Could really use some advice...

Transfer Students
1

Please don’t stone me for sounding pretentious but I’m really not sure what to do. I’m not asking for a therapy session, but just flat out what you would most likely do given the pro’s and con’s.

I got accepted to UCLA, UCSD, UCD, and UCI. I’m pre-med and want to pursue public health before applying to MD schools. I got into UCLA as psych, UCSD as global health into warren, Davis as psych, UCI as psych and social behavior but have the opportunity to switch to the BS in public health sciences with Regents and the Honors program.

My living situation at home is very not good- everyone that I know is telling me to move out. I live close to UCLA and USC (40m one way) (waiting to hear back from USC) and when I tell people “I dont know about going to UCLA (even though it has been my dream school my whole life)” people straight up tell me, how do you not want to go to UCLA? And, “you belong there”.

Here’s the problem, I will be living on my own (which I need to study and focus and not be in such a toxic environment at home) if I go to: UCI, UCSD, UCD. I would have to take out a student loan if I were to move out for UCLA- which isn’t good but isn’t terrible…

But my parents said they are willing to pay up to 35k for USC and that I would take out a loan for the remainder. I applied to USC as a Neuroscience BS and if I would get in I would really want to go there but would have to commute 45m one way while still living at home.

Also, the reason I picked psych is because I feel like I would excel most with this major GPA wise and in preparation for the MCAT. But I know that priority enrollment for science classes depends on whether you’re pursuing a BS (which I would be at UCI or USC).

I really want to go to UCLA, UCI, or USC, but I feel invisible at UCLA even though I love the school’s research and courses offered, UCI I love for the public health BS major with the endless research and work studies I get with the honors program and the major itself as well as having grown up in Irvine, USC I love because I feel like I’m not alone- the professors are more one on one and you’re getting what you pay for. But I’m not sure about more loans in addition to the med school loans I would have.

What are my options as to how to proceed about this?

2

I couldn’t tell you what school to pick, but as far as your living situation goes - I would get the hell out of dodge. You said yourself you need to live on your own to focus on your studies and that your home is a toxic environment. I don’t know if that is because of your parents, but assuming that it is, I wouldn’t give them a reason to exert more control over your life with the money hanging over your head. Strike out on your own. You’re an adult now.

background: I’m a 37 year old veteran and a non-traditional (obviously) student.

3

Im a mom waiting to see if her son gets into UCI…You should be very proud of your accomplishments! Congrats on all your acceptances that is AWESOME! So heres my take…When my son got out of HS he had a lot of takes as well…he waited till he saw what each college was offering him in the way of free $$$$ before making a decision. UCLA,UCSC,SDSU offered him hardly a thing…but UC Merced offered him a FREE ride! He also loved the small college feel that Merced had to offer and a lot of his HS friends decided to go there for those same reasons. He got ill and needed to drop and his grades crashed and burned and decided to go to a CC instead of returning.

As for your choice…do you want a BS in any of those Majors? Regents and Honors is great…MORE FREE $$$$$$. Have you received any info yet on financial aid for any of the colleges? or are all them out come May?

by the way I was a nurse for Labor and Delivery for over 22 years so know about the medical filed and DOCS :slight_smile: just to let you know that Im familiar with your choices.

lets start here…write on paper the following pros and cons…what kind of medicine do you want to practice at this time? yet it will most likely change in Med school but at this moment…take away all the variables…like your home life and situation, money, traveling, loans, …and so on…concentrate on the offers at hand…what strikes you the most in interest…that is in what they are offering you in their Major…what fits more with your idea on where you want to be after

Next look at the colleges…not by ratings but by size, lecture size, housing not price but housing you like the most, area the college is in…do you like the area? hows the Weather? any friends lat that college? and so on…

Break it all down and than after you have weeded down your choice look at what is being financially offered. After all that start to look more at the other variables…your home life…will you be able to study better out of that situation. AS for the $$$ they are offering you to go to USC which is an awesome college by the way…will they give you that $$$ if you show them that you have done your pros and cons and look at it all responsibly will they offer you that $$$$ to do this instead?

Going to college as a doctor is going to give you loans no matter what…its a given…you should be very proud of yourself that you are looking at doing this as cheep as you can without compromising your Major.

Remember one thing…THIS HAS TO BE YOUR CHOICE! not anyone in this thread, not your parents and not your friends…I don’t know you or your home situation…but if it is that bad that you need to decide that variable first…what College offers me the best in housing? because you will need to stay on campus…at least for the first year till you meet some friends and than share an apartment :slight_smile:

So have you been shown yet what each college will offer you financially? Again after my son went down the line he could not pass up the free ride…

Do you want a BS?

4

Congratulations on your acceptances!!! I am going to UCI (live in Costa Mesa) and am hoping to switch from their psychology major to public health science after spring semester is over. However, I was looking through the psych major today (not social and behavioral) and it is basically their cognitive science pre- major and you can choose your emphasis. They have cognitive neuroscience which sounds like it could be a great fit for you. It’s more psych focused than public health science, but a lot of bio still and not as much chemistry. Here is the link for the major-
http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/undergraduate/bscogsci.php

I’m not sure about the other schools especially Usc- but I know uci’s cognitive science program is better established than UCLA’s. If you have any questions about the Irvine area I’m happy to help!

5

Hey @grimmghost ! Congrats on getting in to all those schools! First of all over everything else, don’t let anyone else around you influence the choice you make. Pick what you think is best for you and what you would be happiest with. I’m a comp sci major here so I’m not sure how the whole process works exactly but if you’re going on to take the MCAT and go on to medical school, any one of these schools are going to work out in the long run as long as you keep the GPA up and get enough study time for the MCAT. Name won’t matter as much for applying to med school.

From what you said, it seems like UCD or UCSD weren’t brought up too much so we can take those off for now. You said you could excel at psych so that would make UCLA a good option but at the same time you feel invisible/have to take out loans. USC isn’t for sure yet and you’d have to live at home but the system there seems to be in your favor. Then there’s UCI where you can switch into your preferred major before med school. I’ll tell you this. If you’re pursuing a career in medicine/health-fields, be ready to take out a LOT of loans. Your loans at UCLA won’t equate to much in the long run. From what it seems you can boil it down to UCLA and UCI as of now. UCI seemed to be the one school you would like to go to that you didn’t see any negative aspects in.

Of course that’s just what I can get out of all of this. None of us can tell what exactly what would work best for you but we can just offer some advice and kind of organize the thoughts you gave us to work with. The flat out answer from me is either UCI or UCLA. Make sure you find somewhere other than home too since it can affect your studies. Wishing the best! Keep us updated on your decision!

6

I think you should opt for Public Health at UCI.