The title is a bit misleading. I am looking for input from current or former UC Berkeley transfer students. I am deciding on schools to transfer to, between UC Berkeley, Brown University, or Emory University. I am “premed” and these schools seem to offer a lot of resources for undergraduate studies. What I would like to hear from current or former UC Berkeley students(primarily liberal arts & science students) is about the “weeder” courses. My understanding, is these courses are in the basic, beginner courses, such as Chemistry 1, Biology 1, Physics 1, ect… So, as a transfer student that has already completed these courses, would I be taking “weeder” courses?
All of the pre-med program is weeder wherever you go. Look at the course list to see what you still have pending. OChem? That one weeds out lots of pre-meds.
You shouldn’t take “weeder” classes for the express purpose of looking more competitive on your Transfer application.
If you’re going to take OChem, Biochemistry, etc., it’s to complete your prerequisites for med school (because no matter where you go, that’s the overarching goal).
However, at the end of the day, when it comes to transferring, GPA>Course Rigor. If you think you’ll struggle in OChem/Other upper division stuff, it’s perhaps best to structure your schedule to effectively accommodate that class, or to you can put it off and do your Humanities or other pre-med requirements.
Sorry for the late reply, but thank you both for your responses!
What you do need to decide is which school will wreck your GPA the least. BTW, OChem is a “weeder” class at Cal (D took it second semester as a freshman).
Sorry to hear that @Undercrackers. Hopefully it didn’t change your career path.
That is a concerning factor at Cal, as they are notorious for their grade deflation. On my lists of schools to transfer to, it is not my first choice, solely because of that.
OP, lol - that was my daughter (D) who took OChem - she got an A- (better than the B in regular chem, because she says she learned how to study for Cal chem classes). And she took honors and AP Chem in HS.