UC Davis vs Berkeley for Undergrad?

[az43]

Ok so I'm in my last semester at a california community college with a good gpa. My TAG got accepted for UC Davis, now Im just waiting until april bc thats when I get my results from the other uc's. So far, my top choices are davis and berkeley. I'm trying to get into med school but I've talked to a few people that transferred to berkeley from my CC. They said that the education at berkeley is amazing, however they worked their @$$es off and got like 3.3's. They told me that they regret choosing ucb over ucd or ucsd because they couldve gotten a better gpa with a lot less stress over at the latter campuses. I really dont know which campus to choose. Here are some pro's and cons that I listed out.

Davis:
-Pros
less competitive
more clinical/research opportunities
very nice college town with a nice atmosphere that im comfortable with
1 hour away from home
Have numerous friends and a cousin that attend ucd
peaceful, quite place

-cons
in the middle of nowhere
doesnt have as much prestige/recognition as cal

Berkeley:
-Pros
great academics
prestige/recognition
great research facilities
close to home
my mom always wanted me to go to ucb (though shes still happy if i choose ucd over cal)
great food
good campus area (though i prefer davis' atmosphere a lot more)

-Cons
harsh curves, very competitive, hard to get a high gpa
Less spaces for internships/research since everyone is competing for limited spots

I've visited both campuses numerous times but dont know which one to choose. Which would you say is better for undergrad?

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[Jennyfishy]

I have friends who chose ucd over cal and have no regrets as well as those who chose cal as transfers and wish they weren't blinded by reputation/prestige. The competitiveness slightly varies depending on your major/area of focus too.

In the end, it'll come down to where you see yourself being happiest and growing the most. None of us can really help you make that decision. As a ucd alum, i feel compelled to defend my school though

 

[ObLaDi]

Go where you think you would fit in best and be the happiest. UC Davis is an awesome school.

 

[Cinabonchik]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley. I would not say that Berk is limited on research, a lot of my friends actually did research/internships at Berk while being students at UCD. I think the main question here is whether you are ready for the challenge!

 

[Drelizab]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley. I would not say that Berk is limited on research, a lot of my friends actually did research/internships at Berk while being students at UCD. I think the main question here is whether you are ready for the challenge!

But do medical schools recognize this? I wouldn't think so... But i could be wrong

 

[az43]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley. I would not say that Berk is limited on research, a lot of my friends actually did research/internships at Berk while being students at UCD. I think the main question here is whether you are ready for the challenge!

But do medical schools recognize this? I wouldn't think so... But i could be wrong

I've heard that med schools do recognize that berkeley is a school with grade deflation. However, I'm sure that the difference isn't big enough to distinguish a Davis 3.8 with a Cal 3.3. The 3.3 student at Cal can probably get a 3.7+ at UCD though. I know someone from my high school that got into David Geffen SOM from Davis. He had a 3.88 and a 37 mcat. I'm pretty sure he wouldnt have gotten accepted to ucla had he want to Cal and got a ~3.3....

 

[Aerus]

No, the difficulty between the two schools will be very minimal. The UC's are all pretty difficult. I had a friend who transferred from UCSC to UCB and did not notice a difference in difficulty (in science classes, at least). There might be a slight disparity due to student caliber via SAT/high school GPA, but when you're in a science class filled with 400 students, many whom are very driven, you won't notice a huge difference in academic achievement. The 3.3 at UCB = 3.8 at UCD conversion is ridiculous....

 

[az43]

No, the difficulty between the two schools will be very minimal. The UC's are all pretty difficult. I had a friend who transferred from UCSC to UCB and did not notice a difference in difficulty (in science classes, at least). There might be a slight disparity due to student caliber, but when you're in a science class filled with 400 students, many whom are very driven, you won't notice a huge difference in academic achievement. The 3.3 at UCB = 3.8 at UCD conversion is ridiculous....

Seriously?! What was their major?

 

[Aerus]

Seriously?! What was their major?

Unfortunately, I don't recall. They were premed though, so they took at least the prereqs.

 

[jujumd2014]

UCD, for risk-management reasons. I really, really doubt that the Cal prestige would ever be the deciding factor for or against you in med school apps, but a below-average GPA (the ~3.3 mentioned) could definitely hurt your chances. Davis is honestly a good strategic choice for a pre-med (I chose Davis over Berkeley, and got into my top choice med school). You'll have a better chance at a strong GPA, plus there are lots of excellent clinical opportunities like the student-run clinics, easily accessible research positions, and laid-back, friendly students and professors. Cal has the potential to be great as well...but I would definitely consider the possibility of it being very competitive and damaging your GPA. Just my $0.02.

 

[DokterMom]

If you're certain that medical school is in your future, then UCD, because of it's less-deflated grading, would probably be the better school.
But if you change your mind or don't get into medical school, then UCB is the far more prestigious degree, and would probably be the better career/life investment.

Tough choice --

Edit: Just want to add that I have the utmost respect for Davis and know it to be an EXCELLENT school with a high caliber of student. Merely pointing out that it doesn't have the cache Berkeley has and that the grade deflation is not reputed to be as brutal.

 

[sinombre]

If you're certain that medical school is in your future, then UCD, because of it's less-deflated grading, would probably be the better school.
But if you change your mind or don't get into medical school, then UCB is the far more prestigious degree, and would probably be the better career/life investment.

Tough choice --

As someone who went to Davis for undergrad, this isn't true at all. Most science professors curve at a C+/B- (meaning the average science grade is between a 2.3 and 2.7), so you still have to be at the very top of your class to get an A. There probably is a difference in competition, but you're not comparing a top public school to an unknown state school. Davis is still a "top 10" public school (whatever that means), and I had to work my ass off to do well.

For what it's worth OP, I chose Davis over Cal for personal reasons and don't regret it at all. I would make the same decision again every time.

 

[MDforMee]

I was in a similar place, once. I attended a Northern California community college and transferred to UCLA (Biochemistry); I was accepted at UCSD, and UCD (and UCI, I think). I didn't apply to Cal because I didn't want to go there, but not because of its academic rigor. Most of my friends went to Davis. I go to Davis, now, but I'm doing an MS in Pharmacology and Toxicology having earned my BS from UCLA last year. Currently, I tutor and provide transfer guidance at 2 different Northern California community colleges. I will also be starting as a mentor for new transfers and non-trads at UCD, soon.

Okay, before I give you my sage advice, just know this: a lot of your friends WILL wash out no matter what school they go to. Some of mine did. Just from my transfer friends, one went to UCSB for Physics and earned a 3.2 (this guy was pretty smart); another went to UCD for Chemical Engineering and got a 3.0 (semi-smart). Then, there's another that went to UCSC and earned a really high GPA in Biochemistry and is now at UCLA doing a PhD in Chemistry (and struggling, from what I heard); there is also the guy that went to UCSD for Cell/Molecular Bio and did pretty well and is now at U of W doing a Microbio PhD (this guy is pretty smart and would have done well no matter where he went). Other people I knew went to Davis and did easy majors like Human Development and are now taking prereqs for dental school at the city college; most of the rest that went to Davis never really went too much farther in their educations, and now work in sales and/or Bay Area tech startups doing email jockeying, or are in nursing school. I don't think that some of this crowd were too bright to begin with. As far as I know, from my 20 or so transfer friends I'm the only one that will be going to medical school.

With that out of the way, I transferred to UCLA; trying to work at the same time (and having a relationship), I earned a 3.2 my first year. I didn't know how much I had to study to get good grades, basically. When I figured out how to devote TIME to my school work, I did okay and earned a 3.5 Junior year, and a 3.75 Senior year. I have a 3.75 in all my upper division classes. I worked my ass off to get these grades. My Cumulative GPA is a 3.5. No matter what you do, learn from this and start studying your ass off as soon as you get to the UC, especially if its one of the big ones in a science.

I would still have gone to UCLA (or Cal) if I had it to do over again. If you applied to UCLA, I'd consider it. If not, no big deal. But, I wanted to challenge myself, and I knew that if I couldn't make it there, that I should do something else with myself. That's just me, though. I believe that people who take the easy road don't get far in life. I'm not saying that Davis is easy, but I wanted a challenge, and to get out of Northern California. You've got to be willing to gamble on yourself, though, and understand that the adjustment period may hit your GPA like it did mine if you're bogged down in a life outside of school. I transferred in without a lot of courses in my major, so this was kind of a buffer, too. I'm not saying don't go to Davis, but if you're doing a soft science or liberal arts at Davis, well, I'll just leave it at that.

Don't take this the wrong way, but from what I've seen at Davis over the last 6 months, I'm disappointed. They've watered down their Chemistry courses, put disclaimers onto their math courses "intended for biology students who do not wish to take more rigorous Mathematics courses..." (http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/programs/MAT/MATcourses.html) and its known that people coming here are only coming here for grade inflation. This isn't a reflection of the school, itself, it's a reflection of an easy transfer agreement policy with community colleges, and an exodus of Cal rejects from the Bay Area (like you). And UCD is still a top ranked school, nationally.

But, I would be lying if I said that this place isn't filled with people that either ran from the harder UCs or didn't get into them in the first place. No one really comes here other than to be close to home, or for one of the above reasons, because we know that it isn't the scenery. Everyone here is from Pinole, Santa Clara, Roseville, San Jose, Mill Valley and places like that, and everyone here has the story about "getting in with the TAG but being on the fence about going to Cal, UCLA, or UCSD" that transferred. Hate on me all you want, but I'm a current UCD student and will call it how I see it, especially after coming from a premedical Ivory Tower like UCLA.

This shouldn't be a surprise to you, since an easier GPA is why you're considering this school in the first place. There are just too many easy majors, and not enough rigor in the sciences at Davis. Other than that, the PC climate here is a bit much. I lived in Davis something like 6 years ago, and this town has seemingly become more isolationist and PC, if such a thing were possible, since then. I've always liked Davis, though, especially as a cyclist. I live in Sacramento, now, though.

Long story short, you may become a DO if you go to Cal (or UCLA); if you go to Davis, you may earn a 3.9 in Human Development, and never really learn anything during the time you're there. Is that really worth it, though? Only you will know the answer to this question. If you do go to a big UC and do well in a hard science (Chemistry, Biochemistry maybe, Physics, Math, something like that), the world will open up to you, however. As a community college transfer, you're already facing discrimination whether you're aware of it, or not. You've got to do something "extra" to get ahead no matter which path you take.

I'm starting at UCD in a position to mentor new transfer students and other undergrads, soon; you may want to look me up if you come here. Hope this helps. Oh, and don't go to a CSU.

 

[gyngyn]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley.

No, we don't.

 

[amvet70]

az43: I am assuming that from “in my last semester at a california community college with a good gpa” means you have at least two years’ worth of college credit and will still have your “good gpa” at the end of the current semester. Looking at your post solely from an overall gpa standpoint, again assuming you are typical med student hopeful, you would apply in Spring/Summer 2015. As you would be required to list all colleges courses ever taken, even in high school, adding one more year of college credits with a slightly up or down “good gpa” at UCD or Berkeley would probably not have much of an overall impact on your total gpa. Hard to know what one more year of college credit would have on science (BCPM) gpa without knowing the specifics of your situation. Again from a strictly an overall gpa standpoint, if you’re waiting to apply to 2016, two years of additional courses could have more of an impact on overall (and maybe science) GPA. But if your next two years gpa are lower than community college “good gpa,” this would be viewed as a downward trend which could be viewed negatively by med schools.

 

[Entadus]

Don't go to Davis expecting to get a high GPA automatically. You'd be surprised by the level of competition in the pre-med classes. Lots of pre-vets here as well, who are gunning for A's the same as the pre-meds. UC Davis is not a party school... it's a pretty serious academic environment, even if it is a laid-back town.

With that said, I don't think UC Berkeley is a bad choice

 

[milkandcereal]

As a UCD alum, I would recommend it. The clinical experiences are great, especially the student-run clinics. The clinics are run entirely by undergrads and are a pretty unique opportunity, given that not many students have the opportunity to hold leadership roles in health care administration during their college years. Also, the academic atmosphere at UCD isn't as cutthroat as some of the more competitive schools; I've heard horror stories from friends at Berkeley and UCLA about competition and sabotage among classmates. Like @Entadus said, don't come in expecting to breeze your way to a 4.0; you still have to work really hard for solid grades. Davis is close enough to Sacramento and the Bay Area to not truly be considered "in the middle of nowhere", but that's just my opinion.

Ultimately, go wherever you think you would be the happiest and would be the most successful. Going somewhere for prestige's sake seems like it would lead to frustration and unhappiness, especially if my GPA was suffering because of it. Don't listen to anyone that tells you a 3.3 at UCB is better than a 3.8 at UCD, that's just a ridiculous notion made up by people at "harder" schools whose GPA isn't what they want it to be. Medical schools don't have conversion tables to convert GPA's between schools. Nobody is going to scoff at a UCD diploma. Hard work is rewarded no matter where you choose to do it.

 

[Goro]

100% concur.

No, we don't.

 

[knv2u]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley. I would not say that Berk is limited on research, a lot of my friends actually did research/internships at Berk while being students at UCD. I think the main question here is whether you are ready for the challenge!

But do medical schools recognize this? I wouldn't think so... But i could be wrong

Some medical schools, particularly the very top allopathic research schools, will recognize the difference in caliber of undergraduate institution (if one exists between these institutions). There is no way, however, that the medical schools will treat a 3.3 GPA from Berkeley the same or better than a 3.8 GPA at UC Davis. Moreover, the schools that do consider academic prestige usually have no shortage of high performing students from elite universities. In short, don't expect the reputation of Berkeley to get you into medical school if you cannot pull off a good GPA on your own. Go where you can thrive academically.

 

[az43]

az43: I am assuming that from “in my last semester at a california community college with a good gpa” means you have at least two years’ worth of college credit and will still have your “good gpa” at the end of the current semester. Looking at your post solely from an overall gpa standpoint, again assuming you are typical med student hopeful, you would apply in Spring/Summer 2015. As you would be required to list all colleges courses ever taken, even in high school, adding one more year of college credits with a slightly up or down “good gpa” at UCD or Berkeley would probably not have much of an overall impact on your total gpa. Hard to know what one more year of college credit would have on science (BCPM) gpa without knowing the specifics of your situation. Again from a strictly an overall gpa standpoint, if you’re waiting to apply to 2016, two years of additional courses could have more of an impact on overall (and maybe science) GPA. But if your next two years gpa are lower than community college “good gpa,” this would be viewed as a downward trend which could be viewed negatively by med schools.

Don't med schools weigh your university gpa more than your cc gpa? Also, I know that ucd wont be a walk in the park. I understand how going to a community college can sort of be a "disadvantage" to me. The only thing is that my CC is well known in CA and has an excellent science program. My current Bio prof teaches bio 1a over at berkeley every summer. So needless to say, his class is very hard and is preparing me well for when I transfer.

 

[gyngyn]

Don't med schools weigh your university gpa more than your cc gpa? Also, I know that ucd wont be a walk in the park. I understand how going to a community college can sort of be a "disadvantage" to me. The only thing is that my CC is well known in CA and has an excellent science program. My current Bio prof teaches bio 1a over at berkeley every summer. So needless to say, his class is very hard and is preparing me well for when I transfer.

You gpa's are not divided into cc and non-cc. They are presented by year, however.

 

[Tijou]

I think it's important to remember that everybody recognizes that a 3.8 GPA from UCD is equivalent to 3.3 GPA from Berkeley. I would not say that Berk is limited on research, a lot of my friends actually did research/internships at Berk while being students at UCD. I think the main question here is whether you are ready for the challenge!

That is a 100% false! 3.8 UCD is not equal to 3.3 UCB. With that said, as someone mentioned, if you're in your final year, it may not have that much of an impact on your overall GPA but as gyngyn said they do look at your GPA on yearly basis so keep that in mind. Both are terrific schools, if I were in your position the most important factors for me would be:
- where do I have a higher chance of success
- where do I have an opportunity to engage in fulfilling research
- where do I have the opportunity to build strong personal relationships with faculty members, because you will need those for LORs.

From what I've seen and heard, Berkeley is much more competitive and it's much more difficult to get these research and clinical experiences, however if you are able to get them I think it puts you in an even greater light. Just my opinion

 

[Goro]

No they don't, but one might be penalized if it appears one is taking the more difficult weeding courses at a CC rather than their UG institution.

Going to CC prior to the degree granting school is fine. As is doing pre-reqs or repeats for grade repair post-grad. I firmly beleeive that CC coursework can be as rigorous as that in any 4 year program

Don't med schools weigh your university gpa more than your cc gpa? Also, I know that ucd wont be a walk in the park. I understand how going to a community college can sort of be a "disadvantage" to me. The only thing is that my CC is well known in CA and has an excellent science program. My current Bio prof teaches bio 1a over at berkeley every summer. So needless to say, his class is very hard and is preparing me well for when I transfer.

 

[TorqueLewith]

As nobody else from Cal has replied I feel I need to comment here. Berkeley is a fantastic school and overall I feel I got a very good education. If you were anything other than premed I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. However you are premed so unfortunately (and it pains me to say this) you should not go there if you want a good GPA. The classes here are very rigorous, and they might be the same at UC Davis. But more importantly, you are competing against a different class of students, and since classes are curved and only so many students in a given class can get an A, your GPA is invariably going to be lower than if you had gone to Davis or another less competitive school. Is the difference 3.3 vs 3.8 or 3.7? I'm not sure, but I believe it's significant. The important thing to remember is that med school ad coms will NOT appreciate this difference (as some of them have commented in this thread); your GPA will be evaluated mostly as just a number. Any boost that you get from "prestige" will be negligible or nonexistent compared the damage that will be done to your GPA.

 

[Drelizab]

As nobody else from Cal has replied I feel I need to comment here. Berkeley is a fantastic school and overall I feel I got a very good education. If you were anything other than premed I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. However you are premed so unfortunately (and it pains me to say this) you should not go there if you want a good GPA. The classes here are very rigorous, and they might be the same at UC Davis. But more importantly, you are competing against a different class of students, and since classes are curved and only so many students in a given class can get an A, your GPA is invariably going to be lower than if you had gone to Davis or another less competitive school. Is the difference 3.3 vs 3.8 or 3.7? I'm not sure, but I believe it's significant. The important thing to remember is that med school ad coms will NOT appreciate this difference (as some of them have commented in this thread); your GPA will be evaluated mostly as just a number. Any boost that you get from "prestige" will be negligible or nonexistent compared the damage that will be done to your GPA.

Does anyone know if UCLA or USC are like this as well?

 

[Lucca]

Does anyone know if UCLA or USC are like this as well?

UCLA is part of the UC system so it's probably comparable. USC is private and is probably easier - however, it's a great school so that doesn't mean it's an "easy A". Easy A's don't exist in California, the Promised Land of Higher Education.

Difficulty probably goes like this:

CalTech >> Stanford > Berkeley >= Rest of UC > USC

And USC is still a very respected school.

 

[Cinabonchik]

When we speak about GPA equivalence b/w all UCs, we infer from our own experience or some other information, bc there is no data to support this discussion.Also major has to be taken into account as well. From my personal experience, when we hire in our lab/department, we recognize this difference, so when somebody comes from UCB with a 3.2-3.3 we know that their GPA is lower not because they fooled around during their undergrad but because UCB is academically challenging, however a 3.3 GPA from UCD is interpreted as a low performance. So, all what I said was from my own experience and some insight into med school admission process.

 

[Aerus]

UCLA is part of the UC system so it's probably comparable. USC is private and is probably easier - however, it's a great school so that doesn't mean it's an "easy A". Easy A's don't exist in California, the Promised Land of Higher Education.

Difficulty probably goes like this:

CalTech >> Stanford > Berkeley >= Rest of UC > USC

And USC is still a very respected school.

Your scale seems right, except that I would put Stanford with the greater or equal sign compared to Berkeley.. My friend goes to Stanford and says that only a couple classes deserve a "hard reptutation". Many of his classes simply require one to be in the top half of the class to get an A, although I don't know what kind of classes they are.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Really? Am I the only one here that has found rigor mostly based on the professor? I've taken courses at the uc school's mentioned here and have found no correlation to the institution as a whole.

 

[Aerus]

Really? Am I the only one here that has found rigor mostly based on the professor? I've taken courses at the uc school's mentioned here and have found no correlation to the institution as a whole.

Yeah, the UC's have a pretty similar population of students. Caliber of students affect difficulty differences very minimally. The type of professor matters a lot more.

 

[JJMrK]

But do medical schools recognize this?

Nope.

 

[hv92]

This is where the MCAT comes in place in my opinion. Had a buddy who went to CC. Did well. Went to a UC. Due to family things didn't do too well and wasn't ready to leave to a 4-year. Came back to a CC after graduation and aced retakes and nailed his MCAT. Got into a couple schools. Didn't ask which though. So it can happen!

 

[MDforMee]

Does anyone know if UCLA or USC are like this as well?

All of these comparisons are dependent on major. If we're just talking about premedical courses, that's a little different.

In general, though, USC is a private school, and their demographics are a lot different than the UCs. UCLA is rigorous, but slightly less rigorous than Cal. A Cal 3.3 may be a UCLA 3.37, or something like that. I don't know, it doesn't keep me up nights. Once you're making this comparison, you're not really comparing anything but who sat in their room studying the most, and what does that tell you?

You guys might not know this, but Davis is a transfer friendly school. Sacramento City College even has a dorm right next to campus. UCD has a transfer agreement policy that is an open door to anyone that makes it through basic stuff at community colleges. UCLA and UCB don't have a transfer agreement. What this does is fill a large portion of Davis' classes with transfer students, and it's been shown that they don't perform as well as normal students. I can dig up the statistics if you want.

Anyhow, UCB's transfer profile is:

Applicants 13,360
Admitted 3,627
Admit rate 27%

UCLA's transfer profile is:
Applicants 16,035
Admitted 4,665
Admit rate 29%

UCD's transfer profile is:
Applicants 12,159
Admitted 7,627
Admit rate 63%


If you're curious, the Freshman admit rate in the same order is 20%, 20%, 39%.

I don't know how many of you see what's going on here, but Davis is admitting twice as many kids as UCLA and UCB. I'm not telling you what to think, here, but some of these kids at UCD aren't Rhodes Scholars.

 

[sinombre]

What this does is fill a large portion of Davis' classes with transfer students, and it's been shown that they don't perform as well as normal students. I can dig up the statistics if you want..

Right, but how many of these students take the pre-med weed out classes? I was a non-trad student/community college transfer and didn't meet many, especially not in the upper division science classes. That doesn't mean they weren't there, I just didn't meet them.

Edit: I bring up upper division science classes because they are prerequisites for a good number of medical schools.

 

[Lucca]

Your scale seems right, except that I would put Stanford with the greater or equal sign compared to Berkeley.. My friend goes to Stanford and says that only a couple classes deserve a "hard reptutation". Many of his classes simply require one to be in the top half of the class to get an A, although I don't know what kind of classes they are.

I have friends at both schools too and I've heard much of the same, but Stanford uses the quarter system which is, in my opinion, way harder. It might be easier to be a pre-med at Stanford though since you only have to perform at high levels in short sprints rather than in long marathons.

They also might be straight up lying to us, haha. There's this huge culture at Berkeley apparently where everyone talks about how much they work and at Stanford everyone tries their best to look like they never work.

 

[sinombre]

I have friends at both schools too and I've heard much of the same, but Stanford uses the quarter system which is, in my opinion, way harder. It might be easier to be a pre-med at Stanford though since you only have to perform at high levels in short sprints rather than in long marathons.

They also might be straight up lying to us, haha. There's this huge culture at Berkeley apparently where everyone talks about how much they work and at Stanford everyone tries their best to look like they never work.

The quarter system is a blessing and a curse. The classes are shorter, but it's more difficult to compensate for subpar performance on a test because there are generally fewer of them.

 

[Lucca]

The quarter system is a blessing and a curse. The classes are shorter, but it's more difficult to compensate for subpar performance on a test because there are generally fewer of them.

It would be a blessing for me. If a class moves quickly I can stay interested and actually study, but if it moves too slowly I get bored and lose motivation to work and do worse in the class I should probably fix that before med school.

 

[MDforMee]

Right, but how many of these students take the pre-med weed out classes? I was a non-trad student/community college transfer and didn't meet many, especially not in the upper division science classes. That doesn't mean they weren't there, I just didn't meet them.

Edit: I bring up upper division science classes because they are prerequisites for a good number of medical schools.

This is true, but there's still the Freshman admit rate to think about (twice as many as UCLA and UCB).

An interesting fact is that UCLA is actually the most applied to school in the country, public or private.

But, I was a transfer, too. Maybe I'm biased, since I took all the physics and life science courses (premed weeders) at UCLA after transferring, but I'm trying to help reverse the trend at UC Davis by mentoring transfers, and helping them at the community colleges before transferring. You could say that something bothers me... that people sit in their rooms studying or majoring in easy subjects, cranking out ridiculous GPAs; this feeds on people that aren't aware of how much study time it takes to do well, or that don't care about their GPAs since they majored in non-competitive subjects and won't go on in school. It's kind of parasitic.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

All of these comparisons are dependent on major... Davis is admitting twice as many kids as UCLA and UCB. I'm not telling you what to think, here, but some of these kids at UCD aren't Rhodes Scholars.

I hadn't seen this kind of attitude and poor judgment since High School. It's as if you believe US News rankings are divinely derived. 3.3 of Cal must be a 3.37 of UCLA? LOL. I don't know how you sleep at night knowing you're basically an Ivy League/Stanford/Duke leftover that had to go to UCLA through means of CC. Oh wait, yeah, you try to put down all over schools as a way to feel you float in the world.

 

[alpharez]

The quarter system is a blessing. Hard classes go by fast, and you're thankful that the boring classes are over after only 10 weeks!

My vote goes to Davis. It's such a relaxing and safe place to be, which I appreciated during college. The environment allows you to really focus on school/research/work/volunteering without being too distracted. And as a transfer you only have 2-ish years to really make an impact - so why would you want distractions anyway?

 

[milkandcereal]

I don't know how many of you see what's going on here, but Davis is admitting twice as many kids as UCLA and UCB. I'm not telling you what to think, here, but some of these kids at UCD aren't Rhodes Scholars.

And everyone at UCB and UCLA are? Give me a break...

But, I was a transfer, too. Maybe I'm biased, since I took all the physics and life science courses (premed weeders) at UCLA after transferring, but I'm trying to help reverse the trend at UC Davis by mentoring transfers, and helping them at the community colleges before transferring. You could say that something bothers me... that people sit in their rooms studying or majoring in easy subjects, cranking out ridiculous GPAs; this feeds on people that aren't aware of how much study time it takes to do well, or that don't care about their GPAs since they majored in non-competitive subjects and won't go on in school. It's kind of parasitic.

Keep fighting the good fight

 

[MDforMee]

And everyone at UCB and UCLA are? Give me a break...


Keep fighting the good fight

It is what it is.

I'm doing what I can to help, unlike the op who is basically coming here to parasitize someone else's gpa.

If I can help just 1 non-grade robot, who legitimately wants to help people by practicing medicine, I'll do it.

 

[sinombre]

There's an important point that hasn't been made in this thread yet, which is: regardless of where you go to undergrad, you'll laugh at how easy it was once you start med school.

 

[Aerus]

The quarter system is a blessing. Hard classes go by fast, and you're thankful that the boring classes are over after only 10 weeks!

My vote goes to Davis. It's such a relaxing and safe place to be, which I appreciated during college. The environment allows you to really focus on school/research/work/volunteering without being too distracted. And as a transfer you only have 2-ish years to really make an impact - so why would you want distractions anyway?

It's a blessing for me in that I can take more classes that I am interested in. Otherwise, it's a curse. Midterms just about every week, no time to plan social events for clubs because you have midterms every week....and weekends are just catch up if you fill your weeks with research and other EC's. There's literally no time to breathe. At the very minimum, I'd like a few days off before finals....but nooppeee.

 

[Aerus]

I have friends at both schools too and I've heard much of the same, but Stanford uses the quarter system which is, in my opinion, way harder. It might be easier to be a pre-med at Stanford though since you only have to perform at high levels in short sprints rather than in long marathons.

They also might be straight up lying to us, haha. There's this huge culture at Berkeley apparently where everyone talks about how much they work and at Stanford everyone tries their best to look like they never work.

I'm pretty sure everyone on some level tries to do that. Inevitably, EVERYONE works. There's no such thing as a person who doesn't have to study.

It's very hard to tell, I guess. But what I can tell you is that, while there are amazing students at Stanford, there are amazing students elsewhere too. A high SAT, GPA, and a bunch of high school extracurriculars doesn't necessarily mean stellar college student. I'm at a UC and I'll tell you that all the people I know who were admitted to Caltech, Stanford, and the Ivies are not the top students here.

 

[az43]

Thanks for all the input guys. All of you made great points. I have a question bout majors though? Would majoring in biochem and molecular bio at UCD put me at a greater advantage than if I majored in NPB (neurobio, physio, and behavior) or biological sciences at UCD ? I heard that biochem majors generally have more research opportunities than regular bio majors. Is this true?

 

[sunkist206]

Thanks for all the input guys. All of you made great points. I have a question bout majors though? Would majoring in biochem and mol at UCD bio put me at a greater advantage than if I majored in NPB (neurobio, physio, and behavior) or biological sciences at UCD ? I heard that biochem majors generally have more research opportunities than regular bio majors. Is this true?

Major in whatever interests you - don't major in something just because you think it looks 'better'. And no it's not true, plenty of bio majors do research in biochem labs and vice versa.

 

[az43]

It is what it is.

I'm doing what I can to help, unlike the op who is basically coming here to parasitize someone else's gpa.

If I can help just 1 non-grade robot, who legitimately wants to help people by practicing medicine, I'll do it.

Lol idk where the hell you got that from. I'm no grade robot. I currently volunteer at a hospice, I volunteer at my local city hospital's e.r, and I tutor general chemistry at my CC 15 hours a week. On top of that, I did a 2 month summer research internship last year at Stanford and will be competing in my first natural bodybuilding competition this summer. . Just because I didnt list my work experience/ec's in my original post doesnt mean that I'm some gung-ho that only cares about grades.

I made this thread so that I could get a better idea as to which UC would best suit me, academically and socially. Get out of here.

 

[milkandcereal]

Lol idk where the hell you got that from. I currently volunteer at a hospice, I volunteer at my local city hospital's e.r, and I tutor general chemistry at my CC 15 hours a week. Just because I didnt list my work experience in my original post doesnt mean that I'm some gung-ho that only cares about grades. I also did a 2 month summer research internship last year at Stanford. I'm no "grade robot".....

Dude's kind of a tool, don't worry about it. For what it's worth, I majored in NPB at Davis and loved it. I switched from biochem after my sophomore year, and don't regret it one bit. The only issue I have with NPB is that it doesn't teach a whole lot of marketable skills like biochem does. I graduated without having much experience with a lot of common lab procedures; having these skills wasn't super important to me since I don't love basic science research, but I'm sure it's a bigger deal to many others. NPB is a great major, but if med/grad school isn't in your sights, I'm not sure what kind of career you could make out of it. A lot of the upper division biochem courses (MCB 120L and MCB 160L) teach very useful lab skills that will definitely help get lab positions and biotech jobs. NPB labs were interesting, but they were definitely more conceptual than practical.

As far as opportunities for research as an undergrad go, you can't really go wrong with either major. Plenty of my classmates did research as a biology/NPB major and just learned the skills on the job. Lab PIs are happy to have you if you're willing to put the effort in! Good luck with your decision

 

[Jennyfishy]

Thanks for all the input guys. All of you made great points. I have a question bout majors though? Would majoring in biochem and molecular bio at UCD put me at a greater advantage than if I majored in NPB (neurobio, physio, and behavior) or biological sciences at UCD ? I heard that biochem majors generally have more research opportunities than regular bio majors. Is this true?

No, research opportunities are widely available, and being selected to join a lab is possible via many research programs that you can apply to, or networking to get your foot in the door. It doesn't matter what major you are in that regard. I was a Bio major at UCD and did research in a BME lab for 2.5 years for example. Some people also get in on research by talking to their professors in their classes.

Pick the major that's more interesting - both have similar pre-reqs, so you can try taking a biochem class and an NPB class and see which you like more .