I'm thinking about going pre-med at Columbia university and i was wondering if maintaing a 3.5 science GPA is Do-able at Columbia? what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
Haha that was a typo! and i fixed it. but seriously what are your thoughts?It will be very difficult if you don't understand how to use less-than/greater-than signs.
I'm thinking about going pre-med at Columbia university and i was wondering if maintaing a 3.5 science GPA is Do-able at Columbia? what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Thx for the advice! well i know ill be happier at columbia than at my state school. However, I know i can achieve the 3.5 necessary for medical school at my state school. Im just concerned about whether i can do the same at columbia.Yes, I assume that at some point in history someone from Columbia has achieved a 3.5 sGPA, so it is doable. It's obviously hard, but so is getting a >3.5 sGPA at almost every school. If you're smart enough to get accepted by an Ivy League school, you're smart enough to succeed there. But ultimately go where you will be happy. The last thing you want is to go to a school solely because it'll "make getting into med school easier" and then decide you like accounting more anyway.
Haha that was a typo! but seriously what are your thoughts?
Im trying to decide whether i should apply early decision or not. I dont want to apply to columbia ED and get in and then realize the smarter way would be to go to my state school and that i made a mistake applying ED. see my problem?You're still in high school. Worry about getting into Columbia first.
Im trying to decide whether i should apply early decision or not. I dont want to apply to columbia ED and get in and then realize the smarter way would be to go to my state school and that i made a mistake applying ED. see my problem?
astronomy goes into your science GPA? i though only the four basic sciences and Calc/stat goes in..Science gpa pad with astronomy
WatI got into columbia as a transfer and didn't even realize it until 2 years later
Science gpa pad with astronomy
astronomy goes into your science GPA? i though only the four basic sciences and Calc/stat goes in..
But when medical schools look at your application do they take those classes (astronomy) seriously and keep it in? or would they just laugh and remove it to see your "real" science GPA?Any class on your transcripts thats in in the physic, chemistry, biology,and math(stats) department goes toward your science GPA
Hi. I'm at a different Ivy though I think our grading is comparable to Columbia's. In my experience, science classes tend to give out lots and lots of Bs and relatively few As. If I were to give a speculative average distribution of grades in the major intro/mid level science classes based on my own and other's final grades and percentiles on exams, I would say that about 10% get As, 10% get A-s, 15% get B+s, 35% get Bs, 10-15% get B-s, and the rest get somewhere in the C range. Obviously this is just what I've been able to surmise from taking classes and comparing scores/looking at histograms, but I think it's fairly accurate. What this means is you have a lot of people clustered in the B range and only the top receiving As. This means your science gpa is going to average somewhere around a 3.3 or 3.4 if you're an average student taking premed science courses. However, if have your ish together, you can probably pull a B+/A- average in your science courses without tooo much difficulty, as long as you figure out a way to study that works for you and you're disciplined. However, if you try and slide through, you're going to end up with a lot of Bs which will hurt your sGPA. Take it for what it's worth. IMO, it's easier to get a B at an Ivy/similar than at a state school, but harder to get an A because the competition at the top is very stiff. You're competing with some of the smartest and most motivated students in the country.
However, worry about getting into college first. Even if you are valedictorian with a 2400, you might not get into an Ivy or similar caliber school.
What kind of Ivy League do you go to? 20% A's? Princeton has a 35% A/A- rule if I recall correctly and even that is considered deflating at the Ivies. My friends at Yale report 40-50% A's. I can't imagine any other Ivy that gives as few A's as you describe.
But when medical schools look at your application do they take those classes (astronomy) seriously and keep it in? or would they just laugh and remove it to see your "real" science GPA?
Is this a real question? Of course they keep it in, but they can see if your classes are made up of "fluff" classes (I don't think upper level astronomy/astrophysics courses are fluff though...) vs someone who's doing a lot of physical chemistry, quantitative biochemistry, and plasma physics, then the person with the harder classes is going to be looked upon more favorably. However, that's not to say you shouldn't take classes you're interested in even if they're considered "easier". If you really like astronomy, then study astronomy. I really like cell bio so I'm studying cell bio even if chemistry is technically more difficult.But when medical schools look at your application do they take those classes (astronomy) seriously and keep it in? or would they just laugh and remove it to see your "real" science GPA?
What percent A/A- do you think is normal then to give to an ivyWhat kind of Ivy League do you go to? 20% A's? Princeton has a 35% A/A- rule if I recall correctly and even that is considered deflating at the Ivies. My friends at Yale report 40-50% A's. I can't imagine any other Ivy that gives as few A's as you describe.
What percent A/A- do you think is normal then to give to an ivy league school? specifically in the sciences?What kind of Ivy League do you go to? 20% A's? Princeton has a 35% A/A- rule if I recall correctly and even that is considered deflating at the Ivies. My friends at Yale report 40-50% A's. I can't imagine any other Ivy that gives as few A's as you describe.
What percent A/A- do you think is normal then to give to an ivy
What percent A/A- do you think is normal then to give to an ivy league school? specifically in the sciences?
If they give out very few As then how are students supposed to have a >3.5 GPA to apply to medical school?It varies by department and school. Some schools give a lot of As. Some schools give very few. In the sciences, they're all going to cluster towards the "few". You can't generalize across the Ivies - they're all very very different.
By getting those As?If they give out very few As then how are students supposed to have a >3.5 GPA to apply to medical school?
Haha but if only a few kids gets the As what do the other 60%< do?By getting those As?
Haha but if only a few kids gets the As what do the other 60%< do?
The problem is that usually the students that "take" the As in one class are the ones that "take" the As in the other class... its competition.. if the top 20% get As (ex. students 1-20 out of 100 students get As) usually the same (1-20) students are going to get the As in the other class... so the other 80 people are going to be stuck with the Bs in both the classes.For reference, I took orgo at an Ivy and the top 25% got A- or higher. That's a pretty good amount imo.
Get lower than As. What can you do? You don't need As in every single class.
The problem is that usually the students that "take" the As in one class are the ones that "take" the As in the other class... its competition.. if the top 20% get As (ex. students 1-20 out of 100 students get As) usually the same (1-20) students are going to get the As in the other class... so the other 80 people are going to be stuck with the Bs in both the classes.
Does that make sense? or is my logic wrong?
For reference, I took orgo at an Ivy and the top 25% got A- or higher. That's a pretty good amount imo.
Hi. I'm at a different Ivy though I think our grading is comparable to Columbia's. In my experience, science classes tend to give out lots and lots of Bs and relatively few As. If I were to give a speculative average distribution of grades in the major intro/mid level science classes based on my own and other's final grades and percentiles on exams, I would say that about 10% get As, 10% get A-s, 15% get B+s, 35% get Bs, 10-15% get B-s, and the rest get somewhere in the C range. Obviously this is just what I've been able to surmise from taking classes and comparing scores/looking at histograms, but I think it's fairly accurate. What this means is you have a lot of people clustered in the B range and only the top receiving As. This means your science gpa is going to average somewhere around a 3.3 or 3.4 if you're an average student taking premed science courses. However, if have your ish together, you can probably pull a B+/A- average in your science courses without tooo much difficulty, as long as you figure out a way to study that works for you and you're disciplined. However, if you try and slide through, you're going to end up with a lot of Bs which will hurt your sGPA. Take it for what it's worth. IMO, it's easier to get a B at an Ivy/similar than at a state school, but harder to get an A because the competition at the top is very stiff. You're competing with some of the smartest and most motivated students in the country.
However, worry about getting into college first. Even if you are valedictorian with a 2400, you might not get into an Ivy or similar caliber school.
For reference, I took orgo at an Ivy and the top 25% got A- or higher. That's a pretty good amount imo.
Get lower than As. What can you do? You don't need As in every single class.
You wouldn't even have a 3.0 science GPA.. how is that competitive for medical school?This. The world doesn't end if you get Bs, Cs, or even a D or F. I've failed a class, got 3 Cs, and a few Bs and my GPA is still med school competitive. Agonizing over As is a one way ticket to misery.
You wouldn't even have a 3.0 science GPA.. how is that competitive for medical school?
You wouldn't even have a 3.0 science GPA.. how is that competitive for medical school?
If you dont mind me asking what classes did you take and what grades did you get in them?I had a 3.64 cGPA and 3.73 scigpa. A few bad grades won't kill you dude,relax. Misconceptions can do a lot worse.
I go to CC and I have a 3.9+ with all of my pre reqs done. I have friends who still have a 4.0. It's definitely challenging but if you have the drive and foresight to ease into your ECs you should be able to pull a 3.8+. We don't have the grade inflation that Harvard and Yale do but I can't say that we're deflated either. Good luck in the app process!
snarky?
mrh didn't go to Columbia. He went to a number of CCs and UC Davis, so what classes he took is pretty irrelevant.If you dont mind me asking what classes did you take and what grades did you get in them?
Im asking because mrh said that "I've failed a class, got 3 Cs, and a few Bs" and that he has a 3.73 science GPA so im curious how he was able to get a 3.73 even though he failed a class and got 3 Cs and a few Bs? even if you take a bunch of classes after and get As your GPA wont go all the way up to a 3.73. will it? just curious how he can do it?mrh didn't go to Columbia. He went to a number of CCs and UC Davis, so what classes he took is pretty irrelevant.
Those may not have been science classes, and if you keeping taking enough classes you can bring-up your GPA - there's just the issue of diminishing returns as you do so. And it would take years to really hit this point. As someone with 250+ credits, trust me.Im asking because mrh said that "I've failed a class, got 3 Cs, and a few Bs" and that he has a 3.73 science GPA so im curious how he was able to get a 3.73 even though he failed a class and got 3 Cs and a few Bs? even if you take a bunch of classes after and get As your GPA wont go all the way up to a 3.73. will it? just curious how he can do it?