I got accepted to both schools. While I am filled with joy, I cannot decide which school I should commit to. I got into Rausser college for Cal and L&S for UCLA.
I feel like the “core values” of Cal resonate with me better
heard that it is very hard to maintain a good GPA at UC Berkeley. I am a pre-med student.
I also want to get clinical experience.
UCLA is only about 2 hours from home while Cal is far away.
I love academic challenges, but the thing is “how” challenging Cal will be
I am from CC so more used to semesters than quarters
yeah haha true - partially because UC Berkeley released their decisions earlier. I had more time to consider UC Berkeley than UCLA lol and I was about to commit… but I feel like I have to be realistic … I never lived outside of Southern California lol and I love UCLA campus esp their libraries… I don’t want to fail in classes at Cal and ruin my chance to get into med school.
have you visited cal? its really beautiful and you should definitely create a pros and cons list for each school since it seems like its a very difficult decision for you
If you’re worried abt maintaining a high GPA at Cal for better chances at med school acceptance, it might help to know that med schools most likely take into consideration the rigor of a school like Cal! I think Cal also has a better reputation for strong programs in STEM (esp chem) than UCLA. There’s also the MCAT so if you have a lower GPA it can definitely still be compensated by a high MCAT score. That being said, UCLA is right next to its med school while Cal is a bit further away from the UCSF med school so UCLA might offer more access to internships/shadowing opportunities :^)
Congratulations on two great acceptances. With your plans on continuing on to med school I would focus on the total cost of your last two undergrad years. And if cost is not an issue or not that different, I’d go to Northern California and spread my wings a little. Good luck with your studies OP!
Yes CAL is very competitive. Have you visited?
Yes LA is competitive. Have you visited?. It does make a difference if you visit the campuses; you can feel it.
My daughter attended UCSF for pharmacy from UCD.
Most of her classmates at SF were not from the UCs; they were from every other school in the country-small privates and public colleges.
For UCSF housing, all of the students are integrated together. Her roommates were medical students. Most of the students weren’t undergrads from Berkeley or the other UCs.
My neighbor is on the UCSD med school interview panel. Most of what she’s told me is that UCSD knows what their students are doing, but they’re curious as to the experiences of what other schools, in other parts of the country, are doing in medical research and practice. They wipe the slate clean and look at what the student has done. Being from a UC is not prioritized, or an advantage. They like to get a variety of students, who have done a variety of things, as they build their classes. They start from scratch and read the application, GPAs, MCAT scores and the student experiences.
Going to a UC will not guarantee admission into a UC med program. This is why your undergrad experience has to be something that you will enjoy and thrive.
You really do need to visit the campuses of the schools because you will live there for four years. If you make a decision and you never visited, then that will be on you if you don’t, at least, enjoy the experience.
it sounds like you’re leaning towards cal but are worried mostly about the move and gpa? if you haven’t visited the cal campus, it is absolutely beautiful and i highly recommend it! going to visit will probably open your mind more to moving to norcal. plus, you’re in the best years of your life, you should try and live outside your comfort zone a bit! about the gpa, idk what to say really bc i don’t personally know the rigor of pre-med classes at cal vs. ucla.
That is simply not true. Plus…the rigor of Cal and UCLA is the same.
This student needs to understand that acceptance in state to a CA medical school will be a challenge regardless whether they attend UCLA or CAL. CA medical schools don’t have enough seats in them for the many, many CA students who apply to the medical schools in CA. Many many CA students applying to medical school go out of state.
So…choose the college where you would like to spend the remainder of your undergraduate years. Take medical school out of the decision making process.
If you are worried about grading at each school (as pre-meds tend to be), you can look up the courses you are likely to take at each school for their grade distributions:
Either school provides the opportunities you’ll need to make a strong med school application–developing a strong application portfolio is entirely up to you.
Take pre-med out of the calculation and pick the school that offers you the best fit and cost.
BTW,@aunt_bea is right. CA public medical schools (except for UCR which prioritizes residents of the IE region) do not offer a strong in-state preference in admissions.
CA is one of the most difficult states for med school admissions. Only 17% of CA applicants matriculate to an in-state (public or private) medical school. https://www.aamc.org/media/6016/download
ah - my apologies! i’m just a student so this is just what i’ve heard from various places and friends who have gone to med schools and i had no idea the information wasn’t accurate. i was under the impression that grad schools do take into some account the rigor of your school as otherwise it seems like schools with heavy grade deflation would be unduly disadvantaged? i currently attend a LAC that’s infamous for unconventional grading policies and grade deflation where only 25% graduate with a GPA higher than 3.7 but there are still students who get into med school despite the lower than average GPAs because the schools are familiar with the college’s rigor and grading policies. you all seem much more familiar with the process though so take my word with a grain of salt OP!
GPA is only ONE of many, many factors for a successful med school application.
Although nearly all medical school admission offices use some sort of minimum GPA cut off for screening purposes, it’s often lower than most undergrads think. (GPA minimums are proprietary to each school but many appear to be around 3.3-3.5 for most schools.Otherwise non-traditional students and reinventors would be completely out of luck.)
Either school provides the opportunities you’ll need to make a strong med school application–developing a strong application portfolio is entirely up to you.
Take pre-med out of the calculation and pick the school that offers you the best fit and cost.
BTW,@aunt_bea is right. CA public medical schools (except for UCR which prioritizes residents of the IE region) do not offer a strong in-state preference in admissions.
CA is one of the most difficult states for med school admissions. Only 17% of CA applicants matriculate to an in-state (public or private) medical school. https://www.aamc.org/media/6016/download
UCLA SAIRO has a bit more detail regarding the applicants from the years 2016-2019 to med school. The last year showed that the applicants w/ UCLA baccalaureate had an acceptance rate of 52% (applicants having ≥ 1 acceptance). I did a spreadsheet that showed that a bit more than 2/3s (not quite 3/4s) of UCLA grads attend med school outside of California.
So let’s look at an estimate of things by percentile for L&S:
99th Percentile, 4.000 (I would imagine there would be a decent number of these.)
*95th Percentile, 3.956 (Summa floor)
*90th Percentile, 3.908 (Magna floor)
*80th Percentile 3.816 (Cum Laude floor)
75th Percentile, ~ 3.77
70th Percentile, ~ 3.72
65th Percentile, ~ 3.67
60th Percentile, ~ 3.63
55th Percentile, ~ 3.59
50th Percentile, ~ 3.55
The 3.50-3.75 gpas would be more plentiful than those from 3.76 and above. But though the median for L&S students would be ~ 3.55 the average would probably be ~ 3.45, because the upper half of the class would be tighter in grade distribution than the lower, which would bottom out at 2.20 or so.
