<p>UCSC was son's first choice among the four UCs he applied. SFSU was one of his "safety" schools. For the last few weeks we were all set to send him to UCSC by taking out parental loans and unsubsidized student loans (Family contribution from FAFSA was too high for any financial aid to any school.) </p>
<p>Fast forward to present day where SFSU has offered son Presidential Scholar program. Financially this means free tuition for four years, $500 in books for each of four years, $4,000 towards housing freshman year only. In addition, they offer priority registration, special events, classes, trips for the Presidential Scholars.</p>
<p>Son hopes to attend medical school after graduating. Aside from basically getting college FREE, the SFSU opportunity seems like an outstanding opportunity. Plus, he would be able to put on resume and med school application that he was a Presidential Scholar, thus explaining his choice of college.</p>
<p>Question: Is SFSU diploma less desirable to medical schools, than one from UC?
Does SFSU Presidential Scholar carry more weight than UCSC regular student?</p>
<p>Take it. He can put the Presidential Scholar award on his resume. Besides, money talks. If he can get four years of school for FREE, he’s got it made. Follow the money.</p>
<p>I would never attend a csu, but getting payed for school is always a plus! You should visit both schools and see which one your son feels more comfortable in. Any UC you attend will always give you a good chance to get into a good med school. I don’t know enough about a csu to feel comfortable saying it. Med school is not just based on your gpa. Good luck with your choice!</p>
<p>How did your son get this presidential scholar thing? I am am applying knowing I will get in, and so I searched CC looking up SFSU and saw your thread. I have a Weighted gpa of 3.9 right now(not senior yet) and i have taken 3 ap classes(3 more senior year), 1800 sat score(may be higher)…? please give me some details I am dying to hear about this scholarship.</p>
<p>What was your students’ gpa and SAT scores and volunteer/work and awards/extracurriculars ? I really need to weigh my odds of being accepted…thank you!!</p>
<p>I attended a med school conference last september at UC Davis. At the conference, there were med school admission officers from some of the top med schools in the nation (John Hopkins, Stanford, Harvard, etc). They all said the same thing: “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU DO YOUR UNDERGRAD”. Yes, there’s a spot for in on the application but it will not be a deciding factor between admission and rejection. They look for a high GPA and high MCAT scores. Also, they want to see you take advantage of opportunities in your undergrad. It sounds like SFSU would have more opportunities, and the general area is filled with internships, volunteer work, etc. UCSC is in the middle of a redwood forest, and as far as a UC goes, UCSC is pretty low standing. Take SFSU, it sounds like they’re making it pretty cheap for you guys. What’s not to like about that?</p>
<p>Bottom line: visit each school and see where your son feels comfortable and gets the best vibe. SFSU is nearly free and the opportunities in SF are endless. UCSC, on the other hand is a UC, so you’ll get more of a research oriented learning style. But, again, its UCSC and nobody really knows/cares about UCSC, but it shouldn’t matter because it doesn’t affect med school admissions.</p>
<p>sorry, I didn’t realize how late I am on this post!</p>