<p>What are the chances of getting into a top graduate school after attending UCLA? Would it be harder because it's harder to get a good GPA, or does it not matter if you're not pre-med? I'm going into biology by the way...</p>
<p>Thanks!!! (:</p>
<p>someone please reply…i’m trying to choose between uc davis and ucla. as much as going to ucla would be amazing, i don’t want to risk not getting to know my professors well/do badly in my classes and not go to grad school afterwards. in that case, i’d rather go to a less prestigious uc and really do well in my classes.
thanks!!</p>
<p>The chances are determined by a) how intelligent you are, b) how hard you work, c) how you manage your time.</p>
<p>Generally speaking: you CAN do well at UCLA and get a good GPA and go to med school with your major in biology.</p>
<p>But also generally speaking: UC Davis is easier than UCLA if you are pre-med. However, “easier” doesn’t mean UC Davis is easy. Easier could mean 0.000000001% easier or 50% easier. Nobody will know for sure. But I guess if all you care about is your GPA, UC Davis would be less stressful relative to UCLA.</p>
<p>You can definitely get into top graduate schools out of UCLA. Many of my friends have gotten into top-10 schools in their fields, and being at UCLA has contributed to that because the weight of a letter from a UCLA professor who is top in their field carries so much weight compared to an average middle of the road professor with a few awards but not necessarily the top in their field.</p>
<p>thanks guys! that really helps a lot.</p>
<p>haha i do care about things more than GPA…it was just something for me to use to compare how difficult classes will be (: i am willing to work really hard, but i was just afraid of getting lost in a sea of people despite how hard i worked. how likely is that?</p>
<p>It’s easy to get lost in the crowd, so you need to be proactive. It is also easy to get close to professors.</p>
<p>If you’re going to any UC, or any big university, it’s going to very easy to get lost in the crowd and to just be another number. You really have to be proactive and seek things out on your own. This applies to UCLA and Davis. Nobody is going to hold your hand. You’re pretty much on your own.</p>
<p>Getting involved in undergraduate research will help you connect with a professor.</p>
<p>Getting into a top grad school after attending UCLA will be extremely difficult, unless you are a genius. I would recommend going to an easier school if you plan to go to grad school. To this day, I regret my decision of coming to UCLA.</p>
<p>ucla111, have you ever stopped to think and realize for a second that if you really were smart enough and had things going for you to get into grad school, UCLA isn’t what ruined you? It was probably your own stupidity.</p>
<p>Think about it. A person with things to do, responsibilities to keep, jobs to work, courses to study (all the characteristics for a good potential grad student) wouldn’t be making an account on a random internet forum, literally copy pasting “Don’t go to UCLA, I didn’t get in grad school because of UCLA” into ever perspective students’s thread. You have 10 posts, all 10 of them literally say the same thing with minor wording differences. “UCLA ruined me, UCLA ruined my chances at getting into grad school.” Unless UCLA murdered your mom or your dad, raped your siblings, and stole from you, chances are you ruined yourself and that’s why you feel the need to stick the blame of failure on the school and not yourself. </p>
<p>Some people are too stupid to understand just how stupid they are. That’s part of the territory.</p>
<p>Is it true that it’s difficult to get into UCLA’s grad school if you go their for your undergraduate degree?</p>
<p>Yes and no… UCLA likes to bring in new talent for their grad program and really wants you to gain new perspectives. But if you have 2+ years in the same lab in the department you want to work in, with a professor that will take on grad students, they will usually accept you for graduate school in that department if you have the grades, as it takes less time for you to get up to speed and you can start or continue producing immediately.</p>
<p>Most departments at most schools are somewhat reluctant to take their own undergrads for their PhD programs. You shouldn’t turn down UCLA for undergrad because you want to be a grad student here.</p>
<p>ThisCouldBeHeaven, can you point me to some data to show that claim (not doubting you just want to see statistics on just how much more they prefer others etc). Also, why do you think this is the case? I know schools like Princeton have very strong loyalty to their own students and often take their own undergrads over any other school’s into their own Ph.D program. Why are schools like UCLA the opposite of that?</p>