I Don't Know if I Have What it Takes

[minions104]

I'm a high school student and I start applying for colleges this summer. I'm so scared because I've been reading about GPA deflations at my dream school, Johns Hopkins. Granted, statistically, I most likely won't get in, but it's got me thinking about whether I should really go through with applying as a Pre-Medical student. As a right now, I have a 3.8 GPA, 1510 SAT, and 32 ACT, but I struggle mentally to even get there. Plus so many of my peers claim to be higher than that. I don't even know if those are even good numbers, and I know after this semester my GPA will go down because I will probably have a C in French. I take all IB classes, and at least in my two science IBs, chemistry and biology, I'm doing okay, but my school is super cutthroat and I don't rank in the top 10% of the class. A lot of people who have graduated from my high school have said that college has been easier for them than high school, but after reading about GPA deflations and just this same cutthroat competition in general for Pre-med, I don't know if it's worth going through the tortures of my high school all over again.

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[AllBleedingStops]

my dream school, Johns Hopkins

Why is this your dream undergraduate school?

a Pre-Medical student

Apply to multiple colleges. You can be a pre-med student in any major. My personal opinion is you should not go to any school that has a "Pre-Med" major specifically. It pigeonholes you for later.

Plus so many of my peers claim to be higher than that.

Your peers are mostly lying. All people lie. This goes double for competitive high school and college students.

I don't rank in the top 10% of the class

This does not matter for admissions to undergrad. It may matter for academic scholarships but it will not matter for admissions with your stats - which are good by the way. Take a breather. Go outside, take in some nature and exercise. Put down your phone and don't participate in grade comparisons.

 

[minions104]

Johns Hopkins is far away from home, it's in the East Coast, and I want to do the double degree program with Peabody. Also, I haven't seen the campus yet, I will this summer, but it seems like somewhere I want to be based on pictures and general intuition. I'm trying for their BME school, but if I get into their get into their general school and maybe do something like biology of any kind, I'm still bound because without medical school I'm either trapped teaching or struggling for research. I might do computer science or something instead, but that doesn't change the fact that my GPA might be really low. Besides, I plan on applying to 10-15 schools, two of which I will most certainly get into. I sure hope that my peers are lying about what they say, but they are all really smart individuals and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't. Relaxing, though, is so much easier said than done. I was relaxed pretty much all of high school until now because seeing some of my senior friends who had profiles like mine, if not better, get rejected from schools they seemed perfect for, and now that I'm so much closer to that reality, it's worrying me so much. But thank you for your response and reassurance. It's really nice coming from someone who has experienced pretty much everything that I am already.

 

[doctadank]

Johns Hopkins is far away from home, it's in the East Coast, and I want to do the double degree program with Peabody. Also, I haven't seen the campus yet, I will this summer, but it seems like somewhere I want to be based on pictures and general intuition. I'm trying for their BME school, but if I get into their get into their general school and maybe do something like biology of any kind, I'm still bound because without medical school I'm either trapped teaching or struggling for research. I might do computer science or something instead, but that doesn't change the fact that my GPA might be really low. Besides, I plan on applying to 10-15 schools, two of which I will most certainly get into. I sure hope that my peers are lying about what they say, but they are all really smart individuals and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't. Relaxing, though, is so much easier said than done. I was relaxed pretty much all of high school until now because seeing some of my senior friends who had profiles like mine, if not better, get rejected from schools they seemed perfect for, and now that I'm so much closer to that reality, it's worrying me so much. But thank you for your response and reassurance. It's really nice coming from someone who has experienced pretty much everything that I am already.

Do you have a 3.8 unweighted, or weighted? I'm a sophomore who wants to know what I need as my GPA. Thanks!

 

[LucidSplash]

Johns Hopkins is far away from home, it's in the East Coast, and I want to do the double degree program with Peabody. Also, I haven't seen the campus yet, I will this summer, but it seems like somewhere I want to be based on pictures and general intuition. I'm trying for their BME school, but if I get into their get into their general school and maybe do something like biology of any kind, I'm still bound because without medical school I'm either trapped teaching or struggling for research. I might do computer science or something instead, but that doesn't change the fact that my GPA might be really low. Besides, I plan on applying to 10-15 schools, two of which I will most certainly get into. I sure hope that my peers are lying about what they say, but they are all really smart individuals and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't. Relaxing, though, is so much easier said than done. I was relaxed pretty much all of high school until now because seeing some of my senior friends who had profiles like mine, if not better, get rejected from schools they seemed perfect for, and now that I'm so much closer to that reality, it's worrying me so much. But thank you for your response and reassurance. It's really nice coming from someone who has experienced pretty much everything that I am already.

JHU is in Baltimore. It’s a good school but it’s in a ****ty city. I lived in B’More for 4 years and have affections for the city but no one lists the “campus” or the city as a positive for JHU. That being said it is an expensive school for undergrad unless you get a scholarship or grants. The only thing on your list that you’ve mentioned that is unique to the school is the Peabody double degree, but there are plenty of places with interesting double degree programs or BME programs.

Apply and attend this school if you want to, I’m not trying to dissuade you. I’m just pointing out that your reasons for labeling it a “Dream School” are weak at best and you might consider more introspection on the subject. Likely this “Dream School” status has more to do with the name/perceived prestige of the school than specific attributes of the school at this point.

A few of my friends in medical school attended this school. We ended up at the same medical school. And at this point in my career, asking someone what undergrad they attended is more trivia than anything else.

 

[futuredoctor10]

I'm a high school student and I start applying for colleges this summer. I'm so scared because I've been reading about GPA deflations at my dream school, Johns Hopkins. Granted, statistically, I most likely won't get in, but it's got me thinking about whether I should really go through with applying as a Pre-Medical student. As a right now, I have a 3.8 GPA, 1510 SAT, and 32 ACT, but I struggle mentally to even get there. Plus so many of my peers claim to be higher than that. I don't even know if those are even good numbers, and I know after this semester my GPA will go down because I will probably have a C in French. I take all IB classes, and at least in my two science IBs, chemistry and biology, I'm doing okay, but my school is super cutthroat and I don't rank in the top 10% of the class. A lot of people who have graduated from my high school have said that college has been easier for them than high school, but after reading about GPA deflations and just this same cutthroat competition in general for Pre-med, I don't know if it's worth going through the tortures of my high school all over again.

Some medical schools will actually adjust the GPA up for the undergraduate institution the person attended. How they weigh the GPA accurately, I have no idea. But I did hear this on the med school interview trail.