<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I was recently admitted to Berkeley and Harvey Mudd. I am planning on majoring in Chemistry and will be on a pre-med track. I really really like Cal, but I am worried that with the budget cuts, I won't be able to get the classes I need to take the MCAT at the end of my sophomore year and graduate in 4 years. Also, are there many opportunities for undergrad science research with professors at Cal?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!!!</p>
<p>Both are awesome schools.</p>
<p>Both will be hard for pre-med, I hear.</p>
<p>There are many opportunities for undergrad science research at Berkeley, I believe. (This is hard answer to quantify.)</p>
<p>If you go to Berkeley, you may want to consider Chemical (and Biomolecular) Engineering instead of Chemistry, since it has much better [job</a> and career prospects](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm]job”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm) if you do not get into [medical</a> school](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/MedStats.stm]medical”>https://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/MedStats.stm). It also includes all of the usual pre-med courses except for Biology 1B.</p>
<p>These are both excellent schools but so very different. It’s very hard to compare the two. My son had the same choice. In the end he picked Berkeley because it had all the intangibles he wanted in addition to being a top academic institution. I think it really comes down to where you feel the most comfortable. You can’t lose; pick the one that is the best fit for you.</p>