<p>So I was accepted to Berkeley and Davis w/ Regents, and I could see myself at either school. At this point I’m looking towards a PhD rather than pre-med. Both schools brag about how much undergrad research they offer for Biology undergrads, but I would like some insight from students. Cal’s MCB program is ranked extremely well, but Davis’ is nothing to put down either. Can anyone give me an outline of getting undergrad research opportunities at either school? Does anyone have any recommendations on which school I should attend? Does anyone have any arguments for Davis’ faculty over Cal’s from a student’s perspective?</p>
<p>you have regents to both? or just to Davis?
If regents to just one, I would choose that one 
$$$</p>
<p>I don’t know things for sure, I’m just guessing… LOL!</p>
<p>CAL probably has better professors. berk prrofessors has won many nobel prizes, where davis i think none. </p>
<p>If you are aiming to go for a PhD, I would choose UCD just because its easier to get a higher GPA. (But don’t assume you would get a 4.0 at UCD because you got into CAL… I know people who did that and screwed up their gpa pretty badly lol!!!) </p>
<p>As for research opportunities, I think you would have more opportunities at UCD because UCD has a A LOT of facilities a lot of students are very lazy and are nowhere as cutthroat as the ones at CAL.</p>
<p>Go to Berkeley! Science classes at both schools are equally difficult i think …My friend got a B in her chem class at Cal but a 4 on the AP chem test in high school while my other friend got a C in chem at Davis and an A in regular chem in high school.
Also, Cal has the prestige that Davis doesn’t have so when it comes down to graduate school admissions, the admissions people will undoubtedly pick the person who went to Cal over the one who went to Davis (if both candidates are equally qualified).
If you want a PhD, go to Cal. Davis is more of a pre-med school i think.</p>
<p>UC Davis is a hell of a lot easier to maintain a high GPA. It’s not uncommon to get a 4.0. Try doing that at Cal, if you succeed you’ll be a god. Grad schools DO NOT care about prestige. I’m not sure why, but it’s like admissions to college based on your HS. They just don’t care. If you have a 3.3 at Davis and 3.3 at cal, they might go for cal over Davis, but getting a 3.3 at Cal is hard while at Davis a 3.3 is pretty damn meh. IMO go davis for undergrad and Cal for grad. Cal is set up to be more friendly to a grad student sort of. Davis isn’t intimate but you won’t have to deal with a crapload of cutthroats. For that reason alone Davis is a better choice. You’ll be able to maintain a high GPA and get those internships/research opportunities since your cohort isn’t as academically dedicated.
IDK why people think there are such huge differences in undergrad education. If you’re going to a top national research university your undergrad will largely be the same. The atmosphere may be different but you’re still learning the same crap in 300 person lecture halls.
The only occasion when undergrad prestige matters is law school. Top law schools really like to accept within the ivy-league.</p>
<p>Just Davis w/ Regents.</p>
<p>If it is harder to get a 4.0 at Cal then wouldn’t it follow that Cal’s undergraduate education is better?
Of course if I go to Davis I wouldn’t slack off, I understand that for the most part the classes will be the same quality. Either way I don’t mind cutthroat classes.
My main question is on the research opportunities and faculty at each school. Is there any striking differences in the quality of these two aspects?</p>
<p><em>sigh</em></p>
<p>so many generalizations here. getting a 4.0 at berkeley does not make you a god in any way. maybe not too many people pull that off, but it’s not impossible to get by any means. i always felt like if you tried, you’d be able to get As in all your classes. it’s a question of effort, usually.</p>
<p>grad schools (at least some programs) very much care about where you did your undergrad. maybe the professional (ie. law or med) schools don’t care so much and only focus on the GPA, but for getting a PhD, grad schools do care where you came from. i was recently at Stanford’s comp sci PhD welcome weekend (albeit not for myself), and all of the admits (except for a couple out of the 50 total students there) were from berkeley, MIT, stanford, cornell, or CMU. period. that either means that only the people who go to those schools can do well, or it means that the selective grad schools care very much that you did your undergrad at a school that is extremely respected in the field that you majored in.</p>
<p>oh, and i never understood why people think berkeley is “cutthroat.” that word bothers me so much. i’m in what many would consider a “cutthroat” major, but almost everyone i’ve met is as nice as can be. no sabotaging, nothing of that sort at all.</p>
<p>stories like these always get exaggerated. they’re more memorable. if someone told you “oh, berkeley people are really nice, it’s not hard at all there,” would you remember that more strongly than “oh, berkeley people are crazy competitive, they’ll totally sabotage you”? the latter would probably stick in your mind more, because it’s more concerning. so take these “cutthroat” stories with a grain of salt. more often than not, the stories are exaggerated, or the people telling them to you are the ones who couldn’t succeed in their field and now just whine about everyone else around them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everyone.</p>
<p>Cenire, its good to hear that its possible to get all As.</p>
<p>As a graduate of Berkeley’s MCB program, I would of course recommend it.</p>
<p>Berkeley’s MCB department offers an incredible research education and opportunities for those who want to go on to graduate school. The curriculum is deeply steeped in research paradigms and methodologies. Furthermore, there are many research opportunities available for undergrads. A caveat-- getting a research position through the major undergrad research pipeline application programs is difficult and competitive, I highly recommend the old school approach of directly contacting professors whose research areas interest you.</p>
<p>A major part of your grad school application is the letter of recommendation. If you can get one from a famous professor, then you’re absolutely golden. Trust me, I’ve heard many attest that a strong letter from a well-known research professor/supervisor can salvage even a mediocre at best GPA. And Berkeley has plenty of these professors-- a particularly famous one is Randy Schekman in the MCB department who has been favored to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the past few years.</p>
<p>At this point I am leaning towards Cal because it seems to hold better opportunities and competition (which I thrive on), anyone else got any input?</p>
<p>Go Bears !</p>
<p>afc10ns, CAL does open opportunities… but there is A LOT of competition going after those opportunities. You may like competition, but you have also never seen it at CAL. Everyone was top of their class in high school… soo… i hope you the best.</p>
<p>I wouldve easily chosen Davis just for the money… but then I’m money hungry</p>
<p>The competition is nothing I’m worried about, and my family is well off so we don’t really need to worry about money. Everyone being top of their class doesn’t mean anything to me, in fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Good, that’s the right attitude.</p>
<p>i didnt have regents at either school so i chose Cal just for the fact that i liked the campus more and it seemed to have more school spirit(D-1, Pac-10) and also it had a semester system as opposed to UCD. I am Premed lol, i am going to have a really hard time. but atleast i know what to expect</p>