<p>I know the general assumption is that Berkeley/UCLA are a lot more rigorous/competitive than the low-tier UCs. </p>
<p>But for those who have been in both ends of the spectrum, is it just that the students are more "cutthroat" at the top-tiers? Or is it that even the courses are structured differently and more rigorously in Berk/LA?</p>
<p>There is not as big of difference between UCs in terms of difficulty as people think. There is obviously a difference between the higher-tier UCs and the lower-tiers, but it’s not huge.</p>
<p>Hello Strive-101</p>
<p>Well this is coming from someone who was in a similar position as you 1 year ago. I went to UCR for my first 2 years and got into Cal and UCLA. I chose UCLA, which I am convinced is of an equal rigor as Cal. Not gonna sugar coat it, I haven’t really had an easy class here, except for Spanish 1. My major is chemistry and mathematics (double major). </p>
<p>At UCR I had a 3.81 GPA, was in honors, had a prestigious research job, was a tutor at the learning center, and had an amazing group of friends. I think I was one of the best students UCR had, as there weren’t very many people who were above me as far as GPA and extracurriculars go, all with a pretty laid back personality. I now have a 3.56, no research, no job, and very few friends. I’m not the same person I used to be, as I’m pretty down and out that I sort of ruined my future plans to become a medical doctor, and I’m also very cut-throat now since that’s how most of the students in science here are.</p>
<p>In conclusion, I wholeheartedly do not recommend that you transfer unless you don’t really care about your GPA (which probably isn’t true). If I had to do it over again I would stay at UCR, continue to get straight A’s and get into medical school. Good luck and I wish you the best at Cal.</p>
<p>i agree with NotThatBright. Gpa is the most important if your considering to go to grad school or medical school. </p>
<p>In response to the forum question: I think a big academic difference between top tier and low tier is the grading curve.</p>
<p>average GPA
of a UCLA grad: 3.3
of a UCI grad 2.9
of a UCR grad 2.7</p>
<p>The grading scales with the quality of student. It’s probably about as hard to get a 3.5GPA at any of those unis. On that note, I’ve heard that it’s EASIER to pass(barely) at lesser UCs…</p>
<p>also, not that bright, is it because you’re at UCLA, or is it because you’re now taking harder upper division courses? You’re competing against people WITHIN your major vs. those who were casual and forced to take courses for GE or otherwise weren’t proven.
With so much said, I’ve heard that the reputation of your undergrad IS taken into consideration for med schools and additionally, GPA doesn’t matter as much for med as it does for something like law. Just keep at it.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the response
@Notthatbright: and thanks for giving your personal experience. But I have the same question as xelink, does UCLA seem harder to you now because you’re taking hard upper divs competing against people in your major? where you may not have been as stressed in UCR for your first two years since you were doing GEs/lower div prereqs? </p>
<p>what do you guys think? wouldn’t someone at Berkeley/LA “become smarter” and more prepared for the real world since you’ve been immersed in a cutthroat environment and have a greater alumni network, than lower tier UCs?</p>
<p>You could always use UC statfinder to look at what the data says. CC transfers, UCR/UCLA, and UC GPA plotted against prior college GPA (2005 or earlier if you want to see their GPA at graduation). That way you can compare apples to apples, people who entered UCLA and UCR with the same GPA from CC and what their GPA was at UC. GPA’s vary from year to year but I didn’t notice a huge difference.</p>
<p>Apologizing for the long response in advance, but I promise it will be worth your time to read what I have written below.</p>
<p>xelink-</p>
<p>I disagree with you about your comment of saying its just as hard to get a 3.5 at any of the UC’s. Completely untrue in my honest opinion. The lowest GPA I ever got at UC Riverside was a 3.79, and I went to Vegas 2 times that quarter and partied almost every single thursday. Last quarter I did get a 3.71 with 20 units at UCLA, but I had absolutely no social life. NONE. I studied somewhere between 40-50 hours per week outside of class for an entire 10 weeks and I still couldn’t get a 3.8+. With a balanced social life, exercising 5 days a week, and being involved in clubs, I’d say you’d probably be lucky to get a 3.0-3.2 here. And that’s sort of the sentiment around here. Nobody brags about how they got a 3.8. People are really happy to get B’s here, and even C’s. However, if you are a fluffy major like English, Psychology, Poli Sci, Geography then everything I have just said above is false. Studying 40-50 hours a week will get you a 4.0 in those majors.</p>
<p>However, I do agree with you about being able to pass classes at lower tier UC’s. In my Physics 40C class (Electricity and Magnetism) at UCR I knew people who scored 40-50% below the mean who ended up with C’s. Not even C-'s but C’s. My first quarter at UCLA I got a D- in biochemistry and I only scored 20% below the average on my midterms/finals. Many of my transfer classmates who I befriended got B-'s and C+'s with relentless studying. For my 6 chemistry classes I’ve taken, the highest grade I have gotten is B+'s. No A’s or A-'s yet.</p>
<p>Yes, Upper division is most definitely harder than lower division, but look at it this way. P-chem at UCR is a JOKE compared to P-Chem at UCLA, I’ve seen my friend’s material that he gets tested on and it actually makes me furious that our class goes over 10x what they do.
Also, I didn’t take any G.E.'s at UCR (besides 1 year of english composition) so I can’t comment on the easiness of UCR G.E.'s.</p>
<p>I also really hope you are right that medical schools take into account the rigor of UCLA. My MCAT is going to be what saves me. I am planning to devote 10-12 hours per day 7 days a week for 3 months on it so I can get a top score. This hopefully will prove that I am smart, its just that UCLA has the best of the best (along with Cal).</p>
<p>strive101- I don’t think going to UCLA or Cal makes an individual “smarter” and more “prepared for the real world” for a few reasons. I now have a lot of anxiety and virtually no confidence in any of my classes. This is because at UCR the norm for me was to score 25-30% above the mean on ALL of my exams. These were hard science classes too (physics, multivariable calculus, biology, o-chem). I would actually get MAD if I got anything less than 20% above the average. Oh how naiive I was. At UCLA the highest score I’ve gotten was 15% above the average. And that was only a B+.</p>
<p>If you consider the real world to be a place where your confidence is utterly destroyed and your second to everyone, then yes, this is good preparation. But I think doing well in life involves having a lot of confidence in your abilties, something that I have lost by coming to UCLA. I would like to remind you that the lowest grade I got at UCR was an A- in very challenging science courses.</p>
<p>However, if you are like how I was last year, nothing I say is going to affect your decisions. I had 3 people from UCR a year older than me (who transferred to UCLA) tell me not to come to UCLA. They were all pre-med when they got there. 1 changed his major to psychobiology and gave up on medical school and 2 are trying to work in the financial sector instead of medical school. I didn’t listen. I said to myself “Well I had a higher GPA than you at UCR, your just stupid and lazy.” Lesson lived, lesson learned. Hope I helped. Good luck.</p>
<p>@notthatbright
How was your transition from lower division to upper division mathematics? Did you feel like the classes at UCLA eased you into it or we’re you literally thrust into writing proofs?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, med schools look at rigor thought law schools do not. GPA still matters a fair amount though.</p>
<p>My basis of conclusion is this, I’m at a mid tier UC. I have a friend who’s a Soc major at UCLA with a 3.8 GPA. I’ve helped her with homework and explained concepts to her… I know more about sociology than she does and I’m not studying anything even remotely close to Soc.</p>
<p>I am an MD who received my degree from a U.S. medical school and having been through the medical school admission process can tell you that medical schools do not care where you went as an undergraduate, what you majored in or what courses you took as long as you met standard medical school prerequisites. They base their decisions mainly on interviews and the only two things that matter in who gets invited for an interview is undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores. Both have to be very high. A high GPA but low MCAT ( less than 29) is a rejection and a high MCAT and low GPA (under 3.5) is also a rejection at all U.S. MD medical schools unless you are a URM.</p>
<p>For med school, do school accept you if you fulfilled the math, bio, chem, and physics requirements at a Community college? because I am transferring to a UC into a biological science so i well have all those completed before i enter the school.</p>
<p>Generally, medical schools do not like seeing premed prerequisites taken at community colleges but how much it will hurt you depends on the circumstances. If you are a full time CCC student hoping to transfer to a four year college as a junior, medical schools understand that you really do not have any alternatives for your lower division courses and I doubt that taking them at a CCC would be considered much of a problem, particularly if you score well on the MCAT. On the other hand, if you were enrolled as a full time student at a four year college and could take Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math there but instead enrolled part time in a community college just to take the medical school prerequisites that would be very damaging to your chances for acceptance.</p>
<p>^ Off topic, but just wondering, what about someone who already has a non-science major and wants a career change/has a change of heart about their career goals and wants to go to med school. Would taking med school prereqs at CC be damaging then?</p>
<p>Well i’m currently a full time student at a CC and planning to major in neuroscience at a UC, but they require me having those done at my CC prior to my transfer to a CC so i would already have them done at my CC. So would the MED school still take that into consideration allowing me to have a good shot still or would i have a better chance of just majoring in psych so i could just take the Med school pre req sequences at a UC?
Sorry guys i didn’t mean to steal this thread but it seems like you guys would know a lot about this!
thanks</p>
<p>@newsoul, BigDreamsKid, In both of those situations there is no realistic alternative to taking medical school prerquisites at a CC and therefore it is very unlikely that medical schools will see it as a negative. What they really do not like and what they looking out for is applicants who were enrolled full time at four colleges and universities and were obviously avoiding taking there medical school prerequisites at a four year school so they could take them at a CC where medical schools feel competition for top grades may not be as severe.</p>
<p>I took one medical school prerquisite by correspondence while I was serving abroad and still was accepted by a U.S. medical school.</p>