Are STEM classes easier at some colleges than others?

[Anonymous]

DC is not majoring in science but is thinking of applying to vet school, for which there are science prerequisites (science major is not required). She is scared of the GPA hit that she might take by taking organic chem with all the pre meds at her current school, which is pretty selective and known for tough grading. Should she take that class over the summer at a less selective school around here, or are STEM classes uniformly difficult everywhere? Signed, a humanities major. PS she is aware of the other requirements for vet college (the animal experience) and is working on that.

[Anonymous]

Short answer, yes STEM classes are easier at some schools than others.

However, the vet school admissions committee will probably know that her current school is a tough one -- and this may even be a point in her favor.

[Anonymous]

Does her college offer summer classes? At my DCs college the weed out classes are a little less competitive in the summer, because the premeds or bschool applicants or whatever take them during the year. Plus you have the benefit of taking just 1-2 classes.

[Anonymous]

My wife took organic chem at Harvard as a visiting student solely because the curve wasn't as brutal as her home school. If you are smart, you can game the system and avoid nonsense weed out classes (and still substantive learn what you need to pass the MCAT).

[Anonymous]

Organic is always the toughest because it is used to weed out medical school students. It is almost always graded on a curve and getting a 50% on the final is often worth an A. Everyone has to take it and the material is important to the field, so looking for an easier forum to take the class is not the best idea. Remember, the weeding out may be even harsher at schools with lower admissions standards because fewer self-identified pre-med students at Ole Miss are going to be serious candidates for med school than at Harvard.

Besides attendance and using the TAs extensively, the tried and true ways med students use to get an A in organic chemistry are 1) a really good study group (the pre-meds may not want a pre-vet in the group) and 2) hiring a really good tutor for one on one coaching.

[Anonymous]

Yes, take it over the summer!! DS almost failed out of college first year because he was a "soft science" kid at a school with great med school admissions. So those lower level science courses were all big lecture hall, weeding out and GPA boosters (for the kids who already got 5s on their AP tests in HS but were re-taking the classes in college to boost their GPAs). Of course, if you're going pre-Vet basically, I imagine the vet school sees through this tactic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Short answer, yes STEM classes are easier at some schools than others.

However, the vet school admissions committee will probably know that her current school is a tough one -- and this may even be a point in her favor.

+1

Knew a parent of a student who was a high achiever in high school but was struggling in their classes while some of her peers were "breezing" by at a less rigorous course at another school.

The rationale is that this is where school name and reputation comes to play and why some places may show preference to people from some schools over others.

[Anonymous]

I took a couple of chemistry classes at NoVa community college and they were less challenging that the corresponding course at my college. Another thing to consider is that schools often offer different organic Chemistry Classes - one for premeds and one for other students. I would check with the chemistry department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The rationale is that this is where school name and reputation comes to play and why some places may show preference to people from some schools over others.

Thank you from OP for the advice so far. We will look into these different options. As to the post above, we have heard that our instate vet college (VATech)considers GPA without regard to the school. And when you look at the list of current students, many of them went to colleges that would not be considered very selective. I would hope they do take school difficulty into account at some point!