<p>Hope someone can help. My son is trying to decide between Earlham and Berkeley...He's a smart kid...he knows he will probably get a better education at Earlham...more personal, will know his professors. However it was pretty small for a So. Cal. boy. He's not a genius..he has worked very hard for all his good grades. Thus, I'm afraid he will get chewed up and spit out by the brainiacs at Cal. But Cal appeals to him on a social level...Div I athletics, great reputation, etc.</p>
<p>Furthermore, he thinks he wants to go to med school after undergrad...is it better to go to a large school or small school. I would think you would get better letters of rec. from a small school where the professors know who you are. Plus the competition wouldn't be so tough. Anybody have any thoughts. He received a merit scholarship to Earlham so the cost difference isn't an issue. Thanks for the support!!!</p>
<p>Imagine this: Your son is getting "chewed up and spit out" on an academic level. His professors don't know his name, and his classes are mostly taught by TAs. He's miserable. Will Div. 1 sports really make up for this?
Earlham is a great school, with a fine reputation, and it has the individualized attention that your son wants,
As for med school, Berkeley probably has better a science department, but Earlhams will cover all the neccessities, and he'll probably end up with better grades-- and gpa is a major factor in med school admissions.
There is a stigma that LACs have poor social scenes, which is very false. Often an LAC will try harder to meet it's students needs for entertainment and social stimulation than a large public where even a sizable group of students can get lost in the shuffle.
Ultimately it is your son's choice, but if I were him I'd head Earlham.</p>
<p>A successful Berkeley pre-med student must be extremely hard-working, extremeley self-motivated and extremeley smart. The competition is tough and the GPAs are not inflated. If your son thinks he's up to the challenge, he should go for it...there are many virtues beyond Div 1 sports that come with Cal. But Earlham would be safer.</p>
<p>Another advantage to applying to med school from a small LAC like Earlham is that there is not a sense of competition like there is at the UCs. Pre-meds at the UCs are in a much more cut-throat, grade-hungry mode; premeds at schools like Earlham tend to be in a more supportive, "were in it together" environment. The small class discussions and interactions at Earlham are something he won't get his first 2 years at Cal. I think the contrast is stark enough that he should really think about which environment he would enjoy learning and living in. I would not worry too much about getting recommendations; even at a big school like Berkeley, a motivated student will be able to seek out mentors (that's what office hours are for).</p>
<p>Ironically, we were just at Earlham last week and daughter met two students from Calif. who had both turned down UC schools to go to Earlham. Neither regretted their decision but they both warned my daughter that when you mention you're going to Earlham to the general public in California, be prepared for a lot of blank stares. Mention you're going to UCB and you'll get a lot of positive praise.</p>
<p>You can get a great education at either school. Earlham's science programs are very strong and they actually send more kids percentage wise on to med school and doctorate programs than many of the more prestigious universities. There are opportunities for research at both schools but as an undergrad it's easier to line up a hands on research project that you will actually be directing at Earlham than it will be at UCB. Both schools are difficult schools - I would not say Earlham is going to be any "safer" or easier than UCB at all. The students there work very hard for their grades and have to pass comprehensive exams and do a final senior research project - both difficult - in order to graduate.</p>
<p>There are lifestyle issues, of course. I loved Earlham and felt it would be a great campus to spend four years at --- but Richmond Indiana may be a shock for someone used to a more urban environment.
On the other hand, I think it might be a bit harder to focus on school work in Berkeley where there are so many distractions at every turn of the corner.</p>
<p>I think Sierradoc is correct: he needs to decide which environment feels right to him but he also needs to decide if he wants to go for the immediate prestige (in Calif) of UCB or is individualistic enough to go to a school that your neighbors may not have heard of.</p>
<p>The thing that concerns me if the gulf in terms of selectivity between these 2 schools. Very different peer group I think. I wonder if someone who could handle the rigors of Cal would be challenged.</p>
<p>Personally much prefer small LACs to large Universities. If we were comparing Cal and Williams or Pomona I'd vote for the LAC hands down.</p>
<p>Is is weird that I have never heard of Earlham? I honestly thought you were just making the name up. Anyway, if prestige is what you're looking for then its gotta be Cal, but if a more personalized environment is what you need than maybe Earlham is the place to be(wherever that that is...midwest? Eastcoast? I have no clue!)</p>
<p>It's in Indiana. (earlham of course!) from your post, I think Earlham is a much more supportive, caring environment. It's a very good school, and I wouldn't doubt its academics at all. The question really comes down to the environment at the school though, does he want to go to the big state school or the small LAC? Does he want warm year-round weather, or sporadic? They're very different schools and he must find choose what kind of environment he is most comfortable in</p>
<p>It sounds like your S could really stand out at Earlham. And those types of schools tend to really advocate for their grads, really going to bat for their students as far as helping them get them into graduate programs.</p>
<p>But of course, your S is the one that has to decide. I wouldn't worry so much about brainiacs at Berkeley. The kids that I know that have gone there have been hard working, good students, not geniuses (though I imagine there are some of those there too) --which sounds like your son.</p>
<p>I graduated from Williams, went to graduate school at Oxford, and then at University of Chicago, where I also taught undergrads. If I had to do it again, I'd go to Earlham, and I'd send my kids there over the aforementioned (provided they had the specific academic foci they needed.)</p>
<p>He could/should do well at either. It would be more difficult for him to do bad at Earlham without being noticed. Go where he feels most comfortable.</p>
<p>Zagat, I wouldn't look at the selectivity as a measure of quality between the two schools - all of the UC's recieve thousands of applications and there just aren't any LAC's in the entire country that receive so many. I would, however, compare the admissions stats of accepted students. They are actually very close in terms of grades and test scores of admitted students so I think you will be pretty much surrounded by many similiar students in terms of intellectual capabilities at both schools, in spite of the discrepency between admissions numbers.</p>
<p>However, I do think that Earlham is not the right school for everyone. Someone who is attracted to the vibrancy and size of a UCB is probably not going to be happy at a small community-oriented school like Earlham. So, I think this is an issue, once again, of choosing for fit - both great schools, just very different fit for different folks. Let your son follow his heart - he will do best where he is happiest.</p>
<p>Oh come on zagat, I'm still slightly recommending Earlham for safety reasons (only self-driven geniuses should do pre-med at a UC), but Earlham's stats are significantly lower than Cal's, and Cal's statistics include hundreds of athletic admits. Princeton Review gives Earlham's average GPA to be 3.5. Cal's average GPA last year was 4.24. Even considering California grade inflation (which is an exaggerated concept), these kids just aren't at the same level.</p>