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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In your experience, is it worth gaming the system by[b] taking easier classes in high school to keep a very high GPA, just to improve chances of getting into a T20 or Ivy?[/b] Then once admitted, switching into a different major?

I recently heard about [b]several students who entered T20 schools with less competitive or undersubscribed majors. Their plan was to move into premed after enrollment. But during freshman year they ran into the typical STEM weed-out courses, [/b]calculus, general chemistry, and physics. Many of them struggled and some had to abandon the premed track.

On the other hand, what about students who took the most rigorous courses in high school but ended up with a lower GPA and attended a non-T20 college? Do they tend to be more successful on the premed track because they are already used to the workload and difficulty?

For those who have seen this play out, does this strategy actually work in the long run? Or does avoiding rigorous coursework in high school end up making the transition to college stem or econ much harder?[/quote]

Ivies and the like do not fall for that. There are Val or Sal every year with weaker rigor than students a few places below them and the lower GPA students get in, unhooked, over the higher GPA similar number of AP/honors but easier coursework. 
The students that do best at ivies unhooked are the ones who take the hardest courses and end up Val or Sal. T15-20 does not need quite that level, but rigor often outweighs higher GPA in those cases as well.

For premed in particular, go to the best school with a med school on or near campus where the student will be top 10% if it is ranked T60-100ish, top 25% if it is ranked T20-50ish, and top HALF or potentially just below average, if they attend T15/ivy. 
Compare their normal-timed SAT to the pre-Test-Optional data to have an idea where they will sit relative to the class. 
If the non-superscored normal-timed SAT is below 1400 after 1-2 tries they are highly unlikely to have an MCAT above 505 making MD not possible from any school. 
Aspiring premeds should try two of the three AP Bio, Chem, Physics in high school and if they cannot get a 4 or 5 on the ones they try, med school is not too likely based on the current way AP is scored since 2024. 
Your sneak into premed friends at T20 most likely did not meet the guidelines above. Plus, consider that the vast majority of T20 curve the stem courses such that the median is B or even B+, with fewer than 20% getting assigned C grades. Bs do not weed one out of premed, Cs do. Your friends were not close to being competitive for med school if they got more than one C at a T20. 
[/quote]

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