- Joined
- Mar 20, 2017
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Looking for advice for my daughter who will begin undergrad as a freshman in fall 2017. She's going in with stellar academic record from one of the nation's top school districts, so it will be a shock to her system when she experiences "failure" for the first time in college - and it will happen sooner or later, guaranteed. Should my daughter go to UC Berkeley, or choose a slightly less competitive UC in order to raise her chances of standing out and getting a higher GPA? I am under the impression that in comparing the UCs, medical schools care more about GPA (and MCAT scores) than which UC you went to, at least if you compare the schools that have accepted her:
Berkeley - Regents' scholarship candidate, waiting to find out if she was awarded it ($10K over four years, if she gets it)
UCLA (has a med school)
UC San Diego (has a med school)
UC Davis - Regents' awarded ($30K over four years) (has a med school)
UC Santa Cruz - Regents' awarded ($20K over four years)
UC Irvine (has a med school)
Still waiting to hear from UC Santa Barbara
(Note that Regents' scholars get priority class enrollment, guaranteed housing all four years, research funding in some cases, and other perks.)
Anyway, her top choice is Berkeley right now, but she has yet to explore the others, so I am telling her to keep an open mind.
Berkeley Pros:
- Institutional status comparable to Ivy League schools globally
- Academically, the most rigorous (at least by reputation), and seems to be equally strong across all departments
- Excellent research opportunities, provided you are a motivated student who aggressively pursues them
- If medical school doesn't work out, best UC to have on your resume as a job seeker, provided you gain some practical, marketable skills in your undergrad as a fallback when your dream path doesn't pan out
- Strong alumni network in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we live and where she wants to stay after her higher education is complete
- Vibrant town, socially and politically active community
Berkeley Cons:
- Huge class size in pre-med required courses (intro bio, chem, etc.)
- Vicious curve = chances of maintaining a high GPA diminishes; discouraging for someone dreaming of becoming a psychiatrist
- No attached medical school, which means you have to cross the Bay to go to UCSF for most clinical research opportunities and exposure to medical faculty
- Every pre-med we have spoken to has told us how miserable life in the required science classes can be
- From what I hear, no or very limited pre-health professions advising to speak of
Pre-med classes are miserable everywhere; they are designed to weed people out, and they are not always taught by professors who give a hoot about their students. On top of that, if you take such classes at a place like Cal, they can be even more challenging.
Berkeley - Regents' scholarship candidate, waiting to find out if she was awarded it ($10K over four years, if she gets it)
UCLA (has a med school)
UC San Diego (has a med school)
UC Davis - Regents' awarded ($30K over four years) (has a med school)
UC Santa Cruz - Regents' awarded ($20K over four years)
UC Irvine (has a med school)
Still waiting to hear from UC Santa Barbara
(Note that Regents' scholars get priority class enrollment, guaranteed housing all four years, research funding in some cases, and other perks.)
Anyway, her top choice is Berkeley right now, but she has yet to explore the others, so I am telling her to keep an open mind.
Berkeley Pros:
- Institutional status comparable to Ivy League schools globally
- Academically, the most rigorous (at least by reputation), and seems to be equally strong across all departments
- Excellent research opportunities, provided you are a motivated student who aggressively pursues them
- If medical school doesn't work out, best UC to have on your resume as a job seeker, provided you gain some practical, marketable skills in your undergrad as a fallback when your dream path doesn't pan out
- Strong alumni network in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we live and where she wants to stay after her higher education is complete
- Vibrant town, socially and politically active community
Berkeley Cons:
- Huge class size in pre-med required courses (intro bio, chem, etc.)
- Vicious curve = chances of maintaining a high GPA diminishes; discouraging for someone dreaming of becoming a psychiatrist
- No attached medical school, which means you have to cross the Bay to go to UCSF for most clinical research opportunities and exposure to medical faculty
- Every pre-med we have spoken to has told us how miserable life in the required science classes can be
- From what I hear, no or very limited pre-health professions advising to speak of
Pre-med classes are miserable everywhere; they are designed to weed people out, and they are not always taught by professors who give a hoot about their students. On top of that, if you take such classes at a place like Cal, they can be even more challenging.