I have been accepted at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and at UC Berkeley in the College of Letters and Siences. I am not clear what I want to study but I am leaning to a degree that is preparing me for Med School.
What school gives me the better preparation and a higher chance getting into Med School? I have read that UC Berkelys grades will be a huge challenge getting into Med School. Michigan offers more degree choices but Berkeley is the better school overal.
Thanks for your feedback.
I don’t think the grading is any worse at Cal than it is at Michigan, and I don’t think Cal is significantly better than Michigan overall either. Michigan probably offers more flexibility and degree choices. I would go for the cheaper option, and if cost is not a problem, I would go for the school you prefer personally. Cal and Michigan are sufficiently different from each other that deciding between the two is reasonably easy.
They are pretty much the same in terms of academic, school size, etc. The main difference would be location and the cost to you (unless you are from OOS for both and paying full price).
Thanks for the feedback. I am OOS for both schools.
What differences do you see between CAL and UofM? My brother currently studies at Cal and is super happy there but he has chosen business as a degree and I have to do sciences to go to med school.
You have some great choices and both of them give great chances a med school so it’s not up to program it’s up to fit. What school do u think u can do better at? Do u like warmer weather or do u like colder weather? What campus and vibe do u like better?
Please visit both if you can. Cal has some issues with class availability, which has resulted in some students taking extra time to graduate. You don’t have to do sciences for med school, you just have to take the premed prerequisites (organic chem, physics, bio, english, etc.) and take the MCAT. Your undergraduate degree can be in anything, including business, music, engineering etc. A lot of students ultimately decide not to go to medical school and find something they like better.
Berkeley is $60K per year. There is no financial aid for OOS students at Berkeley.
You will be full pay.
If you plan on going to med school, you need to save your dollars for med school.
Berkeley has 4/5/6 year graduation rates of 73/89/91%, compared to Michigan’s 75/88/90%. Not much of a difference.
However, if the OP is paying out-of-state list price for both, it may be that neither is a good choice compared to a much less expensive choice that would leave money left over for expensive medical school.
UMich all the way!!!
Depending on your family income, UMich may have a higher chance to offer you better financial aid.
@LuckyGerman UCB is known for grade deflation. You need a GPA > 3.7 to have a decent chance for Medical School admission. Choose wisely.
If you are OOS for both, neither of these two schools is likely to be your best choice. However, for pre-med, Michigan makes more sense as California is the most difficult state in the nation to get into med school.
@iwillyou please stop commenting without knowledge of UMich vs. Berkeley, because it seems like you are just commenting on people’s decision posts to increase your chances of getting off the UC Berkeley wait list. This is an important decision for them
@cjchasinglife That’s not true! I’m a career counselor, not a student. Pease stop judging! I know better than you how important it is for the students. It’s a humble request.
@iwillyou literally all of your posts say you’re a student… lol
@bssurly Yes, very true! I was helping my student!
I would choose Michigan, because California is the most competitive state for med school and being oos you don’t qualify for CA public med schools, meaning you’ll have to take a glide year and spend considerable amounts of money to fly to your med school interviews if you’re lucky enough to get them.
Premed is brutal at UMich too but at least it’s not the bloodbath lack of med school places has made California.
@iwillyou I’ve read your previous posts, specifically about you being on the UC Berkeley waitlist and asking for your chances to get off. You are no career counselor.
@iwillyou I will go to UCB. Thanks for your advise. One spot less for the waiting list.