Cornell University vs. UC Berkeley for pre-med? Help Please!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello CC; basically, I am trying to decide between Cornell and UC Berkeley for pre-med. I will try and list some pros/cons about both schools I’ve noticed during this decision process:

UCB:

-In California, where I’m from. Better weather and surrounding city
-Easier to get into UCLA or UCSF med schools because of in-state status; two schools I am definitely willing to go to
-Research is very good but honestly comparable if not worse than at Cornell
-More year-round clinical experiences available (i.e. hospital volunteer, shadowing programs, etc.)
-Better MCB major, I think at least?
-Virtually nonexistent pre-med advising
-Lower med school acceptance rate
-No official med school, though many just go to UCSF for advice/experience.

Cornell:

-Much nicer campus and student environment, in my opinion at least.
-Much, much higher med school acceptance rates, though admittedly the “most frequently accepted” med schools are not that prestigious and few as prestigious as UCSF or UCLA
-Very good and helpful pre-med support system and advisement.
-Much more extensive alumni association
-Surrounding city is very dull compared to like San Francisco
-Very few clinical volunteer experiences - only one small hospital within a 30 minute radius.
-Has a med school, but all the way in NYC, so really not much help.

I know many of you will mention the cost, but for me the costs for both are virtually the same, so that’s not the worry for me. Also, I will mention that at the moment I’m like 60/40 in favor of Cornell. Any help you guys could give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

2

The med school acceptance rate mostly just tells you how good a school is at discouraging weak med school applicants. I believe UCLA or UCSF acceptance would be unaffected (if you’re already IS, it won’t change; if you’re OOS, you won’t be able to qualify for IS in time for med school applications).

I would say this comes down to location and “fit.”

3

CAS at Cornell?

4

Net price at each? If one is substantially lower cost, then consider saving the money for medical school, which is expensive.

5

Price.

6

Hey guys so price is pretty similar Cornell gave me a lot while Cal gave me none but I get in state. Both come down to about ~32k I think, so there’s not real price difference.

Yes, I’m in CAS at Cornell @merc81. I’m thinking about changing to HumEc, though, not sure yet

7
  1. I've seen some evidence of medical school acceptance over-performance at certain schools, so I wouldn't disregard Cornell's record if you have researched it thoroughly. If you do well there, and would like to become a doctor, you will become one. This is true for the excellent UCB as well, but conceivably to a different degree (again, consider your own research).
  2. You are currently 60/40 Cornell. I don't see anything within what you have posted that should keep you from choosing Ithaca.
8

You’ve done a good job of identifying pros/cons. My advice is go to Cornell. Its good to get away from CA and see a different part of the country, and Cornell will let you meet more different people (at least in terms of geographical origin) than you will at Cal.

9

I think the med school placement number alone isn’t very helpful, but other related stats can be. For instance, Reed’s med school placement (last I saw it) was 80% for students with at least a 3.0, which I think indicates that med schools consider Reed’s grade deflation. (Reed also has no committee letters.)

10

How did Reed get in the discussion?