Which school for Pre-Med: UC Berkeley or Arizona State?

[todds]

I would advise on going to UC Berkley. The reason is that you have a good GPA already and with a good work ethic I think you can keep it up.

The other thing that no one mentioned is this: what if you don't want to do medical school anymore? What if you begin to enjoy some other subject and switch gears? Then I think Berkley will help out immensely, much more than Arizona state, especially if you consider to stay at Berkley for graduate school of some sort as you would make connections with the professors etc..

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[Tatiana3325]

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[Tatiana3325]

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[SunsFun]

I love when people use Bill Gates in this context. As though there are so many like him.

Undergrad matters primarily because were all supposed to actually learn stuff and grow as people. Being in a boring ho hum university for four years equals brain rot.

Plus name does matter, like it or not.

Is bolded in reference to Berkeley?

See, when you go to places like ASU, you develop necessary social skills that the hippie-nerd crowd at Berkeley simply doesn't have. For example, what is the number of attractive women that go to Berkeley? How many of them will be in OP upper-level science classrooms? The obviousness of the answer clearly indicates that OP cannot and will not develop the needed social skills that are completely essential for any physician or a normal human being.

Also, the OP is risking to develop a horrible condition of continually mentioning his undergrad institution in hopes of gaining any respect or relevance. This douchiness state is very common and people who are in it are completely oblivious to it.

 

[Praefectus]

Also, the OP is risking to develop a horrible condition of continually mentioning his undergrad institution in hopes of gaining any respect or relevance. This douchiness state is very common and people who are in it are completely oblivious to it.

I heard that it's called

Poison Ivy.

YEEEAAAHHH!!!

 

[mmmcdowe]

I heard that it's called

Poison Ivy.

YEEEAAAHHH!!!

Nice

 

[Slack3r]

I'll just leave this here...

Mayo Clinic partners with ASU for new medical school camps in Scottsdale

PRESTIGE!

 

[lawvsmed]

Hey guys. Thank you for the very informative replies. I am really leaning towards ASU, as I will be happier there, will probably get a higher GPA, and will have more opportunities for extra curricular activities. If anyone has anymore input on this itd be much appreciated

 

[MedDevil]

I had to make the same decision between these two schools a few years back, chose ASU, and never looked back. The in-state cost, excellent partnership with Mayo, the Barrett community, and the flexibility of their science curriculum made it a easy and ultimately great decision! If you decide to come here, you'll definitely have tons of research, extracurriculars, and opportunities to take advantage of.

 

[Aerus]

I would advise on going to UC Berkley. The reason is that you have a good GPA already and with a good work ethic I think you can keep it up.

This isn't always the case, and definitely not the case with Berkeley. Cal is notorious for having a super low curve. There are a few study robots there who spend days locked up in their rooms memorizing the heck out of the textbook, trying to score every point they can get. One of my friend's Physics class had the curve set where a 96% was still a B+.

Other classes, the tests are so incredibly hard that the curve is high, but there WILL be some people at the low end of the curve. CC is definitely NOT a good indication of how one will do there. Many former high school/CC stars go to Cal only to be lost in the midst of all the gunners there.

Way too many people choose Berkeley because of its prestige and that is the reason why so many people do horribly there. It wasn't the best fit school for them. They went there with the idea that they will be smarter and more hardworking than the rest and that, if all fails, the degree name will make up for it. Needless to say, those who went only for prestige found their time there to be less enjoyable.


@OP: I think you should go to ASU too, not because Cal is harder to maintain a high GPA but it seems that is the BEST FIT place for you. Always go to the place where you will enjoy being there and won't be miserable, since that is where you will most likely succeed. If you thrive in a super competitive environment, go to Cal. But by the looks of it, your chances for success seem better at ASU.

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[tongtongbravo]

Berkeley. If you do well, then it will def give you a boost on your app.

 

[UnclePhil]

Undergrad matters primarily because were all supposed to actually learn stuff and grow as people. Being in a boring ho hum university for four years equals brain rot.

One year of med school and I've already forgotten about 85% of the useless bull**** I learned in undergrad and replaced it with things that are actually useful.

As if college level courses are significantly different between schools, I hear they don't teach you SN2 reactions in organic classes at schools ranked below 100.

 

[micromac]

My goodness, the amount of ridiculousness oozing from this thread is concerning, considering these people are (maybe) going to become future healthcare leaders in the USA.

OP, it seems like you're pretty level-headed in your thinking about your options here. "Prestige" means nothing when it comes to your metrics, your MCAT is what it is despite your undergrad institution. Ultimately, your score is a reflection of how well you learned the material (and your potential for success in med school) regardless of where you learned it. The idea of adcoms weighing your university background when considering otherwise equal applicants is complete bogus. There's a little thing called the Interview and unfortunately kids from "more prestigious" schools have classically had a more difficult time doing better than their "ho hum" counterparts when it comes to this element of getting into med school (which is absolutely paramount).

I'll stop here for now, but check out my reply to another potential Sun Devil here http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=12313253#post12313253. My post might be a little late, but I thought I'd put my 2 cents in. I hope you end up at the best school for your pre-med journey!

 

[bluestreaks]

I know this thread has kind of died down, but for the record, Berkeley is fantastic.

You can get a great GPA without killing yourself, and you can have PLENTY of time for activities and fun. Honestly, as long as you have your sh-- together, you'll have no trouble with science classes.

Berkeley is a good place to be for undergrad just to grow as a person. Not that ASU isn't, but I wouldn't know.

 

[lobo.solo]

I know this thread has kind of died down, but for the record, Berkeley is fantastic.

You can get a great GPA without killing yourself, and you can have PLENTY of time for activities and fun. Honestly, as long as you have your sh-- together, you'll have no trouble with science classes.

Berkeley is a good place to be for undergrad just to grow as a person. Not that ASU isn't, but I wouldn't know.

Cool story bro!