Hello All, anyone know difficulty level of getting good GPA at UCLA Undergrad?
I have heard it is hard to get high GPA at UCLA and it will hurt medical school admissions.
for Class of 2023 Our other options are UF (In state with Bright Futures scholarship ) and U Miami (with 75% grant) , UC Berkeley (with no scholarship )
Which is best for top notch medical school admission (like UCLA, John Hopkins, Columbia etc)
Thanks in advance
I’d go for UF or U Miami in a heartbeat, especially for a pre-med student. I can’t imagine paying out-of-state prices for the UCs with such great options on the table.
If you are in-state for the Florida schools, why pay $65K/year to attend the UC’s when Medical school costs are going to add to your debt? Going to UCLA/UCB will not make you more competitive for Medical school. You want to go to a University with the best chance of getting a High GPA, affordable, access to medically related EC’s and good Pre-med advising to get a high MCAT score.
I suggest you post in the Pre-Med forum where you will get the same advice. You know what they call a Medical student that does not attend a “top notch Medical school”, they still call them a Doctor…
you can look at http://www.gradeinflation.com/ for a hint as to average GPAs. The info might be a bit outdated but still give you some general ideas.
Save the money to reduce the amount of debt for medical school. Many MDs have to start practicing with huge debt burdens (e.g. $300k or so) which can limit their career and life choices. So if you save $260k on undergraduate, and do get into medical school, you may be able to start medical practice with much lower debt and have more freedom to choose what you like instead of being forced to chase money at every turn.
Thank you all for quick response and valuable suggestions !!
It use to be, that if you went out of state for UG, it was harder to be accepted into a FL school for med or dental. I don’t know if this is still true.
If you want to be a doctor that works without actually ever getting paid, go UCLA or UCB. Next, you should worry first about getting into ANY medical school before worrying about “top” medical schools. Medicine is pretty egalitarian anyway. In nearly every market no one will care where you went to school nor will you make any more money.
“If you want to be a doctor that works without actually ever getting paid, go UCLA or UCB.”
what does this mean?
What it means is that if the OP racks up the debt a CA public will cost a FL resident and tacks medical school costs on top of that, the debt service will be so high that it will be like working for free. There’s NO reason whatsoever to consider UCLA or UCB.
Thank you all for great responses !!
Go to your flagship- don’t waste money on a private or OOS school. Use your FL money and be well prepared for medical school as well. Absolutely no reason to go across the country, pay OOS and travel expenses when your own state school will meet your goals.
We all have dreams but reality means we make choices, especially financial ones. So many go to their flagship regardless of desires and make use of honors programs, getting into grad and professional schools.
ALL US medical schools will give a good education, assuming you are admitted. The last ranked student in the last ranked medical school will still earn the degree and deserve the title of doctor. IF you attend any medical school that is where you can perform well and garner a residency of your choice. Physician here. btw- even the most vaunted medical schools are not perfect. And Harvard grads can end up doing the same work in the same city as the instate grads- have seen it.
Just want to add that many high schoolers want to be doctors, but change their minds during college. I would not plan on an absolutely certain career path and would take into account the best experience for the buck as an undergrad.
Regardless of major or career path, avoiding debt is a good goal.
I posted this thread as a parent and I got lot of information.
@wis75 @ucbalumnus @Gumbymom has answered few things which I haven’t asked but valuable points in selecting medical schools, very helpful for new UG parents like me.
That being said, I would like to conclude this thread with much thanks to all who contributed.
Its crazy expensive to attend UC as an oos, don’t waste money on some thing that has no added value come here.
In addition to whatelse said, do you aware that you might not be able to graduate in four years at an UC?
For the 2018-19 cycle, UCLA has the most applicants of 1014 with UC Berkeley as 5th 662…can’t image how fierce the battle for the few A’s among thousands of pre-meds…and out-of-state kids paying private school level tuition to BE in that battle at UC’s…it is in sane.