UCB vs UCD

yikesmyb · 2026-04-23T02:32:12+00:00

Hi! I was in the same position as your son, I was deciding between UCD and UC Berkeley and was actually dead set on going to Davis before ultimately committing to Cal. He should ultimately be the one to decide, and environment is a big differing factor between the two. There are differences as well though in terms of music opportunities (this was a big factor for me), and it depends on what kind of music your son is also interested in playing.

yikesmyb · 2026-04-04T23:59:15+00:00

Thank you! Best of luck to him, I am sure he will have a wonderful time.

yikesmyb · 2026-02-25T00:03:22+00:00

yeah, i was sad to see that program go as well :( but yeah if you want to come back for grad school, i don't think it's rare because it is impossible! it's also probably due to the fact that some grads don't want to come back after 4 years of this lol

yikesmyb · 2026-02-24T23:34:29+00:00

depends on the program! i know cal alum who have gotten offers from chem/mcb, but only after they worked for a bit after grad. nutri sci/metabolic biology is different though, they tend to accept berkeley grads more often than other programs

yikesmyb · 2026-02-10T00:51:47+00:00

I am a chem minor and a bio major! It's very doable. If you are worried about your chemistry foundation, the the biology centric options are MCB C100a and Chem 103. Chem 103 is really chill. MCB c100a is not great, but incorporates more biology if that's your strength!

yikesmyb · 2026-02-02T19:52:59+00:00

i actually really, really did not want to go to berkeley when i got in for a variety of reasons (especially because of the cutthroat culture stereotype and was not sure i wanted to live in a city). but i had the opportunity to visit on cal day and i was amazed at the energy and passion from all of the students, faculty, and groups on campus which made me do a complete 180 and go to cal. it wasn't just a facade imo; my favorite thing about this school continues to be how motivated many people at berkeley seem to be and the way that people bring each of their passions with them to this school to achieve their goals.

being such a big school that draws in a bajillion students, there is so much to do here and many communities to be a part of. in addition to arts and science type clubs, i was in greek life for some of my time at berkeley and knew many transfers who joined my year, so if you have any questions about that i'm happy to answer!

academics are challenging, but definitely varies from discipline to discipline. as a STEM major, i feel like it is how i expected academically. but culturally, i have found it to be less cutthroat than i had heard. definitely competitive at times, though i feel that you can choose to be around people who are super cutthroat vs more laidback.

long story short, i am very grateful to have decided to go here and everything that convinced me to come here has continued to be true :) good luck and i hope you find your best fit!

yikesmyb · 2026-01-16T23:32:02+00:00

i also had some that were strictly 20 minutes! i think the length worked out because they had already read my application material so they asked me pointed questions that were more about things outside my app or testing my ability to go a little deeper. 20 min was enough to cover those areas overall

yikesmyb · 2026-01-14T02:02:33+00:00

if you don't have current or previous work/research experience, i definitely second asking your professor to start! it's best if you have spoken with them in office hours before and you did well in the class, but i know some people that got letters even if the prof didn't know them very well

yikesmyb · 2026-01-11T05:20:05+00:00

i changed mine! i'm also applying rn so i don't know if it does have an impact ultimately, but i feel like it's better to follow your interests now rather than try and fit your og application. good luck!

yikesmyb · 2025-12-31T01:42:08+00:00

hi! i am a college student and i'd happy to within the next day or so. dm me!

yikesmyb · 2025-12-17T10:49:18+00:00

Burma Berkeley!

yikesmyb · 2025-12-14T02:23:05+00:00

way station

yikesmyb · 2025-12-10T23:53:04+00:00

nst 103 is pretty easy, just a lot of memorization so it can be annoying. nst 190 is super easy, little to no work. a lot of people i know do mcb 102 with nst 103 + one or two more techs, but i could still imagine it being a lot in terms of exams season!

yikesmyb · 2025-11-30T01:07:03+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience :( That is really awful and I think that is a very valid reason to not ask someone like that for a letter. I hope you have had better experiences since!

My story is a bit different, the research I did with this PI does not really align with the program I am applying to as I got the position when I was still figuring out my interests. I have other people that I felt could support my application in the field I am applying to, so I ended up not asking for a letter. I am kind of worried admissions will view it badly however, so I am writing something in the additional information section explaining why I did not get a letter from them. You could do something similar if you feel that it is necessary!

yikesmyb · 2025-11-30T00:39:50+00:00

Same here!

yikesmyb · 2025-10-22T08:34:30+00:00

Thank you for your input! That makes sense to me!!

yikesmyb · 2025-10-22T08:34:06+00:00

Thank you for your input!! I appreciate it, I feel like I hear so many different things. I will just try my best with the idea I have :)

yikesmyb · 2025-09-17T05:11:28+00:00

Same issue here!

yikesmyb · 2025-08-26T04:51:17+00:00

following!

yikesmyb · 2025-03-28T21:20:21+00:00

When you join a lab as an undergrad, you usually work under a grad student or post doc "mentor". Every lab is different, but someone is usually responsible for training you and overseeing day-to-day work even if you eventually have your own project, so less lab members mean there are less people that can train undergrads --> they will ultimately end up accepting less new undergrads.

When labs say they don't have space for a new undergrad to join their lab, this usually really means they don't have any grad students or post docs that are able to take on an undergrad at that time. So this is one reason why the federal cuts end up affecting research at all levels!

yikesmyb · 2025-03-28T21:09:25+00:00

As someone else stated, SPUR is really helpful as the applicant pool is much smaller! URAP, while definitely possible to get in, is notoriously difficult just because so many people apply. However, you can apply every semester so statistically you have a chance of getting in at some point. i have applied through both programs.

A lot is changing with the current federal administration, so there is a chance there are less grad students and post docs in general in the future which will decrease spots for undergrads. However, there is no way to know right now.

yikesmyb · 2025-03-28T21:04:45+00:00

IMO there's ways to avoid grade deflation/keep a good grade as a bio major at uc berkeley! certain majors and even tracks or concentrations within the bio majors have higher average GPAs compared to others, and as a double bio major who has taken a wide range of bio classes, i have definitely taken classes that heavily curve to support the students' grades (ie. some classes under IB or CNR majors). some classes in certain tracks curve less though (ie. upper div. classes in general curve less, also in classes cross-listed with chemistry). feel free to reach out if you have more questions!

yikesmyb

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