NYU vs UCSD for Biology

College Search & Selection
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D has been admitted to several biology programs, most in the Northeast (we live in NY) and including NYU (BA Biology), but also at UCSD (BS Molecular and Cell Biology). Because of COVID she won’t be able to visit UCSD. I’ve been there multiple times myself and I find it a sprawling but reasonably friendly campus (with awesome weather, of course). NYU we will be visiting soon (been to NYC many times). The other schools she is considering are CWRU, Pitt, and maybe UW-Madison. But NYU and UCSD seem to be the ones she’s gravitating toward, in that order. Her goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in biomed.

  • My first concern about both NYU and UCSD is that, from what I read, they seem to host an inordinately high number of premed students who essentially turn classes into huge (in size) weed-out experiences/grade races.

  • My concern about UCSD is the size of classes throughout, and the difficulty to sign up for the classes you want.

  • My concern about NYU is that NYU is not as well-known for bio sciences; although these rankings are grad-school-driven many times, because D eventually wants to go for a Ph.D. I think her rec letters will matter.

I should clarify that, thankfully, I do not anticipate taking any debt with either choice, although the $15k/yr difference in favor of UCSD is not lost on me. On the other hand, my very subjective and probably uninformed intuition is that NYU would be a somewhat better “college” experience (she’s into arts, foreign languages).

I’d appreciate your thoughts.

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Will she be applying to PhD programs while in undergrad, with the intention of attending right after graduation? What is her career goal, and how confident is she with this goal (will she change her mind, has she looked into employment options etc)?

Acceptance into a PhD program means she needs research experience. Has she investigated which of these schools would give her that opportunity? I would not cross some of the other schools off the list (Pitt etc). Has she looked into how many students are accepted to PhD programs, and what the process is?

Is she planning to work before applying to PhD programs?

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Hi @twogirls, thanks for your questions. Naturally, one never knows. But she already has one summer of biomed lab experience at a university and really liked it, so I think it is probable that she will apply for Ph.D. during her senior year. If she won’t, I still think it is likely that she will go to some form of grad school; I don’t see her getting the kind of job that she wants only with a bachelor’s in biology. Unfortunately, she’s not particularly strong in math, so an undergrad degree in biomedical engineering is not a realistic option (plus, she likes the bio side much more than the eng side).

She did investigate the research opportunities. All the schools listed above have strong research hospitals and biomed programs, and undergrads can take research for credit.

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That’s good. Has she investigated the possibility of being published while in undergrad? I believe that being published is recommended ( necessary?). How many students get published during undergrad or shortly after? Will she be ready to connect with researchers in various PhD programs and find programs that align with her interests?

I agree that biology majors end up in some type of grad school, but it’s also not unusual to work a little first. My D was a bio major so I saw the path that some take as they go through their undergraduate years.

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Thanks again @twogirls. Honestly, I don’t know what it takes to publish as an undergrad in biology, or whether it is necessary (I do know it always looks great!). We can investigate that a little. As for ready to connect with Ph.D. programs, yes I am reasonably sure that will not be a problem.

You’re right about working a little first, in fact I know (anecdotical) examples of people who did bio, then went to work as a lab technician with a big-name research institution, then applied for Ph.D.

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Feel free to PM me if you want. I am under the impression that when you apply to PhD programs in biology, you are applying to a specific program ? mentor? and you need to understand what is necessary for acceptance to that particular program…? I guess that schools may all do this differently. Some applicants apply to a specific lab- likely depends on the school. Also- I don’t think it’s necessary to publish, but of course it would be helpful (and I assume it depends).

The good news is that your D seems to enjoy lab work. That’s important, as lab work can get very grueling for some. Once she gets started in her undergrad research she can ask her profs for guidance.

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@twogirls, do you have any insight re. NYU vs UCSD?

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Unfortunately, no I do not. I have to say I am partial to Pitt (my D did not go there). What is it about these 2 schools that she likes?

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That’s interesting! I do see Pitt’s appeal; we lived in Pittsburgh for a year and the UPMC hospital system was spectacular. It seems to me like a sweet spot in terms of bang for the buck. We’ll be visiting next week, in fact.

I also know from your posts that you seem to be a fan of Lehigh; my D has an offer there as well, however the lack of a hospital network and the relatively low-ranked research program (AFAIK) is a problem in my mind.

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Lehigh is a great school for the right student. I was not a fan of Lehigh for my daughter. For her, Lehigh would have been a very poor fit for many reasons.

I also like the University of Rochester, but your D didn’t apply there.

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Does your daughter care about having a social aspect for her undergraduate education? UCSD students are known for being very serious and very academically-driven. It’s not known as a campus that has a strong social environment.

The locals call it “University of California for the Socially Dead”. If she’s OK having an undergrad experience without a lot of social or campus spirit, then she may do well at UCSD.

The classes do have large lecture halls for the popular majors and GE-required courses. They are not, what you would call, “weed-out” classes, they are just large, with many students who were at the top of their classes. There are a number of biology majors because a number of students assume that they are going into premed. It’s not an easy discipline. It lends to a competitive environment.

Housing at UCSD is not guaranteed for 4 years unless her admission letter indicated that she is in a specific scholar program with “guaranteed 4-year housing”. As a freshman she is guaranteed housing for freshman year and possibly her second year. The year, that some of my daughter’s friends attended, UCSD “ran out” of Housing. The housing office had under-estimated how much housing would be available. La Jolla and University city area housing is not cheap.

Additionally, students that apply to the UCs tend to forget that many of them are on the quarter system. She only has 10 weeks to do well in each class. A number of California high schools have “quarter-like systems”, such that, the locals get used to having a shortened calendar system.

It helps with planning studying skills in how they will perform in a 10 week course. It puts students, who have not had the benefit of a 10-week system at their high school, at a slight disadvantage because along with their daily living needs, they have to incorporate a 10 week system.

Yes we do have really good weather in San Diego, but the areas near the beaches get fog, especially in autumn. Locals tend to say that the “Coast hasn’t burned off yet”. It can feel kind of gloomy to students who aren’t used to being in fog or overcast skies for days at a time.
You and she have to visit and weigh your options. At $65K a year, if it continues to be online, it’s not going to be cheap.
If she’s OK with all of this, then I would suggest she fully research and consider UCSD.

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NYU the university as a whole and the location (incl. research opportunities); UCSD the reputation of the bio programs and the weather. She’s also quite picky about food, and from what we know those two schools have very good meal programs in terms of quality.

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Thank, @aunt_bea; she’s accepted into Muir, and indeed they indicate that there is a “small chance” that a Muir student may end up housed elsewhere. No mention of a 4-year guarantee.

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You may want to contact the housing office now, because I believe they recently started accepting housing applications at the end of March. It gets busy. If she’s in the Muir, she’ll probably be assigned to Tenaya and Tioga doubles.
https://muir.ucsd.edu/reslife/livingatmuir/index.html

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