<p>does anyone know the percentage of berkeley students who applied and were accepted to med school?</p>
<p>Sorry to be harsh, but the fact is, the Berkeley premed acceptance rates are really not that good - not very good at all. Yes, in the majority of the last few years, Berkeley premeds get into med-school at a higher rate than the national average (except for the year 2001, where Berkeley's premed success rate was actually LOWER than the national average). However, you would expect that Berkeley should enjoy a higher success rate at getting its premeds into med-school. After all, Berkeley is not supposed to be just some average school. It's supposed to be one of the best schools in the nation, or at very least, a school that is far better than the average. Consequently, you would expect that it would have a success rate at getting premeds into med-school that is far better than average. Does it? Well, you can see the numbers for yourself and you be the judge as to whether Berkeley is enjoying a success rate that is far better than the average.</p>
<p>I would also point to the average GPA's of those Berkeley premeds who did manage to get into the top-ranked medical schools. Then compare it to the average GPA's for all students at that med-school.</p>
<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/top20.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/top20.stm</a>
<a href="http://www.medicalschoolrankings.net/%5B/url%5D">http://www.medicalschoolrankings.net/</a></p>
<p>For example, take UCSF Medical. Berkeley premeds who successfully got into UCSF had an average GPA of 3.85. The average premed (from all schools) who got into UCSF had an average GPA of 3.71.</p>
<p>Or take UCLA Medical. Berkeley premeds who successfully got into UCLA Medical had an average GPA of 3.83. The average premed nationwide (from all schools) who got into UCLA Medical had an average GPA of 3.69.</p>
<p>Finally, take Stanford Medical. Berkeley premeds who successfully got into Stanford Medical had an average GPA of 3.9. The average premed nationwide (from all schools ) who got into Stanford Medical had an average GPA of 3.7. </p>
<p>If you don't believe it, go look at the numbers and see for yourself. The data seems to be fairly consistent - when we're talking about admission to the top med-schools, successful Berkeley premeds actually required a HIGHER gpa than required by the average successful applicant to that medical school. </p>
<p>Nor does MCAT seem to be a determining factor. When you look at the MCAT scores of Berkeley premeds who got into a particular med-school, vs. the average premed who got into that same med-school, then sometimes the Berkeley MCAT scores were higher, sometimes they were lower. So it's basically a wash. </p>
<p>In otherwords, there seems to be no discernible 'Berkeley advantage' for med-school admission when it comes to MCAT score, and certainly no advantage when it comes to GPA (in fact, the data seems to suggest that there is actually a 'Berkeley penalty'). But in any case, the point is that I have presented the data for Berkeley premeds, and I personally find the data to be rather grim, but I leave it to you to draw your own conclusion about what it means. The only thing that I would advise is that you don't come in with any preconceived notions about the Berkeley premed process before you read the data. Read the data and then determine for yourself what it means.</p>
<p>thanks for the info. i would love to go to berkeley, but i am worried about how attending Berkeley might influence my chances of getting into med school. i've heard that Berkeley pre-meds are extremely cutthroat. well, everything that you've written is something i'll have to consider.</p>
<p>thanks again!</p>
<p>It doesn't surprise me too much. The students who worked hard enough to maintain high GPA's in Berkeley, a remarkable feat, probably had little time for anything else such as doing research or interning. Can anyone find stats for UCLA and the other UC's?</p>
<p>the average person changes his/her major around 3 times, so dont dismiss berkeley just because of premed</p>