Northwestern v. UCLA Need Urgent Help!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am mainly considering NU and UCLA. </p>

<p>I really liked NU when i visted. The people seemed really fun and normal, not snobby. Also, the campus is pretty, Evanston is nice, and I loved Dowtown Chicago. I am a little worried though that NU is mostly a journalism/humanities school and i am a science major, although i did get into the ISP program. I am also scared about the weather because i am from Los Angeles and have never experienced the cold. I did not get any financial aid. Money is a consideration, but not the deciding factor.</p>

<p>I was not as pleased when i visited UCLA. The people did not seem as nice. The campus is pretty and the surrounding area is nice. UCLA is well known for science, especially pre-med, which is what i want to do. Even though i am in the honors program, i feel like i will just be one of the crowd. However, I want to move away, but UCLA is a 30 min drive from my house. Also, i will get in-state tutition.</p>

<p>NU is technically ranked higher, but i want to go to the better science school. However, I am also interested in the best overall college experience. Which should I pick? Any advice will help!</p>

2

<p>@ sodacan72</p>

<p>I would definitely follow your gut feeling if financial issues aren't a concern. I am a Northwestern graduate, and i will tell you that the Integrated Science Program is good. Northwestern also has a lot of different programs that cater to all students. I wouldn't worry too much about the weather because it's only really cold for 4 months (Dec-March) and it gets warm again by April. The school runs on the quarter system (classes end in June and it feels like summer again). Again, you have excellent choices and choose the school you feel is the better overall fit for you.</p>

3

<p>I live about 30 minutes away from Evanston, and that is probably one of the BIG reasons why I didn't pick NU even though I did get in. Go far away from home! Experience something new! </p>

<p>That being said...the weather in Chicago does, indeed, suck. And this year, it was more like November-April cold weather. But it is nothing that you can't get used to.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a biology major and I know tons of people from my high school that went to NU / are there right now. They say that science is not a fun time there. The freshman intro classes are designed to weed people out so that they can maintain their "high" medical school acceptance rate. Plus, you have to factor the quarter system in. Most people don't like having breaks at different times than most of their friends and starting school at the end of September / ending in the middle of June is sometimes a pain.</p>

<p>There are tons of pros and cons to both schools, so figure out what is most important to you.</p>

4

<p>Do you think that Northwestern is worth the extra cost of tuition for undergrad? If that is an issue, you might consider first trying UCLA for undergrad, and then if you don't like it, transfer to Northwestern. </p>

<p>Good Luck to you wherever you choose to go. :)</p>

5

<p>sodacan72,</p>

<p>NU is not just a journalism/humanities school. It has better engineering than UCLA and one of the top-10 chemistry depts in the nation. In fact, subspecialties like inorganic and theoretical chemistry are top-3. That said, I'd personally pick UCLA cos that's a lot of money to <em>me</em> as I am not rich. :)</p>

6

<p>Northwestern will be as good if not better than UCLA in the sciences... don't confuse UCLA with UCB or UCSD for sciences.</p>

<p>However, you said UCLA Honors, right? This removes many of the inconveniences of a large school like UCLA. I'll bet you can pre-register for classes like athletes do? If so, I would recommend UCLA. The Honors program at UCLA, Michigan, etc. is generally the equivalent of Northwestern, Tufts, some Ivies, etc.</p>

<p>I'm also guessing NU is $200,000 vs. UCLA about $90,000 - $100,000? (taking into account reg fee increases I've read are coming). Is that right? If so, UCLA all the way.</p>

<p>If they were the same price... my niece is at NU right now and she says the winters don't suck as bad as she expected :)</p>

7

<p>Northwestern has a very well known and respected medical school, but I would save my money and go to UCLA. If you want to spend a lot of money, do it in medical school.</p>

8

<p>U obviously want to go to NU but UCLA is the smarter option when you consider finances, but if you are not going to borrow any extra money and mom and dad are ok with footing the bill then go to NU. If it means extra debt, you need to save that for med school. Btw if UCLA is your consolation prize, consider yourself fortunate.</p>

9

<p>Here is a relevant thread that compares 2006 premed admissions from several top ranked pre-med universities.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-student-topics/152312-top-pre-med-colleges-med-schools-rankings.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-student-topics/152312-top-pre-med-colleges-med-schools-rankings.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Top Ten Pre-Med Colleges By Number of Med School Applications
UCLA - 611
UC Berkeley - 536
U Michigan – 522
UT Austin - 391
UF Gainesville - 385
UCSD – 345
Harvard – 307
UW Madison – 305
UVA – 303
UIUC – 300
Stanford - 300</p>

<hr>

<p>Competitive Med Schools
MCAT >31.5 + GPA >3.5
Washington Univ., St. Louis, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Yale, Duke, Stanford, Mayo, NYU, U Penn, Michigan, UCSF, UCSD, UC Davis,** UCLA**</p>

<p>Second Tier
MCAT >30 + GPA >3.5
Cornell, U of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Utah, Baylor, UT Southwestern, Ohio State, Virginia, UC Irvine, Washington (Seattle)</p>

<p>Third Tier (Top 46/126)
MCAT 29-30 + GPA 3.4-3.6
USUHS (#40), Einstein (Yeshiva), SUNY Stony Brook, NY Medical College, Albany, SUNY Buffalo, Georgetown, Drexel, USC, St. Louis U, Emory, South Florida, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Dartmouth, U Mass Worcester, Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey</p>

<p>Middle Third Med Schools (43)
MCAT 27-29 + GPA >3.4
Wisconsin, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey (RWJ), Arizona, Florida, Missouri (Columbia), UT San Antonio, UT Galveston, SUNY Brooklyn, SUNY Syracuse, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Nevada, Penn State, Kansas, Texas Tech, TX A&M, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Case Western, Loyola, Jefferson, Tulane, Cincinnati, Med Coll Virginia, Miami, Temple, George Washington, Med Coll Georgia, South Alabama, Tufts, Mt. Sinai, Rush, Boston U, Med Coll Wisconsin, Med U S. Carolina</p>

<p>MCAT <27 + GPA <3.5
Eastern Virginia, Finch, Loma Linda, Louisville, Wayne State, Creighton, SIU (Springfield), Rochester, Med Coll Ohio, East Tennessee, Mercer, Marshall
Minnesota (Duluth), New Mexico, Vermont, LSU (Shreveport), North Dakota, West Virginia, LSU (New Orleans), South Dakota, UT Houston, Missouri (Kansas City) </p>

<p>Bottom 10 Med Schools
MCAT <24
MCAT 24: Missouri (Kansas City), Wright State, East Carolina
MCAT 21-24: Arkansas, UPR, Meharry, Howard, Morehouse
MCAT <21:Ponce, Caribe</p>

<p>Osteopathic Schools
MCAT 24-26 (Note none > 26)
Kirksville, Chicago COM, North Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma State, Western, Des Moines, NJ, Nova, Michigan State, PCOM
MCAT <24
Kansas City, New England, NYCOM, Lake Erie, West Virginia
N/A: Touro, V Tech, Pikesville, Arizona

[/quote]
</p>

10

<p>do any of you think that going to NU is worth the extra money? I wont need to get a loan but will probably have to get a summer or year-round job.</p>

11

<p>Good point there BandMom... I was going to point out UCLA med school is ranked #9 in the country, and Northwestern's is not in the top 20...</p>

<p>not that that has anything to do with undergrad sciences.. in which I think they're comparable or a little in favor of NU.</p>

12

<p>sodacan72 -- in answer to your question, No. I might pay an extra $5k -$10k to go to NU, but not $20K or $25k. And only if NU was for some reason a much better fit.</p>

<p>Hey, we're entering a recession. Time to be conservative with spending.</p>

13

<p>UCLA Honors Plus $100k spent on education (present and future, during or post undergrad years) is definitely better EDUCATIONALLY than NU. Think of what that $100k can buy you in educational opportunities (it's a year and half of med school!)</p>

<p>I don't really think it's close from an educational value perspective, but perhaps there are other perspectives that might sway you another way.</p>

14

<p>UCLA honors and NU ISP are both great options. Overall, though, it doesn't seem like there is enough benefit to NU to outweigh the significant cost differential if your goal is medical school (as opposed to a PhD in a scientific field).</p>

15

<p>college environment better at ucla</p>

16

<p>UCLA Band Mom,</p>

<p>Not to defend NU here and honestly, I think UCLA is a better choice considering the financial difference. That said, I think your post #9 is completely irrelevant. The stats also appear to be wrong or interpreted in an incorrect way:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>that UCLA has the largest number of premed means nothing positive; if anything, it's likely not something to be proud of since this probably means UCLA got larger number of premeds competing for the limited resource such as premed advising...etc than many other schools. Maybe that's the primary reason why publics tend to lag behind private peers in med school placement rate.</p></li>
<li><p>the stats is totally wrong for Northwestern. There's no way UC Davis is in the first group also and I thought this should have been obvious. According to Entering</a> Class Profile
the average GPA is 3.71 and the average MCAT score is 34.2 for NU admission. Next time, please examine the data to see if they make intuitive sense before you post them.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>DunninLA,
NU's med school is ranked #20. But like you said, med school rank is insignificant to undergrad program. It's not like the OP is choosing between two accelerated med programs.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
UCLA honors and NU ISP are both great options. Overall, though, it doesn't seem like there is enough benefit to NU to outweigh the significant cost differential if your goal is medical school (as opposed to a PhD in a scientific field).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I second that for the most part. If your goal were PhD in scientific field, then maybe ISP is worth the cost. How sure are you about med school vs grad school? By the way, as I already showed you, NU has respectable ranking in science. Regardless of that, ISP is definitely one of the best (and one of the most rigorous) science curriculum out there.</p>

18

<p>Money issues aside, is NU a better choice, especially since I felt that it is more of a fit?</p>

19

<p>Money issues aside, I would give a slight edge (not a large edge) to NU.</p>

20

<p>I agree with the comment about the largest pre-med from UCLA means nothing, I was thinking out of how many students, what is the percentage? etc.. Also the fact that UCLA is a great medical school is irrelevant for pre-med. UCLA tends to accept non-UCLA undergraduates. So going to undergraduate at UCLA is not going to help a student getting in UCLA medical school.</p>