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Tawantinsuyu
If the prestige of my undergrad does not matter to med schools, should I just transfer to an easier institution to increase my chances at a higher GPA?
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If that is true, than yes you should....... /endthread
ADCOMs are aware of which schools are more difficult and which have grade inflation. From what I've heard, this is taken into account. The fact that you went to a prestigious school is not going to get you into medical school, but taking an easier route will be obvious and unhelpful. Furthermore, (from what I have been told by pre-med advisors) ADCOMs assess whether or not you've taken easy classes...and whether or not you've challenged yourself with tough courses. It's the whole darn package that matters--so just do the work and hope it pans out.
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Doing well at a prestigious institution will be worth the hard work. Iv'e seen it pan out well for many of my friends. Doing poorly won't help you. So if you can work hard and do well, I would stay. Otherwise transfer to a place you will thrive at.
Unless you're an engineer, your gpa is your gpa for the most part. Theres like two schools they take into account for widespread gpa deflation which they know is rampant at those particular universities.
and to answer the OP network network network...
I'd disagree that this only applies to engineers. Some schools are known for grade inflation (eg Harvard). Others are known for deflation (eg Yale, Princeton, and several small liberal arts). I can only tell you what I was advised by the pre-med office--which is that if you take an easier route, it's apparent and unhelpful. They consider which courses you took and what kinds of upper levels. Also, they won't equate a chem or physics major's 3.7 with that of an American studies major's 3.7...some majors require more work than others.
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I agree with this and will add, what science courses or prerequisites have you taken?
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I do not think the bolded is accurate.
https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/2013factstable18.pdf
Those who matriculated with a physical sciences degree had almost the exact same average GPA and almost the exact same standard deviation as those who matriculated with a humanities or social sciences degree. If physical sciences were much more highly regarded, I would expect that the average GPA of physical science majors who got into medical school would be, on average, lower than those in humanities and social science majors. The data is, however, pretty much identical between them.
edit: personally, I would give no preference to any particular major were I on an ADCOM. I know that people in certain majors like to act like they are the only ones who have to work hard for their grades, but that is a load of crap. I am not saying you are one of these people, but I saw it so much in my UG and it made me sick. Personally, I found my philosophy classes, in general, to be much more challenging than my science classes.
Interesting stats. Consider me corrected. I took the pre-med advisor at my former undergrad at her word on that issue...
As it stands, I majored in nothing that I mentioned. I was actually a humanities/science (not physics or chem) double major and tend to view both areas equally. Of course, I did have friends who had much simpler schedules and less work (and they tended to be American studies majors so perhaps I'm biased).
As it stands, I majored in nothing that I mentioned. I was actually a humanities/science (not physics or chem) double major and tend to view both areas equally. Of course, I did have friends who had much simpler schedules and less work (and they tended to be American studies majors so perhaps I'm biased).
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1) Yale is not grade deflationary (at least not compared to Harvard).
2) Sure, they won't equate a hard science major with an easier major, but the difference is hardly something to consider when you look at the overall statistics.
I would disagree on the Yale/Harvard point. Recent articles have come out on both--more published on Harvard though (concerning the grade inflation).
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I'd like a source on that. I have read many articles to the contrary. Harvard is known to have incredible grade inflation and Yale is known to have grade deflation.
Pre-med advisers usually don't know what they're talking about, trust me. Even with an engineering degree, the wiggle room is narrow, maybe like .2 or so if that. Med schools don't care what major you take, most majors are easy. All majors require some work. I graduated with a neurobiology degree, for me I liked bio so it was cake. I've taken a few upper division sociology courses and suffered. They don't designate certain majors "hard" or "easy". The GPA is the GPA. And i wasn't kidding when i said there are only like 2-3 schools Med schools will take into account a school being "deflationary"... I cant remember which ones they are but i don't think any of the 2-3 were ivies.
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Tawantinsuyu
I will be a sophomore, and I believe my cumulative GPA is like a 3.4 or 3.5 at this time. I did much better my second semester freshman year than my first semester. I have taken two upper level biology classes, gen chem I with lab, and orgo I with lab. I will be taking genetics and orgo II with lab this semester.
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I'm curious, what are these recent articles. If you look at Yale's grade distribution (especially departments like Theatre), you'll see that they definitely aren't Princeton.
Med schools like stats. They are much less likely to feel sorry for you because you went to a hard school than they are to accept the guy from a community college feeder school with a 4.0. Should have learned how to play the game ahead of time.
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Here you go. Yale is probably just as inflationary (if not more than Harvard). https://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3735
That was just the first link when I googled "Yale grade inflation". There are many more under it. Compare 62% A's and A-'s, to the 35% of Princeton and other grade deflation schools.
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As long as there is an upward trend, and you think you can handle the load, I would stay. Usually Organic Chemistry and Physics are the last weed out classes.
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You have 2-3 years to get it above a 3.7+, which is perfectly feasible. Do what you did in your second semester and keep up the good grades. If you can manage good grades AND go to a top school, it will obviously look way better than transferring down and getting good grades. Plus, upward trend looks nice; just be sure to ace those science classes, and be careful not to overdo on how many science classes you take a semester. Your load in freshman year is not typical for pre-meds, and may have been the reason you struggled a bit.
