UPenn Vagelos MLS vs. UC Berkeley

sunkist7
Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:57:16 +0000

Hmmmmmmm I am a current student at Penn and I took a summer course at Berkeley last year, so I know a bit about both schools.


First off, I am impressed that you are already aiming for an MD/PhD. Think about what an incredibly long time you will be in school: 4 years of undergrad, and then 8 years of MD/PhD. You will graduate in 2023 and then you will still need to do a residency or postdoc. If you are interested in basic science research, a PhD is fine. If you are interested in clinical research, an MD is powerful enough that you don’t need the PhD too.
When it comes down to it, both schools have almost endless faculty that are doing really cool research. Penn has a really good med school, but if you went to Berkeley you could probably work at UCSF during the summers if you are interested in clinical research.
As you are probably well aware, the California economy is in serious trouble. I do feel that this has put the quality of the undergraduate education at Berkeley in mild jeopardy. Sadly I think this is going to be true of a few other top state schools around the country, including UW-Madison.
Really, you can’t go wrong either way. Berkeley probably carries a much cheaper price tag unless you got an awesome financial aid package at Penn. The weather is also nicer at Berkeley. Penn has a world-class med school, and Vagelos MLS is top-notch preparation for a career in research science. It’s a win-win. Best of luck!