I’m wondering if there is any truth to it being harder to get a high GPA at Berkeley compared to, say, UC Davis or UC Irvine. I know that at some schools it really is harder. My brother, for example, is at Caltech. The workload there is comparable to “Drinking from a firehouse”, and it is rare for a student there to have a 4.0 (even though nearly all of the students are brilliant). It seems to me that Berkeley is, after all, a public university like all the rest of the UC’s. I mean, is there really that much differentiation in the difficulty?
I meant to say that Caltech the workload at Caltech is like “Drinking from a fire hose”
I would venture to say that it is harder to get a high GPA at UC Berkeley than at UC Davis, etc. In general, UC Berkeley admits a higher caliber of students than most of the other UC’s. Therefore, competition for “A’s” is harder.
I know of a student from UC Berkeley with a GPA of 3.6 and got into medical school at UC Davis. With everything else equal, if that same person had a 3.6 GPA at UC Davis, that person probably would not have been admitted to UC Davis’ medical school. UC Davis’ medical school recognizes that a 3.6 GPA at UC Berkeley in the hard sciences/math is not the same as a 3.6 GPA at Davis in those same subjects.
Funny you should mention med school. I am planning on going that route, which is the reason I asked the question about GPA. I think research experience also has something to do with admissions, along with exposure to the medical field. Do you think competition to get research experience at Berkeley is more than at other UC’s? To me it would be a deal breaker if that were the case. Do you know if being in the honors program at, say, UCI gets a student more access to research?
Sorry, I don’t have an answer for that (I was not pre-med). All the UC’s should have opportunities for research. I am guessing that the more prestigious the UC is, the more competitive it is to get research experience. Perhaps someone who was or is pre-med at UCB or other UC’s can address this.
Thanks for responding to my post. I think you are right about more prestige (for public schools)=tougher competition for research.
My daughter is a sophomore at UCD, honors program, biomed engineering major considering possible med school later. She has already participated in research at UCSD the summer after freshman year (we live near UCSD and research was set up by her faculty mentor at UCD - a perk of the honors program). She’s getting ready to participate in another research project at UCD this year. The other big perk of honors is priority registration, so she hasn’t had issues with getting the classes she wants - which helps with having blocks of time open for the research.
Thanks for your response. So, how easy is it for students in the honors program to get research. Do most honors students get it if they ask or is it competitive? Do they want a certain GPA and a lot of effort on your(the student’s) part in persuading professors to let you in their lab? Is it unlikely to get research without honors? Taking it a step further, are there any paid research positions as an undergrad?
The reason I’m asking this now is because I will have to decide between a couple of private schools, where there are many opportunities and fewer students, and the UC schools. At Caltech there is a professor practically begging my brother to come back and help in his lab. I’d preferably rather not have it turned the other way around.
The responses below are based on my D’s experience as a EECS major in CoE at UCB.
EECS at CoE has an honors program. It’s definitely not the same as honors programs at other schools. You can read more about it in here: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Programs/honors.html
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So, how easy is it for students in the honors program to get research.
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It may not be easy. But it sure is easier (than non-honors students) because they have more opportunities to meet with professors. They also get access to Honors Program advisors, who can refer them to other professors. Note that one of the requirements to get into this program is research.
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Do most honors students get it if they ask or is it competitive?
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From what I know, all students in the honors program get some research experience.
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Do they want a certain GPA and a lot of effort on your(the student's) part in persuading professors to let you in their lab?
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I don’t think GPA is as important as the professors knowing you. My D got into research thanks to the recommendation of a professor she met at a workshop (UCB has many of these “extra curriculum” workshops). This professor at the time had no opening in his labs, but knew other professors who did.
Once you are in research, do a good job, and the professors know you, you keep getting more and more opportunities. My D had had 2.5 years of research when she graduated.
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Is it unlikely to get research without honors?
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No. My D was 2 semester into research before she was qualified for the honors program.
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Taking it a step further, are there any paid research positions as an undergrad?
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Absolutely. Most of the time my D was paid as a research assistant level 3 (I think), except for 1 semester when she did research as a 3-unit class. Grants at UCB CoE are plenty. From what I know, the professors don’t really care much whether the students work for credit or work for money; either way is fine.
Thank you for that in-depth info on UCB research.
I’d really love to here more about UCD. Do you have any opinions or experience regarding the questions I asked? I know I should probably be on a Davis thread for this.
Regarding my daughter’s experience at Davis: She has gotten both research opportunities through her faculty advisor in the Biomed Engineering department (the faculty advisor is a perk of the honors program.) I don’t know all the particulars, but I think do think the honors program opened the door & to easily being able to get on research. She’s carrying an 4.0 in an engineering program, is way ahead on her credits, and is also a Regents Scholar at Davis - so she has good credentials so far. One thing my daughter has commented on is that honors gives her priority registration, which allows her to control her class schedule to make blocks of time for things like research (and she’s also doing orchestra.) She’s never had an issue with getting classes. She chose Davis because of the laid-back environment (which suits her personality), the perks of the honors program, and the Regents scholarship of $7500/yr.
From what I’m hearing from my daughter & her high school friends (some of them at Berkeley), if you’re really focused on what you’re doing & are a competitive personality, Berkeley might be a good fit for you. If you’re more laid back, you might be better off at one of the other UC’s. She’s thrilled she’s getting to participate in orchestra at Davis & is also doing to a study abroad this summer (thanks to the Regents money) - those things are also important to her. My advice would be to go with what suits you best, because if you’re in the right environment you’ll be able to perform your best. Best wishes to you & let me know if you have more questions. I hope I answered everything.
I’m used to competition, my high school is very competitive. I’m ranked # 1 in my class. I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed the competition though. Since my main objective is to get to medical school, I want to do whatever route is best to get there, and I don’t want to get burned out before I arrive. I think I’ll have to see if I get honors or scholarships before I make my decision. Thanks for your great info.
My dd is a senior at UCD and carries a high GPA. She also has had lab jobs and internships since sophomore year.
She currently works at the free community clinic, CLINICA TEPATI, sponsored and run completely by UCD students and Davis Med school residents. It has been in existence for 40 years and is located in Sacramento.
She is gaining hands-on patient experience and most of her colleagues are “pre-med” undergrads. Some of the residents were previous Davis undergrads. She is treating many common maladies and likes their diabetic patient education classes.
I don’t know if there is a free clinic run by Berkeley students since Berkeley doesn’t have a med school but I assume it doesn’t and would be extremely competitive.
At this clinic you have to be a Davis student.
That all sounds good. I read about the shuttle that goes to the hospital from UC Davis. May I ask How your daughter get a lab job sophomore year?