How to Succeed as a UC Berkeley Premed
/Everything you need to know about UC Berkeley premed, including premed requirements, the best premed extracurriculars, and the UC Berkeley premed acceptance rate
Learn how to get into medical school as a UC Berkeley premed
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Part 1: Introduction
If you’re a premed at UC Berkeley, you’re certainly not alone—nearly 1,000 Berkeley grads apply to medical school each year, making it one of the largest producers of medical school applicants in the U.S.
It’s no secret why—UC Berkeley excels in cutting-edge biomedical research and is consistently ranked among the most prestigious public universities in the country, not to mention one of the best premed schools in California. Plus, it’s next-door neighbors with UC San Francisco, one of the nation’s top medical schools, which provides Berkeley premeds with an additional wealth of both clinical and research opportunities.
While its incredible array of resources and intellectual climate make Berkeley an exciting place to prepare for medical school, choosing this path isn’t without its challenges. With over 30,000 undergraduates on campus, many of whom begin college as premeds, class sizes are large and the competition to stand out can be intimidating. Not only will you need to excel in difficult coursework in the sciences, you’ll also need to navigate the plethora of additional expectations that come with being a premed, such as the need to get involved with volunteering, research, shadowing, and more.
Putting it all together can be overwhelming, but we’ve created this guide to help steer you towards success. Combining our many years of experience with insight from successful alums of UC Berkeley premed, we’ll go over everything from choosing the right courses to obtaining ideal extracurricular experiences to assembling your medical school applications—all with the goal of helping you thrive and stand out along the way.
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Part 2: UC Berkeley premed requirements
Let’s first review what classes you need to complete as a UC Berkeley premed. Below, we’ve provided a list of the most common courses taken on the Berkeley premed path, based on the Career Center’s recommended course of study.
Medical schools can vary somewhat in terms of their exact academic requirements, but the recommendations below should leave you well-positioned to apply to nearly any school.
| Biology: One year with lab | Biology 1A/1AL Biology 1B (lab included)* *Or substitute one of the courses on the right for your second semester |
Molecular and Cell Biology 32/32L Molecular and Cell Biology 63/63L Integrative Biology 131/131L |
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| General chemistry: One year with lab Organic chemistry: One year with lab Biochemistry: One course |
Most schools require two semesters of general chemistry with lab, two semesters of organic chemistry with lab, and one semester of biochemistry. Berkeley has a unique chemistry sequence where you fulfill these requirements through the following courses: Chemistry 1A/1AL Chemistry 3A/3AL Chemistry 3B/3BL Molecular and Cell Biology 102 |
The following courses will also fulfill the biochemistry requirement: Chemistry 135 Molecular and Cell Biology C100A/100B Chemistry C130 Bioengineering 103 (majors only) |
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| Physics: One year with lab | One of the following sequences: Physics 8A and 8B Physics 7A and 7B Physics 7A and 8B |
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| Math: One year | One of the following sequences: Math 1A and 1B Math 10A and 10B Math 16A and 16B Math 53 and 54 |
Statistics courses:** Statistics 2 Statistics 20 Statistics 131A Public Health 142 Data 8 |
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| College-level English/writing: One year | Any two R&C courses | Courses in the English, Rhetoric, Comparative Literature, and College Writing Program departments*** | ||||
| Courses helpful for MCAT prep: | Sociology 3 or 3AC Psychology 2 Psychology 1 (majors only) Sociology 1 (majors only) |
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***Most medical schools do not accept English AP credit (except for some UC medical schools), but if you place out of R&C courses, you can use courses in these departments to fulfill this requirement.
On first glance, creating a schedule may seem overwhelming! It can feel challenging to fit in all the required courses in the right order, not to mention the fact that some requirements provide you with multiple course options from which you can choose.
As you can see above, most premeds take the same biology and chemistry sequences and diverge when it comes to math and physics. Keep in mind that any of these sequences are fine from a medical school admissions perspective, and your eventual course selection will likely be dictated by your choice of major.
For example, if you decide to major in molecular and cell biology (MCB), you can take either the Math 10 series or Math 1 series, but the 16 series is not accepted by the MCB major. If you decide to major in nutritional sciences–physiology and metabolism (NS-PM) in the College of Natural Resources, you can take the Math 10 or Math 16 series, but the 16 series must be accompanied by a statistics course, such as Stats 2.
Therefore, when planning out your future courses, keep the following factors in mind:
The required courses for your major. Depending on whether or not you are in the sciences, these courses may or may not overlap with your premed requirements. We’ll discuss majors more shortly.
Prerequisites for certain premed courses, which can be found in the course catalog.
MCAT timing. If you’re planning on taking a gap year, you can take the MCAT later in your college career and therefore take more time fulfilling necessary classes. More on this later down.
Spacing out difficult courses in order to create a balanced, manageable schedule.
Sample UC Berkeley premed two-year course plan
Different majors and departments at UC Berkeley have a number of sample four-year course plans that you can use to help plan your schedule. Generally, these can be found on department websites. Here are a few links to sample plans for some common premed majors:
In addition, we’ve provide an example of one way you could potentially arrange your required premed classes during freshman and sophomore years. Since this plan ensures that you’re ready to take the MCAT by junior year, it is suitable for those who aim to apply to med school straight out of Berkeley without taking a gap year.
| Freshman Fall | Math 10A English R1A Chemistry 1A/L |
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| Freshman Spring | Math 10B English R1B Chemistry 3A/L |
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| Freshman–Sophomore Summer | Chemistry 3B/L | |||||
| Sophomore Fall | Biology 1A/L Physics 8A |
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| Sophomore Spring | Physics 8B Biology 1B |
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| Sophomore–Junior Summer | Molecular and Cell Biology 102 | |||||
Other interesting courses offered at UC Berkeley
In addition to the premed requirement listed above, there are several unique types of courses offered at UC Berkeley that may help you explore new topics or assist you on the premed path.
Freshman and sophomore seminar courses (typically designated by course number 24) are small-group, one-unit courses taught by prominent faculty members in their fields of study. These are low-commitment ways to explore a new interesting topic and get to know faculty members and classmates.
DeCal courses are 1–2-unit courses designed and taught entirely by students at Berkeley. Topics range from Harry Potter to A Primer on Molecular Biology to Premed 101. Teaching a DeCal as an upperclassman is an amazing way to gain leadership experience!
Studying abroad as a premed is challenging but certainly possible! If you need to fulfill major requirements while abroad, certain majors will have a list of pre-approved courses you can take. Here is an example for MCB majors. If you take summer courses to fulfill requirements, or decide to study abroad over the summer, you may have more flexibility in where you can travel as you won’t need to fulfill requirements while abroad. Additionally, there are special courses that may fulfill requirements or count as research credit for students in certain majors, such as the Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands course on the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia.
How to maintain a high GPA as a UC Berkeley premed
UC Berkeley academics are tough. As a Berkeley premed, you’ll quickly find that the competition to earn As is stiff due to curved grading and that your large introductory sciences courses are given the moniker of “weeders” because they typically shrink in size from a couple thousand students to just a few hundred by the end of the term.
It’s no wonder that Berkeley premeds commonly bemoan these difficult courses, which can easily sink your GPA and therefore shatter your dreams of getting into med school. Because a low GPA can be very challenging to recover from, it’s important to stay focused and make use of the study resources available to you at Berkeley.
Here is some advice to help you find academic success at UC Berkeley:
Attend office hours and study sessions with your instructors. It’s always a good idea to connect with your professors and TAs, but this is especially true if you’re having trouble with the material or even if you simply have questions. You can prevent falling behind by proactively seeking out help. Plus, this is also the best way to get to know your professors for recommendation letters!
Join a study group or adjunct course through the Student Learning Center (SLC). The SLC has study groups and “adjunct” classes for the main biology and chemistry series classes (including Chem 1A, Chem 3A/B, Bio 1A/B, and MCB 102), as well as exam review sessions and free drop-in tutoring. This is a great way to get in extra practice and find tutors or other students to study with!
Create your own study group. If an informal study group is more your speed, take the initiative and form a group with a few peers.
Map out your course schedule ahead of time. Planning ahead will ensure that you’re completing all of your requirements on time and giving yourself a manageable work load. Review sample four-year plans for your major (linked above) and use the Berkeley Academic Guide to search for specific courses and professors. Berkeley Time is also an amazing student-created resource for planning out your schedule! (Pro tip: you can sort classes by average grade so you don’t take on too many difficult courses in the same semester.)
On that note... Don’t take on a needlessly difficult course load. Some premeds, especially those who are used to achieving academically, feel that they must enroll in only the toughest courses in order to stand out. Instead, seek out balance and resist the urge to compare yourself to others. From a medical school admissions perspective, the strength of your GPA is more important than exactly which courses you took.
Consider taking summer classes. Taking a course or two over the summer is another strategy that can help spread out your work load and add flexibility to your academic-year schedule.
Employ test banks and practice problems in your studying. Tau Beta Pi has a free bank of syllabi, midterms, and finals for certain courses. Even if you don’t join an SLC study group or adjunct course, you can still print out the practice problem sets or take the mock midterms and finals (offered most semesters).
Study hard! Excelling as a Berkeley premed won’t be easy, even if you were a standout student in high school. However, by devoting substantial effort and approaching your studies strategically, it is certainly achievable.
(Suggested reading: How to Study as a Premed)
What’s the best premed major at UC Berkeley?
As is the case at most colleges and universities, there is no “premed” major at UC Berkeley. Instead, Berkeley premeds major in everything from philosophy to chemical engineering, and they have found success applying to medical school with a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Nationally and at Berkeley, there isn’t one consistent best major for premeds.
That said, many Berkeley premeds stick with majors in the biological sciences for the advantage that is bestowed by the considerable overlap between these majors’ required courses and the premed prerequisites we discussed above.
Here are some of the most popular premed majors at UC Berkeley:
In the College of Letters and Sciences:
Molecular and cell biology (MCB)
Integrative biology
Public health
In the College of Natural Resources:
Nutritional sciences–physiology and metabolism
Molecular environmental biology
Genetics and plant biology
Microbial biology
As noted earlier, it is possible to do well and achieve a great GPA in any major you choose. However, if you would like to understand how students in certain majors tend to fare, Berkeley publishes the average GPA of every major.
Beyond protecting your GPA, it’s also important to select a major that genuinely interests you! Even if you are bound for medicine, you can still follow your intellectual passions and choose a field that you will be happy to devote your time to, whether that’s inside or outside of the sciences.
When should you take the MCAT?
When planning out which courses you’ll take which semester, don’t overlook a crucial piece of the scheduling puzzle: the MCAT. The best time to take the MCAT will vary for each student, but the most important factors to take into account are:
How far along you are in terms of completing your premed prerequisites
When you are planning on applying to medical school
For those who plan to attend medical school straight after college, an ideal time frame for taking the MCAT is typically junior fall. While you can take the MCAT during sophomore year, this timeframe provides less flexibility in the event that you do not get into medical school and must reapply the following year, since scores do expire! On the other hand, if you push the MCAT back much beyond junior fall, you may not have enough time to retake the test in the event that you don’t achieve your target score.
If you plan to take a gap year after Berkeley, you can wait until senior fall to take the MCAT, which will give you more time to complete necessary premed classes.
Whatever your plans, it’s highly important to have completed the following courses before attempting the MCAT, as they will serve as invaluable prep:
Biology 1A
Physics 8A and 8B
Chemistry 1A, 3A, and 3B
Molecular and Cell Biology 102 (or an equivalent biochemistry course)
While you might occasionally hear that you can delay taking biochemistry until after the MCAT, we strongly recommend against this. Biochemistry makes up about 25 percent of the C/P and B/B sections, so it is a crucial prerequisite.
Depending on your background and comfort level in physics, you may be okay to take Physics 8B after the MCAT. This is because the physics courses at Berkeley are significantly more challenging and in-depth than what you’ll encounter on the MCAT, and the physics subject matter on the MCAT overlaps much more with Physics 8A than Physics 8B. That being said, you’ll need to take Physics 8B as a medical school prerequisite anyways, so it’s best to take before the MCAT to ensure the best possible preparation.
Psychology 1 or 2 and Sociology 1 or 3 can also be useful additions to your MCAT preparation, as these subjects appear on the exam as well. However, it is more doable to self-teach the material, so taking these courses is not always a “must.”
(Suggested reading: How to Get a Perfect MCAT Score: Strategies From a 528 Scorer)
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Part 3: UC Berkeley premed extracurriculars
Getting involved in extracurriculars is one of the most important components of creating a strong medical school application. At UC Berkeley, you’ll have the benefit of access to large numbers of premed organizations, labs, and other activities.
The Berkeley extracurricular scene can be quite competitive since there are a large number of premeds seeking extracurricular experiences and some clubs have limitations on the number of members. You might have to submit an application to join certain groups, even submitting references or going on interviews.
While this can be discouraging, there are also less competitive organizations and plenty of organizations outside of the university that can be joined. One of the benefits of being a premed in the Bay Area is having access to all that Berkeley, San Francisco, and Oakland have to offer.
Below are some of the most popular extracurricular activities and organizations that UC Berkeley premeds take part in. These lists are inherently limited, so you’ll also want to browse this list of student organizations and list of clinical opportunities from the Career Center for more options. Another great way to stay up to date on new opportunities is to subscribe to the “Pre-Health CareerMail” on Handshake through the Career Center. In addition, older premeds can be invaluable sources of information for the best premed extracurriculars.
UC Berkeley premed clinical and community volunteering
We’ve compiled a list of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco organizations focused on medical volunteering in either a clinical or community context. Some are on-campus organizations while others are local community organizations doing great work.
Clinic and hospital volunteering
UC Berkeley campus organizations
Other Bay Area nonprofits
Some clinical or community volunteering opportunities may be on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, you may also want to look into virtual opportunities such as online tutoring or crisis text line volunteering.
UC Berkeley premed shadowing
Below is a list of area hospitals at which Berkeley premeds have found shadowing opportunities:
Alameda Health System, including Highland Hospital
Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Richmond)
In addition, you may find success by contacting smaller clinics or physicians in private practice. We cover best practices in our guide on how to shadow a doctor.
UC Berkeley premed research
UC Berkeley’s reputation as a first-rate research school, as well as its location in the Bay Area near top medical schools such as UCSF and Stanford, means premeds have many opportunities to participate in world-class research. However, obtaining a position as a research assistant can be very competitive and will require you to be proactive.
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships is an excellent resource to start with. It offers databases of research opportunities, tips on how to find a faculty mentor, and even workshops on professional emailing or writing research proposals. The Molecular and Cell Biology Department website also lists some helpful tips for landing a lab position.
UC Berkeley offers multiple structured programs to help connect students with research labs:
Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) (only open to students in the Rausser College of Natural Resources)
If there are no open positions that compel you, the best way to get involved in an on-campus lab is to search the faculty research database and cold-email faculty members working on research that interests you. While this may require sending out numerous emails (and not sweating it if you don’t receive many responses!), the effort is often well worth it. You can also speak with older premeds to see if they are aware of any lab positions opening up—graduating seniors are often the best sources of this information.
Once you start working in an on-campus lab, you can receive academic credit for your time by enrolling in independent study units, typically designated as course number 199. Review your department website or contact your advisor for more information.
In addition to on-campus labs, many students choose to get involved with research at nearby medical schools or hospitals, including UCSF and Stanford. Some interesting and unique programs include the following:
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Summer Student Research Program
Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) Undergraduate Summer Research Program
UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Pre-Health Undergraduate Program (PUP)
Finally, be sure to subscribe to the Pre-Health CareerMail and periodically browse through new listings on Handshake to keep up to date on new programs and openings.
(Suggested reading: How to Write a Great Research Assistant Cover Letter)
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Part 4: Getting into medical school from UC Berkeley
To obtain in-person advice and assistance on the medical school admissions process, take advantage of the resources offered by UC Berkeley. You can sign up for Pre-Health Advising through the Career Center, and you can find workshops and events posted to Handshake and the UC Berkeley Pre-Health Facebook page. Furthermore, the Career Center website is a good resource that provides detailed information on applying to medical school.
As you put together your medical school applications, you’ll need to devote a significant amount of time to writing and revising strong materials, including your personal statement, secondary essays, and AMCAS Work & Activities section. You can request that your transcripts be sent directly to AMCAS or AACOMAS via your CalCentral account. And, since UC Berkeley doesn’t provide a committee letter, you will also need to approach your professors and mentors for letters of recommendation.
When it comes time to prepare for medical school interviews, you can schedule a mock interview through Pre-Health Advising. UC Berkeley also supplies students with access to Big Interview, an online platform that provides interview coaching and practice.
(Suggested reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)
UC Berkeley premed acceptance rate and admissions statistics
It’s clear that UC Berkeley has both a large numbers of premeds and a robust premed culture—but how do these translate into medical school admissions outcomes? Fortunately, UC Berkeley publishes premed admissions statistics that can provide insight into this question.
In 2021, 54% of first-time medical school applicants from Berkeley’s five most recent graduating classes were accepted to medical school. In comparison, the average acceptance rate nationally was around 36%.
Furthermore, UC Berkeley students with an MCAT score above 510 and GPA above 3.60 were more likely than not to be accepted.
And while Berkeley premeds matriculate at medical schools all over the nation, it is unsurprising that the programs most commonly attended and most applied to by UC Berkeley grads are located in California. These include the medical schools at USC, UC Davis, California University of Science and Medicine, UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, and UCLA.
Final thoughts
While the path of a UC Berkeley premed is notoriously challenging, it will also provide you with significant opportunities and resources designed to help you succeed. Our advice is to take advantage of all that Berkeley has to offer while also seeking balance and following your interests. With careful planning and dedication to your studies, medical school admissions success is fully within your reach.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
