anyone know anything about UC Riverside-UCLA BA/MD Program?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>Can anyone give me any information about the UCR-UCLA BA/MD Program. I've been looking a lot into it, but am skeptical about UC-Riverside because it's definately not the best school that's out there. So can anyone tell me about the prestige of the program, how good UCLA's med school is, and more importantly, whether I can get into the program given:</p>

<p>*I am an Asian Indian from one of the best high schools in oregon (won top AP school award this year) and am top 10% in a 500+ class.</p>

<p>*Freshman year:
Lit 9-A, A with honors both sem
Spanish 1-A,A
Social Studies-A,A
Health 1 (req)-A
PE (req)-A
Adv. Algebra 2-A, A
SAT Verbal prep-A
SAT math prep-A
10th Grade Science-A, A with honors both sem</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year (really messed up):
Lit 10-A, A with honors
AP Chem- B, A
Precalc-A, B
Social Studies-B (note: can I explain a grade anywhere because this grade was ridiculous), A
Physics 2-A,A
Spanish 2-A,A
Band-A,A (needed for an EC)
Health 2-A (req)
PE-A (req) </p>

<p>*Junior Year (these are projected grades)
Human Anatomy/Physiology-A/a
IB Bio-A/a
Spanish 3-A/A
IB Calc-A/B
IB Psych-A/A
Team Sports-A
IB Tok 1-B
IB Sem-Satisfactory (as high as you can get)
Access Tutorial (study hall)-Satisfactory
IB English 1-B/B</p>

<p>*I'm projecting to finish high school with around a 3.7 or 3.6 UW...maybe even 3.5 worst case senario in IB diploma classes.</p>

<p>*IB Diploma Candidate
*Maybe an AP scholar or AP scholar w/ distinction
*Varsity tennis 4 years
*Science Team 4 years
*World Quest Trivia 4 years
*Science Club VP
*Math Club VP
*Portland Youth Philharmonic 3 years
*National Youth Leadership Forum in Medicine Nominee
*National Honor Roll
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place fresh year
*OIMT Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant sophomore year
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150+ hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 30+ volunteer hours)
*expecting around 2000-2100 on SAT, 30+ on ACT</p>

<p>Any help would be lovely...thank you!</p>

2

<p>all i know is that its ****ing hard to get into, even frm UCR. Plus, now they are expanding their applicant pool so that anyone can apply (not just UCR undergrads). be careful before u take this path because u can still make it to med school from a better name UC while UCR might hinder you.</p>

3

<p>the thomas haider program is for real. it's a direct path into UCLA med school, which many california pre-meds would die for a spot in. the hard part is making the cut as one of 24 out of however many bio majors there are at UCR. the 24 accepted by UCLA med represent the highest # of accepted students from any other college; yes, not even stanford, berkeley, ucla etc. send more students to UCLA med. </p>

<p>the reason why i say the program is for real is because i have a friend who is going through it. he was valedictorian at my high school, went to UCR, but made the cut and will be coming to UCLA Med School. </p>

<p>on the flip side, when i visited UCR, my tour guide didnt have favorable words about the program, saying it's really watered down and weak, etc. however, i also want to note that she didnt make the cut, even though she was her high school's valedictorian, out-of-state, and had been accepted at yale for undergrad. she's now going to graduate with a regular BA degree from UCR -- not that impressive.</p>

<p>so, it's a program worth considering, but there are risks. here's the REALITY for 2 different paths:</p>

<p>if you decide to pursue the UCR path, you can either:
A) get into UCLA med school
B) end up with only a degree from UCR</p>

<p>if you decide not to pursue the UCR path, you can either:
A) rise above your peers at a top college and then compete with applicants from a lot of top colleges for the same med school spot
B) fail to keep up with your peers at your own top college and drop-out from pre-med</p>

<p>do note that most people end up in choice B in both options. then again, i think someone who's cut to make it in the thomas haider program (UCR/UCLA) would probably be able to rise above his/her peers at a top college anyway. but you're just not guaranteed a med school spot.</p>

4

<p>i agree with kfc4u. and honestly, i think its easier to make it to a med school from like UCLA than going through with the haider program</p>

5

<p>california_love8,</p>

<p>i suggest you apply to UCR plus whichever other top colleges you fancy. you have good stats and i think you have a shot at getting into UCLA even from out-of-state. but leave the UCR option just in case. maybe gauge yourself by seeing which other top colleges you got into. if you got into several really good colleges, then you have the tough choice of choosing between that top college (w/o med school guarantees) and the UCR thomas haider program (which in that case you'd probably be competitive enough to survive). </p>

<p>p.s. i didnt know people could take IB TOK as a junior....</p>

6

<p>do people apply to this program as seniors in high school?</p>

7

<p>you apply to UCR as a senior in high school. not sure exactly when you apply to be in the thomas haider program once you're at UCR. i'd imagine it's during your junior year at UCR but i'm not 100% sure.</p>

8

<p>Why does the Thomas Haider program serve UCR and not UCLA itself, like most other medical scholar programs which offer guaranteed admission to its own undergraduates (e.g. UCSD Medical Scholars, the BU 7-year BA/MD program, the Cornell 7-year BA/MD program)? :rolleyes:</p>

9

<p>haha i really dont know. UCLA should have it's own straight-path med program. that'd make us more prestigious and get more applications.</p>

<p>or maybe UCLA wanted to help UCR attract more top students. i dunno. it's not related to thomas haider the MD though, cuz they renamed the program (which has existed for over 30 years) after him just not too long ago.</p>