Hello, folks! I was just admitted off the UC Berkeley wait list and still deciding to pick a college. This seems like an obvious answer, however, I do have special circumstances that will obviously want me to consider CPP. I am currently doing pre-medicine and admitted into CNR, but I may plan on switching to an engineering major if I find out med school is not for me.
Cal Poly Pomona Pros:
-20-minute commute from home
-Affordable ( Full Ride scholarship)
-Honors Program
-If I do switch to engineering, its easy to do so and great program
-High GPA average for school
I already established connections with hospitals and doctors in my area.
Cons :
-Not the best pre-med program
-Cal State not as prestigious as UC. Could possibly hurt me when applying to med school.
UC Berkeley:
Pros:
-Love the campus
-Nice Location
-Rigor will prepare me for med school
-If I do switch to engineering, top engineering program.
-Prestigious
55% get into med school from UCB ( 41% average)
Cons:
-Depression irks in the campus from what I hear
Hard to switch into engineering program
My gut is telling me UC Berkeley because of the great opportunities and potential presented at UCB. The only thing that is preventing me from SIRing to Berkeley is the difficulty presented from switching to CoE. However, I do have a cousin who was able to switch from LS to CoE. He said that it was relatively easy and that the reason they present it as being so difficult is to prevent students from having an easy “backdoor” to the CoE. Not sure if he was just lucky, but does anyone have any insight about switching. Any other pros and cons I should think about? Sorry for any spelling mistakes and/or bad grammar.
Uh, what’s the cost going to be for Berkeley? Because if you’re planning on med school, take the full ride and save your money for that. Don’t underestimate the edge you have being at the top of your class at a less prestigious school vs. being in the middle of the pack at a “better” school, either. Good luck – this is a great problem to have!
I’d be curious about the % of students getting into med school from CPP. Totally agree with @yankeeinGA that being middle of the pack at UCB may not be as good as top 20% at CPP. BTW middle of the pack at UCB is not necessarily easy to accomplish either.
After reading the book “Stumbling on Happiness” by Gilbert I’m convinced that in making choices about the future we should give give short thrift to our predictions of what we will think or feel in the future. Instead, he advocates finding ‘surrogates’ — people who are now in a situation similar to the one you think you might be in in the future. Which brings me to this quote from the article:
While not exactly apples-to-apples, I know someone who back in the day was accepted to several UCs including Cal. He deliberately chose Riverside, thinking he’d be more likely to be at the top there. He is a doctor today.
But nothing is for sure. If it turns out you lose interest in med school (and I’m thinking the likelihood is increased since you talk about “switching … if I find out med school is not for me” rather than changing to a different career in health care) and you don’t like the 4 years of calculus and long hours that make up engineering, a degree in some other field from Cal may lead to more opportunities than one from CPP.
Sorry If I do sound indecisive. I just come from a long line and family of engineers so It feels out of place to go into medicine. I am also a big backup planner but I am serious about attending Med-School. I did read that article, and I did make the choice of attending CPP over UCSD. However, if we are talking about a jump from CPP to UC Berkeley, It’s a harder decision to make.
Don’t underestimate the edge you have being at the top of your class at a less prestigious school vs. being in the middle of the pack at a “better” school, either. Good luck – this is a great problem to have!