Admitted to all three for Biology (Cornell in the College of Arts and Sciences). I have yet to visit Cornell’s campus and will do so over Cornell Days, but here are my current impressions:
Cornell ($58k/yr): Pros: A music prof reached out to me about my art supplement and said he’d be glad to take me as a student if I attend, which would honestly be awesome because I’ve been studying my instrument for 12+ years and really wish to continue. Also smaller class sizes, less issues with registration, easier to get research opportunities. More freedom in switching majors to go on a different career path if I change my mind about med school. “Ivy League brand name”. Cons: Expensive and will have to take out loans, located in the middle of nowhere, Cornell’s hospital is in NYC, depressing weather/environment or so I’ve heard, grade deflation. Concerned about possible lack of opportunity for premeds to get clinical experience.
UCLA ($38k/yr): Pros: Absolutely beautiful campus with great weather, which I think I’d be really happy with. Cheaper (parents are able to pay in full) which helps since I still have to go to medical school. Good location with lots of opportunities for premeds nearby. Cons: Large class sizes w/ registration problems, won’t be able to continue studying my instrument privately. More difficulty in changing to majors not offered outside L&S in case I change my mind about my career path. Difficulty/competitive to get research opportunities.
UC Berkeley ($38k/yr): Honestly, it’s mostly off the table - too close to home, bad campus/surrounding environment IMO, grade deflation, and I don’t think I’d be happy there. But they do have a strong program in Biological Sciences that is ranked very well, so if someone can point out anything that could possibly change my mind you are welcome to.
Med School will be even more loans. is it worth $20K more plus travel expenses - $20K that you don’t have - $20K you’ll pay interest on x 4, etc?
Gorgeous campus but cold, not warm.
Disagree on easier to get research opportunities. If you want to do research, you can do research - at most schools.
So the hospital is in NYC - what kind of shadowing is nearby? Also, at UCLA?
Just reading about the weather and your concern, plus having to take out loans - you want to be in good spirits. Good spirits = good mood. Good mood = happier, equals better grades.
Thanks for your response! I’ve heard that due to how large the undergrad population is at UCLA, and because everybody and their mother there is trying to do premed as a biology major, getting research can be difficult - and the same problem isn’t present at Cornell. UCLA has a great hospital where premeds can go volunteer, shadow, etc and it is also in LA so I’m sure there are other things available too. I’ve seen on Reddit that it’s very difficult to get clinical experience in Ithaca, and the local hospital there is pretty time consuming to travel back and forth from + the amount of medical practice you are exposed to there is nothing compared to at a major hospital.
I am leaning UCLA pretty much solely because of the loans, but my parents are not… They really want me to go to Cornell because of the prestige factor. We’ll see where that takes me lol
Taking loans to satisfy their notion of prestige does not make much sense, especially as a pre-med who may go to expensive medical school in the future.
I would say UCLA - equally good name, you like it more, cheaper, and easier access to the hospital. Weather is also important.
UCLA and Berkeley have equally strong names and name recognition. So there is no benefit in choosing Cornell because of this. This is true for any field.
Unless you suddenly decide to be an engineer, which is highly unlikely, or an artist, which si also highly unlikely, you will find almost any other major in L&S. Moreover, you can change your career trajectory even after you finicsh your undergraduate, so Iwouldn’t worry about that.
That you’ll find in any popular major, including Cornell.
Not any more than any other college. The number of undergrads who have the initiative to start knocking on doors and reaching out to faculty is really pretty small. Moreover, there are a bunch of other universities close by, and many faculty are happy to take on students from other universities There are also multiple hospitals as well.
It’s LA, there are a lot of private teachers.
However, it’s unlikely that you will have the time you need to really advance in your instrument. You need to get top grades, do things like shadowing doctors, engage in research, etc. You only have so many hours a week.
Prestige doesn’t pay your bills. You could go to Cal State LA and get into medical school.
Look at it differently - Harvard Law - so not med school - but 174 schools are represented - Humboldt, Long Beach, and Fullerton - bet your parents don’t consider them competitive. Fairleigh Dickinson, Arizona, Arkansas, St. Joes, etc.
The point being - even for med school - get your GPA, MCAT and clinicals up. The where - matters little.
I’d ask this too - who is paying for the loans - because if it’s you, then how will you? If it’s your folks, how will it impact their lifestyle, etc.
As for research, I’m not a UCLA dad but my kid at Alabama gets tons of emails for it and his girlfriend simply approached a professor - and done. Maybe you need to make effort but it can happen - and I’m guessing easily.
btw - you needn’t major in bio. If you want to great, but you can major in anything for pre-med.
You might reach out to the pre-med advisor at both to gather further info.
One more thing - who is going to school - you or your folks?
I think their perception of prestige might be skewed because UCLA is a California public school and Cornell is an Ivy. In reality, they are equally as prestigious. You can show your parents that USNWR ranks UCLA as #12 for biology and Cornell as #13. Berkeley is #4.
There are a lot of pre-med students at UCLA. However, if you look beyond campus, there are also a lot of medical offices and hospitals in LA. It takes some effort and initiative but I have no doubt you will find opportunities if you look for them.
Do you have other options as well? Have you for example been accepted to any other of the campuses of the University of California?
How certain are you that you would like to attend medical school if you are able to do so?
I would not take on debt to get your bachelor’s degree if you reasonably can avoid this. UCLA and UC Berkeley are very good universities that are very well regarded on at least nation-wide and more like worldwide basis. Yes Cornell is Ivy League and is also a very good university. However, you are comparing three top universities here, one of which is going to leave you in debt. I do not think that there is much if any difference in “prestige” between these three universities.
I have not checked flights from the Bay Area to Ithaca NY, but my guess is that you are probably talking about two flights with a change somewhere. In the winter you will get delayed and cancelled flights due to snow (which Ithaca gets a LOT of).
For a premed student, I might be a bit concerned about grade deflation at any of these three universities.
Neither of my daughters were premed. Both however had majors that overlapped quite a bit with premed classes. Both knew multiple premed students who were in the same classes. Premed classes are academically quite demanding at a wide range of universities. Getting into medical school is largely about GPA, doing well on the MCAT, good references, and lots of experience in a medical environment. You can be well prepared for the MCAT and get the rest of these at any one of a rather wide range of universities (with getting a medical school worthy GPA challenging for most strong students at nearly any good university).
I have wondered how safe the area is around UC Berkeley. I almost went there many years ago, but I think that it was safer back then and I am both huge (mostly vertically) and male – which might help a bit.
Please take possible medical school OUT of your decision equation. Most folks entering college as pre-med never apply to medical school. Of those who do, less than 40% get an acceptance. SO, choose a college with lots of options for a major for you to pursue.
If pre-med, you absolutely should have a Plan B…something you could do if medical school doesn’t work out.
It sounds like you are instate for CA. I will let @WayOutWestMom clarify the difficulties for CA residents who wish to apply to medical school IN CA.
By the time you get to medical school…should you do so…costs will very likely exceed $100,000 a year. Most of that will be funded with loans, loans and more loans…or the bank of mom and dad.