undergraduate - st.johns university

[amigo767]

Hi, i currently attend st johns university and hope to attend medical school. i was just wondering whether or not med schools would look down on st johns or something. I know there are other threads about this, but they all regard higher tier schools. so im wondering, would coming from st johns curve down my GPA or something?
another question, there is an honors program in st johns that i am enrolled in (i take honors biology and honors chemistry). this course is very difficult and fast paced. i was wondering if i should drop honors course and get straight A's or stay in the honors course and possibley have a lower GPA? these honors classes have their own labs, classes, ciriculums, and what not. I was thinking that i should stay in the honors course due to the fact that st johns is a pretty low tier school.

thanks for any help!

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[jfmcc]

I participated in an internship with a girl who was transferring to St. Johns out in New Mexico. She mentioned something about a grading system....check or check minus....or smiley faces...I can't remember...but it differed greatly from the standard 4.0 scale. Is this true? If so, you may want to check and see how AMCAS will handle this unorthodox grading system.

As far as undergraduate institution goes, it does not make a magnificent difference whether you go to liberal arts school or a top 10 science heavy institution so long as you perform well in the pre-requisite courses, maintain a high GPA, score well on the MCAT, and have outstanding ECs. They do not like for pre-reqs to be taken at community colleges, though (not that St. Johns is a CC).

On the other hand, if you feel like the science classes are not up to par with the material you need to know, I would definitely transfer.

 

[beachblonde]

Your question reminds me of the admissions FAQ MIT used to use for their freshman applicants:
Q: Is it better to take an AP class/Honors and get a B, or take a regular class and get an A?
A: Students who are admitted to MIT take the AP classes and get A's.

That being said, having a low GPA will screen you out of med school, regardless of the difficulty to those classes that made up your GPA. It's a bit presumptuous to assume that you'll get a 4.0 in your classes, but hey, you'd know better than I would. I would say that if you're concerned about attending a lower tier school, having a high GPA will help you. But I wouldn't advise dropping the honors classes in the middle of the term for a lower level course-that won't reflect positively about you (as in, not being up to taking on a challenge). Finish the semester up, and then if you find yourself struggling, take the regular level courses in the spring.

 

[FlowLimited]

I participated in an internship with a girl who was transferring to St. Johns out in New Mexico. She mentioned something about a grading system....check or check minus....or smiley faces...I can't remember...but it differed greatly from the standard 4.0 scale. Is this true? If so, you may want to check and see how AMCAS will handle this unorthodox grading system.

As far as undergraduate institution goes, it does not make a magnificent difference whether you go to liberal arts school or a top 10 science heavy institution so long as you perform well in the pre-requisite courses, maintain a high GPA, score well on the MCAT, and have outstanding ECs. They do not like for pre-reqs to be taken at community colleges, though (not that St. Johns is a CC).

On the other hand, if you feel like the science classes are not up to par with the material you need to know, I would definitely transfer.

You're referring to St. John's College, which has campuses in Santa Fe and Annapolis. The OP is taking about St. John's University, or so it seems.

 

[amigo767]

Your question reminds me of the admissions FAQ MIT used to use for their freshman applicants:
Q: Is it better to take an AP class/Honors and get a B, or take a regular class and get an A?
A: Students who are admitted to MIT take the AP classes and get A's.

That being said, having a low GPA will screen you out of med school, regardless of the difficulty to those classes that made up your GPA. It's a bit presumptuous to assume that you'll get a 4.0 in your classes, but hey, you'd know better than I would. I would say that if you're concerned about attending a lower tier school, having a high GPA will help you. But I wouldn't advise dropping the honors classes in the middle of the term for a lower level course-that won't reflect positively about you (as in, not being up to taking on a challenge). Finish the semester up, and then if you find yourself struggling, take the regular level courses in the spring.

So you are saying that the tier of the college does not really matter? If i have a higher GPA that someone from cornell and we are applying to the same medical school (if, hypothetically, we have same interview ratings, mcat, extra curriculars), wil i get in before he?
and i meant should i drop the honors course all together next semester, not this semester. will taking honors courses look favorable at all to medical schools? I really dont see why i should take something that doesnt help me get in to medical school if i'm not that interested in chemistry

thank you all for your answers so far, and to jfmcc, i think saqrfaraj is right, because we have a 4.0 system too lol

 

[ButImLETired]

So you are saying that the tier of the college does not really matter? If i have a higher GPA that someone from cornell and we are applying to the same medical school (if, hypothetically, we have same interview ratings, mcat, extra curriculars), wil i get in before he?
and i meant should i drop the honors course all together next semester, not this semester. will taking honors courses look favorable at all to medical schools? I really dont see why i should take something that doesnt help me get in to medical school if i'm not that interested in chemistry

thank you all for your answers so far, and to jfmcc, i think saqrfaraj is right, because we have a 4.0 system too lol

Is St. John's the school with the "great readings" program or something? Or am I thinking of the wrong school....

 

[amigo767]

Is St. John's the school with the "great readings" program or something? Or am I thinking of the wrong school....

Well, i have never heard of that, but then again, this is a huge school with campuses across all of NYC, and i just came to the school so i dont know everything about it either

i know it has a 6 year pharmacy progam tho lol

 

[ButImLETired]

Well, i have never heard of that, but then again, this is a huge school with campuses across all of NYC, and i just came to the school so i dont know everything about it either

i know it has a 6 year pharmacy progam tho lol

Oh never mind, that's a different school.

Anyways, while people who say that the name of the school is TOTALLY irrelevant are, as far as I'm concerned, at least somewhat overly simplistic (there has to be a reason why every time I interviewed at top-tier schools almost only top-tier undergrads were represented among the interviewees), it is also true that your undergrad doesn't matter THAT much. A 3.9 from a lower-tier undergrad will always be valued more than a 3.5 from a top-tier school, with all else being equal. The best way for you to prove that you're just as competent as the people coming from an Ivy is usually to kick butt on the MCAT- that's as close to an objective measure as you get in this process.

 

[amigo767]

Oh never mind, that's a different school.

Anyways, while people who say that the name of the school is TOTALLY irrelevant are, as far as I'm concerned, at least somewhat overly simplistic (there has to be a reason why every time I interviewed at top-tier schools almost only top-tier undergrads were represented among the interviewees), it is also true that your undergrad doesn't matter THAT much. A 3.9 from a lower-tier undergrad will always be valued more than a 3.5 from a top-tier school, with all else being equal. The best way for you to prove that you're just as competent as the people coming from an Ivy is usually to kick butt on the MCAT- that's as close to an objective measure as you get in this process.

Thanks a lot for your answer. so the bottom line is that the tier of school you come from is not a HUGE factor, but still plays some role? and honors courses aren't that important either?