If my choices came down to these two schools, what would be the wiser choice for a pre-med student?
My thoughts are UCLA based off of environmental factors, considering academic rigor is very similar. I feel like the area of the two colleges, the upper regions of LA, and the city of SF, I would much rather be in LA than SF. I am center politically so I also feel like a politically divisive school like Berkeley might not be the most healthy politically. However, politics would be a very minor decision when choosing the school. I currently live in LA, and I have visited the Berkley region. With regards to the underprivileged regions of both areas, I feel like the regions of LA would give me more opportunities to see a greater variety of people, at one of the top hospitals in the nation.
What are your thoughts?
(Edited the title, since the misspelling of Berkeley bothered me).
Sounds like you’ve answered your own question already.
I know I’ve thought it out but I want to make sure the logic is sound.
2 of my kids got into both schools and one picked Berkeley and one picked Pomona. My husband is a UCLA bruin. You can’t go wrong with either, but both are big and easy to get lost in, as well as hard to get the classes you need. Follow your heart.
You may want to take a look at this thread–
[Some colleges have grade distribution information available by course](Some colleges have grade distribution information available by course - #6 by ucbalumnus - Pre-Med Topics - College Confidential Forums)
There are links to grading curves and grade distribution of pre-med bio & chem classes for UCB in the thread. And for UCLA here: https://www.bruinwalk.com
UCLA is THE largest producer of med school applicants in the entire US; UCB is #5.
Total applicants for the 2016-17 AMCAS application cycle:
UCLA–1014
UCB–662
https://www.aamc.org/download/321458/data/factstablea2-5.pdf
This means hospitals close to campus are over-run with pre-med hopefuls and you will likely have issues with getting a volunteer slot.
When comparing resources, it’s worth noting that UCLA has a medical school and hospital, whereas Berkeley does not.
I agree with @preppedparent – classes in the life sciences are usually large, impersonal, and rigorous at both schools, at least at the freshman and sophomore level. Of course, the experience is very different for pre-meds majoring in unpopular majors (say, American Indian Studies at UCLA or Celtic Studies at Berkeley).
However, the pre-meds majoring in unpopular majors still need to take the pre-med courses, which tend to be large due to the large number of pre-meds (and biology majors who need to take the same courses even if they are not pre-med).
Berkeley does have UCSF campuses near (my dd is in a Cal/UCSF joint grad program). Can Berkeley premeds get shadowing opportunities/volunteering thru that or no?
I think you have still got a lot to learn about those schools (and AZ) and what it takes to get into med school. I don’t see that you understand demographics in both Berkeley and LA, or that UCB is not a “politically divisive” environment for kids focused on their schoolwork, activities, and friends.
You need to look at which colleges offer a collaborative versus competitive gamut for pre-meds and just how freaking brutal it can be. That’s a lot more than % who get into med school-- those stats are after they weeded out up to 80% of kids who came in with med intentions.
Shadowing or research is one thing. There are myriad opps for kids to be involved in meaningful, challenging, responsible aspect of healthcare delivery, even if a particular college doesn’t hand them to you.
Action. Not the name on the diploma. Your record.
that’s a huge IF - I’d encourage you to knock down that contingency (you know, getting in) before spending much time fretting about which is better.
good luck.
Agree, be happy if you get into 1 out of these 2 fabulous, and very hard-to-get-into schools.
And for pre-med, the best choice may be… Neither.
^ yeah, that’s what I would have said too. My nephew wants desperately to follow his cousin into Berkeley next year, with intent on pre-med and I advised him that he should go to UCR. But I know how his parents are going to say nada to that, having spent 250K on boarding school, etc etc.
Seems like it would have been better to send the kid to public school so that the $250k could be used for medical school costs.
I think that the OP was trying to gauge how political an experience Berkeley would be? I’m sure that UCLA has an overall liberal bent, but I assume that Berkeley is through the roof in that department. Yes, you could keep your head down, avoid politics and try to get through the day; but I think it’s a reasonable concern. I wouldn’t really describe Berkeley as politically “divisive” since the division is markedly in one direction.
@ucbalumnus the parents are overseas…they tried the public school bit with the older one, since they still had their house in California, but the kid wasn’t able to function very much living by himself as a parachute kid. So off to boarding school went the younger one. BTW, the older one got his GED instead and is now finishing up medical school overseas next year.
But if the school is in an area with lots of hospitals, whether they are affiliated with the school or not, wouldn’t that allow for the better opportunities to pick and choose which hospital would be best for the path I am taking?
What would you say would be the best choice in that case? I know it depends on what you make of it, but in your opinion, what is the best university for pre-med?
I mean the politics are only a minor concern, but it is just something notable.
@TheFutureDoc16 I don’t think think there is a right or wrong answer. Everyone has their own preferences. What is undeniable is that you need a high GPA in order to get into a good medical school.