Help me choose: Berkeley [$48k?] vs UC Davis [$37k] vs Wash U [$88k] vs UNC [$60k] vs Case [$59k] vs Rutgers [$25k] for pre-med

But note that UC pricing includes $4000 for student health insurance which is not included elsewhere (and will usually be waived for an instate student).

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I would strongly consider Rutgers Honors. It appears to be your lowest cost option by quite a lot (even accounting for travel), and it is a really great Honors program. For those who don’t know, Rutgers has one of the programs where the Honors College is actually its own academic unit, with its own dorm, and a lot of really cool classes and other features:

https://honorscollege.rutgers.edu/

I note Rutgers is typically considered a good choice for pre-med in my circles because it is so well-located for all sorts of experiences, and Rutgers Honors is seen as particularly good for pre-med: lots of pre-meds in Honors, they study with each other and generally support each other, they have the inside track on research opportunities, the mentoring is supposedly excellent . . . just a lot of reasons to see it as a particularly strong choice.

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I’ve had 3 kids go oos for college, our insurance was able to be used, never paid for university insurance.

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It depends on lots of variables: how far ahead of travel you book your flight, what class you are travelling, how busy the airline is for the dates you want to travel, etc. Here is a link that I have used in the past to locate relatively inexpensive flights: Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets & Airfare Alerts | Going™

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Thanks everyone for your input. Berkeley it is.

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Here is my logic: 80% college studens change majors; and 85%-95% students would not survive to apply a medical school, no matter which school I choose; so I choose based on school’s overall ranking and cost. WashU was my favorite, after balanced with cost, Berkeley won. Both are bears though.

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Congratulations :confetti_ball:! :sparkles:

Note that if switching majors is a consideration, it may not be easy (or in practicality possible) to change into some majors at UCB. ( Public universities, even prestigious, well-funded ones like UCB, do not have the $$ to fund anyone who wants to try anything nor can create places ie., professors, labs, etc,… for the most in-demand majors.) Look into the process for the majors you might potentially switch into. :+1:

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The high demand majors in UCB L&S are listed here: L&S High-Demand Majors for First-Year Students | Letters & Science . These may be more difficult to switch to. In addition, computer science and data science in the CCDSS, all CoE and CoC majors, and business may be difficult to change into.

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UCB’s brand new Neuroscience major is very straightforward to declare, if that’s the major the OP wants. (I believe that students can even declare it based on APs already completed.) How to Declare | Berkeley Neuroscience

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There does not seem to be mention of what AP credit is accepted for this major (each L&S major can choose which AP scores to accept for which requirements).

The Neuroscience major web pages are under construction and have been changing all the time. However, a few days ago, the page stated specifically that AP was accepted for all of the core requirements and that AP could be used to declare. I am thinking that they might have removed these specifics from the pages while getting approval, or firming up requirements (the major is brand new and was only recently announced). Students should, of course, contact the department for details.

We have been watching these pages because my D26 is interested in the major. :wink:

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This is great news! The requirements are very similar to my current major in nutrition science. Thanks!

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To follow up on this, I noticed today that the NEU major requirements pages have been updated. Major Requirements | Berkeley Neuroscience

The following AP, IB, or A-level test scores can fulfill lower division requirements:
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams:

  • AP Chemistry with a score of 5 satisfies Chem 1A/1AL
  • AP Biology with a score of 5 satisfies Bio 1A/1AL
  • AP Calculus, see the NEU Math Options

So in addition to the above AP credits, it looks like NEU students now need Physics 8A/8B, plus a 2nd math class after AP Calc BC. (The first version of these requirements allowed AP Physics C to apply to the physics requirement, but it looks like they’ve removed that.)

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