a whole 'nuther freshmen class without sacrificing quality (probabaly could field an 'nuther third class), that means that those kids end up elsewhere.</p>
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<p>^^^ I know thats what the op was trying to say, but what I was trying to tell me the op was that if he/she is smart enough to get into Tufts, and if he/she works really hard, then he/she will be able to pull off a 3.7+ regardless of the caliber of the other students.</p>
<p>I remember worrying whether or not I would be able to compete in college (when I was a senior in hs), and I ended up exceeding my initial gpa goals simply because I worked really hard. In fact, I am doing better in college than I ever did in high school, because I WORK HARD. OP don’t USE your high school performance to predict your college performance. I did horribly in high school (what saved me were the SATs), and I am doing fine in college. I know kids at my school who gave up Duke, WashU, and a couple of ivy league schools to come to my school, and they are doing horribly in college because they DON’T WORK HARD. Those kids obv. did a lot better than me in hs, because I didn’t get into any of those elite schools.</p>
<p>In case you can’t figure it out, I put words in CAPS to show that if YOU WORK HARD, you will END UP WITH A 3.7+</p>
<p>*what I was trying to tell the op was that if he/she is smart enough to get into Tufts, and if he/she works really hard, then he/she will be able to pull off a 3.7+ regardless of the caliber of the other students.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I’m not sure how true that is. That would mean that ANY student accepted to Tufts has the ability to graduate with a 3.7. I’m not sure that is true. It might be, but I’m not certain that it is. Obviously, half of the people who are “smart enough” to get into Tufts are in the lower half of the school.</p>
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<p>I think its true. Its not like I am saying that anyone who works really hard will get a 4.0 (thats almost never the case). Its a 3.7 which is doable, if the op manages his/her time correctly and uses proper study techniques.</p>