Quote Originally Posted by Shinysides View Post
A degree from Berkeley is worth little more than a degree from any other major university in most fields. Besides, there are many other great options for a pharmaceutical degree. People put too much emphasis on where their degree is from and not enough on their actual skill sets.
The degree might not be worth much more, but the connections you get from school sure as shit are.

You might know the exact same material when you graduate from a regional school, but you're not going to have the school's resources to put you in touch with the powerful people who would be interested. Top recruiters go to top national universities.

To the OP: I had a 3.55 in high school, 1490 SAT/800 writing (this was before the 2400 scale--the writing section was an SAT II and required only by top schools.) I went to a top national private school, had strong extracurriculars, and visited/interviewed at every school to which I applied. I was offered admission to WashU (I think it was #8 at the time...) on the spot, and got into every school except Southern Cal.

Do some research beyond a general interest internet forum. There are consultants who get paid 5 figures to help get students into top universities. There's a method to the madness to ensure you stand out (maintaining ongoing contact with admissions persons, visits, interviews, recommendations, legacy, transcript, extracurricular leadership, athletics, etc.) Look at 3rd and 4th tier schools on USNews' rankings; you can pretty much skip the top50 with your credentials. I'm sure there are UC schools that will accept you somewhere, if that's the requirement.