<p>Topic says it all. For a premed curriculum, how hard is it to get a GPA of around 3.8 or higher? Is is next to impossible? About what percentage of the undergrads get grades like this?</p>
<p>next to impossible.</p>
<p>agreed. for a premed to get 3.8 is very difficult.</p>
<p>I study like there is no tomorrow and lol I finally pulled my GPA to 3.65 this semester. I'm a premed and granted I also haven't finish my prereqs. I finished all the chem and bio. I just need physics 8b and math 1b right now. Considering the fierceness of those classes I'd be happy to graduate with a 3.7 cumulative and 3.6 science. </p>
<p>I'm the type that used to think that hard work will get you anywhere. But let me scratch that. Hard work will get you far but not everywhere. If you add luck (esp at Berkeley) into the equation then I think we can go into the 3.8 - 3.9 zone. I might sound bitter but it's the truth.</p>
<p>I'm no genius btw. So if you're naturally smart hey you have a shot. Otherwise forget it.</p>
<p>How hard is it to maintain a high GPA (3.85+) in PoliSci/Rhetoric upperdivision classes?</p>
<p>So for graduating with latin honors, will the GPA cutoffs be lower?</p>
<p>Math 1B can be brutal to one's GPA, but Physics 8b is supposed to be fierce (I've heard 7b is kind of difficult, and that H7B is fierce, but none of that with 8b)?</p>
<p>are there any honor classes we can take? i think i heard other uc's have classes that give you a higher gpa if you take the honor class? (similar to AP classes in HS)</p>
<p>Berkeley has honors classes, but they don't add to your GPA or anything.</p>
<p>For physics, take it with Deweese or Jacobsen. Jacobsen especially is one of the most amazing undergrad teachers here - he really puts the effort into making sure we learn the concepts. Of course what kind of GSI you get is based on luck, but Jacobsen is pretty good in office hours. Best of all, Jacobsen's exams are all conceptual and no nitty-gritty calculations to screw up your answers. Do NOT take Liphardt - he's more of a math type of guy and loves long-ass calculus answers on his exams, so his exams are much more difficult. Basically with Jacobsen's exams, even if you don't really know the answer, if you can put down whatever BS you know is relevant to the answer, you'll get some partial credit.</p>
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So for graduating with latin honors, will the GPA cutoffs be lower?
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<p>Sadly, no. The latin honors cutoffs are determined by college, meaning that the Physics and (Letters & Science) CS majors are competing against the American Studies majors. </p>
<p>Personally, I think that needs to change and change now. You should be judged only against the people in your major, and even better against a hypothetical group of people who took the exact same courses that you did (and got the median grades in those grades). For example, graduating with in the top 20% (and hence graduating with honors) ought to mean that your grades were within the top 20% of a theoretical distribution of students who took the exact same courses that you did. That would be fair; you wouldn't have this situation of people graduating with honors just because they happened to be in an easy major with easy courses, whereas other people missed out on honors just because they were in difficult courses.</p>
<p>Premed here, and I have 3.8 GPA with 3.9 Science and I finished all my prereqs except MCB 102. And trust me, I am not that smart, so it's not impossible by any means. But I worked really hard and and still need to work hard for the rest of my time here.</p>
<p>^Wow. Major props, BlueElmo. That's really impressive.</p>
<p>Gracias. BTW, I gotta agree with you on Jacobsen's class.</p>
<p>i think it depends on what ur major is...if u have an easier major but still do all the sci reqs u can inflate ur gpa by taking lots of electives...right?</p>
<p>^^ unless you're premed than med schools will look at two GPA's: your overall gpa and your pre-req gpa (all the science stuff)</p>
<p>It wouldn't look good if your overall was a 3.8 while the pre-req gpa was a 2.7</p>
<p>That's almost right. Med schools look at two GPA's: overall and BCPM. The BCPM is not just your pre-req GPA, but all biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics class you've taken.</p>
<p>Even in a 'fluff' major, like American Studies (actually I was on the Honors track) I had to work extremely hard to earn the grades I did. Not only that, but I had to produce work at a graduate level. I actually thought my German courses were easier and even there you had to put in some effort.</p>