<p>I was accepted into Berkeley and UCLA both for Fall next year (L&S), but I don't really want to go to UCLA for various reasons (I just don't really like the atmosphere there compared to Berkeley). And I'm pretty sure I want to be a pre-med student. I understand that UCLA has a bit more prestige as far as pre medical schooling, but ah well you get what you get :).</p>
<p>I'm probably going to be coming to Berkeley for my undergrad (my other choices were Cornell and Penn, but neither school offered me aid, and given that I'll be spending even more money on med school it seems like the ivy rep isn't worth double the money). So basically I want to know what I'm getting myself into before I sign on the dotted line :).</p>
<p>1) How bad is the competitiveness for the requisite premed courses that everyone takes?
2) How hard is it to get a good GPA by the end of your time?
3) What techniques can one use to buffer the GPA a bit? I'm sure there are ways to make your schedule work for you so that you don't end up with a 3.0 after 4 years.
4) What is the curve for most of the classes you take? Is it the standard C-average?
5) How available are research/medical work (i.e. volunteering, internships etc.) opportunities? Do you have to search around to find them, or are professors/grads actively looking for undergraduates to help them with their work?
6) Any additional comments about Berkeley premed? Things I should know? Maybe something about what dorm to pick? How I should structure my courseload? Premed advising? Anything :).</p>
<p>in EXACTLY the same situation as you and I would like to know the answers to some of these questions as well :(! thanks…</p>
<p>take chem 1a in the spring.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>pretty competitive, lots and lots and lots of students are Pre-meds here so class sizes are often very big and you will have some very smart ppl in them.</p></li>
<li><p>easier than you’d expect actually (for lower-div courses at least). 25%-30% of people get A’s in many math and science lower-divs. </p></li>
<li><p>don’t overload on units would be the main thing i guess. </p></li>
<li><p>mean is B-/C+ for most classes i think. 1 SD above that is usually good enough for an A-.</p></li>
<li><p>dunno much about this one</p></li>
<li><p>study hard my friend, lol.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>yea take Chem 1A in the spring (or you could actually take it this summer)</p>
<p>why not take chem 1a in the fall ? just wondering</p>
<p>stacy was a )(#) last semester. …</p>
<p>Would it be wiser to take physics 8a with deweese instead during the fall then ?</p>
<p>if you are premed, you really shouldn’t take Physics 8A until fall or spring your sophomore year. You will need Physics for your MCAT and you will forget it all by your junior year when you take the MCAT if you take it in fall.</p>
<p>doesn’t the mcat also cover chemistry tho ? so in the end you will forget something anyway right ?</p>
<p>um yea, but you will be taking Chem 3B your sophomore year and biochem your junior year.</p>
<p>Well i need to take physics 8B too to fulfill the premed reqs so yea
I dont understand why people say stacy is so horrible her grade distribution looks pretty nice on pickaprof and a lot of people say shes a good teacher on ratemyprof</p>
<p>you can complete physics after declaring your major. Physics is a pre-req in name only.</p>
<p>Taking Physics 8A-B your freshman year is foolish. If you look at various premed and/or biology major sample schedules, they all instruct you to start physics spring your sophomore year.</p>
<p>You might as well bit the bullet and not delay Chem 1A.</p>
<p><a href=“http://ib.berkeley.edu/student/undergrad/major/freshsample.php[/url]”>http://ib.berkeley.edu/student/undergrad/major/freshsample.php</a>
<a href=“http://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepAcad.stm[/url]”>http://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepAcad.stm</a>
(MCB’s one is also present in their undergraduate handbook, but not online, it looks more or less like the IB one)</p>
<p>What do you mean physics is a pre req in name only ?
And yea i think ill just take chem 1a in the fall anyway. not much else i can do.</p>
<p>physics isn’t a prereq for majors?</p>
<p>You can take physics after you declare you major.</p>
<p>For example, I was allowed to declare my IB major even though I have not taken Physics.</p>
<ol>
<li> It depends on the person. Some people don’t seem to find any weeders hard whereas others would disagree.</li>
<li> Again, it depends on the person. Mostly, it depends on your work ethics.</li>
<li> Don’t take too many classes in one semester.</li>
<li> I’m guessing around B-/B average.</li>
<li> There are plenty of opportunities. URAP is an example. Or you can look at other nearby research facilities, such as LBNL and UCSF.</li>
</ol>
<p>As for the physics sequence, personally, I don’t think it matters too much when you take it. I know plenty of people who took physics 8 series without having taken any physics before in their first year and rocked the curve. I didn’t have a solid background in physics, since I never took it in high school, but I still did well in them when I took them in my 4th and 5th semesters. 8A is especially easy if you have a half decent math background. 8B requires more work if you didn’t take EM in high school, but it’s still manageable.</p>
<p>Yea i took ap physics in high school so id expect it to be ok.</p>