Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are cheaper than state universities for middle class kids. If “middle class” means $60k/year....

Harvard is exceptionally generous, so all you have to do is get on there.

O.k., sure. But the highly competitive applicants who apply to Harvard and don't get accepted will like get big scholarships elsewhere. They know they are going to school for free, it's just a matter of where.

That is not the reality for most kids.

Agree that if you’re competitive at Harvard you’ll get a good package elsewhere. My point was that somebody keeps posting here that you should just get into Harvard and you’ll be set—as if every kid in the DMV can just get into Harvard.

Also, the other Ivies don’t give great FA, and zero merit aid. I have personal experience with a “top Ivy” as a single mom with two kids in college, and meh. I know another kid with a single mom with a lower salary than mine, and just the one kid on college, and the kid had to turn down the same top Ivy for a second-tier school which gave full FA. Which is actually a fantastic outcome! But people here need to stop posting that middle class families can get all the FA they need from Ivies and other elites, is all I was saying.

Oh, I agree. People like to make it sound like all you have to do is tap into the gold at one of the ivies and you're set - why didn't you just go to Harvard, right? I guess we could tell them "Well why are you stuck at that desk job that you hate when all you have to do is become a super model".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A student can get into the college of their choice because of their academic merits.
2. Students can get a perfect SAT score studying on their own.
3. Private counseling is not necessary to get into your dream school.

Actually, #2 was me (well I got 1560).

And DD got into her dream school (Columbia) without a private counselor and despite the MCPS counselor urging her to shoot a lot lower. Your kid and you as a parent just have to be willing to do some research—read some books, check out CC (and learn what tinigbkre on CC). If you don’t have the time, and/or your kid is dragging his/her feet, then hire the counselor.

DD scored a 1550 all by her very determined self.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. A student can get into the college of their choice because of their academic merits.
2. Students can get a perfect SAT score studying on their own.
3. Private counseling is not necessary to get into your dream school.

Actually, #2 was me (well I got 1560).

And DD got into her dream school (Columbia) without a private counselor and despite the MCPS counselor urging her to shoot a lot lower. Your kid and you as a parent just have to be willing to do some research—read some books, check out CC (and learn what tinigbkre on CC). If you don’t have the time, and/or your kid is dragging his/her feet, then hire the counselor.

^^your kid is dragging her feet

Anonymous wrote:1. A student can get into the college of their choice because of their academic merits.
2. Students can get a perfect SAT score studying on their own.
3. Private counseling is not necessary to get into your dream school.

Actually, #2 was me (well I got 1560).

And DD got into her dream school (Columbia) without a private counselor and despite the MCPS counselor urging her to shoot a lot lower. Your kid and you as a parent just have to be willing to do some research—read some books, check out CC (and learn what tinigbkre on CC). If you don’t have the time, and/or your kid is dragging his/her feet, then hire the counselor.

1. A student can get into the college of their choice because of their academic merits.
2. Students can get a perfect SAT score studying on their own.
3. Private counseling is not necessary to get into your dream school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are cheaper than state universities for middle class kids. If “middle class” means $60k/year....

Harvard is exceptionally generous, so all you have to do is get on there.

O.k., sure. But the highly competitive applicants who apply to Harvard and don't get accepted will like get big scholarships elsewhere. They know they are going to school for free, it's just a matter of where.

That is not the reality for most kids.

Agree that if you’re competitive at Harvard you’ll get a good package elsewhere. My point was that somebody keeps posting here that you should just get into Harvard and you’ll be set—as if every kid in the DMV can just get into Harvard.

Also, the other Ivies don’t give great FA, and zero merit aid. I have personal experience with a “top Ivy” as a single mom with two kids in college, and meh. I know another kid with a single mom with a lower salary than mine, and just the one kid on college, and the kid had to turn down the same top Ivy for a second-tier school which gave full FA. Which is actually a fantastic outcome! But people here need to stop posting that middle class families can get all the FA they need from Ivies and other elites, is all I was saying.

likely

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are cheaper than state universities for middle class kids. If “middle class” means $60k/year....

Harvard is exceptionally generous, so all you have to do is get on there.

O.k., sure. But the highly competitive applicants who apply to Harvard and don't get accepted will like get big scholarships elsewhere. They know they are going to school for free, it's just a matter of where.

That is not the reality for most kids.

Ivies are cheaper than state universities for middle class kids. If “middle class” means $60k/year....

Harvard is exceptionally generous, so all you have to do is get on there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former organic chemistry professor, don't forget the huge number of premeds who was out before ever applying to med school. So many don't make the grades early on.

What?
So what kind of grades in organic chemistry "early on" (I assume you mean freshman year) will knock you out of getting in to med school?

What he is trying to say - apparently after his nightly 4 bottles of wine - is that a lot of kids with premed hopes fail organic chemistry so they are out of the running for med school early on.

got it. That sounds about right.

Well, of course, this wouldn't apply to the leisure studies med school applicants who never have to take organic chem. After all, we often hear that you don't have to major in science to become a doctor, right? Just make sure to have a 4.0 GPA......

What are you talking about? Everyone needs to take OChem to apply to medical school regardless of major.

So many people who have no idea how this works. Why are you posting?!

Yeah. The point is that so many people have no idea how this works. If you're planning to apply to med school, you don't get around taking organic chem just because your accounting major didn't require it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former organic chemistry professor, don't forget the huge number of premeds who was out before ever applying to med school. So many don't make the grades early on.

What?
So what kind of grades in organic chemistry "early on" (I assume you mean freshman year) will knock you out of getting in to med school?

What he is trying to say - apparently after his nightly 4 bottles of wine - is that a lot of kids with premed hopes fail organic chemistry so they are out of the running for med school early on.

got it. That sounds about right.

Well, of course, this wouldn't apply to the leisure studies med school applicants who never have to take organic chem. After all, we often hear that you don't have to major in science to become a doctor, right? Just make sure to have a 4.0 GPA......

What are you talking about? Everyone needs to take OChem to apply to medical school regardless of major.

So many people who have no idea how this works. Why are you posting?!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former organic chemistry professor, don't forget the huge number of premeds who was out before ever applying to med school. So many don't make the grades early on.

What?
So what kind of grades in organic chemistry "early on" (I assume you mean freshman year) will knock you out of getting in to med school?

What he is trying to say - apparently after his nightly 4 bottles of wine - is that a lot of kids with premed hopes fail organic chemistry so they are out of the running for med school early on.

Yup. This means that the colleges reporting that 40% of their grads who apply to med school get accepted are disregading the 80% of premeds who switched to prelaw or business during sophomore or junior year. Every premed has to take organic chemistry. Very few get a good enough score to even consider applying to med school.

Some drop out of the pre-med race early on but TONS of less qualified applicants still apply. Go to student doctor forums. There are thousands of people of people who apply to medical school with mediocre grades (a 3.4 or whatever) because they always dreamed of being a doctor or their parents have pushed them into medical school since they were young. A huge percentage of the actual applicant pool is underqualified from a grades or MCAT perspective. If you do get straight A's in the sciences (from Harvard or American or Bowie state or anywhere) and do well on the MCAT you will get in somewhere. I have watched all my family members (husband, brother, many cousins) go through this after starting out at no name undergrads. Everyone was accepted to a US medical school. Every medical school applicant applies to a number of schools (typically 10+, often even 20) but qualified applicants get in. You have the grades and scores and don't come off as an ass in your interview, you will get in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Geezus. It’s called PREREQUISITES people. Of course all applicants had to have taken the same prerequisite classes. OY!

Um, prereq is just an abbreviation, dude. Most creative writing, econ, education majors do not also take bio + lab, 2 semesters Gen Chem + labs, 2 semesters organic + labs, university physics (along with the required math prereq).....etc.

Yes, it is possible for a non science/non premed major to get all those classes in, it's just not the standard way to go about it.

No, non-science majors cannot get around taking Chemistry through Org, bio, physics etc if they want to apply to medical school. At a minimum: https://students-residents.aamc.org/choosing-medical-career/article/admission-requirements-medical-school/

I guess if you are cool with taking those courses, you can pretty much major in anything that you want to. Personally, I would be loading up on stuff like Anatomy/Physiology, genetics, etc.

If medicine is your passion, and if you're going to med school it needs to be your passion, I would think that you would want to know as much about the field as possible.....as opposed to majoring in something non-related, like Music Studies. But that's just me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former organic chemistry professor, don't forget the huge number of premeds who was out before ever applying to med school. So many don't make the grades early on.

What?
So what kind of grades in organic chemistry "early on" (I assume you mean freshman year) will knock you out of getting in to med school?

What he is trying to say - apparently after his nightly 4 bottles of wine - is that a lot of kids with premed hopes fail organic chemistry so they are out of the running for med school early on.

Yup. This means that the colleges reporting that 40% of their grads who apply to med school get accepted are disregading the 80% of premeds who switched to prelaw or business during sophomore or junior year. Every premed has to take organic chemistry. Very few get a good enough score to even consider applying to med school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Geezus. It’s called PREREQUISITES people. Of course all applicants had to have taken the same prerequisite classes. OY!

Um, prereq is just an abbreviation, dude. Most creative writing, econ, education majors do not also take bio + lab, 2 semesters Gen Chem + labs, 2 semesters organic + labs, university physics (along with the required math prereq).....etc.

Yes, it is possible for a non science/non premed major to get all those classes in, it's just not the standard way to go about it.

No, non-science majors cannot get around taking Chemistry through Org, bio, physics etc if they want to apply to medical school. At a minimum: https://students-residents.aamc.org/choosing-medical-career/article/admission-requirements-medical-school/