Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on doing pre-med at Berkeley. Right now I am on the waitlist for UCB but if I get in I am strongly considering going there as an MCB major and pre-med over Northeastern University. I would appreciate it if anyone has any insight into this and maybe suggest which option is better.
instate or OOS? If the latter, then not worth it.
If instate, how much has NEU offered you? If its comparable COA, take the private.
I am an OOS applicant and NEU did give me a scholarship worth 14k so my estimated cost of attendance is roughly 56k. I know NEU is big on internships and co-ops and obviously not as rigorous as how it is at Berkeley but as of now, I am still very 50-50 on my decision if I do happen to get into UCB. I think the big concern for me is just like the prestige of the school in general and accessible opportunities for research and things like that.
The downside with a UC is that each campus already has thousands of premeds and thus competition for on campus research is fierce.
Boston OTOH, is surrounded by biotech firms so research opportunities are plentiful.
GPA, MCAT, good extracurriculars, essays: those are what are going to get you into a good med school, not the reputation of your undergrad school. You had better be VERY confident in your intelligence, study habits and coping skills if you choose Cal. The lower div classes are brutal weeders, and the grade deflation rumors are not unfounded. It’s a school full of very smart people, so be prepared to go up against them in a curved class. Go to Northeastern and save yourself some money and possibly your sanity.
Undercrackers. Not helping my Go Berkeley Premed! campaign.
Dude, I just wrote like 4 essays worth of this on Ask Questions About Berkeley Here and probably the freshmen applicant thread. Like a whole lot. Go read that. I’m supposed to be studying for finals.
Short version: 4,000 extra dollars a year, sure why not. That’s like an extra 8% or something. Premed at berkeley is great. Ochem is fun. Labs are fun. Curves are the best thing ever invented because sometimes a 60% is an A. What, you want 60% to be 60%? I’m applying to medical school next week. Probably. Tell you how that goes in a year. Very long process.
Getting research isn’t that hard if you actually put a full week of effort into it. Most of the time, me, and the rest of society, are just too lazy to do it.
Alta Bates Hospital is a 10 minute walk from campus and has some pretty clinical nonclinicals. No gift shop. Volunteers can do discharges and lab runs.
Only 650 Berkeley students apply to medical school each year.
I have discovered this wonderful Medical School Bootcamp thing from my premed advisors mailing list that tells me lots of good things about letters of rec and choosing medical schools. And apparently there’s an application review thing where someone looks over your application before you submit it. Which I was working on signing up for before I got distracted with answering questions.
There’s also SPAN which has a premed powerpoint series fall semester about choosing classes, MCAT, all the other jazz. They have an email where they answer premed questions.
Just go read all the stuff I wrote.
Northeastern.
UCB is brutal for premeds but worth it instate since most won’t go to med school but will at least get a UCB degree at a relatively affordable cost. Hard to beat the instate value.
On the other hand, as an OOS student, you’ll be paying private fees for a public university – that’s a lot of money to see your odds of making it to Mee school shrink - there are just too many talented Californians for how many places there are in California med schools, let alone for OOS students.
Save your money for now.
Do plan to supplement college with a Master’s from Berkeley.
thanks for your insight guys. I didn’t get off the first wave of decisions yet so I am still waiting for the next wave. Also, if you go to UCB for pre med can’t you apply to other med schools like Duke, Harvard, etc. I heard that only go to UCB if you want to go to a med school in California but I never understood why
Being OOS, you have to apply to other med schools. There aren’t enough med school places for Californians in California med schools. There won’t be space for you either since as an OOS applicant you’re way down the priority list (statistically your odds would be perhaps 1% for CA Mee schools?)
Most HS students who want to be premed never make it to the application stage. Along those only 40% get admitted to even one med school.
And BTW you’ll be cut no slack because of college’s name or ranking. The algorithm that makes the first cut looks at GPA, science GPA, and MCAT. That’s it. Your college doesn’t factor in.
Since you’ve been waitlisted you’re probably not among the top 10% at UCB. If you want to attend UCB and are okay not becoming a doctor that’s one thing - provided you wouldn’t take on debt to attend UCB.
What APs have you taken, what scores?
@MYOS1634 - I have taken AP German, AP Calc AB, AP Chemistry, AP Bio, APUSH, and have gotten all 5s except for German(got a 4). I am currently taking AP Stats, AP Calc BC, Ap Physics C Mechanics, and E&M, as well as Econ(MAcro/Micro). I am confident that I can come into college with enough college credits but I have been looking online about how pre-meds should not use science ap credits for pre-med requisites so I don’t think I will be using those. Also, on the contrary, I don’t think being on the waitlist says anything academically wise to succeed at UCB because I know kids who had better stats than me getting flat out rejected. However, I am strongly considering just sticking to NEU at this point due to the cost difference and because of the strong co-op and internships. Also, it has a 73 percent acceptance rate among the college of science pre-meds to medical school so probably my safest bet going there.
@kash123
But does NEU have a premed committee which can prevent people from applying to medical school that they don’t think are qualified? That artificially inflates acceptance at some places. Maybe they don’t report stats for people with too low of stats.
Yes, you can apply to other medical schools. Apparently you’re supposed to apply to 33 medical schools on average. Berkeley is good for California schools because you’re instate for medical school. You’re out of state everywhere else basically, there are a lot of california applicants because california is a big populous state.
There’s a 50% acceptance rate of an applicant getting into a medical school somewhere.
All options are good options. I default to pro-Berkeley. If you want me to talk you out of Berkeley, I can do that too. There are cons to Berkeley. But I’m not going to do that unless someone asks.
^unless I’m mistaken, OP is not instate for Berkeley (or a CA med school). The situation would be entirely different if that were the case.
Walter924
Could I contact you privately?
Could I contact you privately?