Why is WashU's Pre-Med Program So "Hard"?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
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<p>I've heard/read this consistently, and I want to hear if it's true! I saw some weird stuff in the WashU course catalog and on the website- the idea of the Life Sciences thing is kind of creepy- it seems like they won't let you apply to med school if they don't approve. I keep reading reviews about how horrible the pre-med program is and how competitive it is, and how all the classes are designed to weed people out. But they also have really nice internships and research opportunties availiable through their medical center. Is it really worth it though, if you might not even get through the prerequisite courses?</p>

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<p>Everyone is pretty supportive. </p>

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<p>No. They really try to help you succeed in those courses.</p>

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<p>All science classes at any half-decent university are designed to weed people out.</p>

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<p>to simply answer the title of this post --- it's "so hard" because:
1) the med school is top notch and you often have med school faculty teaching undergrads
2) classes are taught at a higher level than most schools (example: you start learning about P-Chem concepts during basic Chem)
3) so many undergrads do research, and this is a research university... it's not the kind of school were people go to class and then don't engage in the academic material besides in the classroom.</p>

<p>Wash U pre-med is not for the faint of heart. I mean, it is very supportive and people want you to do well, and the quality of student life is very high. The pre-med advisors are reputed to be extremely helpful and get the kids into top med schools (including WUSTL's own). BUT, this is not the kind of school to do pre-med if you simply have a passing desire to go to medschool because you watch House or Nip Tuck or you think you'll make money being a doctor. It's for the truly dedicated people who are willing to work their butts off, have an innate passion to do medicine, and will actively contribute to a super intellectual environment. If you meet those characteristics, then you'll probably succeed at WUSTL :)</p>

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<p>The absolute difficulty of a class does not matter because there is something called a normal curve. Get above the mean on most tests (not so hard to do) and you are basically going to get at least an A- (a very good score).</p>

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<p>I got in Arts and Sciences, but I applied for too many schools, and forgot which major I chose on WashU's offline supplement. If we're accepted by College of Arts and Sciences, does it mean we're accepted to an "undecided" major and that we can take anything we want?</p>

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<p>Majors to not have to be declared untill sophomore year. They can still be changed after being declared.</p>

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<p>In the recent Forbes (?) survey, St.Louis was the only major city ranked in every category in the list of the most miserable city. </p>

<p>Although we knew the good reputation of a combined 6-yr (?) program, we had no interest of enrolling for premed at W.U. I am not sure if they know where they are! No wonder why they do so much of the self promotion.</p>

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<p>St. Louis is definitely not all bad to begin with, and WashU isn't even located in the city. Students can even go whole years without having to actually go to the city, and they don't have to be too concerned with safety. If you'd ever been to the actual campus, you would know this...regardless, St.Louis can be enjoyable if you know where you're going and what you're doing.</p>

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<p>to respond to keepitcoolidge, i'm sort of in between the two extremes you describe. Of course I don't want to become some Nip/Tuck doctor, but I'm also not going to dump everything I love to become some crazy premed. I plan on majoring in English or Philosophy (well, at WashU I'd actually prob do PNP) because I see undergrad as the time to explore interests. I've been to other schoools (liberal arts- WashU is one of very few universities I'm considering) where anyone majoring from studio art to physics can be a pre-med, and it's more of "oh, you're pre-med?" sort of thing. At WashU it seems like pre-meds are seen as, well, pre-meds first. </p>

<p>I'm not trying to get into Harvard or Stanford or even WashU med, I just want to be able to help people the best way I know how, and I don't want overly difficult classes and conniving peers to get in the way of that. The thing is that I'm not comparing WashU to other large unis where weeder classes would always be an issue, but to really small liberal arts colleges where everyone is encouraged to explore various options and being a pre-med (and going through the application process) is very common. It's not that I want things to be super easy, I just don't want to struggle through college the way I struggled through some of my classes in high school when I could probably have an easier time at a tiny college where professors are readily availaible, even intro classes are tiny, etc. </p>

<p>So far I prefer the more relaxed pre-med attitude I've seen at liberal arts schools, but I want to give WashU a fair chance since in all likelihood they will offer me a very nice scholarship and because i really like PNP. However, the pre-med thing may end up being a dealbreaker.</p>

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<p>^ Liberal arts schools have relaxed premed programs because their students tend not to make it to medical school.</p>

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<p>I'd love for you to back that up with some hard data.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
In the recent Forbes (?) survey, St.Louis was the only major city ranked in every category in the list of the most miserable city. </p>

<p>Although we knew the good reputation of a combined 6-yr (?) program, we had no interest of enrolling for premed at W.U. I am not sure if they know where they are! No wonder why they do so much of the self promotion.

[/quote]
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<p>Forbes is trash, they used facebook and ratemyprofessors for their college rankings, I wonder what over quasi-legitimate means they used to gather data for their city rankings?</p>

<p>To princessbell, Wash U pre med is no cakewalk, don't expect one or else you will be disappointed. Freshman chemistry requires a 11 hour time committment per week (3 hours lecture, 1 hour recitation, 1 hour lab lecture, 4 hours lab, 2 hours of PLTL study group). Second semester you will be tacking the above as well as biology and biology lab. You will be studying, a lot. A whole year of freshman chemistry is condensed into one semester, and the first semester adds quantum material that is usually not covered in intro chemistry classes.</p>

<p>Despite that, the professors are fantastic. I cannot emphasize this enough. Despite the difficulty, Wash U Convinced me to be a science major because of how amazing the professors are. I had no idea science could be so fun- high school science pales in comparison to what I did at Wash U. You also get more advising than you can ask for- Wash U undergrad has close ties with their med school, they know what they are doing.</p>

<p>In short, Wash U pre med is hard, but fulfilling. I can't tell if it is the same at other schools because I have not been to other schools, and I do not trust anecdotes. Pre meds like to complain, and they complain really loudly. Wash U has a lot of pre meds, so you hear a lot of complaining. </p>

<p>I love pre med here, but I can see why people would not like it. If you are the kind of person who just wants to scrape by, a state school might be a better choice. However, if you have what it takes, Wash U will help you reach your limit. </p>

<p>P.S. It's hard, but doable if you have good study skills, an eager mind, and passion for learning. I had a 4.0 freshman year when I played video games 20 hours a week.</p>

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