U of Notre Dame Pre-Med

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anglswings

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FONT=Verdana]I am a senior in high school and have very high hopes to attend Notre Dame in the fall. But can anyone tell me how their pre-med programs fall in line with other schools? I would love to go there, but my dreams in medicine are much higher..

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anglswings said:
FONT=Verdana]I am a senior in high school and have very high hopes to attend Notre Dame in the fall. But can anyone tell me how their pre-med programs fall in line with other schools? I would love to go there, but my dreams in medicine are much higher..

wow - what a familiar plight. i had the opportunity to go to nd - but scholarships weren't available. in any case i'm a senior now, graduating from a small liberal arts college phi beta kappa, with a great gpa, mcat, and have been accepted by three med schools. i guess my point is that it doesn't matter where you go - the curriculum is just about the same and it really depends on what you put into it
i'm not sure if i went to nd i'd be in the position i am now. i had an amazing experience at a smaller school and recieved the attention i needed, the help i sought, and the occasional kick in the butt to be where i am now.
pre-med is a scary thing kid - i don't think you have any idea what you're getting into! - but good luck - go irish
 
well, dont get me wrong... im definetly up for the challenge... im positive, it's my calling.... Im just affraid I will let my strong "irish, catholic, and football" pride get in the way of choosing the right college for me. Thanks for all your help. If not accepted for some reason, Ill most likely choose a smaller college instead.
 
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Ok, I just graduated from ND in May (and conveniently for you, just joined this forum today). I'm applying to med schools currently, so I can tell you a bit about the program.

-My experience with the pre-med program overall has been very positive; the advisors have been consistently helpful and friendly. Everyone in the pre-professional office, from the advisors down to the secretary, is very nice and accessible.

-One thing I like, is that ND does not have a true pre-med major. You can't just study pre-med. The way that they work it is that you have a pre-professional program, but you have to have an actual major in a normal discipline (eg bio, psych, english, whatever) -- you just meet all the requirements for med school while obtaining a normal major. The programs are slightly different depending on what college you enroll in (college of science vs college of arts), but are overall similar and similarly difficult (science has a few more pre-reqs)

-The major premed courses are big, but not state school big. Your biggest class will be gen bio, but it makes up for its size by having a great prof (Martin Tenniswood). Also, gen bio lab is run by Kristin Lewis, who is awesome! It may sound odd to say this, but bio lab was actually a lot of fun. Also, I think that either of those people would be very responsive if you wanted to e-mail them with more questions (just look up their contacts online).

-The pre-med programs have pretty good numbers for getting you into med school, and the pre-meds aren't quite as crazy competitive as some schools you hear about.

If you have any specific questions, post them here and I'll do my best to answer them. If we get too crazy in depth, I'll give you my email so we don't clog up this board.
 
Its awesome to talk to someone who has attened. God, i want to so bad. And its also wonderful to hear you say that their programs work well. I dont know what i would do if i was accepted...... probably die! haha. What major did you end up going through? I always figured I'd just go simple Bio.
 
My route was a little unorthodox.

I came in poly-sci. Then switched to psychology. Then during 2nd semester junior year decided to go for med school. Took all the requirements for med school senior year and summer after, took the august MCAT, and am applying now.

Which only enhances my opinion that the pre-med office is awesome, b/c they helped me out a lot getting everything done correctly and quickly.
 
what was all of your stats in high school.... for acceptance into there? Thats my main worry. Everyone always tries to discourage me on applying, and what to do for a living. Like unless you say you are going to go to a small college in your hometown and go for teaching.... they dont think you can make it.
 
My stats in high school were very good (1500+ SAT, more or less straight A's, varsity sport for 4 years, service and leadership).

However, those stats were definitely excessive for ND admissions.

Don't let people discourage you. My girlfriend's high school counselor said "why do you want to bother applying there?" (re: ND) -- and not only was she admitted, she was admitted to the honors program and left ND with around a 3.9 GPA.
 
You might want to consider the cost of going to Notre Dame (or a small liberal arts school, as you mentioned). The combined cost of an expensive undergrad with little financial aid AND medical school could be huge.
You sound self-motivated, and might not need the extra help/small classes that an expensive undergrad provides. The larger state schools offer fantastic opportunities for learning, as long as you don't need someone else to kick you in the ass.
On the other hand, if your parents have money to burn, it certainly can't hurt to go to ND and could be alot of fun.
I was accepted to ND for undergrad and was pretty gungho about it at first, especially after visiting their campus! It is really beautiful, and everyone seemed so happy there. Anyhow, I felt too guilty about asking my parents to pay for it and instead went to a public big 10 school. (Still fantastic if you are into football, and big enough to have a bit of everything including Irish and Catholic). Now I'm at a top 10 med school with no debt.
Just something to consider....
Let me know what you think!
 
yeah, that is how our counselor is. He's like, " well make sure u have your backups ready, but your chances are good. " my SAT's definetly arent that food... probably pulling about 1300. i have a 3.8 gpa as of now. I really hurt myself in my 9th grade year, bc of a close death... my grades dropped. I do alot of community service, and took up track last year to hopefully score some bonus points.... which i do well in. My major threats though... are admission letters. Mine is pretty much done.... but i dont think it as well as it should be. i have no idea what to write about and really dont have one great point to talk about.
 
Not to pimp ND too much...

But they do have a pretty good financial aid dept. 100% of need (according to fafsa obviously) will be met for all students. Usually a decent-sized chunk will come through scholies (local alumni clubs, endowed scholarships) and grants. Cost is something that obviously has to be weighed when considering the school, but it is definitely doable for most.
 
One suggestion on the grades front. Don't necessarily be afraid to talk about how the close death affected your academics freshman year. I know a lot of people just try to sweep trouble-spots on their apps under the rug, but if you take a proactive approach and directly address them it can sometimes help clear things up.
 
well, when it comes to money... i try not to worry. i dont have a great deal of it. But ya know, nothing is more important than your education. so ill do what it takes. :)
 
I am currently a senior at ND and heading to Cincinnati COM next year, and I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade my experience at Notre Dame for anything (yes, even chaning those big red numbers into green ones).

I have one clarification on a previous post about the pre med programs. I am a science pre-professional major, which is basically what would be known as a pre med major at other universities. In that program I have the freedom to select science electives from bio, chem, physics, ect.. aka not locked into taking a bunch of classes in one area as a major in those disciplines would. It also gave me the flexibility to complete an anthropology minor (ND has a very strong anth department!). There is also what is known as an arts and letters pre-professional major, where one must select a concentration within the arts and letters college (like anthropology, english, ect) while also taking all the required pre med courses. Both programs and all the other science majors at ND do an excellent job of preparing you to apply to medical schools.

Notre Dame is so much more than the pre med programs though. The people you meet and the life-long friends that you make are what truly matter. You are surrounded by incredibly talented, motivated, and, yes, even fun people. I have life-long friends from every part of the country and all over the world. What I am getting at is that Notre Dame is more than just a great education, its an experience that you will never regret for the rest of your life.
 
the alumni network at notre dame is AMAZING, but i don't know how much that matters in medicine. my mom's boss is an nd graduate and i don't think i have ever heard of anyone so much in love with their college experience. he makes sure everyone knows where he graduated from. anyways, look at their applicant statistics from their site. they have a great acceptance rate. they also list the schools people got in and it is ..... okay. I got rejected a couple years ago, :( . i got into my first choice though, so it's good. i think you need to be catholic, a legacy, and pure caucasian to get in.
 
Well, im not a legacy student But i am a 80% irish catholic. And hopeful that will help, haha. I understand what you two are talking about, and that is why I want to go there.
 
In actuality, if you are a minority at ND you have a great shot -- the school desperately wants to improve their diversity image, and because of their reputation as a Catholic school (and unlike "Catholic" schools like Georgetown, ND actually has a huge practicing Catholic population) a lot of minorities don't even apply.
 
nah, not very minority... just white. unless we are minorities now...(if only.)
 
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