Hi guys,
Very happy that I have this problem of choosing Berkeley (in-state) v Cornell for a major in the Bio sciences with my goal of going to med school. Both schools seem to be similar in terms of academics, but I keep hearing about grade deflation and especially in the bio sciences/pre-med track. I’m in-state for Berkeley but Cornell seems to have a lead in medical school Admissions. Is that the case? Please help me decide!!
Thanks and congrats to all!
If money is a factor, then Cal.
If not you should consider what it’s like to be a student at both schools, both in academics and out. While similar in size, the settings are quite different as are the people you’ll meet. And as a large CA public Cal is not going to have the advising system you’ll find at Cornell. Intro classes can be large at both, but Cornell will have smaller classes upper-division for many majors.
Having lived in CA my whole life, if I was facing this decision I’d lean towards going East just to try something different. Equally valid, someone can say nuts to the cold and cross-country flights and choose Cal.
This prior CC thread is old, but may be helpful:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/335506-berkeley-v-cornell-for-bio-premed-with-some-concerns-about-fine-art-classes-p1.html
One of the posters on that thread, @norcalguy, was a CA resident who chose Cornell over Berkeley, and later graduated from medical school. He posted that he chose Cornell mostly to get away from his parents and to experience a different part of the country. He also posted that he did not regret his choice, and had a good experience at Cornell.
How much does cost differ and matter to you? Be aware that medical school is expensive, so consider how cost difference in undergraduate could matter in terms of debt you will have at the end of medical school.
Cost not that much of a factor, but given we are in the middle of a pandemic, it may come in handy…
And as I like to post on premed threads, why an M.D? When a lot of HS kids think of a career in medicine it becomes “I’m pre-med!” and happily embark on a track that will take 11+ years of school/training plus enormous debt. A friend of mine who graduated from a top-10 med school told me that if she was doing it again she would have gone into nursing. Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few. as you can see on http://explorehealthcareers.org Unless you’ve carefully considered the alternatives and have spent time actually working in a health care setting (which is an unwritten requirement to get into med school and is explicitly required for some other medical fields) its better to think of yourself as interested in exploring a career as a doctor rather than someone who has already made the decision.
So I’d say the most important thing to do now (if you haven’t been doing this already) is to get a job or volunteer position this summer and next school year in a medical setting (volunteer in a hospital, etc). This will give you a better sense if medicine is right for you, if being a doctor is the right choice in medicine. An additional benefit of doing this is it will give the motivation to persevere thru the hard work it takes as a pre-med should it turn out to be right for you. A lot of kids that throw in the towel (maybe 4 out of 5 entering as “pre-med”) because they were never that committed in the first place.
I don’t know anything about UCB.
And my Cornell observations are only based on a handful of first hand anecdotes. Also some direct conversations with professional ivy Focused admissions counselors.
Cornell was extremely difficult to make it through an intense weed out culture and grind pre med. if you make it and many do of course, you’re obviously incredibly well prepared for mcats and med school.
Pre-med is tough everywhere, and would be equally challenging at either UCB or Cornell.
Have you visited both? And since home is “sunnyca” don’t discount the effect of weather on attending a specific school-and the weather in Ithaca can be pretty abysmal.
Both schools will have the required coursework to apply to medical school, but neither will prepare you for the MCAT. That’s a pretty specialized test, so plan on taking a review course.
Not sure why you think Cornell “seems to have a lead in medical school admissions” and can’t find data to support that. UCB is so widely recognized as a top school can’t imagine there’s any difference in admits.
Unless cost is absolutely no problem, the clear choice is UCB.