I'd also appreciate it if anyone who went to Berkeley and got in could comment on how the school's reputation is viewed by admissions committees.
Hey Cal students & Alumni! Good luck in your pursuit!
I'm also a Cal grad MCB: Emphasis I (Biochem).
To OP: The Berkeley rep is great. After all, it IS ranked the #1 Public University (arguably by the most controversial of bibles, USNEWS). One dean of admissions told me: "A GPA from Berkeley, one of best Public Schools in the country is worth a lot more than the same GPA from Podunk U". However, I agree with biobossxx99, a 3.8 from Podunk is viewed more favorably than a 3.2 from Berkeley. And I also agree mostly with what Calipaww said, except for the "liberal" aspect of Cal. That didn't seem to be an issue during my interviews (probably because I wasn't a social welfare major), in fact some of my interviewers were decidedly NOT politically liberal - perhaps as a test, but dunno. I am also curious as to what MichaelSavage meant by "those people"... anyway...
I wish USNEWS would have a ranking for undergraduate biology depts because I'm positive that Cal would be in the top 5. I've taught Bio at MIT and can attest that the Cal MCB program is world class. Note that the 4.8 reputation score for Bio is for the the PhD program only. Thus, if you work in a lab, you will potentially have one of the best undergraduate research experiences in the country (and an excellent letter from a reputable prof), yet that will be secondary to your GPA and MCAT scores.
Though Cal is a super program, it does have some disadvantages:
(1) Cal is very very tough. Cal premeds are some of the best you'll meet and getting that 3.8 won't be easy (most Bio/MCB classes really only dole out A/A-'s to <15% of students).
(2) Despite the rep of the grad program, the overall Cal undergrad rep isn't as well respected as eastcoast Ivys- which is why I wish USNEWS would rank undergrad Cal for Bio as they do for engineering.
(3) There are too many pre-meds! Med schools generally like diversifying their incoming class, that means you are competing for the same spot with many many of your peers at Cal. While top med programs tend to be Ivy snobs, the good news is that of the top programs, the UC's are definately highly represented (10% of Yale's 2002 incoming class was from the UC system, but a much greater pctage maybe 2x were from Harvard/Yale/Ivy).
(4) Cal is awsome for those who help themselves, in my estimate this will be true for less than 1/4 people in your premed class. This can be seen as an advantage or disadvantage. Cal students who do the best are the ones to take advantage of the resources available (particularly research opportunities which will be a prerequisite to MSTP applicants), but which takes a tremendous amount of initiative. It is very easy to "fall between the cracks" at Cal.
Re: "premed" weeder courses.
All classes at Cal can be challenging and can "weed you out" if you do poorly because they will be calculated in your AMCAS BCMP. Just make sure to keep your GPA at least at a 3.4 level. Many med schools will do the Excel database "SORT" based on GPA and won't consider you for an interview if you don't make the cut. As one dean put it to me: "we have too many applicants to review, thus we screen en masse with a GPA/MCAT cut off formula." My weeder course was: Chem 112ab (Adv Ochem) 'nuff said. Make Ochem your dedicated course for the year. Yes I agree with biob, do not take Ochem with PChem, Math50AB and Physics 7ABC the same year, you will be crushed (like I was). MCB 100,110 are also highly competitive.
Link26, thanks for pointing out the career center stats, they are really informative! Here are the links for everyone else:
http://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/19982002seniors.stm
http://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/19982002top20.stm
http://career.berkeley.edu/MedStats/19982002national.stm
Stats comparing national acceptances seems to indicate that Cal is ahead of the game except for the 2001 torch bearing class. What's interesting is that graduating seniors with GPA's ranging from 3.4-3.6 and 3.6-3.8 have an almost equivalent chance of admissions to "a" med school, about 60%. Graduates "one year out" have an even higher acceptance rate, 70% for both groups! However, notice that Cal GPA's ranging from 3.2-3.4 have a significantly reduced acceptance rate ~25% (but can be made up for by higher MCATs). Thus the data seems to show that a 3.4 GPA is the "cutoff" if you want to have a decent chance to be accepted to med school.
Holy CR*P, I just looked at the top 20 stats. Very sobering indeed. It looks like the top 20 med schools require Cal students to have 35+ MCATs and 3.8+ GPAs on average. That sucks. I wasn't even close to having those scores. Yet all is not lost if you don't.
TTSD What if you got crushed in the premed classes but then went the "I'll take everything and anything" route and then did fairly well off?
TTSD, that happened to me. I got crushed early (and was questioned about it during interviews), but pulled a 3.9 for my senior year - however my improved performance made a minimal impact on my interviewers (they never said anything about the improvment). BTW, I was a pre-MSTP way back when, so I knew my chances were slim to none for competitive MSTP programs so I didn't apply thus I did not take the MCAT.
BTW, if anyone out there is MSTP inclined but doesn't have the insane scores necessary, one alternative possibility will be to make your own PhD-MD program. Go to a reputable school and do a PhD, it will help during applications assuming you can still pull off a decent MCAT score and still do WELL in grad school. I can tell you that it still will NOT be easy, getting a PhD will be as tough as nails and is a ridiculous means for getting into med school. But for those who do want to do BOTH research and medicine, it IS a decent possibility!
Good luck everyone. Work hard, don't give up, get your priorities straight and it will pay off.
Go Bears!
-Liner
