<p>i agree with everyone above–forget ucsd. for name/prestige alone, ucla and cal should be your only picks. sd, while improving, is still far below the top two uc’s. </p>
<p>also, have you been to the sd campus? it’s pretty, but it’s split up into the different schools, which is nice for specialization, but really hurts socializing. you also don’t really get the college town vibe you get from berkeley or westwood, which are both really fun towns for students.</p>
<p>the choice, then, will probably be between ucla and berkeley, which is pretty common. berkeley is superior academically; ucla, socially. you get the name brand recognition at cal, but it’s also rainy and people don’t really talk to each other as much. with ucla, you still get some prestige (although not as much, granted), and you get socal weather and happy, friendly people. ok, well, social people, at least.</p>
<p>remember that you’re going to be at whatever college for 4 years of your life. if you don’t like the atmosphere, or you don’t like telling people you go to that school, those 4 years are going to suck.</p>
<p>step one: invent (discover) a 3 sided die
step two: roll it
step three: never look back</p>
<p>you know… i shouldnt be talking, im having this same porblem… :(</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who gave up UCLA and Cal for SD. So don’t ignore SD. UCSD Bioengineering and biology programs are generally considered to be top notch. And the environment isn’t necessarily the most important factor when it comes to having a fun social life. I’ve talked to a lot of people who say that UCSD is a blast. It’s what the individual makes of it!
Generally, either UCLA and UCB would be better choices for most people, however. Good luck, everyone! You can’t be wrong with any of these UCs.</p>
<p>^yea, SD does have some very strong bio-oriented programs (again the rankings are not for undergraduate, but if you want to make the graduate–>undergraduate extrapolation, then yes SD is very strong)</p>
<p>however, keep in mind that when you apply for med school, nobody cares what you major in and very few schools will give you “brownie-points” for coming from tough schools. So for premed, the strength of the program is really not THAT important. Both schools will give you AMPLE research/clinical EC opportunities so that shouldn’t be a huge factor either.</p>
<p>the decision comes down to the social atmosphere and where you would best “fit” and where you can succeed.</p>