<p>I am a high school senior who is either going to Berkeley or UCI for pre-med. I heard Berkeley is very cut-throat and that it is very hard to get a high GPA, is that true? Since most people say that med school ad coms dont take your undergrad college into consideration that much, then why would someone go to such a competitive school like Berkeley. How is the curve on the science classes..what% get A's in the science classes? Would it be wiser to go to a less competitive school like UCI or a more prestigious school like Berkeley? </p>
<p>I really love berkeley, but i am worried that it will hinder my chances of going to med school..am i right...i hope not</p>
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then why would someone go to such a competitive school like Berkeley
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<p>The key reason is that if they don't go to med-school, either because they decide they don't want to be a doctor, or because they can't get in, they at least have a more prestigious degree with which they can potentially get a better job.</p>
<p>i've heard from an admissions officer from some top med school that there were around 40 kids admitted from LA and Berkeley, while 1 got in from UCI and 1 from davis. school name does matter in some cases. </p>
<p>i've been at both schools for a year, and i'll just say that it's not hard to get an A if you keep pace with the work. people usually assume that students here are from another dimension in terms of intelligence (i used to think of students here in that way before i enrolled, and hence was worried just like you). but with some effort, you'll be able to keep up.</p>
<p>however, i'm going to agree with the above poster about his/her views on weeder classes. they're going to be much tougher at berkeley. classes like bio1a, general chemistry and organic chemistry will have class mean averages around 80, as opposed to uci where the mean hovers around 60. if you get through these classes, it will be downhill after that in terms of getting the grades you want.</p>
<p>well the fact that i'm currently at berkeley should explain which school i would choose. the name does help you out in the end, even though you get basically the same education. </p>
<p>the one thing i prefer uci over here is the area, but that's just me. also, i think it may be easier to get research positions there compared to berkeley, since it's so competetive here. all my pre-med friends from uci didn't find it difficult to get a lab position, but it's a wide known fact that lab positions are quite limited here. </p>
<p>weeder classes are exactly what they say. they weed out the incompetent students, who in the end have to change to another major. it's survival of the fittest in a sense.</p>
<p>edit. the students don't have to change majors, but it's a big blow to their med school dream. you can retake the class if you fail, but usually they end up unable to pass the series of weeder classes.</p>
<p>We have similar questions. My daughter got accepted to UCB (MCB), UCLA (Biochem), UCSD (Bioeng:Premed), UCI (Bio Sciences, regents+CHP), and UCD (Biomed Eng, regents+Honors). We live closer to Cal (1 hour) and Davis (2 hours). She will have completed Calculus and General Chemistry at a CC before college starts this fall. Is UCI or UCD a better choice for Premed? Or is Cal beter?</p>
<p>if you had to choose between uci and ucd, i don't think there is much of a difference really. both have fairly good bio programs that prepares their pre-med students to get into good schools. if money is a significant issue, i think irvine would be an ok school for pre-med. but if not, then berkeley or la would be better choices simply due to the prestige and a statistically better chance of getting into top med schools (assuming that your daughter gets the same GPA in either set of schools). be warned though, competition in the weeder classes in la and berkeley is much greater than in uci or davis. if she can get through these classes with mostly As, that'd be a good indication that she can succeed through the rest of her undergraduate years. </p>
<p>i think the biggest hurdle she'll have to face will be having to face the dreaded o-chem series right off the bat. this is arguably the hardest series of classes a pre-med has to take during the 4 years of college. i know for a fact that even in uci, a huge percentage of bio majors drop out while taking this series, narrowing down the pool of bio majors significantly.</p>
<p>ccmadforever: thanks. Three more questions: 1) You mentioned earlier that research opportunities are harder to get at Cal. How much does this affect a student's medical school application, assuming fine GPA? 2) How hard to get in the classes one wants at Cal, sepecially for the pre-med classes? 3) Does the CHP at UCI or Honors at UCD provide some significant advantages for one's medical school preparation? Or it is just not important?</p>
<p>ccmadforever, thanks for all the helpful information. I have heard that Berkeley is generally known for practicing grade deflation. From your experiences there, is this true? Do you know what % of students get A's in the pre-med classes?</p>
<p>1) research: this is just my experience, but finding research positions at berkeley is harder than at uci. that said, it's not an absolute truth. also, i should also mention that i'm planning for grad-school, even though i'm taking the most popular pre-med path (mcb). i'm sure there are many internships available in nearby hospitals etc. that are available off-campus in addition to the opportunities available on campus. research/internship (is it called internship?) is quite important for med schools, but not as much as GPA or MCAT scores. research is significantly more important for grad school application.
2) i'd say it's about the same in both schools. they're large classes, so it's not too hard to get the classes you want.
3) it's definitely not in the high list of priorities.</p>
<p>to ab_med: i think around 15% of students get an A in the upper-division classes. i don't know much about lower-division (since i haven't taken those here), but i do know that they have very high means for their exams. i don't know which classes curve. </p>
<p>nyag: i haven't been to la. i went to uci for a year in my freshman year. i heard that ucla pre-med is cutthroat as well. </p>
<p>i recommend that you guys ask others for their opinions in order to get a better picture of all the schools. visit their boards and see what others think. i hope no one makes their decision solely based on my experiences/observations.</p>
<p>Is it very rare to come across an MCB major with a 3.5+? Do you think taking the competitive pre-med required classes such as O-chem are easier or harder with Berkeley's semester system? Or, would these classes be easier taken on a quarter system like at most the other UC's?</p>
<p>absolutely not. engineering is imo the hardest major you can possibly take at cal. this won't bode well for your gpa which is the most important criteria for med school...</p>
<p>i don't think there's much of a difference b/w quarter and semester classes for ochem. they both cover the same material in one academic year. just don't get stuck with a bad professor.</p>
<p>I think there is. Most people learn by doing and in a semester system you will have fewer midterms and less quizzes versus a quarter system in general, so I feel that the quarter system is a stronger system.</p>
<p>unless you are specifically fond of poli sci, i wouldn't major in it just because people say it's an easy major. </p>
<p>this is just my opinion, but if you want to be pre-med, why not just take the major that fulfills the requirements for med school? you have to deal with the prerequisite classes PLUS the poli sci classes required if you major in poli sci. and i do believe that med schools look at your science GPA anyway, so even if you get all As in your poli sci classes, a low GPA in the science courses will bar you from med schools.</p>