Q: How tough are the Pre-Med classes are Cal? I heard ochem is a killer... How likely am I to get A's in them?
The Answer
Hi Tim,
The Pre-Med classes are Cal are pretty difficult. After all, Berkeley is known for its prestigious chemistry department and scientific research. The typical classes that pre-meds go through here are Chem 1A, Chem 3A/AL, Chem 3B/BL, MCB 102, Bio 1A/AL, Bio 1B, Physics 8A, Physics 8B, Math 1A, Math 1B, and 1 year of R&C (Reading and Composition), which fulfills both the university R&C requirement and as 1 year of English for medical school.
For Chem 1A, it depends on your chemistry background. It seems that people who came in with a solid AP Chemistry class in high school find Chem 1A a piece of cake. For others, not so much. It can be a hard class. Ochem, depending on your professor, generally has a grade distribution of about 15-20% A's, 30% B's, 40% C's and the rest D's and F's. Generally people fall in the B's and C's range even when they study very hard. The organic lab classes (3AL and 3BL) are pretty easy. If you do your lab reports, you should be getting A's in them. Bio 1A and Bio 1AL are two separate classes (one of them is lecture and the other one is lab). They are both very challenging classes, so be prepared to study hard! Bio 1B is a little easier than Bio 1A, but it is by means an easy A. Many people make the mistake of thinking that Bio 1B is kind of easy and end up getting a B in the class. Physics 8A and 8B, depending on your AP Physics class in high school, can be pretty easy. I'd say that generally people find Physics 8A and 8B to be easier than the Bio and Chem classes at Cal, unless they are very bad at physics. Math 1A should be a breeze, but 1B can be hard depending on the professor. Make sure you check www.pickaprof.com and ratemyprofessor.com before enrolling in a Math 1B class.
