Would you guys say that I should choose UCLA over UC Berkeley if I’m going into medicine (specifically on the pre-med track). I’ve seen a lot of comparisons between the two schools and in general, people tell me that pre-med is better at LA than Berkeley. Although, Berkeley does have more name recognition and (in general) better academics.
What do you guys think?
They are both fine. Just keep in mind that CA is one of THE most difficult places to get accepted to medical school. A majority of CA med schools applicants end up attending schools NOT in CA. Just FYI.
@WayOutWestMom can elaborate or correct me if I’m wrong.
Do you prefer living in Northern or Southern California? Both are great schools. Locations are quite different. Choose where you feel most at home.
UCLA is the #1 supplier of med school applicants in the US. Berkeley is #5.
Either is fine for pre-med. Pick the campus you feel most comfortable attending.
Thank you. Where did you get this info? Not questioning you I just want to be able to show it to my husband.
Have you been admitted to both schools? You’re splitting hairs here. The two schools are way more similar than they are different. You should choose based on factors other than name recognition and “better” academics.
Go wherever you feel like you can shine the brightest.
https://www.aamc.org/media/9636/download?attachment
@TiggerDad beat me to it.
What major were you admitted to at each school?
Do you have a plan B or other career ideas, in case you change your mind along the way and leave the premed track, or don’t go to med school?
The reason I bring it up is that, even though there may not be an answer to the general “which is a better school for premeds,” it could be the case that one school or the other might be a better place for your plan B, or other things you might like to do.
@tamagotchi has a very good point. Only ~16% of freshmen pre-meds actually finish all the pre-reqs. Of those who then go on to apply to med school, only 40% get an acceptance.
(And it’s worse for Californians. Only 18% of CA applicants were accepted to any instate med school; 25% matriculated OOS, The rest weren’t accepted anywhere.
See: https://www.aamc.org/media/6016/download?attachment)
Which college offers majors/programs that might interest your child as a Plan B career?
I don’t understand this statement. Across the nation, I don’t think either has more name recognition than the other. If anything, I think more people have heard of UCLA than Berkeley. Probably because of sports, and the fact that Berkeley is also referred to as Cal. Either way, name recognition is not going to get you into medical school.
And the better academics statement… where did you get that from?
This data shows applicants not admitted students. That might be a bad thing since med schools try to spread acceptances among schools.
Agree it would be more useful to see what % were accepted from each school. I would expect UCLA to have the most applicants across the UCs and even vs other similar sized publics.
People change their mind (S21 did) all the time, so I would pick the school that gives you the best environment where you think you can thrive, have a balanced social life across all four years. Congrats on this. My D24 got into both with similar interests. I gave her the same advice.
If that’s what you think it’s where you should go
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