<p>Hi everyone. I am very grateful of the Uc's I got admitted to, but I have a dilemma over which one to choose. I got into LA, San Diego, Irvine, and Davis. Right now I am trying to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the biology majors at these 4 campuses, esp. LA's bio. </p>
<ul>
<li>How competitive is LA's bio major? Are there weeder classes like in Berkeley? (I heard LA and Cal are really similar in competitiveness and prestige)</li>
<li>How much difference does it make that LA has a premed program and has strong affiliations and access to its on campus Medical school/labs? Will that help my undergrad studies?</li>
<li>How is San Diego's bio major? How does it compare with LA and Irvine? I went on all the college sites but they all say "We're great, we're ranked ____ in the nation." </li>
<li>UCI gave me a really nice scholarship and honors and all that, but how good is the school? Not to offend any current/prospective UCI students, but i have heard mixed reviews saying that its looked down upon and one of the weaker UC's. I don't want to make a judgement b4 I visit there. I also heard about its medical school and small community-like atmosphere. How much of it is true/matters?</li>
</ul>
<p>thanks. I really need to clear up these confusions</p>
<p>There are weeder classes at every school in the universe.</p>
<p>And as for competitiveness, UCLA's major is quite competitive, and nationally recognized as the better program in the country with regard to Cal. San Diego has a very strong program as well, as it's up and coming in recent years.</p>
<p>The fact that UCLA has a premed program doesn't have much bearing at all on your undergrad studies, at least as far as pure academics are concerned. True, you'll have more volunteer and clinical experience opportunities than at a lot of other schools, but don't get the idea that UCLA favors its undergrads for its med school. this is NOT TRUE, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In fact, California undergrads are not favored at ANY california medical school, which explains why the vast majority of UC grads end up going out of state.</p>
<p>and you might as well throw prestige to the wind. only your highest level of education matters when it comes to getting a job, and if you're aiming for medical school or a professional program, were you did your undergraduate (sorry to be so blunt), doesn't count for ****.</p>
<p>you shouldn't want to come here just because of the name. You should want to come here because the students are among the best and brightest in teh country, and you'll learn better in such a competitive environment.
If you go to UCLA expect to work.....HARD. You can't imagine how many people I meet who whine about their classes not being easy like high school. it makes me laugh.</p>
<p>As far as 'weaker' ucs are concerned. You may very well want to consider a place like irvine if your ultimate goal is medical school. The grades will come easier, and the scholarship is just all that much more of an incentive.</p>
<p>Good luck in your future endeavors.</p>
<p>- How competitive is LA's bio major? Are there weeder classes like in Berkeley? (I heard LA and Cal are really similar in competitiveness and prestige)
Yes, of course there are weeder courses. Choose your professors carefully. </p>
<p>- How much difference does it make that LA has a premed program and has strong affiliations and access to its on campus Medical school/labs? Will that help my undergrad studies?
Whatever mariopuzo said. There's a medical school on-campus. This helps in regards to attaining volunteer positions. There are a number of organizations for pre-health (and specially pre-med) students as well. One of them is the co-ed fraternity called Alpha Epsilon Delta. There is a list of organizations at <a href="http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu</a> </p>
<p>- How is San Diego's bio major? How does it compare with LA and Irvine? I went on all the college sites but they all say "We're great, we're ranked ____ in the nation."
San Diego is great for marine biology and neurobiology. LA is great for neuroscience. This isn't to say that their other biology programs (sub-programs) are not great. Really, if you honestly want to find out the subtleties between their programs you would need to be really anal and look at the people within their own departments. Then you would need to see whether their specialties and distinctions would form any significant impact on your understanding of biology. Choose the place where you feel most comfortable and where you think you will do your best.</p>
<p>1) the prestige of your undergrad institution matters so little that it is not worth it to go to a school just for the name and being unhappy. UCI will not put you at any significant disadvantage, so just go where you will be happiest. if you're happy, you are more likely to succeed.</p>
<p>2) SD has the number 1 (or 2) neuroscience program in the country. It is also very strong in other biological sciences. Again, don't go to SD just because it is highly ranked (or don't major in neuro just because SD is known for it) because if you don't like it, you probably won't do as well.</p>
<p>3) Premed is hard/competitive at ANY UC, especially when comparing SD, Cal, LA, I. You can't really judge which one will be easier to get a good gpa at, because you haven't really studied at any one of them. Also, all of these UC's will provide you with AMPLE opportunities for research, volunteering, etc. Don't choose LA over Cal because LA has a med school/hospital on campus. Cal has tons of opportunities for premeds, and sends MANY MANY of their graduates to med school.</p>