<p>I’m pretty similar to you. I’m a Philosophy pre-med student who was admitted to Berkeley for spring and UCSD. I chose UCSD for a few reasons that I’ll kind of make not of when answering your questions. (Also, the phil dept at SD has more classes that are geared towards science and topics that I enjoyed, but that’s not really applicable to you.)</p>
<p>1. Which campus would be best for my major/pre-med preparation?</p>
<p>Either campus is incredible and extremely high ranked in the hard science departments. I feel like it is a little easier to get undergrad research at SD, a lot of my friends go to SD and got into some pretty cool research programs fairly easily. Also, SD has a hospital right on campus so it might be a tad easier to get your volunteering/shadowing hours. The most important thing for med school is grades and from Berkeley alumni I talked to and current students aswell, good luck getting a 4.0. I’m not saying SD is cakewalk, but maybe a tad less competitive than Berkeley. If I wasn’t going to grad school, I would go to Cal hands down get the name on my degree and be happy with a 2.0. Just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>2. How heavily curved are the classes at both schools?</p>
<p>I think it has more to do with getting a certain range of students at each letter grade, like maybe ~15% A’s, 20% B’s, etc. But I don’t really know as it varies by professor. I do know you can check out this link that shows you the grade distributions of all SD classes for awhile back. Just remember everyone in your class is going to be the top few percent of your CC, so people used to A’s start to get C’s.</p>
<p>as.ucsd.edu/gradedistribution</p>
<p>3. Would taking o. chem at one versus the other be any easier? (hearing my friends talk about the class, I’m deathly afraid of taking it at UC Berk lmao…)</p>
<p>O-chem is ochem. Although, you might want to read into Berkeleys premed track as it’s a little different.
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepChem.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepChem.stm</a>
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepPrereq.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepPrereq.stm</a></p>
<p>4. How is parking, car safety, etc. at either school? (I know you can’t really have a car at UC Berk, but I have to bring my car with me.)</p>
<p>I’m not taking my car as I don’t really want to pay for parking, have something to worry about, etc. I liked la jolla better than the area around Cal, but that’s just me. I feel like La Jolla is a safer place than Berkeley, but that doesn’t mean people don’t get their cars broken into etc. </p>
<p>I guess you could check out the crime statistics for both. </p>
<p>[Tables</a> of Crime Statistics | Safety Counts](<a href=“http://safetycounts.berkeley.edu/content/tables-crime-statistics]Tables”>http://safetycounts.berkeley.edu/content/tables-crime-statistics)
[Police</a> Alerts and Crime Logs](<a href=“http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/emergencies/crime/alerts/index.html]Police”>Crime Alerts and Reports)</p>
<p>5. For UC Berk, does being a Spring transfer student versus Fall put me at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>Maybe, maybe not. It depends if you take classes at a CC (if any would still transfer for your major), Berkeley summer classes, do the short pre-med track above. You’d have to meet with a counselor and see. No one cares if you’re a fall or spring transfer if that’s what you’re getting at.</p>
<p>6. Semester or Quarter system: which do you prefer, and why?</p>
<p>I prefer the quarter system as the semester system in CC was too long and drawn out for me. Although, I might change my mind when I get to SD.</p>
<p>I think the biggest sticking point for pre-meds is that it’s all about GPA, med schools don’t really care too much about name. If two people with similar EC’s, MCAT, etc apply to a med school, one with a 3.5 from Cal, and another with a 3.6 from SD, the SD person will get in every time.</p>