Reply to Is pre-med at UChicago a bad idea?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.

[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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

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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

Based on the cum laude designation at the end of junior year. [/quote]

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