<p>medical school preparation, research opportunities, atmosphere, competition, student body, diversity, financial aid, dorm, enviroment, city, etc.</p>
<p>medical school preparation MIT > Berkeley
research opportunities MIT = Berkeley
city MIT < Berkeley</p>
<p>Berkeley is my number 1, but if you get into MIT and you want to do science, go to MIT man, unless money is big issue.</p>
<p>i dunno what u're asking for student body but MIT is 70% males and im not implying anything here, while Cal is like 55% females. it all depends on preference...</p>
<p>anyways MIT is suppose to be what it is, hence Institute of Technology, while Berkeley is a large public school. I would say u'd meet more diverse ppl at Cal. so yeah. its all about what u want.</p>
<p>obviously</p>
<p>from an solely overall academic standpoint</p>
<p>most* people would choose M.I.T. (boston) over UCBerkeley (sf) (major cities)</p>
<p>big comparisons: private vs. public</p>
<p>i think mit is better, but too bad i got rejected, so waiting on Cal now</p>
<p>"i dunno what u're asking for student body but MIT is 70% males and im not implying anything here, while Cal is like 55% females. it all depends on preference..."</p>
<p>you sure your not referring to Caltech, because MIT is 56% male</p>
<p>ah 2bad4u, my bad. ur right. i retract my post. </p>
<p>but my input is that i prefer Cal over MIT. (i didnt even consider applying to MIT. too hardcore for me maybe?)</p>
<p>I think it's fair to say that from an undergraduate standpoint, the research opportunities at MIT greatly exceed that at Berkeley. Yes, Berkeley has undergraduate research opportunities. On the other hand, Berkeley also has lots and lots of undergraduates who want those opportunities, and not enough to go around. Plenty of Berkeley undergrads who want to do research are rebuffed for lack of spots. Contrast that with MIT UROP, where basically any undergrad who wants to do research will get something.</p>
<p>There're several types of undergraduate research opps. But considering UROP (as some MIT students told me), it's more restricted than you would imagine. If you are going to MIT because of the UROP, ask UROP students if they always feel content with it, and ask UCB students the similar questions. I've heard that UROP restrict you to certain projects that need your help, and you need to do the fundraising by yourself; it doesn't allow you to do whatever you want. However, both MIT and UCB have some other research opps you can check out. Check before making a decision then (you're not a simple one if you get into both! I know.).</p>
<p>Forget about Nobel Prize for now if you don't have a research topic in mind yet. It's more difficult to force out a research project in order to be with a Nobel Laureate than to do what you love and enjoy. Don't forget that all Nobel Laureates won the prize for what they loved to do, not what they were forced to do.</p>
<p>Finally, if you're still not sure, check out what issues they're researching on at each place and go for the one you love better.</p>
<p>About medical school: You need certain GPA to get into a good medical school. MIT is a harder-core school and hence more difficult to get the GPA level you need (when your college grades are based on the group of people, not the numerical scores). All the academics are not so much difference since they both are hyperselective school already.</p>
<p>"I've heard that UROP restrict you to certain projects that need your help, and you need to do the fundraising by yourself; it doesn't allow you to do whatever you want. However, both MIT and UCB have some other research opps you can check out. Check before making a decision then (you're not a simple one if you get into both! I know.)."</p>
<p>there is so much disinformation happening in this thread. You dont have to do any fundraising at all to do UROP and it doesnt have to be in certain special projects in fact it can be on anything from more a practical engineering intership type thing called a UPOP to a UROP on humanities , or a community service UROP ( ive heard of people going to villlages in mexico and helping out). Getting a UROP can be as easy as just asking your prof and filling out a form.There are more than enough UROP's to go around.
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/urop/openings.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/urop/openings.html</a></p>
<p>To add to the discussion about medical school, while it is true that MIT grades harder than Berkeley does, you will also notice that in 2003, 76% of all MIT premeds who apply to medical school get in somewhere, whereas only 63% of Berkeley premeds who apply to med-school get in somewhere. And when I say 'get in somewhere', it really does mean getting in somewhere (anywhere) that they applied, so those who didn't get in somewhere got rejected by every single med-school they applied to. That's right - every single one.</p>
<p>Thank you 2bad4u for your information. Maybe I'd better say 'some', not 'all' about the facts I've heard from an MIT student. </p>
<p>Frankly, UROP was the first and foremost reason that made me apply to MIT. If you've been in UROP, I'd like to know if there're any rules on it.</p>
<p>Claiming that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is better than the University of California at Berkeley is not correct. It is certainly true that there are more students at Berkeley than at MIT. Ample undergraduate research opportunities exist but the competition is fierce. There are fewer students at MIT but positions can be restricted. Hence, one should understand that just because a school is private it does not mean that there are necessarily more opportunities.</p>
<p>Both schools - University of California at Berkeley & Massachusetts Institute of Technology - are fabulous schools. One should understand that there are ample employment opportunities available at both institutions. For instance, despite the recession in 2009, MIT undergraduates went to the following companies (Below are just some of the companies that hired MIT students): </p>
<ul>
<li>McKinsey Co</li>
<li>Microsoft</li>
<li>Bain and Co</li>
<li>Intel</li>
<li>Apple</li>
<li>Amazon</li>
<li>Booz & Co</li>
<li>Merck</li>
<li>Raytheon</li>
<li>Google</li>
</ul>
<p>Berkeley undergraduates went to the following organizations after graduation in 2009 (Below are just some of the corporations that hired Berkeley students):</p>
<ul>
<li>Goldman Sachs</li>
<li>Morgan Stanley</li>
<li>Bank of America</li>
<li>Citibank</li>
<li>Microsoft</li>
<li>McKinsey Co</li>
<li>Ernst Young</li>
<li>JP Morgan Chase</li>
<li>Symantec Corporation</li>
<li>Prudential Financial Group</li>
</ul>
<p>(* Got these from the Career Centers of both universities)</p>
<p>As you can see, students from both universities went to some of the world’s most respected and prestigious firms. It is clear that there is almost no difference when it comes to job prospects and the prestige you get after graduation. I hope this has served well for future college applicants who are interested in the two schools.</p>
<p>Wow talk about bringing up a zombie thread</p>
<p>If money is an issue, go to Berkeley.
If money is not an issue, go to MIT.</p>
<p>Ultimately, this is what it will come down to (all other factors considered).</p>
<p>Hey there Meow. Yeah, there’s been a rash of noobs digging up the dead in here. Eventually they’ll learn to read the dates on the threads when they do category searches… hopefully.</p>
<p>Apparently, Theophilius is digging up these threads on purpose so that people aren’t mislead if they happen across them in a search. Not helpful, imo.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I suppose theoretically, they can be restricted. However, I have yet to hear of a single story where somebody at MIT requested a UROP and didn’t get it. In fact, MIT prides itself on the broadness and accessibility of the UROP program. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I do know Berkeley students who asked for research opportunities and received nothing. </p>
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</p>
<p>Since this thread was regarding a comparison of premed opportunities, I would point out that the majority of Berkeley premed seniors who apply to med-school are rejected from every single med-school they apply to. In contrast, a whopping 94%, hence almost all, of MIT premed seniors who apply to med-school are admitted somewhere. </p>
<p>[Preprofessional</a> Stats - MIT Careers Office](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html]Preprofessional”>http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html)</p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/national.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/national.stm</a></p>
<p>Now, granted, we don’t know which particular schools any premed had applied to. Perhaps one could argue that Berkeley premeds are more likely than MIT premeds to apply to a more selective collection of med-schools and hence are more likely to be rejected across the board (although I find that argument to be implausible). Yet even if that were so, it’s hard to see how that would explain the yawning difference in admissions percentages.</p>