Hi! I am an aspiring premed student in my senior year of high school and I have been having a lot of trouble deciding between UC Berkeley and Saint Mary’s college of California (a small private liberal arts college) for my undergrad. I’m a hardworking student and come from an extremely competitive and difficult high school (I have a 4.21 w and 3.93 uw gpa).
Here is what I know about premed aiming for medical school:
You need high gpa’s (3.6ish and up)
You need a pretty good mcat score
Quality extracurriculars
Amazing letter of rec’s
Having these in mind, here are the pros and cons for both of these schools.
UCB
Pros: great reputation, good education, lots of oppoutinutes for research and hands on activities, great preparation for mcats
Cons: epic grade deflation(especially for biology and chemistry courses), cutthroat nature, extremely large class sizes, hard time getting letters of rec
Saint Mary’s
Pros: easier classes (which means high gpa), smaller class sizes, close relationships with professors, easy access to letters or rec, tight-knit community that isn’t out to get each other
Cons: not as prestigious as UCB, not as many research opportunities
I just don’t want to make the wrong decision and either regret not going to one of the best public schools in the world or struggling at UCB when I could have been really successful at Saint Mary’s. Remember my main goal is to get into a top tier medical school. Someone please help me decide and thanks for taking the time to read all of this!!
Please comment if you have any opinion at all I need all the help I can get!
I’m 99% sure that I want to go to medical school as I have known that I want to be a doctor for several years now. Also cost is not an issue for me, and they both would cost roughly the same since I got a hefty scholarship from saint Mary’s.
As to prestige difference: where you go to school is of lowest importance to adcoms. Both schools can be pathway to med school. Whether you are successful will be more related to your efforts, less on where you attend as between these two schools.
As to ECs: Not sure your definition of “quality” ECs, but adcoms expect to see you have some idea you know what you getting into as a future MD. Clinical volunteering is of highest importance to adcoms as an EC. Both schools/ locations will offer you the opportunities to participate in meaning ECs that adcoms expect to see. Again whether you get involved will be more due to your efforts, less on where you attend as between these two schools.
Research is not a must EC and will be quite unimpressive if your time in a research lab involves say cleaning glassware for grad students. A problem with research activities is if your plan is to graduate then immediately start med school is that you must submit a complete application in summer after junior year. It will be hard to be involved in meaningful research activities (eg published) by end of junior year. If you’re dead set on career in research and a med school big on research, you may have to consider taking a gap year(s) and being involved in some meaningful research activity, UCB might be better option.
All US med schools are good schools and can serve as pathway to whatever area of medicine you are interested in. Most successful students who gain admission to med school only get one acceptance anywhere. And as a California resident, understand, it’s much more likely than not, if you get an acceptance, it will be OOS…
I’d rephrase that and say most who start as premed change their mind and never apply, and of those that do apply, approx. 60% will not start at any US MD school. Putting aside premed, consider what’s your academic attraction as to either school. What academics are offered at either school that can serve as your plan B or C should you change your mind.
I agree with the above except wrt research: Your odds of doing meaningful research leading to being a 4th or 5th author on a publication are quite low as a UCB undergraduate, simply because there are so many stellar graduate students.
I assume that St Mary’s admitted you to the honors college giving you the best opportunities, access to the best professoes, etc. You can contact them and ask professors how likely it’d be for you to work in their lab and be 4th author on a publication (assuming you’ve done what is needed).
At Berkeley all your peers would be excellent. The intensity would be greater - some students crave that, others would rather have a more relaxed experience.
When it comes to med school, your odds of getting a med school-worthy GPA at St Marys are better, simply because you’ll be among the top students v. Average as at Berkeley and because grade deflation is greater at UCB.
So, really, the question is 1) how valuable is med school to you and 2) if you don’t end up attending med school like most would-be doctors, will you regret giving up UCBerkeley for St Mary’s?
2b) if you don’t get into med school, can you see yourself attending UCB for a Master’s degree or is UCB an undergraduate deal only for you? 2c) What sort of job would you do if you weren’t a doctor?
That said, don’t go in thinking that the classes will be easy. You’ll still need to work for your grades. Many top high school students stumble when they get to college because they underestimate how easy it is to lose points in college and/or they don’t realize that profs will test on material not presented in class.
Don’t worry so much about research as a premed. Get some if and when you can.
But med schools are REALLY looking for applicants who’ve done true volunteering, community service, service to the underserved. Some can be medically related (volunteering in a hospice, free clinic, etc) and some can be not medically related at all…but serving low income/elderly/etc (people that are different than you are.
Too many are spending WAY too many hours shadowing, when maybe 50-100 hours max is needed …spread over a few specialties, and should include a couple of primary care physicians.
No one cares about UCB’s “prestige”.
And most successful Calif premeds matriculate at med schools outside of Calif…so be ready for applying OOS.