Hi! I am currently a senior in high school working on my college applications and, since I am a first gen college student and have virtually no help when it comes to college applications, I thought I’d be able to get some advice here?
So basically, I want to become a clinical geneticist or something along that field and the research I’ve done has told me that majors specifically in genetics are too specialized. One of my top schools is UCSD and multiple sources have said that it would be best to major in molecular biology there for the career path into med school that I want to take? However, I am still unsure as to what to do. Of course, UCSD is not the only school I’m going to apply to: other UCs would be UCLA, Berkeley, and UCI for example, but essentially what I’m saying is that I have no idea where to even start or what to do lol!!! Please help me
How do you feel about math and computer science? Genetic research is increasingly computational, and an undergraduate major or minor in bioinformatics or computational biology would give you a very useful and marketable skill-set.
https://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/BIOI-ug.html
https://bioinformatics.ucla.edu/undergradute-bioinformatics-minor/
https://admissions.sa.ucsc.edu/majors/bioinformatics
If you prefer a more lab-research type emphasis, consider a bio or biochem major in the College for Creative Studies at UCSB. (This requires an additional application to CCS as well as to the University.) This program is research-focused and would allow you to pursue an area of research emphasis in the context of a broader degree.
https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/majors/biology
https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/majors/chemistry-biochemistry
The UC Davis College of Biological Sciences has an exciting array of bio majors including Genetics and Genomics https://biology.ucdavis.edu/undergrad as well as a Quantitative Biology & Bioinformatics minor http://basc.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/downloads/major-information/qbbminorchecksheet.pdf
Personally, I would choose Davis or UCSB CCS over San Diego for premed. UCSD premed is pretty cutthroat, and even after running the cutthroat gauntlet, their med school acceptance rates are painfully low. http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/savvy-pre-med/2016/9/19/3-reasons-many-uc-pre-meds-regret-their-college-choice Remember that it’s your GPA that will get you into med school, not how your undergrad university ranks. Also remember that a few years of work/research experience after undergrad can strengthen your qualifications (and your financial position!) for med school; and skills such as those you’d obtain with a bioinformatics major or minor can position you well for that.
A Genetic Counseling grad program is another potential path that might interest you:
http://www.pediatrics.uci.edu/masters-genetic-counseling.asp
http://gceducation.org/Pages/Accredited-Programs.aspx
Lastly, given that you are 1st-gen and likely (although not necessarily?) low-income… it would also be smart to look at some full-need-met private U’s, run the Net Price Calculators for your specific financial situation, and see whether these would be more or less financially advantageous than UC’s. Just one example: Case Western is fantastic for premed, has a graduate genetic counseling program, has both traditional life sciences majors and a terrific interdisciplinary Systems Biology program http://biology.case.edu/undergraduate/bachelor-of-science-systems-biology/ , offers complete freedom of mobility among majors once you’re admitted (unlike CA public U’s!) and meets full documented financial need. (Good merit opportunities too, although merit aid and need-based aid rarely “stack” at any school.) Running CWRU’s NPC https://case.edu/financialaid/resources/net-price-calculator could give you a good point of comparison with UC financial aid. Smaller liberal arts colleges can be very generous with financial aid as well, if you qualify for the well-endowed, competitive schools. (Women’s colleges can offer particularly good opportunities if you are female.) Many of these schools are also less grade-deflated and offer better pre-health advising and support than the large CA publics. UC’s offer a great education, but the competition for premeds is fierce, both internally and in terms of the oversupply of med school applicants within California.
If you’re comfortable sharing more about your stats, EC’s, and financial situation, you’ll probably get a lot of good suggestions here.
UCSD has such a terrible record of getting kids into med school it had a study done.
Apply to all UCs.
Your best bet is one of the medical pathways at UCR.
Outside the UCs, look into Lewis and Clark w Whitman, depending on our stats, Oxy, Pomona…
(Pomona would likely be ideal to prepare you for the sort of career you’re thinking of but it’s one of the top colleges in the country. Note the name is Pomona college - it’s different from CPP.)
In order to help out we need a few details:
What’s your family’s income?
What’s your unweighted GPA, your UC GPA capped and uncapped? SAT or sat subject scores?
Sorry for the late replies, my financial situation isn’t low income enough to be eligible for a lot of financial aid (as we are not below the poverty line), however, it is a given that I will have to take out student loans. My unweighted GPA is a 3.95, weighted is a 4.49, and UC capped/uncapped is a 4.15. My first SAT I got 1340, but I recently retook the August SAT this past Saturday, so my score for that should be coming out soon. I am taking the SAT Biology E/M and Mathematics 2 subject tests in October.
As mentioned, you should run the Net Price Calculators for public and private colleges. Your parents may want to do it because it requires their financial information. This is very important now before you apply so that you can see what the true costs will be and don’t make a choice that will cost you too much in the long run.
Families well above poverty can still qualify for need-based financial aid. There is a max of about $20k over 4-years of federal loans you can take out. However, with med school in mind you should do everything you can to avoid any loans at all.
Have you talked with your parents about how much they can contribute for college? They should avoid taking out loans for you to attend college too.
The best next steps are:
–Run Net Price Calculators for UCs and some privates (those mentioned are good places to start) to find out the amount each college estimates you will have to pay each year to attend (including room, board and books) after taking into account financial aid based on information about your family’s income and assets. This number is called your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
–Compare this number to what your family can contribute to find colleges that you can afford. So, for example, if your family can pay $10k per year and a college’s NPC says that your EFC at that college is $10k then you have found a good candidate. If the NPC for a college says it will cost $20k to attend then it is not a good candidate.
Remember that to actually get financial aid you will have to complete the FAFSA. Some colleges require another financial aid form called the Profile – but you can cross that bridge later if you need to.
This is complicated and feel free to keep asking questions!!