<p>I know there are a bunch of threads like this at this point but please help me decide. I'm from SoCal so UCLA is closer to home for me. However, I visited the campus yesterday and felt that it was too much for me. It seems that people focus less on academics and they party more there. I heard the Berkeley students focus more on academics. Any truths? I will be attending Senior Weekend at Berkeley in 2 weeks. If I do choose to attend, I'm planning to switch to Public Health. Right now, I am MCB and I heard being MCB and doing pre-med is really hard at Berkeley. How would you compare doing pre-med at Berkeley and UCLA. For UCLA, I will be a Biology major. I know both schools are hard for pre-med so the choice is even tougher now. Thanks for you input.</p>
<p>You are not MCB. You are undeclared, L&S admits everyone undeclared.</p>
<p>MCB is pretty much (one of) the hardest L&S major(s), so unless you are really interested in cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular genetics, or neurobiology you should not major in it. </p>
<p>The whole idea that UCLA is more party-y and Cal is more academic is an unsubstantiated myth. </p>
<p>UCLA has the largest premed population of all the UCs, so you will face much more premed competition there.</p>
<p>Come to Cal Day and see how you like Berkeley, before you make your final decision.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m coming to Cal Day through the overnight program called Senior Weekend :)</p>
<p>being premed mcb is tough at berkeley unless you are naturally smart and have a good work ethic. plenty of people spend forever studying and still do poorly.e public health is a joke in terms of difficulty (it really is, i put absolutely no effort into my public health classes), but i suppose it’ll be easier than mcb if you’re a premed.</p>
<p>Is there a disadvantage in being public health instead of mcb? If public health is easier then why do many people still stay as mcb?</p>
<p>Medical schools don’t care about major whether it be Physics, English, PH, IB, MCB, Anthro, etc.</p>
<p>So many people stay MCB because they are misled to think that MCB gives them some edge for medical school (when it doesn’t).</p>
<p>being an mcb major helps you if you do well and are doing research. there are a lot of amazing faculty if you can get into their labs. if you do, then their name can help you get really far with research programs for the summer / internships. pm me if you want to know more.</p>
<p>you should only do mcb if you’re a cut above. classes are on curves, so regardless of how you perform on a exam, it depends on everyone else. if you’re doing poorly in pre med prereqs, try public health or even ib. </p>
<p>in general, it seems that those who do very well in mcb/bioe/hard sciences get into better schools and get in more often than those who do public health as a major. there are exceptions, ofcourse, but i suppose excellence follows through with MCAT, research, etc.</p>
<p>^those are unsubstantiated statements. Also, the fact that there are so many MCB premeds relative to non-MCB premeds, it kinds of biases any data you can look at.</p>
<p>unsubstantiated in what sense? the fact that if you’re doing well in science classes that you’ll be likely to do well on the MCAT, which the majority of it is physical and biological sciences? or, the fact that you’ll be doing research with individuals who can definitely help you get where you need to?</p>
<p>i’m taking some public health classes (well, one actually legit one) and they’re really not that difficult and there’s often no curve. definitely really interesting material, but you don’t need to be exceptional to do well.</p>
<p>as i stated, if you’ve done well mcb classes and are also doing research in mcb you’re more likely to get in and you will at better schools. it really depends on what lab you’re working in and what you’re doing.</p>
<p>as I said there are exceptions, and true I have no data to back this up besides personal experience (i think I know this process pretty well, pm me if you actually care as to why i do). it doesn’t matter what major you are, but if you’re doing well in the premed prereqs you wont have a problem in mcb, for the most part.</p>
<p>your science gpa (bcmp) won’t be helped by switching to public health. maybe IB will do it though. in any case, if you do poorly on all your premed prereqs, which you have to take regardless of your major if you’re premed, no amount of easy classes can really fix it. if you dont do well in your math, your ochem, gen chem, bio, and phys prereqs, just because you have good grades in public health classes you wont be let off the hook. </p>
<p>if you do well in all your prereqs and choose public health, as many of my friends have done, go for it. don’t expect it to be your saving grace. the convenience of mcb is that premed prereqs overlap almost perfectly, so you spend more time on each class and can do better.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Pretty much all IB classes go into the biology GPA, and I am sure a lot of PH ones do too. Just because you are MCB doesn’t have any relation to doing research. Plenty of IB and PH majors do research and plenty of MCB majors don’t. MCB doesn’t require you to do research, they just recommend it (and IB and PH recommend it too). Also, IB lets you use up to 3 units of research for the major’s 24 UD unit requirement, no exception forms needed. MCB only lets you use research in lieu of coursework on a case-by-case basis. </p>
<p>An IB/PH/any other major major with GPA “x”, doing “y” amounts of research, with an MCAT score “z”, would be viewed the same as an MCB major with “x”, “y”, and “z”. </p>
<p>Medical schools don’t know or care that MCB is harder than IB and PH. I have a friend who aced all his prereqs (literally got all As/A-s) and now he is suffering in MCB.</p>
<p>Also, IB’s prereqs match up completely with premed requirements (except Math 1B/16B is optional and not required) and PH matches up for most of the requirements but not 100%.</p>
<p>Also, IB has a human biology and health sciences track, which you should look into. It was made specifically for pre-health students.</p>
<p>i wasn’t implying that just because you are mcb you are a better applicant. the mcb department in berkeley is absolutely fantastic, and if you’re an mcb major that’s doing substantive research work in an mcb lab and also performing well academically you’re demonstrating a passion and greater understanding of the field, and it benefits you greatly. the LOR from your PI can go really really far for internships, grad and med school. </p>
<p>seeing that you’re clearly a science major who is pregrad, i’m sure you’ve probably interviewed in industry or for a position outside your current research project (provided you’re doing one). when they ask you “describe your research” you generally have a, much more in depth response if you have studied extensively both the subject as well as your project. it’s very similar in medical school interviews from what i understand.</p>
<p>you can do the same if you’re IB or PH, and those departments are great as well. but regardless of if these classes count in your bcmp gpa (which is mostly used as a preliminary screening tool anyway), doing poorly in prereqs and trying to fix it with an “easier” major doesn’t help. if one is going to do ph and subsequently ph research, do it because of interest and make sure you do well in premed prereqs prepare to demonstrate that.</p>
<p>every good applicant out of cal has a good gpa, a solid mcat, research experience, and ecs. you want to always make sure you have good grades, but you really need to set yourself apart. being very accomplished with your research projects is a great way to do this (posters,presentations, and if you’re lucky/damn good a publication)</p>