<p>After talking to some people and looking up things on Emory I find it to be an awesome school that I would want to attend regardless of prestige and ranking, etc. I really like the location, weather, and the academic offerings. </p>
<p>However....</p>
<p>Why go to Emory as a premed? There are so many premeds at Emory, so why do people still go there? Wouldn't it be really tough when you need to get a really good GPA but are competing for grades with people who are just as bright or brighter than you? Also, so many people will be taking these premed courses like intro. bio, etc. so isn't it tough to get an awesome GPA at Emory as a premed?</p>
<p>Honestly, the GPA issue is the ONLY thing that worries me about Emory. I don't want to ruin my med school hopes just because I get a bad GPA at a premed hotbed....</p>
<p>Any thoughts and comments are appreciated especially from current students!</p>
<p>It’s totally doable. Learning resources and your profs. are so accessible that you should be able to do well. Many people here get high gpas as pre-meds. Many freshmen in particular get 3.5+ first year and then it increases depending on the major (like biology), where many upperlevel courses grade at least slightly easier. Your goal is to defy the norm and get the GPA and do well on the MCAT. You’ll need to retain the information and not just get an A-/A in the course. My friends who did well say that general chem, orgo., and biochem were the best prep. for certain sections. Physics wasn’t bad, and bio 141 (bio 142 is relatively irrelevant to premeds) was kind of useless. I’d imagine bio was useless because it was one of those courses that is very strenuous and many simply try to get past it. It is generally much tougher than 142. They are trying out the problem based learning stuff more since they revamped the bio series here (my friends in class of 2010-2011 came in before that). This may provide greater success. Point is, if you put the effort in, you can do this. Choose the right courses, and also, don’t stress too much. Try to sleep, and follow the “work harder, play hard” rule and you should be fine. Get involved in an extracurricular that means a lot to you. It need not be medical related (you want some medical-related/science oriented experiences, but don’t let it dominate too much of your resume/app. For top schools, you’ll want to stand out. Do something different, or go bigger than shadowing or research). Follow the suggested study habits placed on the syllabus if you don’t have much experience with a particular course topic. And again, do not be ashamed to use learning resources such as a specialist or e-pass tutor. Attend SI if you are struggling with more problem based courses. </p>
<p>By the way, I am not pre-med, I’m just a science major interested in a pharmacology graduate program. My opinion is based upon the patterns I see amongst my peers and friends. Some who did very well. I have one going to Harvard in the fall. And I know one that should be able to matriculate at a top school (he is a rising senior and will apply next year) b/c he has a high GPA and MCATs. He wants to stay and attend Emory, primarily because of the curriculum and the fact that he likes Atlanta. I’m sure he’ll make it. I also know two people that got into Duke full ride. The most recent graduates have done extremely well. Hopefully the next graduating classes can show them up ;). And hopefully you’ll strongly consider becoming a part of one of those.</p>
<p>You’re right in a sense. If you only want a good GPA, you should go to an easier school. But if you want an excellent education with opportunities (research, lab work, access to funding, etc, etc) that you just can’t get at a lot of places, then you should go to Emory (or a place like it). The reason so many people come to Emory for premed and other programs is because they are good programs. It’s really that simple. I am of the mind that, so long as you can reasonably afford it, you should go to the best university possible for what you want to do and that fits you best.</p>
<p>Honestly, you may not end up finishing the premed program for one reason or another, so I would suggest positioning yourself at a place that will provide a good education no matter what happens (I and nearly every single on of my friends ended up changing majors at Emory, and a lot of them dropped premed at one point or another). Make sure you have a Plan B just in case. A whole lot of people end up changing their majors once they start college. You don’t want to be stuck somewhere that isn’t right for you just because you thought that you could get a better GPA there than at Emory.</p>
<p>Firstly, I am an international so is it really, really hard for me to become an Emory Scholar or to just get to the point in the process where you are awarded 2/3 tuition scholarship? </p>
<p>After reading the above posts I feel like Emory is great but I need aid to go. The total cost to attend Emory is around 52K. My family can probably pay 30K or even a bit more. But, basically I need some sort of merit aid or Emory Scholar merit aid to attend.</p>
<p>How possible is it to get about 20K in merit aid because I don’t believe Emory offers need based aid to internationals…</p>
<p>Emory Scholars is very difficult to get, though I don’t think it’s any more difficult as an international student than as a domestic student. You’re right in that there is no Emory financial aid for international students. Perhaps your home country offers aid? Or perhaps you can apply to private scholarships in the event that you don’t get Emory Scholars? I’m not very knowledgeable of this topic, so I won’t be of much help when it come to international admissions. Others on here have much more insight than I.</p>
<p>Out of curiousity for those who know. Don’t the chances of admission for internationals expressing the desire for financial aid drop quite a bit (as if it isn’t already difficult for internationals to get into top schools) at the top schools that offer it. I mean, that wouldn’t matter if you are perfect applicant, but it could possibly be a tradeoff I guess, you know, to worsen your chances for admission.</p>
<p>And if I need to submit forms saying that I need some aid, then the only type I could get s merit aid then? Does anyone know how tough this would be to get? I need like 20K from Emory…and I could probably pick up some money from private scholarships here in Canada.</p>
<p>So, does saying that I need some type of aid affect my chances of getting into Emory?</p>
<p>Disclaimer: Again, I am by no means an authority on international admissions. But this is how I understand it:</p>
<p>Emory does not offer need-based financial aid to international applicants. Only merit aid is offered. With only a couple of exceptions (those particularly gifted in music or debate, I believe), the only merit-based scholarships available to incoming freshmen are through the Emory Scholars program. Although they do award somewhere around 100 scholarships ranging from 1/3 (or 1/2… something like that) to full tuition, they are extremely difficult to win. Any international student (meaning not a citizen of the United States; I’m unsure about non-US citizens who are citizens of US territories, just in case someone asks) wanting to attend Emory as an undergraduate has to show proof that they can pay one full year of tuition and living expenses to attend Emory. If you don’t think you’ll have access to the money through loans, outside scholarships, etc., Emory Scholars is an option. To get an idea if you’ll be competitive, search old threads about Emory Scholars. You’ll see what type of student tends to be successful and can then decide if you would be in the running. It’s really the top of the top applicants that even get a shot of winning an award. Sorry I don’t have better news, but that’s how it is.</p>
<p>“so isn’t it tough to get an awesome GPA at Emory as a premed?”</p>
<p>The consensus among most students here is that pre-med is the hardest of any major/pre-professional track to get a high GPA due to some grade deflation in intro courses, but as some posts here have already said many premeds still end up doing well. As an example, the Emory’s Dean List award is given each semester to the top 20% of all the students in the College in terms of GPA for that semester, and the cutoff is usually around a 3.85, so yes 20% of the students here have a 3.85 or better which for premed is a very competitive GPA. Of course that includes everyone and not just the premeds but a large portion of Emory is premed and even those who are not often have classes that overlap w/ those of premeds.</p>
<p>“Does being Canadian make any difference?”</p>
<p>This might give you a slight advantage, but nothing significant. I’m almost certain that Ivies don’t consider Canadians as internationals so you MIGHT even have a better shot at getting into an Ivy than into Emory w/ Scholars. This isn’t to discourage you from applying to Emory, but it’s always good to explore all your options :)</p>
<p>“So, does saying that I need some type of aid affect my chances of getting into Emory?”</p>
<p>Since emory doesn’t give any FA to internationals there’s no point in sending them your FA information; just apply to Emory w/o applying for FA. So no, it doesn’t hurt you since they don’t even consider internationals on a financial need basis.</p>
<p>OK, now on the old Emory Scholars threads people put ‘Semifinalist’…what exactly does that mean? (do the semi finalists more onto the next interview stage or something? Do all semi finalists get some kind of merit aid or do they need to pass another stage? How many people are semifinalists?) </p>
<p>What’s a Finalist then…the people that get the whole full ride with all expenses paid? </p>
<p>i understand the process, but my question is whether all semifinalists get something or if they have to make yet another cut off to get some merit aid?</p>