<p>I’m looking to major in sciecnes and probably go pre-med. I know my options for medical school are better out of USC cuz it’s private and that Cal is very cutthroat and difficult for medical school and the sciences. I have a half tuiton scholarship to USC and I really do like it. But I do love what Cal has to offer in terms of the college experience. I love SC’s campus but am worried about the area. Cal has a much better reputation, but is it hard to get A’s? Everyone tells me SC offers an amazing college experience, but is this on the campus only due to the bad area? I’ve lived in LA my whole life and am wondering if this is my only real option to get out of LA for 4 years… Ahh, this is a tough decision… If I look at my future, I think SC has the best opportunitity, but I think at Cal I’ll grow more as an individual beacuse I’ll be farther from home. I’ve lived about 40 miles out of LA my whole life but have never really explored LA, so maybe it can be a change for me?? Who knows. Everyone who is younger/graduated college/20-30s says go to Cal!! Everyone who is older, more mature, says I have to go with what will give me the best future, which is probably SC. At Berkeley I may be just a number in their system, they want me in and out… And I heard Berkeley isn’t the place for Health Sciences. I know I should listen to myself, but I haven’t told myself where that place is yet.</p>
<p>if you can get into berkeley, you should go to berkeley...if you're afraid of not being able to get A's at berkeley, then don't bother trying because you will never get A with that mind set...don't run away from challenges, but rather face with it...medical really looks at the school which you attended...they know that berkeley is more prestige, so they take GPA into consideration and will give you a break...good luck...</p>
<p>The bad area argument against USC is extremely overrated in my opinion. Especially if you compare it to Berkeley. Both are in the city. If you know what you're doing, which, as you live in LA I assume you do, you'll be as safe as you will be anywhere else. IMO, USC seemed SAFER than Berkeley (I've visited both campuses, stayed at USC for the Presidents thing), and I'm choosing Berkeley because Berkeley is the more affordable option for me, and it's better in what I want to study (both environments are good with me). High hopes on your final decision! (If i believed in luck, I'd wish you good luck ;) )</p>
<p>i think that "everyone who is older, more mature, says I have to go with what will give me the best future, which is probably SC," is not true at all</p>
<p>ahhhhhhhhhhhhh i need to make the same decision ladodger!
Berkeley is f*ing hard
i think staying in socal is sooo good
but if you have been able to handle everything academically so far, why not @ berkeley
i would think your grades/sat arep robbly in top 25%?</p>
<p>i'm in the same boat as you ladodgers, given the presidential scholarship by usc and struggling with the decision whether or not berkeley is really that hard for pre-meds? not to mention, may 1st and the deadline is coming up fast! but honestly, both choices are good and viable. whichever school you choose, that's the right decision, at least thats what im hoping, lol. i think right now, after talking with my family and friends, i'm leaning toward berkeley because it IS the better school and like ccct said, don't run away from your challenges, step up, and face them. i still dunno, i've been flipflopping back and forth so much, i'm so scared to send in my SIR and then change my mind! anyways, good luck with your decision, maybe we could discuss our situation privately (AIM, e-mail?) because it looks as if we have the EXACT same choice to make.</p>
<p>Berkeley is hard -- but a friend of mine summed it up nicely, a B-/C+ at Berkeley is like an A anywhere else. To get high marks here, you really are something.</p>
<p>If you want a better social life/more free time, I'd try USC first. If you don't like it, transferring isn't too difficult. However, transferring away from Berkeley is harder simply because it's ragingly difficult.</p>
<p>why is it harder to transfer out of berkeley? i would think that.. since its a more academically challenging school.. other colleges would be more lenient or something</p>
<p>to be honest with you, if you go to Berkeley for pre-med, you should try to take a lot of the hardest bio classes at community colleges to make up for the GPA. </p>
<p>If you want to apply for PhD in Bio, then Berkeley is definitely one of the best choices out there. PhD programs respect the grade deflation. (2.8 MCB GPA's get into top PhD from Berkeley)</p>
<p>But for med schools, they don't extend the same courtesy. I have seen my MCB friends get into very good jobs in bio tech, research etc... but not so many go into med. If they do, its through a roundabout way, like getting a masters in health first or something like that. </p>
<p>Frankly, I think Berkeley is one of the best schools around for everything, except for pre-med. I feel sorry for those guys, seriously. Especially because they're going to be studying so much anyways, they can't even enjoy all that Berkeley has to offer.</p>
<p>That said, a lot of people who apply to med and get in from Berkeley major in Integrative Bio or Cog Sci or Psychology instead and take a shietload of core bio courses at community colleges to take their MCATs.</p>
<p>Most people don't realize that if you have a 3.3+ GPA in MCB from Berkeley, you are seriously one of the top 100 hardest working people in America. At least PhD and Silicon Valley recognize that.</p>
<p>Its not as good compared to Econ, Haas, PEIS students, but the list of graduate schools attended in PhD's is simply amazing. A degree in MCB from Berkeley says a lot about your abilities period.</p>
<p>^ maybe at the time they filled it out, they were "undecided" officially, but was leaning towards UI chicago, and waiting for acceptance/rejection from UC Irvine. Who knows? The point is that it was reported accurately, and thats what matters. </p>
<p>MCB, EECS, engineering, CS majors get my total respect. The future of Silicon Valley rests on your shoulders. muahahaha!</p>