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Not saying I'm not shooting for low ranked MD schools, but someone who had it easier with their full time job and life will be able to go to a better school. So I'd rather go to a top school for a Ph.D.
How is it fair....
Started by PurpleLove
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Also, I'm quite jealous of people who know where they stand in their classes. I haven't had a grading scale for 2 years now, all I've been doing is comparing myself to others to know where I stand. And since "above average" has 4 possible grades, I just think it's shady of professors/universities to not be more clear with students.
Taking your pre-requisites is frowned upon via a community college is frowned upon for a number of reasons. I think the primary one is the very intent of community colleges themselves. They are designed to be stepping stones. You progress from a community college to a four year university. You progress onwards to professional school. Many community colleges do not intend on you receiving your bachelors at the CC. Taking courses at a four year university (specifically those that are prerequisites) show that you have some handle on the course rigor you may be up against and that you are capable of competing with higher leveled students.
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the answer is.....maturity.
I didn't work that hard in high school...though I still made good grades. I geared up as I matured and realized what I wanted to do in life.
I wouldn't judge people based on their past.
Not true....I did.
What if I took a class or two at another 4 year university?
Neither would I. Plenty of C's and even F's in elementary school.
I'm just saying. A 2.5 level of understanding here -> Some people's 4.0 level of understanding.
ALL I know is, I wasted 120K on crushed dreams. :'(
Oh jeez, even I'm not that heartless!
I don't see why this would cause tremendous issue, but you would be better suited asking one of the more enlightened members of the board, such as @Goro or @LizzyM
Not wasted dreams. You could be a doctor with getting that GPA to a 3.4 going to a decent DO medical school and becoming a good doctor.
But if coming home from 10 hours in the lab as a PhD from a semi-respectable program and telling yourself your life is better because you have that degree from a good name university on your wall even though your "dream" job is now crushed.... so be it.
If you look at the list of feeder schools for my program, they're not extensions of the 12th grade. All other medical schools have their own feeders, and the Admissions deans know exactly what they're up to. AdComs get spared this level of granularity.
So, don't delude yourself that it's the people from Weber State who are making up half the class of the Ivies. UCLA grads alone can fill every CA medical school.
The only person who can beat you out of a seat in medical school is you.
So, don't delude yourself that it's the people from Weber State who are making up half the class of the Ivies. UCLA grads alone can fill every CA medical school.
The only person who can beat you out of a seat in medical school is you.
SDN isn't here for you to cry about how unfair it all is. Either ask for some actual advice or go away. All this woe is me crap is ridiculous.
So please explain to me, how the person with a 3.4 has to go to a DO because he went to a harder university whereas someone who had an inflated GPA (for at least two years) gets a free ride. It's bogus, I'm out of here.
I should of just kept my GPA the first two years here and transferred to Harvard. Best of both worlds.
Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.
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One still has to finish the last two years at a four year school. Those people are not taking art classes. They're usually taking upper level bio and other science courses. Granted, some Art or English majors might very well just take the pre-reqs at a CC, but you're also buying into the common pre-med urban legend that CC course work is easier than that at a 4 year school. CCs can have as rigorous a course load as any 4 school.
BUT, if you have the appearance that you're trying to avoid the weeding coursework at your UG school by taking CC work, that gets on our radar. To save some money, you could just as easily take English Composition or US History at the CC as well. Why does it have to be the pre-reqs???
BUT, if you have the appearance that you're trying to avoid the weeding coursework at your UG school by taking CC work, that gets on our radar. To save some money, you could just as easily take English Composition or US History at the CC as well. Why does it have to be the pre-reqs???
people who go to CC for 2 years still have to get a Bachelors. So they generally transfer to a 4 year university. There they would probably take upper division science classes to show they can handle the rigor. Just as your friend did, and wasn't able to manage. If they can't handle it, their GPA would reflect it, as would their MCAT.
People aren't just walking out of CC after 2 years into medical school. At least, not that I'm aware of.
edit: Goro beat me to it!
@PurpleLove : Dude, this thread is so pointless and confusing, you have pretty much made no new points and restated the old one's more poorly. If you had made even superficial use of the search function, you'd know that this topic has been hacked to death many times. Furthermore, I don't understand why you're bitching on SDN and putting down other members academic credentials. Frankly it makes you seem like a person that gets a boner, every time they look at the H diploma on their wall. If you're really everything you think that you are, nobody can really stop you from succeeding; certainly not institutional prestige.
Reading threads like this makes me appreciate the perseverance of pre-meds that do make it from cc and state schools, so kudos to all of you who make people start these impotent rage threads on SDN.
Reading threads like this makes me appreciate the perseverance of pre-meds that do make it from cc and state schools, so kudos to all of you who make people start these impotent rage threads on SDN.
My school won't take any credit from any other university, so it might as well be on that will help me if I want to go to medical school, right?
If it did, that would be great. More options to take classes I want here while finishing up my major.
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I think you underestimate 4-year colleges.
Cause the one I want to attend this summer has an 18% graduation rate.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings_2010/dropout_factories.php
I think you overestimate the number of people in med school going to colleges with dropout rates like this..
Weren't you guys giving me advice to transfer to an easier 4-year school so I could get A's? Now you're saying that their upper level courses are just a hard? Glad I'm staying here then...
You're giving up before you even get to the starting line.
Finish school doing your absolute best and working hard. Evaluate your opportunities then. Do what you need to do (post-bacc, SMP) to get into medical school. You're not the first or last person who has been disappointed with their GPA.
But a smart student who didn't waste their money at a private university would have straight As there and no problem getting into medical school...
I know and I was going to do that. Then it kind of hit me, it's ridiculous to have to spend even more money for making the mistake of spending the money in the first place. So either I somehow make it next year or I don't and move on with my career.
I'll tell you this much, the DO student who is bright as **** is living the life as their dream profession. Wouldn't that be nice? At some point you just have to not give a **** about what people think about the name of the school you're attending and just do what you want to do with your life. Even if you went to Harvard for a "Janitor program" over the worst DO school in America to become a doctor, you still come home by yourself thinking back on your day at work. How do you want to feel about that?
It's really not that ridiculous to spend more money if it means ending up in your dream profession (one that will return your investment at that) and being happy with your life.
Best of luck.
Also, if you're really considering giving up medicine, start thinking about options. Maybe there are other schools/careers you might be interested in that you can do the pre-reqs for while you're in school. Otherwise you may reach the end, realize you're not prepared for anything else, and still have to put in the money/time to switch career paths.
OP, there's no doubt that getting into med school is somewhat of a game. You have to play it right and strategize before you start college. One of the biggest mistakes I made was going to a large university. For some people, especially those who start college uncertain as to whether medicine is for them, picking the big name school is probably a smart choice. Your decisions are still ultimately something you have to realize was just a failure on your part as it was mine. You have to make the most of it and move on.
Trolls die out by the 2nd page through either 1) contradicting themselves, 2) getting banned, 3) by not getting satisfaction from the replies. This is legit son.
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True, but I could have gone to a public uni that gave me scholarships and not have to even do any SMPs/postbaccs. So, yes, I will maintain my grades as high as possible and apply to both graduate schools and medical schools.
And the fact that my questions/arguments are legitimate as no one really answered them until now and still find arguments weak.
We all should've done things. That's just life. It isn't rainbows and butterflies and it isn't like the movies where things actually work out. It requires a lot of effort to force things in the moderate direction you want them to be.
Ugh, biggest mistake of my life.
but it seems like you have a 2.0 level of understanding
Is the 'Bama' part of your name related to your support of Obama...? Would make sense...
It probably isn't fair. However, rest assured that anyone who gets into Medical School most likely deserves it. That's why they use the MCAT as a standard screening device to account for the differences in schools.
Guess so. Still don't understand how some uni's upper level courses with their easy exams, extra credit, and homework that makes a difference in grades compared to schools with exams being the only way you're graded and that are so convoluted you cry.
Someone should explain to me without any biases. Maybe I'll ask a premed adviser.
Is there any way for me to start college... again? Or would medical schools see my current school on my transcript?
I'd drop out.
Start pre-reqs at CC then okay 4-year and have so much free time to work in a hospital and study for the MCAT the schools didn't prepare me for.
Did you apply DO or PA? You have MANY other options you know.
What do you mean? I'm not applying for two years. 😀
If your so smart from your so smart school, why don't you ace the MCAT and that's the end of it.
I'm guessing you don't have a lot of black friends.
Do you have some 'not so great' grades in just your pre-med classes, or across the board? You could always retake any classes you struggled with and then apply to DO school, where they do the grade-replacement thing.(Basically means that they only take your current grade for the class, and don't factor in the bad grade received in the past.) Oh, and for the MCAT, don't necessarily expect the schools to prepare you for it; a lot of the students on these forms spend 3 months self-studying the content with a variety of books(Kaplan, ExamKrackers, Berkley Review).
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Uh.. cause people I know with high GPAs and low MCAT did not get in anywhere/didn't try.
It works the other way around too.
It's not a competition, get the "we get beat" out of your head. Easy A doesn't mean people don't work hard. Remember, in some schools, while 25-30 percent get an A, that is FAR from the majority. Just because it's easier doesn't mean people don't work hard. Don't assume so quickly.
And, well you choose to try to go to top schools. Remember, you didn't have to go to the college with the strictest grading policies. I'm sure you chose it cause of other factors(location, cost, has a good school for your program).
If it's a problem, just transfer to an "easier" school. It really doesn't matter in the long run.
I don't even know what DO really is at the moment an do not like the sound of it. Apparently there's one in my state (city) that I never even knew about... And I've never been to a DR. XXXX, DO. And nope, solid B+s and like a mix of A-s and Bs.
You said your not applying for 2 years, are you a sophomore?
Would you return a 30k for a 5k one? No, I'm in too deep.
