Decisions...

A close friend of mine just declined JHU(Without a scholarship) to attend UC Berkeley(With a Full-Scholarship). He wants to go to Stanford/JHU/Harvard ect... for medical school and figures that he might as well pay practically nothing for Undergraduate and much more for Graduate.

He thinks it is a great plan, seeing that Berkeley is a great school, however I'm not to sure(About the plan part---Specifically that he will still have the same chance of getting into such a competitive graduate school).

Any thoughts?

coolguyusa123

Good plan. Save money as an undergrad. He will have no problem coming from Berkeley, so long as he has high enough stats.

Phead128

Think of the ridiculous salary you will be making as a doctor. You can pay off those student loans in no time, monthly student bills are chump change in terms of what doctors get paid.

Fact: Hopkins has a 96% acceptance rate into medical school (on par with some of the best ivy league premed schools and is twice the national average)

Fact: UC Berkely has less acceptance rate into medical school (58%) and it has been decreasing every year since 2002.

Career Center - Medical School Statistics

If you look at the medical school admissions chart here:
Career Center - Medical School Statistics

Out of all 117 applicants to med school in 2007, only 6 out of 117 had a GPA of 3.90 and a MCAT score between 30-34. Of those 6 applicants, all were accepted to at least one medical school. 6/6 indicates 6 acceptances for 6 applicants.

If that is not discouraging enough, Let me find the webapge on the UC Berkely page that states how many ppl applied to which medical schools (really elite ones) and which ones got in or not. (Its a really really really low number. 1/60 applied to x med school and got in.)

coolguyusa123

It's ridiculous to think that a student smart enough to get into Hopkins wouldn't be able to perform similarly at Berkeley and get into medical school. Fact is, the Berkeley name is not holding students back. However on average, the average student at Berkeley may not be as "qualified" as those at Hopkins, but the students at the top are comparable. If your friend is smart he'll get into medical school.

Moreover, not all doctors make "ridiculous" salaries and, in my opinion, amassing nearly a half-million dollars of debt regardless of expected future salary is irrational.

YanksDolphins

Your numbers for Hopkins are a bit hight Phead128. It's closer to 86% acceptance rate.

roberthhid

Both Phread128 and YD are probably right about med school statistics. Just because you don't get in to med school on your 1st try doesn't mean you never get in. I think ~90% of the rejects from JHU eventualy still go to med school (though I think that figure is 6-7 years old). As far as Berkely vs JHU I like the idea of saving money.

Decisions...

I'm sure he'll do well at Berekely, but how would (For Example) a top student at Berkeley compare to a top/above average student at JHU?

coolguyusa123

Top students are Berkeley are, in my opinion, comparable to top students at the best privates. Berkeley is a world class university--definitely in the top 10 overall (research, quality of faculty, graduate programs).

WealthOfInformation

The question is not about the quality of student in this case, the question is about the quality of the undergraduate experience and education these students receive when there are literally hundreds of people in your classes, TA's teaching classes and huge departments. Great quality schools but the nature of the undergraduate experience is very, very different.

Berkeley Freshman class: 6,000
Hopkins Freshman class: 1,200

It's a different experience all together.

Phead128

Premed at Hopkins versus Premed at Berkeley. Hopkins hands down.

I personally would choose Berkeley if you get a full ride. Definitiely, I am considering transferring into UC Berkeley.

keefer

i think this is a very easy decision to make. Reputation wise, Berkeley is just as good, if not better than JHU. He saves so much money, at the same time. Both are research powerhouses, so it's not like small LAC vs. Large school comparison.
I'd pick Berkeley in a heartbeat.

YanksDolphins

But at Hopkins you're more likely to get personal research chances. It's probably easier here to get with who you want and do what you want.