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Well, if you're hurting for cash, then you're probably not someone I want to make a bet with.
Are classes at higher-tier UG schools more difficult than lower-tier UGs?
- Thread starter OREdwardsJR
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Well, if you're hurting for cash, then you're probably not someone I want to make a bet with.
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How many times in this thread have you said you are done arguing/don't care/whatever other pansy ass attempt to end an argument by saying it is beneath you only to come back in and post again?
It is very amusing.
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I'm going to try to re-frame this a bit. The question/topic of the thread seeks clarification over whether pre-med courses at top tier institutions are harder than those at no-name universities.
I submit that this is the wrong question. What everyone *really* wants to know is whether it's harder to get a good grade (ie, 'A') at one of the ivory towers. To that, I'd say that once professors are applying a curve (which is apparently done at top schools to ensure that no one is penalized due to the increased difficulty of the exams vis-a-vis other institutions), you effectively forfeit the ability to claim that you had to work harder for a good grade. Your professor applied a curve to even things out a bit. Otherwise, I'd readily concede the debate.
I do think there are certain groups of courses (perhaps majors, even) where it's very difficult for a school to "dumb down" courses. Any ACS certified chemistry program is going to have serious problems if none of its graduates are prepared to pass their exams. Likewise, any rigorous science program is expected to produce graduates that have the requisite knowledge to pursue advanced degrees.
Someone mentioned having a graduating class of ~1300 and only 12 grads with a flawless GPA. That doesn't mean much--I graduated in a class of ~550 and was the only grad with a perfect 4.0. Even that doesn't mean anything: who knows whether I was the only one because the classes were incredibly hard, or everyone else just isn't smart enough?
Ultimately, I think it's a losing proposition to try to compare GPAs across schools. Some schools inflate. Some schools deflate. No matter where you go, I can promise you there will be some classes that are unbelievably difficult (and it's a serious accomplishment to do well), and some that are a joke/waste of time. It's all in how the chips fall. This is true even for the illustrious MIT. Go checkout the Cell Biology exams in Open Courseware (where professors have posted materials from previous semesters). The exams were all open book/open notes, and even then the questions weren't particularly difficult.
I submit that this is the wrong question. What everyone *really* wants to know is whether it's harder to get a good grade (ie, 'A') at one of the ivory towers. To that, I'd say that once professors are applying a curve (which is apparently done at top schools to ensure that no one is penalized due to the increased difficulty of the exams vis-a-vis other institutions), you effectively forfeit the ability to claim that you had to work harder for a good grade. Your professor applied a curve to even things out a bit. Otherwise, I'd readily concede the debate.
I do think there are certain groups of courses (perhaps majors, even) where it's very difficult for a school to "dumb down" courses. Any ACS certified chemistry program is going to have serious problems if none of its graduates are prepared to pass their exams. Likewise, any rigorous science program is expected to produce graduates that have the requisite knowledge to pursue advanced degrees.
Someone mentioned having a graduating class of ~1300 and only 12 grads with a flawless GPA. That doesn't mean much--I graduated in a class of ~550 and was the only grad with a perfect 4.0. Even that doesn't mean anything: who knows whether I was the only one because the classes were incredibly hard, or everyone else just isn't smart enough?
Ultimately, I think it's a losing proposition to try to compare GPAs across schools. Some schools inflate. Some schools deflate. No matter where you go, I can promise you there will be some classes that are unbelievably difficult (and it's a serious accomplishment to do well), and some that are a joke/waste of time. It's all in how the chips fall. This is true even for the illustrious MIT. Go checkout the Cell Biology exams in Open Courseware (where professors have posted materials from previous semesters). The exams were all open book/open notes, and even then the questions weren't particularly difficult.
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For the vast majority of you that haven't taken classes at each type of institution, I am a bit confused why you are so sure of your stance without first-hand knowledge. Anyway, when comparing a top school and an average to low-tier school, a science course will almost always be harder at the top one unless you have a particularly sadistic professor. The reasons for this are 1) The professors expect more and generally make the exams more difficult because of this and 2) The overall competition is tougher. Most schools have a much more diverse student distribution compared to top schools where 95% of the students are smart, high-achieving type-A people. You get these same people at every school, but in varying levels. Even with a curve, the average is still set somewhere in the C range. Breaking average one place is much different than breaking average elsewhere (much less breaking into the A range). It just is. I don't know what else to say beyond that.
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I've been to a community college and to 2 top 50 schools. The classes are the same difficulty. The only difference is either the curve (more generous at CC but that favors D/F students more into getting a passing C) or the speed (semester vs. quarter).
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What does that even mean?
This seems like it should be accompanied by a condescending meme of some sort.
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Which top 50 schools and which classes? I've been to CC, a state school, and transferred to a top 20. The courses at the top 20 were more involved, had harder tests, and the competition was more intense. Getting a 3.3 there was like my getting straight As at the previous institutions. Not exaggerating. This is why we have the MCAT.
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Professors can get in trouble for giving out too many As and they can get into trouble failing too many students. They are expected to give out a certain number of As,Bs. Cs, etc. The number of people getting a particular grade is probably pretty equal from institution to institution. So it's probably just a matter of who your peers are and where you stand.
One of my friends was a professor at a community college and she got in trouble for failing too many students. I saw the tests she gave the students, very straight forward and anyone who wanted to get an A could as long as they put in the work. To fail her class you pretty much had to skip all her classes and never pick up the book.....
She actually taught the actual material in her class, my professors mostly talked about their research or somewhat relevant topics that interested them to expand on the actual material which we were expected to learn on our own time prior to class.
At my school, the average science major had SAT and ACT scores around 95 percentile. There were no straight forward tests. It was very much like the MCAT where you not only had to have the material down, you were expected to be able to apply it to situations that were completely new. Since my school curved the average to around a C, a lot of smart people got Cs and even a few Ds.
The downside to going to a more competitive school that curves is that it kills your GPA. The upside, it sharpens your study skills (you learn how to teach yourself) and it prepares you for the MCAT better.
That said, I still wish I had gone to an easier school, mostly because I would have gotten more scholarships and saved money. Who knows though, I could have a 4.0 from that school and not be able to crack a 28 on the MCAT if I had gone that route. My school was a GPA killer, expensive, but taught me how to do reasonably well on the MCAT.
I say go for the easier school if it means you save money or get more scholarships.
One of my friends was a professor at a community college and she got in trouble for failing too many students. I saw the tests she gave the students, very straight forward and anyone who wanted to get an A could as long as they put in the work. To fail her class you pretty much had to skip all her classes and never pick up the book.....
She actually taught the actual material in her class, my professors mostly talked about their research or somewhat relevant topics that interested them to expand on the actual material which we were expected to learn on our own time prior to class.
At my school, the average science major had SAT and ACT scores around 95 percentile. There were no straight forward tests. It was very much like the MCAT where you not only had to have the material down, you were expected to be able to apply it to situations that were completely new. Since my school curved the average to around a C, a lot of smart people got Cs and even a few Ds.
The downside to going to a more competitive school that curves is that it kills your GPA. The upside, it sharpens your study skills (you learn how to teach yourself) and it prepares you for the MCAT better.
That said, I still wish I had gone to an easier school, mostly because I would have gotten more scholarships and saved money. Who knows though, I could have a 4.0 from that school and not be able to crack a 28 on the MCAT if I had gone that route. My school was a GPA killer, expensive, but taught me how to do reasonably well on the MCAT.
I say go for the easier school if it means you save money or get more scholarships.
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I never get why people put "nvm" in posts....it seems SO awkward lmao
I guess I didn't people would actually delete their posts, as if there is something to be afraid of..
a bit off topic, but something I've noticed on these forums for some weird reason...
Never had a curve in any of my classes besides Orgo I and II. Even though I mastered the material and was able to get A's in both courses, I felt as if people weren't even trying to learn the material. Instead, they were hoping to god that they would score above the average or do better than little johnny or sally sitting next to them.
If anything curves seem to orient the class towards competing with one another without even trying to grasp or learn the material. Just regurgitation to survive an extremely hard exam.
If anything curves seem to orient the class towards competing with one another without even trying to grasp or learn the material. Just regurgitation to survive an extremely hard exam.
Honestly, you just sound butthurt that you went to a 'top tier' university and your gpa isn't as high as you would like it to be. Get over it..
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So... I go to a State school and I wonder about this too. All the science classes I have taken so far were not curved. Was this a good thing? I don't know. I can say that the average for these classes were 60-75% most of the time and about 10-15% of the class will get above 90%. I just hope the education I'm getting is good preparation for the MCAT.
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kpcrew
looool
I just wanted to add something in this thread. I have a science professor who was new to my university (top 30) and he used to teach at a state university. He was told by the department when he was hired to make the exams harder than he usually made them at his state school. So, I'd say yes in general
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I've only taken classes at one school but I've seen some of the exams my friends at state schools have taken. The exams were very easy compared to what we've taken at my top LAC. Theirs was multiple choice... Our orgo exam class average was a 60, and the curve was applied so that only 20% of the class received an A- or higher. So, yes I believe there's a difference but I've also taken social science classes in which I've effortlessly gotten As.
When 20 chemistry majors at a top college average a 60 on an organometallic exam and only one person gets an A- without the curve, then you know that kid is brilliant (not me). Where you go to school absolutely affects your gpa..
When 20 chemistry majors at a top college average a 60 on an organometallic exam and only one person gets an A- without the curve, then you know that kid is brilliant (not me). Where you go to school absolutely affects your gpa..
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Which is why we have the MCAT, thank goodness.
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My gen chem professor gives 4% A's. Idk about harder, but the curves at my school are absolutely brutal.
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This and each department's respective standards.
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I went to a top 5 institution with the reputation of "grade inflation" and also took 2 quarters of classes at a "difficult" CC.
I worked at least 2-3 times harder and longer for the former institution. The result? Approximately 3.1 GPA in the prestigious university and straight A+s in the CC.
So in my experience, yes it is much much more difficult to obtain a certain grade in the prestigious institution. Yes more percentages of students get As in the university, but the difference in the level of students is monumental.
I worked at least 2-3 times harder and longer for the former institution. The result? Approximately 3.1 GPA in the prestigious university and straight A+s in the CC.
So in my experience, yes it is much much more difficult to obtain a certain grade in the prestigious institution. Yes more percentages of students get As in the university, but the difference in the level of students is monumental.
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There is way too much variability in the question to definitively answer, such as professors. However, top tier schools have top tier students, so I guess the generalization could be made if you have a lot of smart students and the school grades on a curve. However, that is why they have the MCAT, it's the great equalizer.
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It is not exactly a great equalizer if my very low GPA (will be around 3.3-3.4 when I apply) will most certainly keep me out of most schools despite my 35+ MCAT, is it?
Had I put in the same amount of effort in a "lesser" institution, I am confident from my own experience (and talking to others) that my GPA would be 3.5+, which would put me in a somewhat comfortable position.
So it is true that I feel bit shafted -- but at the same time, I admittedly did not put nearly enough effort into my studies in my first years, so I am not blameless either.
Oh well...
Had I put in the same amount of effort in a "lesser" institution, I am confident from my own experience (and talking to others) that my GPA would be 3.5+, which would put me in a somewhat comfortable position.
So it is true that I feel bit shafted -- but at the same time, I admittedly did not put nearly enough effort into my studies in my first years, so I am not blameless either.
Oh well...
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There are some schools that will be a bit more forgiving (I know of few top ones that really seem to be), but many schools will not give you much leeway. It is not fair at all, but you can't do anything about it. The most you can do is get 35+, which you say you did. It's better than getting shafted with GPA and then just doing "good" on the MCAT. At least you went to a top 5. There are some out of the top 5 that are just as difficult and get less forgiveness (notably Wash U, Duke, Cornell, and a few others).
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Many top-tier universities (like MIT) publish some of their final exams for their upper-level physics classes on their web site. I study physics at a much lower ranked undergraduate school and comparing the final exams of the equivalent courses, I can tell you the answer is most definitely no.
It's the same material, the same textbooks, the same homework, and almost the same final exams.
It's the same material, the same textbooks, the same homework, and almost the same final exams.
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If this, if that....blah. Also, the bolded part is echoed from many people starting at the top-tier and all the way to the bottom-tier
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Lol, yeah, but getting that GPA back up to an A- or higher level is very hard even at your everyday university, much less one of the most rigorous ones. Most people that disagree with the disparity in rigor have not experienced both environments. It's tangentially related to how many former top students are average or below average as medical students.
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Don't think anyone disagrees with that.. I mean its not like one can learn "hard" physics vs "easy" physics, there's only one subject.
As for the OP, depends on what you're considering.
To master the material? No. Just as hard regardless where you go.
To do well in the class? MUCH harder at better universities.
Just think about it.. everyone you are competing against for grades is that much smarter and also does that much better hence you may have the same level of knowledge as someone at a different university has.. yet have drastically different grades.
It's also pretty telling this is common when you look around these forums and compare the odd amount of times people have AMAZING gpas and low MCAT scores with low GPAs and AMAZING MCAT scores.. I see some of these gpas and MCAT scores and wonder how someone can do so well at undergrad yet not do well at all on the MCAT and vice versa. I'd bet 9 times out of 10 this disparity results from quality of college attended.
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I know for a fact that there is a difference but there are so many types of universities, that it's hard to compare. For instance, I took classes at a CC, a state university (not ranked nor prestigious), and an Ivy league school. There is such a huge difference between the latter and the first two. At the CC and state university I would barely have to study and get an A in science classes, but that wasn't case for the Ivy league school. However, if you are comparing a top 30 state school to an Ivy league school, the difference is most likely much smaller, but I haven't attended a top 30 state school, so I don't know, but I do believe there is a difference.
I agree with ranson. Grades are often not a fair measurement, it is easy to game the med school admissions system by attending an easier undergrad with very little competition for those few sought after As.
People also do this by picking easier majors. A fluff major is going to have a higher science GPA than a physics major who probably creamed the fluff major in all the classes they took together but the sciGPA and overall GPA of the physics major is undoubtly lower. The fluff who carefully selected the easiest major, classes, etc will get in despite being less academically capable.
The MCAT is a more fair measurement. It's a shame most schools weigh GPA more heavily encouraging pre-meds to game the system and sending the message challenging yourself is a bad thing.
People also do this by picking easier majors. A fluff major is going to have a higher science GPA than a physics major who probably creamed the fluff major in all the classes they took together but the sciGPA and overall GPA of the physics major is undoubtly lower. The fluff who carefully selected the easiest major, classes, etc will get in despite being less academically capable.
The MCAT is a more fair measurement. It's a shame most schools weigh GPA more heavily encouraging pre-meds to game the system and sending the message challenging yourself is a bad thing.
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There are just too many reasons why your 3.4 or 3.5 shouldn't be counted as anything more just because you scored well on the MCAT.
Example: smarter students will go to better, more competitive schools. Some of these students will slack off and get the 3.4 or 3.5 or whatever even though they have the ability to do better. These students might do well, or might not, on the mcat but either way they have the capacity to do well, and so some will. So your 3.5 and 36 will say "look, i'm smart, I just didn't try that hard". Or maybe your school really was more difficult, there's no way for adcoms to know, but with plenty of students getting the same mcat and a better gpa, it suggests that it wasn't the rigor of the courses that account for the discrepancy.
It's useful for a student at a "lesser" institution who gets a 3.8+. If they then go on to score well on the mcat, it validates their gpa. If they don't, then their mcat will keep them out and their 3.8 won't make up for it.
In the end, gpa and mcat measure different things. Gpa - ability to consistently work hard over time. Mcat - aptitude to do well (or something like that). Not having consistent results allow adcoms to draw one conclusion or another.
Example: smarter students will go to better, more competitive schools. Some of these students will slack off and get the 3.4 or 3.5 or whatever even though they have the ability to do better. These students might do well, or might not, on the mcat but either way they have the capacity to do well, and so some will. So your 3.5 and 36 will say "look, i'm smart, I just didn't try that hard". Or maybe your school really was more difficult, there's no way for adcoms to know, but with plenty of students getting the same mcat and a better gpa, it suggests that it wasn't the rigor of the courses that account for the discrepancy.
It's useful for a student at a "lesser" institution who gets a 3.8+. If they then go on to score well on the mcat, it validates their gpa. If they don't, then their mcat will keep them out and their 3.8 won't make up for it.
In the end, gpa and mcat measure different things. Gpa - ability to consistently work hard over time. Mcat - aptitude to do well (or something like that). Not having consistent results allow adcoms to draw one conclusion or another.
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I study physics as well and I have noticed serious differences between physics degrees at top schools and those same classes at other schools. Most of this stems from the fact that top schools require a greater number of classes to earn the degree (they want to prepare kids for Ph.D. study first and foremost), have 2 problem sets a week, often one that covers the math and one that covers the physics, get less time for exams and have professors that extend the subject matter for the exams/problem sets (i.e. they ask questions not taken from the book but rather related to their research or a colleague's research, for example). I can't comment on grade differences since I have only done physics at one university but the curricula are starkly different.
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I have no idea why people on here say the MCAT makes things even. The MCAT tests you on prereqs, that's it, 4 classes. It completely negates the rest of the undergrad GPA/classes. What about the rest of the biochemistry degree at MIT/UCB/Yale, etc. vs random college? I can assure you that it is much harder at higher tier colleges than at lower tier ones.
Going to an easier college = higher GPA, less studying (usually), and more time to study for the MCAT as you won't me working as hard in other classes.
People on here saying that everything is the same difficulty are out of their minds. Sure, maybe 1 or 2 of your classes may be "hard," but at high tier schools, almost all of them are hard. You're competing with the best students in the country/world and all of them are smart.
Going to an easier college = higher GPA, less studying (usually), and more time to study for the MCAT as you won't me working as hard in other classes.
People on here saying that everything is the same difficulty are out of their minds. Sure, maybe 1 or 2 of your classes may be "hard," but at high tier schools, almost all of them are hard. You're competing with the best students in the country/world and all of them are smart.
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Read my post above on why the MCAT doesn't validate a single thing other than your understanding of 4 premed classes.
The bolded statement couldn't be more wrong. If you go to a school where everyone scored a 95% on their SATS, were valedictorians, have 120+ IQ's etc, and this school CURVES the average grade to a C, then 50% of these really smart people will get a C or below. That same person who scored "average" at this top school would have gotten an A on a CURVE at a lesser school because the same person would land differently RELATIVE TO HIS/HER PEERS on the curve. I've seen this happen tons of times.
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kpcrew
Not every student at a top school is a top student and not every top student attends a top school. The correlation is strong though. The MCAT provides a way to measure students up in a consistent manner by testing their mastery of basic sciences. They test a student's knowledge and application of facts and concepts; it's not as if a biology class at Harvard will teach you a different kind of biology than a class at U Mass. There's no guarantee that a class at a top school is automatically better and more difficult than a class at school with a lesser reputation. The grading at an "easier school" is not necessarily easier either. Some schools participate in rampant grade inflation, some schools don't curve at all.
And you base this on... your experience only going to one school? From reading this thread, the only people that can even have an opinion about this are those who have been to multiple schools, and even they seem to be split over whether they've had a harder time at "top" schools or not. I think some schools are harder, some not so much, and "school rank" doesn't always correlate. In the end though, if you didn't do great at a top school, too bad, adcoms don't care. Also, what is a "top" school. Top 5? top 20? top 100? I think adcoms like if you' go to one of the big names (harvard, yale, etc etc...) but everything else between 10 and 50 are pretty much on the same level in their eyes.
As for mcat testing you just on the 4 basic sciences... a whole third of it is based solely on abstract "intellegence" parameters (verbal). As for the other sections, yes the subject matter is based on 4 courses, but it does so in a way that will screw up someone who may have succeeded just spitting out facts in college (if that's all that was required of them).
Edit: forgot to add this part, the mcat makes you even because everyone takes the test on the same scale, so you get to directly test whether your ability is so much superior to all the students at the "bottom schools". Whether or not the mcat tests your intelligence holistically or not, it serves as a source of comparison.
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This is exactly how I feel about curves. If you're supposed to learn the material and you do then the test should be fair and you should be able to do well on it, no matter whether or not the other person in your class does too.
I remember some girl saying to me about a test, "I don't need to do well, I just need to do better than everyone else" which is rather silly since everyone's goals (I feel anyways) should be to learn and understand the material, and not worrying whether or not everyone else has so that you can beat them.
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Yes they grade inflate, but it still does not come even close to negating the level of students, in my and others' experience.
The worst students in my top 5 school honestly work harder (and are probably smarter) than the best students at the "top" CC where I took courses at. Despite this, these "worst" students will end up with a D or C while the best students at the CC will invariably end up with A or A+. Well, that kinda describes me actually. I was a below-average student at the top 5 school and ended up with Cs, Bs, and some As (although I am a much better student now), while at the CC, with considerably less studying, I received all A+ except for those courses that did not give A+.
I have also discussed at length the difficulty of obtaining the grade with my high school friends who have gone to different institutions with a slightly lower rank (ie. UCs incl. Berkeley). Having taken the same set of courses at high school, one could indirectly gauge the rigor of classes at a different institution by asking them about how the classes at their college compared to the hardest classes in HS. The conclusion was that it was more difficult to earn the grade at my school even compared to top 30 institutions.
Honestly, you should not make such misinformed statements unless you have direct experience to support them -- they are borderline offensive. As for me, the effects of more rigorous grading, combined with my unpreparedness (in many senses and much of it my own fault) in my first few years, have practically ruined my chances of ever making into medical school. It has very palpably affected my life and all I ask is a little bit of sympathy for my plight.
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Why not DO/caribbean?
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I am considering them but it would be very difficult to become anything but PCP or OB/Gyn (not to belittle them but I am not interested in these fields) coming out of DO or Caribbean. I am still planning to continue the uphill battle -- pondering the Post-Bac route among others -- but I certainly face rough roads ahead of me.
It's only borderline offensive because you've a big chunk of your excuse for having a "practically ruined" chance at medical school in the idea that higher tier grade inflation is exaggerated. Take out the fact that you're using it as a justification for the fact that you didn't get A's and just leave "my unpreparedness".. and boom, it magically stops being offensive. Oh but those lucky SOB's at community college who're now in medical school had it SOOO EASSYYY it's not faiirrrr and it's offensive!!!! Personal responsibility is a powerful thing! You chose to go to a higher tier school because you thought you could handle it. You couldn't. Learn from the lesson and move on. As for your chance being practically ruined, clearly you haven't read many of the stories about people who recovered from ridiculously low GPA's from their undergrad. Sorry for the tough love, but you should really buck up and figure out what you can do to fix the situation. .
There are some schools that are harder to get good grades in. There are others that are not. You can't lump them all together. Stop trying. There's a few top 10 schools where almost half of the student body is "Dean's List". My state school with 15 thousand+ people had 30 last semester from the college of science. Could be that most of the people are dumb, but given the lack of people on the Dean's List, that's reflected by the lower grades.
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It's only borderline offensive because you've a big chunk of your excuse for having a "practically ruined" chance at medical school in the idea that higher tier grade inflation is exaggerated. Take out the fact that you're using it as a justification for the fact that you didn't get A's and just leave "my unpreparedness".. and boom, it magically stops being offensive. Oh but those lucky SOB's are community college who're now in medical school had it SOOO EASSYYY it's not faiirrrr and it's offensive!!!! Personal responsibility is a powerful thing! As for your chance being practically ruined, clearly you haven't read many of the stories about people who recovered from ridiculously low GPA's from their undergrad. Sorry for the tough love, but you are a whiny bitch.
There are some schools that are harder to get good grades in. There are others that are not. You can't lump them all together. Stop trying. There's a few top 10 schools where almost half of the student body is "Dean's List". My state school with 15 thousand+ people had 30 last semester from the college of science. Could be that most of the people are dumb, but given the lack of people on the Dean's List, that's reflected by the lower grades.
There are always going to be exceptions, but there is also a larger, overarching trend that you cannot simply ignore. There is just so many things wrong with your post but I am not going to waste my time answering them. In general, you are one callous (and probably impercipient) SOB for posting something like this.
If you're smart enough to get into a top 5 college, you're smart enough to get into medical school despite having poor undergraduate grades. There are programs that feed right into medical school that you could easily excel in. It just makes me sad to see you making excuses for yourself rather than taking the opportunity to learn and overcome new challenges.
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I have to respectfully disagree, biology is vast and an 'intro' bio class can easily focus on different aspects of the field, and go into varying depths. I have friends from state schools who weren't touching the level of molecular bio that my intro class expected us to master until their junior year, granted it's not Harvard but it's a top 10 school and I'd imagine that it carries over as well.
Just for people who say that the "MCAT is the equalizer", the average MCAT (not for people who got into med school, but just applied) for the 200 premeds at my ivy league school was above 34. So if you want to correlate MCAT to intelligence (which I think is not a good indicator) then you say premeds at my Ivy are smarter than those at 99% of the schools in the nation. And from that you can say that you are competing with many bright students in these premed classes.
Depends on the class, I have taken english at my University and english at a local college and they were about the same. I took physics I at my university and physics II at the local college and easily rode a 100 through the whole class. I learned quite a bit but the exams were just not as challenging, virtually no thinking questions just put out what you know.
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If you bothered to read, you would have noticed that I have not given up the fight, despite facing an uphill battle.
I don't mean to belittle your situation, but we're not comparing harvard or yale with community colleges. I think few would argue that community college difficulty is much less than 4 year undergrads. (My only experience is with friends who have said as much but also the fact that med schools don't like to see pre requs at CC unless you take more advanced coursework elsewhere...)
I would argue that CERTAIN state schools might be easier as well, this is again taken from anecdotal evidence from friends, but I think there is a huge range of schools, probably from 1-50, maybe higher, that are similar in difficulty, just not the caliber of students.
Honest also here are so many ways they rank these schools now... I can claim to have gone to a top 20 school or a top 50 school depending on the ranking you look at.
But.. you said your chances of EVER making into medical school have practically been ruined! YET YOU CONTINUE THE FIGHT???!!!
And all you ask for in exchange is our sympathy.
I'm just in awe of the perspective you have on your own life.
And all you ask for in exchange is our sympathy.
I'm just in awe of the perspective you have on your own life.
K
kpcrew
you're trying to extrapolate from one anecdote that relies on a tiny sample size and is based on hearsay.
yes because everyone who called themselves premed at your school decided to take the mcat and apply to medical school. a 34 is only around the top 7% or so, not the top 1%
