Is pre-med at UChicago a bad idea?

[Anonymous]

My daughter recently graduated with a biomolecular engineering degree. She took many of the same required courses that her pre-med friends took. The courses are challenging, but she was still able to graduate with a 3.75 while also being a student athlete and still having time for research and fun with friends. One of her roommates was pre-med and finished with a 3.9+ and received a very high MCAT score (her workload was less than my daughters)

I disagree with the idea that students are studying seven hours a day. Maybe during finals. As for environment and traditions, there are always lots of things to do and the house system is unique. My daughter misses her time there and would love to be back. The academics were challenging, but she was surrounded by incredibly curious people who pushed each other to think more deeply and were also very collaborative. It is a special place. If your daughter is strong academically and organized, she will most likely love her time at UChicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter recently graduated with a biomolecular engineering degree. She took many of the same required courses that her pre-med friends took. The courses are challenging, but she was still able to graduate with a 3.75 while also being a student athlete and still having time for research and fun with friends. One of her roommates was pre-med and finished with a 3.9+ and received a very high MCAT score (her workload was less than my daughters)

I disagree with the idea that students are studying seven hours a day. Maybe during finals. As for environment and traditions, there are always lots of things to do and the house system is unique. My daughter misses her time there and would love to be back. The academics were challenging, but she was surrounded by incredibly curious people who pushed each other to think more deeply and were also very collaborative. It is a special place. If your daughter is strong academically and organized, she will most likely love her time at UChicago.

Consistent with what I know about Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Primary concerns are 1) grade deflation = lower GPA for med school apps and 2) grind culture and so much busy work = no time left for meaningful pre-med internships. We watched a "Day in the life of a UChicago student" video on Youtube. The girl who made it described her workload in details and said she has 7 hours of homework a day on average in additional to going to classes, office hours, clubs and ECs on campus. She's not evening STEM/Engineering or Comp Sci!. How is that sustainable?

DD (junior) is curious about UChicago because she likes their essay prompt Qs which makes her think it's a campus full of "her kind of people". She's not deterred by the reputation of challenging academics (she has a history of excelling when things get more challenging). However, she is not what you would call a recluse nerd, she has lots of friends, is very social and active now in high school and manages to work year-round at a part-time job with coworkers she is friendly with. She says her ideal college will have top teaching, challenging academics, good for pre-med but also has lots of campus traditions, events and activities (non-Greek, Harry Potter Quidditch type). The latter part doesn't sound like UChicago to me, am I right?

UChicago has a ton of traditions.

https://nebula.tv/scav

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't worry about grade inflation/deflation for med school applications. I talked to someone that used to be on admissions committee for a top med school and he said they are how the various schools grade, and they take that into consideration.

The trimester system for premed is really challenging, I will say that.

Do the premeds have more fun at Brown? Or UMd? Or ASU? I don't know.

I spoke with someone at a top med school admissions committee and I asked if RPI (infamous for extreme grade deflation) got a boost and if Brown got a boost. They said Brown gets a boost in their system while RPI does not. So to me it seems to be more about the prestige in the eyes of the admissions committee than the grading practices.

[Anonymous]

OP, Rice sounds like it might be your Dad's dream school - strong academics, tight-knit social environment with a lot of traditions, etc.

And taking a gap year to do research etc (very common) in Texas allows you do declare Texas residency for TMDSAS which is basically an admissions cheat code considering how many public med schools are in Texas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premed is a grind anywhere. Emory, WashU, JHU, Penn, Case Western, Vandy, all grinds for premed.

Chicago has grade inflation now. It's not what it used to be.

Chicago definitely does not have grade inflation. Agree that pre-med is a grind at top schools, but I think the quarter system makes it even more challenging.

There have been multiple posts On UChicago and "grade deflation" lately what is going on? While the quarter system does make the pace harder, the grades at UChicago are most certainly NOT DEFLATED compared to peer schools. Are they "inflated"? Not to the extent of Harvard/Brown which have medians around 3.9 nor Duke and Dartmouth where 3.9 is around top third, 3.80-3.84 around average. But Chicago is indeed inflated compared to 30 years ago. All schools are. Every single one. In fact some of the classic toxic schools (JHU, CMU), have shifted medians to the right more than peers to try and overcome some of the reputation.

Uchicago has median graduating gpa around 3.7, roughly the same as UVA and the three "deflated" ivies Princeton Penn and Cornell. UChcago curves the typical freshman premed courses to a B/B+ with Cs being rare. Upper-level stem courses have B+/A- medians.

Med school AOs know the differences in grading. They get data from the undergrad schools and they track applicant data themselves. Also, they're quite aware of the differences in peer group: a median GPA from UChicago, whatever it is, is far more impressive than a top-quarter GPA from a T50. And, a 3.7 from Chicago is indeed more impressive than a 3.7 from UVA, two schools with similar medians yet different student intellectual ability averages.

Med schools also use the MCAT and have access to MCAT tier data from different undergrads. UChicago and other ivy+ typically have average -GPA students earning an mcat of 515-517 while UVA is roughly 505 for the average-GPA undergrad.

I don't know about Duke but Dartmouth doesn't have inflation to the extent you describe.

UVA is a harder admit from many private high schools than Chicago is. Not to beat a dead horse but you need a 3.5 for Chicago and a 3.85+ for UVA from the school my child attends. Chicago is not assembling a student body of solely academic powerhouses in 2026. Yes, there are strong academic kids who still attend but a decent percentage of kids who are not because this private school crowd is their bread and butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't worry about grade inflation/deflation for med school applications. I talked to someone that used to be on admissions committee for a top med school and he said they are how the various schools grade, and they take that into consideration.

The trimester system for premed is really challenging, I will say that.

Do the premeds have more fun at Brown? Or UMd? Or ASU? I don't know.

I spoke with someone at a top med school admissions committee and I asked if RPI (infamous for extreme grade deflation) got a boost and if Brown got a boost. They said Brown gets a boost in their system while RPI does not. So to me it seems to be more about the prestige in the eyes of the admissions committee than the grading practices.

Yeah? School name and who told you this? Bc it is all made up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't worry about grade inflation/deflation for med school applications. I talked to someone that used to be on admissions committee for a top med school and he said they are how the various schools grade, and they take that into consideration.

The trimester system for premed is really challenging, I will say that.

Do the premeds have more fun at Brown? Or UMd? Or ASU? I don't know.

I spoke with someone at a top med school admissions committee and I asked if RPI (infamous for extreme grade deflation) got a boost and if Brown got a boost. They said Brown gets a boost in their system while RPI does not. So to me it seems to be more about the prestige in the eyes of the admissions committee than the grading practices.

Yeah? School name and who told you this? Bc it is all made up

I have also read this in a few places, that there are tiers and the top one gets a slight bump. I don't recall the cut-off but basically Ivies/Ivy+. It was different sources, but I can't claim to know for sure. My kid's premed advising also says its true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premed is a grind anywhere. Emory, WashU, JHU, Penn, Case Western, Vandy, all grinds for premed.

Chicago has grade inflation now. It's not what it used to be.

Chicago definitely does not have grade inflation. Agree that pre-med is a grind at top schools, but I think the quarter system makes it even more challenging.

There have been multiple posts On UChicago and "grade deflation" lately what is going on? While the quarter system does make the pace harder, the grades at UChicago are most certainly NOT DEFLATED compared to peer schools. Are they "inflated"? Not to the extent of Harvard/Brown which have medians around 3.9 nor Duke and Dartmouth where 3.9 is around top third, 3.80-3.84 around average. But Chicago is indeed inflated compared to 30 years ago. All schools are. Every single one. In fact some of the classic toxic schools (JHU, CMU), have shifted medians to the right more than peers to try and overcome some of the reputation.

Uchicago has median graduating gpa around 3.7, roughly the same as UVA and the three "deflated" ivies Princeton Penn and Cornell. UChcago curves the typical freshman premed courses to a B/B+ with Cs being rare. Upper-level stem courses have B+/A- medians.

Med school AOs know the differences in grading. They get data from the undergrad schools and they track applicant data themselves. Also, they're quite aware of the differences in peer group: a median GPA from UChicago, whatever it is, is far more impressive than a top-quarter GPA from a T50. And, a 3.7 from Chicago is indeed more impressive than a 3.7 from UVA, two schools with similar medians yet different student intellectual ability averages.

Med schools also use the MCAT and have access to MCAT tier data from different undergrads. UChicago and other ivy+ typically have average -GPA students earning an mcat of 515-517 while UVA is roughly 505 for the average-GPA undergrad.

I don't know about Duke but Dartmouth doesn't have inflation to the extent you describe.

UVA is a harder admit from many private high schools than Chicago is. Not to beat a dead horse but you need a 3.5 for Chicago and a 3.85+ for UVA from the school my child attends. Chicago is not assembling a student body of solely academic powerhouses in 2026. Yes, there are strong academic kids who still attend but a decent percentage of kids who are not because this private school crowd is their bread and butter.

That’s so not true at DD’s school (DMV private). The UVA admits are not in the top 20 percent. The UChicago admits have been only top 10 (in the past couple of years). This year, it’s the valedictorian and another top 10 kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premed is a grind anywhere. Emory, WashU, JHU, Penn, Case Western, Vandy, all grinds for premed.

Chicago has grade inflation now. It's not what it used to be.

Chicago definitely does not have grade inflation. Agree that pre-med is a grind at top schools, but I think the quarter system makes it even more challenging.

There have been multiple posts On UChicago and "grade deflation" lately what is going on? While the quarter system does make the pace harder, the grades at UChicago are most certainly NOT DEFLATED compared to peer schools. Are they "inflated"? Not to the extent of Harvard/Brown which have medians around 3.9 nor Duke and Dartmouth where 3.9 is around top third, 3.80-3.84 around average. But Chicago is indeed inflated compared to 30 years ago. All schools are. Every single one. In fact some of the classic toxic schools (JHU, CMU), have shifted medians to the right more than peers to try and overcome some of the reputation.

Uchicago has median graduating gpa around 3.7, roughly the same as UVA and the three "deflated" ivies Princeton Penn and Cornell. UChcago curves the typical freshman premed courses to a B/B+ with Cs being rare. Upper-level stem courses have B+/A- medians.

Med school AOs know the differences in grading. They get data from the undergrad schools and they track applicant data themselves. Also, they're quite aware of the differences in peer group: a median GPA from UChicago, whatever it is, is far more impressive than a top-quarter GPA from a T50. And, a 3.7 from Chicago is indeed more impressive than a 3.7 from UVA, two schools with similar medians yet different student intellectual ability averages.

Med schools also use the MCAT and have access to MCAT tier data from different undergrads. UChicago and other ivy+ typically have average -GPA students earning an mcat of 515-517 while UVA is roughly 505 for the average-GPA undergrad.

I don't know about Duke but Dartmouth doesn't have inflation to the extent you describe.

UVA is a harder admit from many private high schools than Chicago is. Not to beat a dead horse but you need a 3.5 for Chicago and a 3.85+ for UVA from the school my child attends. Chicago is not assembling a student body of solely academic powerhouses in 2026. Yes, there are strong academic kids who still attend but a decent percentage of kids who are not because this private school crowd is their bread and butter.

That’s so not true at DD’s school (DMV private). The UVA admits are not in the top 20 percent. The UChicago admits have been only top 10 (in the past couple of years). This year, it’s the valedictorian and another top 10 kid.

How do ou even know who the valedictorian or a top 10 kid is going to be when it's only March?
Also, many top privates don't even publicly recognize these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premed is a grind anywhere. Emory, WashU, JHU, Penn, Case Western, Vandy, all grinds for premed.

Chicago has grade inflation now. It's not what it used to be.

Chicago definitely does not have grade inflation. Agree that pre-med is a grind at top schools, but I think the quarter system makes it even more challenging.

There have been multiple posts On UChicago and "grade deflation" lately what is going on? While the quarter system does make the pace harder, the grades at UChicago are most certainly NOT DEFLATED compared to peer schools. Are they "inflated"? Not to the extent of Harvard/Brown which have medians around 3.9 nor Duke and Dartmouth where 3.9 is around top third, 3.80-3.84 around average. But Chicago is indeed inflated compared to 30 years ago. All schools are. Every single one. In fact some of the classic toxic schools (JHU, CMU), have shifted medians to the right more than peers to try and overcome some of the reputation.

Uchicago has median graduating gpa around 3.7, roughly the same as UVA and the three "deflated" ivies Princeton Penn and Cornell. UChcago curves the typical freshman premed courses to a B/B+ with Cs being rare. Upper-level stem courses have B+/A- medians.

Med school AOs know the differences in grading. They get data from the undergrad schools and they track applicant data themselves. Also, they're quite aware of the differences in peer group: a median GPA from UChicago, whatever it is, is far more impressive than a top-quarter GPA from a T50. And, a 3.7 from Chicago is indeed more impressive than a 3.7 from UVA, two schools with similar medians yet different student intellectual ability averages.

Med schools also use the MCAT and have access to MCAT tier data from different undergrads. UChicago and other ivy+ typically have average -GPA students earning an mcat of 515-517 while UVA is roughly 505 for the average-GPA undergrad.

I don't know about Duke but Dartmouth doesn't have inflation to the extent you describe.

UVA is a harder admit from many private high schools than Chicago is. Not to beat a dead horse but you need a 3.5 for Chicago and a 3.85+ for UVA from the school my child attends. Chicago is not assembling a student body of solely academic powerhouses in 2026. Yes, there are strong academic kids who still attend but a decent percentage of kids who are not because this private school crowd is their bread and butter.

That’s so not true at DD’s school (DMV private). The UVA admits are not in the top 20 percent. The UChicago admits have been only top 10 (in the past couple of years). This year, it’s the valedictorian and another top 10 kid.

How do ou even know who the valedictorian or a top 10 kid is going to be when it's only March?
Also, many top privates don't even publicly recognize these things.

Based on the cum laude designation at the end of junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't worry about grade inflation/deflation for med school applications. I talked to someone that used to be on admissions committee for a top med school and he said they are how the various schools grade, and they take that into consideration.

The trimester system for premed is really challenging, I will say that.

Do the premeds have more fun at Brown? Or UMd? Or ASU? I don't know.

I spoke with someone at a top med school admissions committee and I asked if RPI (infamous for extreme grade deflation) got a boost and if Brown got a boost. They said Brown gets a boost in their system while RPI does not. So to me it seems to be more about the prestige in the eyes of the admissions committee than the grading practices.

Yeah? School name and who told you this? Bc it is all made up

I have also read this in a few places, that there are tiers and the top one gets a slight bump. I don't recall the cut-off but basically Ivies/Ivy+. It was different sources, but I can't claim to know for sure. My kid's premed advising also says its true.

This goes against what Ryan Gray has advised: https://mappd.com/about

- wrote I think the only or main book on the process

- is the best known advisor on the process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't worry about grade inflation/deflation for med school applications. I talked to someone that used to be on admissions committee for a top med school and he said they are how the various schools grade, and they take that into consideration.

The trimester system for premed is really challenging, I will say that.

Do the premeds have more fun at Brown? Or UMd? Or ASU? I don't know.

I spoke with someone at a top med school admissions committee and I asked if RPI (infamous for extreme grade deflation) got a boost and if Brown got a boost. They said Brown gets a boost in their system while RPI does not. So to me it seems to be more about the prestige in the eyes of the admissions committee than the grading practices.

Yeah? School name and who told you this? Bc it is all made up

I have also read this in a few places, that there are tiers and the top one gets a slight bump. I don't recall the cut-off but basically Ivies/Ivy+. It was different sources, but I can't claim to know for sure. My kid's premed advising also says its true.

This goes against what Ryan Gray has advised: https://mappd.com/about

- wrote I think the only or main book on the process

- is the best known advisor on the process

I’m in that group too. A lot of what is said is in conflict with what my students premed advising. I like the group and it serves a purpose, it’s very supportive of finding a path for students in all circumstances. Another is Med-edits and is geared a bit more to those hoping for top med schools, the owner was in admissions at a T20.

[Anonymous]

Adding, I am wired to be skeptical of everything. I don’t know answer obviously, I’ve read evidence both ways, but that groups purpose is to help those that need it. That’s a different applicant and wouldn’t go over well to say undergrad matters as that’s their meat and potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD sounds similar to yours and is now a junior majoring in a STEM field at UChi. She's completed (as part of the sequence of classes needed for her major) all of the pre-med classes. The grade deflation situation and rigor is real although it is not, as you said, "busy work. Med schools/internship opportunities are aware of the situation at Chicago and take that into account. Kids are nose down a lot of the time as lectures + labs + discussion groups take a lot of time and the problem sets are no joke. She does finds time to work out and "goes out" maybe once a week. She was dead set on UChi, but had she had a slightly less strenuous option she was considering we might have pushed her in that direction knowing what we know now. But then again, she's happy and has found her people and she's definitely being challenged!

I'm curious which school you considered to be "slightly less strenuous" than UChicago.

I don't want to get into a debate about whether or not the schools she didn't pick are more or less strenuous because that's really off topic from the OP's question. My point was that if DD had wanted pre-med, I'm not sure Chicago is the best fit. I think it's more the research university + quarter system + size issue. There's no time to catch your breath with the quarter system. DD has not found professors to be as accessible as her brother has at a SLAC. There's more competition for lab internships and, because it's harder to establish relationships with professors, that adds an extra layer of stress. While professor (vs TAs) actually lecture, she has a lot of interaction with TAs and those are the people with whom she's formed relationships. She's now had two or three truly sadistic professors who will give whole exams on content not covered or included in the study guides so the mean grade is 20%. Yes, there's a curve but not an F to an A. I'm not sure how that would play out for someone applying to med school.

But, again, she is happy. She found her people. She participates in RSOs and fun traditions/events. She loves her house and the campus. She does, however, spend significantly more time than her high school friends (who are STEM majors at other universities) studying/in the library.