Choosing undergrad...UC vs CSU vs CC and transfer

College Search & Selection
1

Hey everyone, I am a HS senior and currently stuck deciding where I want to go next year. I have been accepted at UCR, UCSC, and CSUF, and rejected at UCSB, UCSD, UCD, and UW. I find out UCI tomorrow (also local, close enough to commute), however, I am not very optimistic as I have been rejected from all other mid-tier UC’s.

My GPA killed my application, (4.0 W, 3.7 UC W, 3.4 UW), although I had a pretty sharp upward trend as I took harder classes. At the end of my sophomore year, I realized I wanted to become a doctor and joined the international baccalaureate (IB) program, and my Jr year GPA (1st yr IB) was by far my highest at 4.33 W. I had hoped my SAT of 1460 would help, however it clearly didn’t, which is frustrating because I go to a very challenging HS and people from my middle school who went elsewhere had much higher GPA’s (4 or 5 perfect ACT scores in my HL Chem class alone).

Anyways at this point, I am trying to figure out what I should do next year. Currently, I am leaning towards UCSC, as I don’t really want to go to a CSU when I have put so much time into the IB program and my academics, and I would have to commute to UCR because of how much cheaper it would be, although it is about an hour away. I also would like to move out. While I realize this shouldn’t be a deciding factor in where I choose to go, it is something that I have wanted to do more and more the longer this process has gone on.

With that being said, what do you guys think? Commute to UCR, commute to CSUF or go to UCSC. I haven’t been around UCR much, but from what I hear its pretty boring, and CSUF is kinda whatever to me at this point as I have been around it so much, and I would feel as though I have wasted a lot of time taking rigorous classes just to end up at a school that pretty much everyone from my area gets in to. I have heard better things about UCSC, but I live in a fairly busy area, and I like going out on weekends/partying and don’t want to end up at a school that is boring. (For comparison, Santa Barbara felt small). An option I hadn’t considered, but have started to since I got my UCSB rejection, is going to a CC and transferring, but that doesn’t sound great, and the only pro seems to be cost.

I don’t want to let something like the desire to move out cloud my judgment and cause me to make the wrong decision for my future. Does anyone have any experience with any of these schools or similar situations to mine? Do you regret your decision and wish you would have gone somewhere else?

As of now Pros/Cons seem to be:
UCR-Pros: Cheaper (can commute), UC (research opportunities), and med school on campus
Cons: Haven’t heard great things, its in Riverside, hour drive both ways every day

UCSC-Pro’s: By far the most beautiful campus, seems like students are happier than at UCR, research opportunities, and I can move out.
Cons: Moving away is more expensive, small city/not much to do/less parties?

CSU (or csu and transfer) : Pro’s-Cheap and close. Cons- boring, close, lack of research opportunities

CC and transfer- Same as above

Sorry for the lack of organization and length, couldn’t really figure out how to organize it and get everything I was considering down in a post

Thanks for any advice in advance

2

If you got into a four-year school, I would not advise you to go to CC. It’s tough competition this year, and you should be proud that you got into the schools you did. At even the “best” CC’s, the percentage of people who are able to finish in two years, transfer, then graduate after two more years is alarmingly small. Go for one of the 4-year options.

3

Do you have to borrow money to attend the more costly options? What major?

Now, as far as UC vs. CSU goes, no one but you really cares. There are Valedictorians at the cheapest option state school in every state and they thrive. You are FAR better off at Fullerton making great grades and getting involved than you’d be with a 2.0 at Berkeley.

Lastly, unless money is a huge deal, I agree, skip CC. Transfer admission is even more competitive.

4

UC Riverside has excellent programs (many in Top 100 US News) and great people that are very happy! Is growing faster than any other UC and moving up the ranks! UCSC has great programs as well. Compare majors at each school and take a tour of each to see the vibe. Sounds like you are more into “beautiful location and parties” more than academics and “boring location” so I would choose UCSC. You can also get a great education at the CSU’s which are more affordable, although you would also be a commuter. University of California System holds more national and international recognition overall, but you can definitely get an excellent education in any option you choose.

5

Thanks for all the replies!

I can see how it may have come off that way in the original post, however, academics are definitely more important to me than whether or not there are parties, I was just assuming that the academic difference between the two would be fairly negligible. From what I have read so far, both have their pros and cons academically, with Riverside having the advantages of having a med school and things like that, and SC being less cutthroat, making a higher GPA more attainable (maybe?).

My #1 goal is to succeed academically, maintain a GPA high enough for med school, and fulfill other requirements such as research and internships, but it’s definitely tough to decide where that is most likely.

I definitely think touring both campuses is something I need to do, and hopefully, that can help me decide.

Does anyone have any experience with or know how the undergrad difficulty compares at both schools? I have heard UCSC is less cutthroat, but if the academic programs at UCR are better and a high GPA isn’t significantly harder to attain, it could be a good fit. (It isn’t that a more difficult program is a bad thing, but, I would like to take advantage of anything I can, and I chose to go to a high school with a high reputation and the reputation of being a difficult school with a lot of talented students, which has prepared me very well for college, but might have limited me in my undergrad choices, as my GPA is pretty bad. I was just thinking that, like @eyemgh said, a good GPA at a slightly less rigorous school looks better than a bad GPA elsewhere.)

Thanks again for your help everyone, any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

6

Yes, the differences in academics are negligible, particularly given your interest in the sciences. Focus on the non-academic factors.

I don’t have the GPAs of med school applicants, but the average GPAs of law school applicants at UCSC and UCR were 3.12 and 2.99 in 2016, respectively – not a noticeable difference, IMO.

7

First of all, don’t assume the easier admit will be either less rigorous or easier to get a high GPA. There’s NO correlation. Some of the toughest admits have MASSIVE grade inflation. Some schools that are non-selective are tough to get good grades.

You also need to know that the UCs have a very poor record of placing students into medical school. Many of them place less than 50% of their applicants.

If you want to know about what’s important for getting into medical school, scroll down and read the responses by @choroidal in the Cal Poly thread linked below.

Then, get on the horn and call every school you’ve been admitted to that he doesn’t have stats for and ask what their success rate is in placing applicants into medical school.

Lastly, be VERY mindful of cost. There’s very little aid besides loans for professional school.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/cal-poly-san-luis-obispo/2064452-is-cal-poly-a-good-choice-for-pre-med.html#latest

8

UCR has an very strong early assurance program for its med school, you can only be in that program if you are in ucr as a freshman and a CA resident. It’s the largest EA program in the med school field. UCR is a great school for premed, a kid I know went there and he even applied out when he was qualified for the ea program.

9

@artloversplus, what percentage of their applicants get into medical school? I was referring to the stats of Irvine, Davis and Santa Barbara, all three WELL under 50%. I believe SD is also well under 50%.

The early assurance program at Riverside is very competitive and very restrictive. The mean science GPA hovers at 3.8. Students cannot apply anywhere else. Most importantly, they are required to practice in inland So Cal.

10

@eyemgh
Do not look at the percent of “applicants” stats announced by the schools, most of the schools have watered down the numbers to attract students. Some times the stats includes Caribbean medical schools or even “health related” schools or SMPs. Some time schools use committee letter to control number of applicants. The truth is that over all only 40% of the applicants got into US MD school. If all those school advertise that their applicants have 80 or 90% success rate then where are the less successful schools? I think UCs gave a more truthful results that we can rely on.

With regards to that the UCR’s directive of their graduates to be working in inland so. Ca., that is only it’s wishes or directives, the fact is residencies could be matched into all over US and after 4 to 8 years of residency and fellowship, there is no way that UCR can call back those board certified physicians to So. Ca. It as absurd as the DO schools are concentrated on producing primary doctors.

11

If you have the money to live at UCSC then why can’t you live at Riverside? Commuting an hour each way is a terrible idea. Ask any adult with a similar commute to work how they feel about it. Not only that, as a college student your hours are more varied than someone working the 9-to-5 job. You may have late afternoon discussion sections or TA office hours, you will find it a waste of time to drive two hours on a day when the reason to go there is optional such as to see a professor during office hours so you end up missing these opportunities, I could go on and on.

As for premed, I’ll just repeat what I say elsewhere. About every fifth kid seems to be entering college with the idea of going to med school. Exposure to the field through volunteer/paid work is an unwritten requirement to get into med school, and is also the way you can find out if it’s really a fit for you. If you haven’t done this yet it’s best to think of yourself as someone that’s considering a career in medicine, not someone that has decided it’s how they want to spend their life.

12

red flag warning…

I’ve been following the forum for years and whenever there is a post bringing up something akin to this (such as whether they’ll have time for a social life as a premed) those that stick around the forum end up dropping out of the premed track. We’ll probably never know what happens to you since you are a new member and may stop participating in a few weeks.

I think of this as a marker similar to ones in aptitude and similar tests. Those designing the tests don’t know or care why the questions work (for example “would you rather spend a day at the beach or in the mountains hiking?”) but those in a given career tend to answer them a certain way. You may scoff at this prediction but you may want to hedge your bets and lean towards a college you’d want to attend if you were not premed.

13

.
I went to UCSC’s website, found Biol 20A is considered first in sequence of Bio premed reqs. I then went to 2017 Fall schedule of classes and found over 450 students enrolled in this class. College profs tend to not hand out As like pez candy. I’ll guess maybe 15%ish of the 450 got As, most probably got Cs or lower. My point is premed will be hard everywhere. Most who start change their minds, of those that apply, 60% fail to get an acceptance anywhere. Also as a CA resident, it is most likely if you are a successful premed, you will attend MD school OOS as there are simply not enough slots in CA med schools. And as med school is very expensive and typically paid for by loans which have to be paid back, consideration should be given to keeping college debt as low as possible.
https://pisa.ucsc.edu/class_search/index.php

One other little tidbit about UCSC, UCR and if accepted UCI, they all operate on a quarter system, meaning if you want to be successful academically, you must be prepared from day one to hit ground running as 10 weeks goes by incredibly fast and can be a GPA killer to those who want to ease their way in. You may have to skip partying.

Adding to above, it’s none of my business why or how you came to conclusion as a hs sophomore that you want to doctor, but you’re looking at a long slog, at a minimum 4 years college, 4 years med school, 3-5 years residency. You can kiss your 20s bye bye. It’s in your best interest to make sure becoming a doctor is the pathway you really want to pursue. Have a Plan B strategy before your start. Good luck.

14

Here’s an article on UCR Med School you may find interesting.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/18/riverside-california-what-works-millennial-doctors-216475

15

https://medschool.ucr.edu/admissions/eap.html describes the UCR early assurance program for medical school admission.