Pre-Med Grades Analyzed

Average or below-average Harvard students completing only the minimum pre-medical science requirements can and do successfully complete medical school, according to a report released yesterday by the Office for Graduate and Career Plans.

The report adds that a Harvard undergraduate with a serious interest in medicine but less than an honor record has "an excellent chance" of being admitted to medical school and graduating on schedule. The study is based on the grades of 338 Harvard graduates who entered medical school in 1957 and in 1960.

Harvard Average is Average

In all but the poorest medical schools, the report finds, the average performance of Harvard graduates is about at the average for all students. The report notes, however, that the number of Harvard graduates admitted to top medical schools is very large and the number of drop-outs very small.

"The overwhelming majority" of non-honors Harvard students who apply are admitted to at least one accredited medical school, the report continues. Although science concentrators are more likely to be admitted, their performance in medical school is "virtually identical" to that of non-science concentrators. The only group that seems to have particular difficulty is the English concentrators, the report observes.

While students who received A's in Chemistry 20 "tend to do well" in medical school and students with D's "tend to have trouble," those with B's or C's pass and fail in equal numbers. The report advises that "a grade of C in Chemistry 20 should discourage no one from applying to medical school."