UCSD vs. UC Berkeley (Pre-Health)

[DlTTO]

Hello, I am a prospective med student who got into UCSD and UC Berkeley. I need help figuring out which one I should go to. Any insight would be incredibly helpful. For context, I am low-income.

UC Berkeley (Pros)

• Basically a full ride and paid to go
• Prestigious
• Strong all-around, which is helpful if I switch majors and decide pre-med isn't for me
• Familiar with the area and don't think I would be bored here
• Pretty campus and the weather isn't too bad
• More social and school spirit than UCSD

UC Berkeley (Cons)

• Very close to home, so I’m used to how dangerous it is (could be a pro)
• Notorious grade deflation (low GPAs) and competitiveness
• Only guaranteed housing for a year
• Cutthroat environment?
• No medical center for opportunities, BUT nearby hospitals/clinics + UCSF can make up for that (still competitive...)

UCSD (Pros)

• Gorgeous campus!
• Guaranteed housing for 2 years in an apartment
• LOVE the ocean and being a new area: SoCal
• No urgent concerns about grade deflation or inflation
• Great medical center and lots of hospitals for opportunities
• Safer

UCSD (Cons)

• Less prestigious/known (according to others)
• Will have to pay roughly 6-7k a year (not ideal for medical school)
• Less school spirit
• 9+ hours away and will be expensive to travel back home

Please and thank you

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[EdgeTrimmer]

Did you go to a very competitive high school?

 

[gyngyn]

Cal

 

[deleted1135362]

Go bears. go to berkeley.

 

[DlTTO]

Did you go to a very competitive high school?

Yes, I did! Why?

 

[DlTTO]

Cal

May I ask why?

 

[DlTTO]

Go bears. go to berkeley.

I'd love to hear your reasons!

 

[gyngyn]

May I ask why?

You enumerated them yourself!
...and it's awesome.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Yes, I did! Why?

If you went to a competitive HS and did well, you could repeat same at Berkeley. Does your school name starts with M?

 

[DlTTO]

You enumerated them yourself!
...and it's awesome.

Lol, thank you for your help

 

[DlTTO]

If you went to a competitive HS and did well, you could repeat same at Berkeley. Does your school name starts with M?

It doesn't. I went to a rather small high school, but it was very competitive! I don't know if the level is anywhere near Berkeley, though.

 

[deleted1136042]

Current Cal student here. I'll break down your pros/cons:

1) Safety - you said Cal is dangerous which is true to an extent. To be completely transparent, there was a shooting in front of the dorms and a person died, but that's the only fatality thus far this year to my knowledge. If you don't go out at odd hours of the night/ go out with other people, you should be fine.
2) Grade deflation - most pre-reqs are curved to a B- class average, so you're somewhat right. For example, you need +1.2 SD for an A, +0.8 SD for an A-, etc. in Physics 1. Your raw score on an exam usually never matters, only your z-score.
3) Competitiveness/ "cut-throat" environment - honestly most people I've met thus far are really cool individuals though I surround myself with people who are willing to collaborate. It's the administration that pits students against each other because we don't give out 70% A's like the Ivies do, but the students here are really chill
4) Lack of university medical center/ school - this is probably the most annoying by far. I typically have to wake up at 5 AM if I want to shadow a physician in private practice at SF Gen which is a BART commute away. People typically associate UCSF with Berkeley, but it's a 4 hour round trip via public transport to get to the Parnassus Campus and honestly not worth it imo. Lots of other places to get clinical experience/ volunteering, but not very hand-holdy since you have to look for them yourself (because there's none affiliated with the university unless you count the Tang Center)

I would still choose Cal over SD any day. DMs open if you have more questions, go bears!

 

[chilly_md]

Moved to hSDN.

Just be sure to manage your course load and responsibilities early on at Cal. If your home is very close to school, you could commute after the first year.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

It doesn't. I went to a rather small high school, but it was very competitive! I don't know if the level is anywhere near Berkeley, though.

Do you know how well students from your HS did in previous years at UCB and UCSD? I would rely on that data vs what you read on SDN or somewhere else.

 

[DlTTO]

Current Cal student here. I'll break down your pros/cons:

1) Safety - you said Cal is dangerous which is true to an extent. To be completely transparent, there was a shooting in front of the dorms and a person died, but that's the only fatality thus far this year to my knowledge. If you don't go out at odd hours of the night/ go out with other people, you should be fine.
2) Grade deflation - most pre-reqs are curved to a B- class average, so you're somewhat right. For example, you need +1.2 SD for an A, +0.8 SD for an A-, etc. in Physics 1. Your raw score on an exam usually never matters, only your z-score.
3) Competitiveness/ "cut-throat" environment - honestly most people I've met thus far are really cool individuals though I surround myself with people who are willing to collaborate. It's the administration that pits students against each other because we don't give out 70% A's like the Ivies do, but the students here are really chill
4) Lack of university medical center/ school - this is probably the most annoying by far. I typically have to wake up at 5 AM if I want to shadow a physician in private practice at SF Gen which is a BART commute away. People typically associate UCSF with Berkeley, but it's a 4 hour round trip via public transport to get to the Parnassus Campus and honestly not worth it imo. Lots of other places to get clinical experience/ volunteering, but not very hand-holdy since you have to look for them yourself (because there's none affiliated with the university unless you count the Tang Center)

I would still choose Cal over SD any day. DMs open if you have more questions, go bears!

Thank you!!!! This was incredibly helpful! I'll definitely message you when more questions come up.

 

[DlTTO]

Do you know how well students from your HS did in previous years at UCB and UCSD? I would rely on that data vs what you read on SDN or somewhere else.

A good amount of seniors choose UCB. I think they're doing fine, but it's definitely not easy there (very expected). I don't know anything about the ones that go to UCSD since they're a lot quieter and off social media. I'll try reaching out—thank you for your help!