<p>Recently got accepted to Cal, and I'm truly ecstatic. What I'm not too sure about is how being a pre-med is. I mean, I've looked at several threads before and everybody hasnt had good things to say being that its very cutthroat and with the grade deflation.</p>
<p>I have a few other options, but my other top two are USC and Rutgers.</p>
<p>But again, how is pre-med at Berkeley? Is it as bad as people tell me? I plan on majoring in chemistry or physics, though. Thanks for any advice in advance everybody, and congratulations to everybody who got acceepted!</p>
<p>Nope! I’ve personally asked other students at UC Berkeley right now who are doing pretty well in UC Berkeley as pre-med. In fact, I know people who got 35 on MCAT and 3.5+ G.P.A.,so they are doing pretty well. Plus, pre-med is hard everywhere,but just compete with yourself and not others. Such allows you to focus more and do well Good luck on your decisions and do want you want to do :)</p>
<p>I was at Cal. I think it’s cut throat only in the sense that people studied hard and tried to ace the tests. Not cut throat as in others try to mess you up.</p>
<p>If you are the 75th%ile admitted student (by SAT, GPA) then you can go to Berkeley. Otherwise, the grade curves at Berkeley may be too hard to beat and you may come out with a not so good GPA, which makes applying to premed much harder.</p>
<p>You should check out the med school admissions stats of the other 2 schools to decide which school is best for premed.</p>
<p>Cal is a great place for being a pre-med. However, there IS grade deflation. Do not think otherwise. Many of the lower division classes required for being a pre med, specifically the organic chemistry series, 3A-3B are placed at 10-15% A’s, 30% B’s and the rest C’s D’s and F’s. </p>
<p>However, the good news is a lot of upperdivision courses have much better grade distributions! </p>
<p>Also, how’s research and volunteering opportunities? I want some of those, and I’ve heard that they’re tough and competitive to get because of the limited spots. Again, I might just be hearing rumors…</p>
<p>I have the same question as FrozenShardz. Are there good premed opportunities at Berkeley? By that I mean is there a lot of research for premed undergrads? How accessible is it? Is it impossible to get rec letters from your profs because of the class size? Etc</p>
<p>There are many, many labs at Berkeley, i work in a cancer research lab myself. It’s accessible just as it would be in any other school. You go visit a professor in office hours, get to know him/her, then ask about research opportunities in his or her lab. Clinical research would be available at UCSF through a program called URAP, which is more competitive than a lab thats on the Berkeley campus.</p>
<p>I am an Molecular and Cell Biology major, and possibly premed. Considering a more corporate biotech career atm possibly. But if you got any class related questions feel free to ask!</p>
<p>With a sample size of n=1, I say ignore Cal pre-set advising. Get your advice on the cc pre med forum and even sdn. My DD found the advice conflicting and not helpful, rather it was frustrating. She was a successful med school applicant thanks to wisdom shared on these forums. </p>
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<li><p>If you put in all your effort into the courses you take, I think you would still be rewarded with a high grade for your effort. The biggest GPA threats are your lower division science courses, Bio 1A/1AL, General chemistry, organic chemistry and physics. These courses, specifically the organic chemistry courses, have a low set amount of A’s that can be given out in each semester. For example, the grading scale for the first semester of organic chemistry you would take is: A: 10-15% B:35% C: 40% D,F: 10-15%. This means if you took everyones raw point scores from greatest to least, the top 10% greastest would get some type of A, and the next 35% of scores would get some type of B. Many classes work like this, because its rare for a good number of people to get 80% or 90% on an exam so one could use the regular system like in high schools.</p></li>
<li><p>Research opportunities are abundant on campus, there are many labs in a variety of different scientific fields. There is a program called URAP, that is a neat system that allows you to apply to certain research projects that professors need undergrads to work in. I got into my current lab via personal connections, but normally you would do an interview with a professor and show him or her your resume and a transcript if she or he asks you for one. Volunteer opportunities are available in many student run clubs, like for example, one club runs a mobile clinic where you feed the homeless, help wash and clean them, and give them christmas presents! Also there are honor societies for pre meds that have connections with many med school admissions panels.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Clinical opportunities would be more limited at Cal, since Cal does not have a med school. There are some clinical research projects open to undergrads, but this would probably only be open to juniors and seniors, though im not sure. </p>
<p>So if one was to choose Cal over a private school for premed (as long as they put in a full effort and commitment) they should be able to have a qualified application and preparation for med school?</p>
<p>This is a topic which you will probably never get a solid answer on, if your asking: Does the prestige of an undergraduate school greatly affect your chances at medical school acceptance? What matters most of all is the individual student and what he or she did during their undergrad that makes them seem like they are willing to take on the challenges of a career in medicine. If your comparing Berkeley to an Ivy just based on this, i do not think going to an Ivy over Berkeley or vica versa would greatly affect your chances. It all matters most on what you make out of your undergrad career.</p>
<p>Now that having been said, I once talked to a Medical School Adcom at Stanford who told me that they do take into account grade deflation at schools like UC Berkeley and account for that in their application readings. Now obviously a 2.85 GPA will get you rejected no matter where you went to school, yet a 3.6 GPA from Cal might be looked upon more highly than a 3.6 GPA from a Cal State School.</p>
Good luck on your decisions and do want you want to do :)</p>