Cal vs. UCSD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
21

<p>"sakky: Agreed that neither UCB or UCSD can offer "extensive research opportunities" to all undergraduates who are interested. But the proactive student at either place can find a research position...and the likelihood of finding one is more so at UCSD given the presence of a top-notch medical school. I never implied in my earlier post that UCSD students can expect to have these coveted research chances "handed" to them. You seem to indicate that opportunities are not available at all, unless that person is affiliated with the medical school. </p>

<p>I think your knowledge of UCSD is based upon a generalized one for UC's. Do you attend a UC? Do you have first-hand knowledge of how things actually work at UCSD?"</p>

<p>he's actually an alumni of cal, to my knowledge.</p>

<p>i think there's a med school near berkeley too that takes in undergrads from cal... a small school 15 minutes drive from here called UCSF? i think genentech also does a biotech intership program for berkeley students during this summer. i'm sure there are other great opportunities in and near ucsd too. </p>

<p>correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't ucsd mainly known for its bioenginnering program? bio sci is a quite different program from BE.</p>

22

<p>Actually, it should be alumnus, not alumni (which is the plural form).
I know about UCSF and Genentech. I am from the Bay Area.
Bioengineering is only one of UCSD's many strong programs. See info about its ranking in the biological sciences:
<a href="http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/awards/USNewsGrad06.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/awards/USNewsGrad06.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

23

<p>well, i guess my english isn't totally perfect since i'm an international student and english is my second language. thanks for the pedantic info.</p>

<p>those rankings are all for grad programs. berkeley is an international powerhouse for grad programs, which include several top life sci programs. but how much does this trickle down to the undergrad pre-med program? people should be careful in distinguishing the graduate rankings with the actual experience one gets in an undergraduate program.</p>

24

<p>i picked eecs over cs :O</p>

25

<p>ccmadforever:
The graduate school rankings are one of the few ways to roughly gauge the quality of specific undergraduate programs. I think it's reasonable to assume that UCSD's undergrad bio program is going to be top notch since their graduate program is rated highly. </p>

<p>The bottom line is that these rankings are good indicators of the quality of the professors teaching and students attending. As an undergrad, one will come in contact with these professors and students.</p>

26

<p>
[quote]
i think there's a med school near berkeley too that takes in undergrads from cal... a small school 15 minutes drive from here called UCSF?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>15 minutes? Uh, maybe with a helicopter. It can easily take you 30 minutes just to drive from the Berkeley campus to Union Square, and you still got a ways to go from there to get to Duboce </p>

<p>
[quote]
UCSD is great for biology and if you know you're going into those departments than Berkeley and UCSD are largely equivalent academically with UCSD getting a bonus of better weather and a more intimate environment.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I can agree about the better weather. But a more intimate environment? Really? Berkeley has 23,000 undergrads. UCSD has 21,000. That's not exactly a big difference. </p>

<p>Also, PA, I would point out that you have complained notably several times about how annoyed you are with the poor quality of students at Berkeley. Well, let's face it. UCSD is going to have a LOT of students who weren't good enough to get into Berkeley. So I have to imagine that on this score, UCSD would probably be even MORE annoying. </p>

<p>Look, if you want an intimate environment with a high average quality of students, go to an elite LAC. Or Princeton. Or Caltech. Let's be honest. None of the UC's are going to be able to offer you a particularly intimate learning environment. </p>

<p>
[quote]
But the proactive student at either place can find a research position...and the likelihood of finding one is more so at UCSD given the presence of a top-notch medical school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This I would question. First off, you don't really 'need' a high-level research position in order to get into med-school. After all, the students at the elite LAC's do quite well in getting into med-school, yet the elite LAC's are not known offering lots of high-level research. If such research really was so important, then how is it that these students from places as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Wellesley do so well in getting into med-school?</p>

<p>Secondly, the truth is, just because a university has a medical school doesn't really mean that undergraduates have much access to it for research projects or experience or whatnot. For example, very very few Harvard undergrads have access to any of the projects at Harvard Medical School, except maybe at the very lowest levels (i.e. akin to cleaning test tubes), and that kind of low-level access isn't going to help you much in getting into med-school. For the most part, the resources of a university's medical school are kept to itself, with very little of it being available to undergrads. </p>

<p>The bottom line is that while Berkeley certainly has its problems in terms of delivering a highly personal education, I highly doubt that things would be significantly better at UCSD. Most of the problems of Berkeley are endemic to the entire UC system, and in fact, endemic to public universities as a whole. Hence, I would make the choice between the 2 schools on fit, with the edge to Berkeley because, as said before, it does have greater prestige, which can prove useful later in life.</p>

27

<p>Ok, I'll stick with my beach answer then. Beaches! Yay!</p>

<p>That being said I've heard through the grapevine that students are more relaxed at the other UC's, which would make for a friendlier social environment.</p>

28

<p>what is up with all the pedantic info in this thread that make no contribution whatsoever to the main argument? 15 minutes or not, ucsf is close enough for a cal student to visit on a daily basis.</p>

29

<p>hahahaha polite ahahahahahaha if you think berkeley has a bad social scene then i'd hate to know what you'd think of UCSD's hahahaha</p>

30

<p>
[quote]
what is up with all the pedantic info in this thread that make no contribution whatsoever to the main argument? 15 minutes or not, ucsf is close enough for a cal student to visit on a daily basis.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Look, the point is, you don't need research experience to get into med-school. You want medical-related experience, but not necessarily research experience. After all, how do you think the students at the elite LAC's like Williams and Amherst get into med-school, despite not being a school that offers big-time research opportunities? There are plenty of hospitals and clinics in the East Bay, such that any Berkeley student who wants medical experience of some kind can get it.</p>

31

<p>Does anyone know how big Cal dorm rooms are compared to UCSD dorms? I saw some UCSD dorm rooms and they're not too shabby.</p>

32

<p>if you want bio, ucsd is the best choice</p>

33

<p>Actually, only bioengineering.</p>

34

<p>how important is the name or prestige really?</p>

35

<p>i heard the dorms at eleanor roosevelt college are really nice, new, and suite style. dont really know about the other colleges at SD..</p>

36

<p>Dorms vary at Berkeley, but I think most of them are quite liveable. I havne't seen the dorms at UCSD at all.</p>

37

<p>Don't they vary a lot, too? By college especially, right, but also by other factors? Anyone?</p>