NYU Undergrads: How's your pre-med program?

[2ndsemesterSR]

Hey,

I'm a high school senior who's been accepted to NYU, but I'm not sure if I should go. Is there anyone out there who can tell me what it's like to be a pre-med there? Specifically:

1. How hard is it to maintain a good GPA (~3.5) if you're taking NYU science classes? Did you feel like you were adequately prepared for the MCAT?
2. Are professors helpful and accessible?
3. Do the science classes tend to be big or small?
4. How good is the advising system and pre-health office?
5. Are the pre-med students at NYU generally hyper competitive? Or do you feel like you've got a good support system among your classmates and/or professors? I'm pretty laid-back and friendly...
6. Any other complaints, rave reviews, insight, advice? I'd appreciate any and all candid feedback.

Good luck to you all, and congratulations to those of you who are headed to med school this fall!

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[sagentt007]

Hey,

I'm graduating from NYU this Spring. The lectures for pre-med class are all big. The chemistry department at NYU is really amazing. I felt that organic chemistry was not hard at all because they prepared us so well. I actually didn't know what people everywhere else complained about regarding orgo. However, the physics department was horrible. You are really on your own in General Physics I and II. Biology was similar to this, but since there was not much understanding to be done (just memoriziation) it was doable and not that difficult.

All in all, I would say that NYU premed is quite difficult but you come out knowing your stuff. I did very well on my MCAT.

 

[Akimbo752]

Hey -- I graduated from NYU last May, and ... their program is off and on.

The advising is top notch, if you get the right advisor. My prehealth advisor was (and is) one of the most helpful, caring people I know, and is still in contact with me during my lag year.

-The lectures are really big.
-Pre-med is one long terrible screening process, and to a non-science major (Journalism) it sure felt like it. There's a lot of 'attrition' and just as much competition.

-BUT a big plus for NYU is that you can take Physics, Orgo and Bio abroad at their London campus. The classes are small, 30 - 40, and the teachers are loads better, and loads upon loads more interesting, honestly, I would take a whole year abroad to do it. You'll have a higher GPA and learn more, and be in London. The lectures at NYU are gi-normous, and I did not get a lot out of them besides hits to my GPA.

-Good luck!

PS, the program worked too, heh, I'm in at a couple med schools, and I'm very happy with it.

 

[drc243]

I agree with the previous posters comments about NYU pre-med

1) The chemistry department is awesome. You will need to do alot of work in genchem and orgo but hardwork does translate into grades
2) General physics I and II has been a pretty awful class till this year. Its getting better but multiple choice physics tests are just illogical when 75 percent of the questions are quantitative
3) The bio department is very very cold. Principle of BIO I and II had 500 kids in one lecture hall and as many people say "is one of the few classes where you can study your ass off and know every thing and still get a B"
4) you will be very well prepared for the physics science section of the mcats, the bio will need work if you are not a bio major


Additional points
1) If you come to nyu do not be a science major. It will hurt your GPA and make college life miserable.
2) advising here is ok. we have one awesome advisor dean visconti who knows everything about pre-med.
3) psyc, econ, and history majors are to my knowledge the easiest major in nyu.
4) if you are not a psyc major take biochem and physiology to boost your science knowledge

Best,
Dave

 

[drc243]

There are a couple of great science GPA booster classes in nyu that you can take over the four years. PM is you want to know what they are.

 

[2ndsemesterSR]

I read through the info on the Pre-Health office website. Do they make you take certain courses at certain times (ie you MUST take Physics your first year, Chem your 2nd, etc etc), or are you allowed to make up your schedule on your own? I have a strong Physics background and I'd rather take it my freshman year so I don't forget a lot stuff.

Also, how can I get away with taking courses over the summer for credit? My sister (who didn't go to NYU) took some anatomy courses over the summers at another school to boost her science GPA... could I take, say, microbiology for "elective" credit if I'm not a bio major? My sister also took Orgo I & II during one summer and did well... and she got into schools just fine this year.

 

[drc243]

There are recomended tracks depending on if you are a science major or not. If you have a strong physics backround then you should take gen physics and gen chem together because those will be easy together for you. I took bio and chem together freshman year and I think it was a good decision because i had to only take one science for the next two years.
In nyu there is only graduate level microbiology so you need to have completed bio I and II at the minimum to take it. And one thing nyu premed advisors advise you against doing is taking pre-req sciences (gen chem, orgo, bio, physics) over the summer unless you want to take more science instead of these courses during the year.

Best,
Dave

 

[gtr202]

Hey,

I'm a high school senior who's been accepted to NYU, but I'm not sure if I should go. Is there anyone out there who can tell me what it's like to be a pre-med there? Specifically:

1. How hard is it to maintain a good GPA (~3.5) if you're taking NYU science classes? Did you feel like you were adequately prepared for the MCAT?

Sure, the courses are challenging, but you learn so much that will serve you well for the rest of your career. I did feel well prepared for the MCAT particularly in bio and gen/org chem. If you take Molec/Cell biology, you will be extremely well prepared for the BS section. My GPA was actually higher in the sciences than in non-science courses.

2. Are professors helpful and accessible?
Well...in big lectures I felt that the professors were somewhat unapproachable. The TAs are often a much better resource (as long as they can speak English well enough to communicate).

3. Do the science classes tend to be big or small?
Pre-med courses are huge despite high attrition rates. I took a lab course on DNA technology with class size of 4 and an Animal Physiology course with ~15.

4. How good is the advising system and pre-health office?
Pretty good, get on the listserve, there are so many opportunities available to you as an NYU student. Advising in bio not that spectacular.

5. Are the pre-med students at NYU generally hyper competitive? Or do you feel like you've got a good support system among your classmates and/or professors? I'm pretty laid-back and friendly...
I too am laid-back and friendly. There are some competitive, obsessive, obnoxious people, no doubt. I found a few people that I liked to study and work with. At NYU you can as anonymous and independent as you choose...

6. Any other complaints, rave reviews, insight, advice? I'd appreciate any and all candid feedback.
I got out of Physics/Lab because of my AP score. NYU has tons of interesting courses, definitely take some outside of CAS. General bio was basically all info taken from the textbook, some people hate the rotating lecturer but I thought it was a great intro to field.

 

[Jbw]

Hey,

I am an undergrad graduating this semester at NYU. I thought the program was great. Good classes that provided a very solid foundation for the mcats. Also the way NYU does their premed stuff is that you get leters of evaluation from all of your teachers every semester sent to the prehealth office. They use that and a personal interview to compile a very nice letter of recommendation for you (many positive comments on that letter from my interviewers). I also got very good letters of rec from my Major (non-science) teachers.

Only one problem, I do not like the prehealth office. The people who advise you are nice, but relatively unhelpful I thought. Good luck on your choice. I'm pretty sure you would love it here if you came.

 

[drc243]

I have to agree with all the previous posters gtr202 and JBW. NYU pre-med is certainly not for slackers but hard work does lead to positive results. Being a bio major in nyu is very tough because molecular and cell biology (arguably the most intense science course in nyu) has to be coupled with orgo or physics. I do think that the best major for someone who wants a science major is definitely the biochemistry major. You get all the bio you will need for the mcat through biochemistry I and II (Neville kallenbach and Burt goldberg are a great combo of teachers) and you dont need to take molec cell with schiccitano ( you will know who he is real soon if you come here)
In the pre-helath office there is only one advisor you should ever go to and her name is dean visconti. She is bruttally honest with all her students and give you an honest evaluation of where you stand in the process.

Best,
dave

P.S. future nyu grads, where are you going for med school?

 

[2ndsemesterSR]

Wait... so if I have AP credit for Physics, does that mean I don't have to take Physics at NYU at all? I thought you still had to take Physics for med school admission, even if you had the AP cred...

 

[Jbw]

Wait... so if I have AP credit for Physics, does that mean I don't have to take Physics at NYU at all? I thought you still had to take Physics for med school admission, even if you had the AP cred...

yes you still need to take it, or you can use your credits from your AP class but then it is highly recommended that you take an upper elective physics class.

 

[Steph648]

Hi-

I am possibly going to be transferring to NYU CAS in the fall, and I am pre-med. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on courses. I have mixed reviews on molecular and cell biology- some people say its fairly straight forward and others claim it is the most difficult science class at NYU. I have AP credit for Bio, but would you recommend I take Principles of Biology I and II? Also, any other information about science courses would be great. Thanks so much!

 

[LovelyBRass]

They have great advising there and although the classes are large, the professors are still approachable. Lots of lab TAs don't speak English as a first language, so it can be very frustrating (they're usually grad students that are required to fulfill TA hours, so they don't really want to be there), but the TAs for the lecture courses are always really good.

When it comes to grading, you just have to know how the course is graded, so you can use it to your advantage. GenChem is not curved, but the prof (Halpin) is pretty forgiving, Orgo and Physics are curved (and they can hurt, so keep on top of things!), and I didn't take Bio so I wouldn't know (I'm a major and I placed out).

The pre-professional advising is great. The deans know a lot about this whole process and will help you through it. The Pre-Professional office is what makes NYU worth it for the undergrad, I think, because they see so many applicants every year and know the ins and outs of the process, versus schools that aren't pre-med heavy. And I agree with an above poster that Dean Visconti is great, so make sure you make an appointment with her (she's my advisor). They also write committee letters and they're really on top of getting things done for you application-wise.

If you need any more advice or help, you can always PM (or respond here, I guess), and I'd be happy to answer any other questions. I love NYU and I would absolutely recommend coming. Good luck!

 

[pencap]

I know this is a very old thread, but I didn't want to create a new one. Can any other NYU undergrads or graduates tell me about pre med at the school? Thanks