Post questions about UGA here!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Georgia
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<p>Hello everyone! I thought it'd be a good idea to start a questions thread as it seems people have heard about their acceptances from UGA recently and are probably evaluating their choices or deciding on dorms, etc. Post any questions you have about UGA and Athens!</p>

<p>My background: I graduated last year, majored in cell biology and genetics, and will be attending medical school in the fall, so my expertise is mainly science-related, but I can try answering questions about other things. I absolutely LOVED my experience at UGA, and I feel blessed to have attended such a great school. I'm more than happy to elaborate on any specifics of my experiences if you're interested.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your acceptance, and GOOOO DAWGS!!!</p>

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<p>AHHHH! YOU ARE A DREAM COME TRUE!!!</p>

<p>I want to major in Cell Biology and Psychology (my ultimate goal is Medical school to become a psychiatrist). I am currently deciding between University of Pittsburgh (with it’s renowned UPMC) + $35k a year and UGA (in state tuition). I’M SO STUCK. But I am leaning towards UGA…</p>

<p>Are there are lot of people there from the North East? I feel like everyone is pretty much from Georgia. And not even the south…just Georgia.</p>

<p>How did you get over the party school reputation? I feel like it’s partying/greek life is more well known than the actual academic program.</p>

<p>Are there lots of opportunities to volunteer in health sciences?</p>

<p>How hard were the courses? Did you stay up til like 2 am every night studying?</p>

<p>What are the benefits of the honors program? I was admitted EA to UGA but did not apply to Honors and am now regretting it. But I heard that the only real benefits are Housing and that doesn’t apply to me because I plan on living at home (to save money).</p>

<p>Do a lot of students live at home?</p>

<p>SORRY FOR THE QUESTIONS!!! I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity brought upon myself. :)</p>

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<p>No, probably not. Most people are indeed from Georgia…to be honest, it seems most people are from the greater Atlanta area. </p>

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<p>Are you talking about in terms of how med schools see you? I know one person who was questioned about it, but I feel like most schools probably don’t care. To be honest, unless you’re going to a REALLY high up there school or a lower tiered college (we’re talking community college or a step higher), where you went to school won’t matter for med school. There are too many other factors that go into choosing med students that your school will make little to no difference.</p>

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<p>There are plenty! The hospitals have programs and there are tons of volunteer activities that you can find. I volunteered for a hospice and a cancer center. A lot of opportunities get advertised on the pre-med listserv, so you just need to keep your eyes open.</p>

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<p>Difficulty is hard to judge because it differs from one person to the next. I know plenty of people who thought some science classes were hard that I didn’t find that hard. Cell bio is rumored to be a more difficult major compared to regular bio since the elective classes for the major are some of the hardest classes offered (so people say) and cell bio itself is a difficult class. So…yes…classes for cell bio are hard and require more work than other majors. I stayed up late a night before a test, but that’s about it. I think the key is not to study a lot, but to study well. And psych is easy (so says my roommate who majored in it along with bio).</p>

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<p>Early registration…that’s really all I got from the honors program :stuck_out_tongue: That in and of itself is worth it. If you go on their website, they probably have more information, but I wasn’t very involved with the program, so I’m not very knowledgeable. I didn’t really mind having large classes, so the smaller class sizes weren’t a huge selling point for me. </p>

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<p>Only the ones who are from around Athens, which aren’t a lot of people.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what UPitt has to offer, but I will say this…med school is expensive and not having to worry about undergrad student loans will feel great!</p>

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<p>How big is the average sized class?</p>

<p>Were you respected for your UGA diploma? I feel like when I tell people I got into UGA, they just say “Oh.”</p>

<p>How is the diversity at UGA? Are there a lot of asians, particularly? (I am asian)</p>

<p>Are the students more like the shallow dbags from high school, rich preppy kids, intelligent people you can have a profound conversation with, etc. etc.? I’m sure that there are all of those but what is the average norm?</p>

<p>Is there a lot of drugs/drinking/nymphos on campus?</p>

<p>Do a lot of students have jobs?</p>

<p>Sorry my questions are quite blunt. Haha.</p>

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Depends on the class and the level. A lot of intro classes range from 100-300 people. Classes that try to facilitate more discussion are smaller (things like English, language classes…maybe 20-30 people?). At least for the sciences, most upper level classes range from 50-150 people (at least for bio classes). </p>

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I feel that UGA has a big name in Georgia and probably a big name in the south. My parents live on the west coast, so UGA doesn’t have as big of a name as schools that are out there. I haven’t really “tested” to see whether or not my diploma is respectable since I haven’t tried looking for a job using it. UGA’s big name programs are its business and journalism programs. </p>

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I feel that in general, UGA students are pretty chill and pretty normal with the average intelligence of a college student from middle to upper economic classes, but there are so many people here that you can find people with any personality. I think that UGA is actually a friendly school. We’re not everyone’s best friends, but it’s not hard to strike up a conversation with classmates. You’ll naturally gravitate toward the personalities you like anyway. There’s a niche for everyone.</p>

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There is definitely a lot of drinking and a bit of the other two, but it’s also easy to not be part of any of it. I avoided partying until I turned 21 because I was too scared of getting caught. If you want to be part of that scene, it’s very easy. If you don’t, that’s also easy.</p>

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From the sample population of my own friends, it does seem that many students have jobs. Though to be honest, if you don’t need one, don’t get one. Focus on studying.</p>

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<p>Sorry, realized I forgot a question:</p>

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I never really know how to answer this question, but I can at least tell you that yes, there are a lot of asians. Then again, I also came from a high school that had like…3/86 asians in my graduating class, so to me it feels like UGA has a lot of asians. My friends who went to school with bigger populations of asians in hs don’t think there are a lot, so I guess it just depends on where you’re coming from. But there are a lot of asians, and there are a lot of asian-centered student groups that you and join and meet other people. There are also asian-interest frats and sororities.</p>

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<p>So I just looked up some rankings…</p>

<p>According to US News, UPitt undergrad is basically on the same level as UGA undergrad, but UPitt med is a top 20 medical school. I have no idea whether or not going to UPitt undergrad will help you go to UPitt med, but if this has been going through your mind (which I’d be surprised if it hasn’t), here’s what I have to tell you:</p>

<p>Your MCAT and GPA are probably the two biggest factors for getting into med school. Many schools screen just based on those two things. You will not be able to get into a top school (such as UPitt) unless you have a top MCAT score, regardless of where you went to undergrad (and if you hear otherwise, those people have something else on their app helping them…a masters program, extensive research, etc). Those are the two things you need to worry about - without those, many doors to top medical schools are closed. Therefore, go to the school where you think you will get the highest GPA. I know at least for UGA, all the other things you need to make you a top applicant (ie, volunteer activities and research) are abundant and easily attainable.</p>

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<p>@jenmarie
Hey, don’t mean to go all NAACP on you, but I’m really excited about going to UGA; yet I’m worried that me being black at a PWI is going to gender my ability to enjoy my time. So with that being said, do blacks and whites mingle a lot ( I come from a predominantly white high school where we all pretty much chill together) or are there two exclusive clubs that tend to separate?
Well, do all races get along in general? Sorry for the race question…</p>

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<p>From my experience, people do tend to segregate based on race and nationality. It’s not because we don’t get along - as an Asian, I don’t feel that there is any animosity among the ethnicities; however, we are a little segregated. I feel like it’s mostly because people tend to stick around those who they are comfortable with and people stick to others with a shared background, culture, and language. But this isn’t to say that people don’t mix, per se. Again, I feel that people with similar backgrounds and personalities will naturally attract each other. So people who are used to having a more diverse groups of friends will in the end have a diverse group of friends because they’ll find each other.</p>

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<p>Does that also apply for graduate school? As in, pursuing a PhD? Does it matter where you went to undergrad if you want to get a PhD? What is the most important thing then? (GPA, etc.)</p>

<p>Also, I am graduating from a high school in Athens and I honestly want nothing to do with my class. I hear that the majority of the students around Athens go to UGA…is that true? Also, will I bump into them a lot then?</p>

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<p>I’ve never looked into applying to graduate school, so I really don’t know the process, sorry :frowning: I would think that for grad school, you’ll need a good GPA, a good GRE, good recs, and probably for a science PhD, good research experiences. </p>

<p>I don’t really know anything about students from Athens going to UGA and how many of them do. I know of at least 2 people from Athens who go to UGA, but I really don’t know how many of them are here. You’re likely to bump into them if you’re the same major. There are a lot of classes that science majors need to take and we tend to take them together, so you’re likely to have freshman chem, ochem, bio, physics, and biochem with the same population.</p>

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<p>Do you know anything about living on ECV–Vandiver in particular? Would you mind telling where you are going to medical school and congratulations BTW!</p>

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<p>I’ve never lived there, but I’ve had a couple friends who have and they haven’t said anything bad about it. It’s nice to have your own room and private bathroom that you don’t have to share with the rest of the floor. The dorms are a little far away from the center of campus, so you’ll probably be taking the bus to get to the main part of campus and back, but it’s not a big deal. Most of the major bus lines come by ECV…you’ll just have to learn how to push your way onto the bus (hint: stay near the curb where the doors open). ECV is also one of the nicer dining halls, and it’s easy to get to, so that’s nice. Ramsey is also right there, so there’s no excuse to not work out! I would’ve lived in ECV if they came with an actual kitchen, but it’s basically a sink and a counter. </p>

<p>And I’ll be going to MCG :)</p>

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<p>How was being a genetics major? I put that as my major but then I saw on their website that it’s one of the most challanging majors. What courses do you even take?</p>

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<p>I like genetics, so that’s why I majored in it, so I liked being a genetics major. But as a cell bio and genetics double major, I didn’t have to take very many classes beyond what my cell bio major required in order to get the genetics major. Cell bio and genetics overlap a lot, so it was easy to get both. It was only like 3 or 4 extra classes, and I had time to spare since I came in with a lot of credits. As a genetics major, beyond the basics, biochem, and genetics, I took: </p>

<p>1) cell bio - hard, took it in the summer and had some of the easier profs (better lecturers, no cumulative final), tests are all essay-based
2) developmental bio - not that hard, but I think I had an easier prof, tests are MC and essays
3) advanced genetics - this class is all about reading scientific literature and it was the first time I was required to read papers like that, so it took some adjusting. tests were essay based, but they gave us 10 questions beforehand and then they made us answer 2…or 4…can’t remember. but this was just for my profs - I’ve heard the tests being structured differently for other profs
4) evolutionary biology - i personally didn’t think this class was hard, but i’ve heard others think it is</p>

<p>The following were the electives I chose:
5) immunology - reportedly one of the hardest bio-based classes offered. definitely a challenging course and required a lot of work, but it was probably my favorite class
6) neurobiology - this was personally my hardest class (this was harder than immuno for me). I would say most classes are difficult because of the volume of information. Neuro was conceptually difficult for me…it was hard for me to wrap my mind around a lot of the concepts
7) biology of aging - not that difficult, a lot of information so I wouldn’t say it’s exactly easy, but i’ve had harder classes</p>

<p>When it comes to electives for genetics, the options are really broad - you can basically choose any upper level course in any bio or chem-based department, so beyond the hard cell bio course, you could probably find the easiest electives from all the choices and therefore the genetics major wouldn’t be so difficult (and would basically be a biology major). I did the electives I did because they were electives for my cell bio major (and with cell bio, there’s basically no way out of taking hard courses).</p>

<p>So yes, I won’t lie, if you took the classes I did as a genetics major, it’s challenging. It’s totally doable, but I really think difficulty depends on the person. There are a lot of classes that I didn’t find hard that others did, but I loved what I was learning about, so it made it a lot easier to study for. But the classes I took required a lot of work and a lot of studying. I also believe that when it comes it studying, it’s more about studying WELL than studying A LOT.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the really detailed response! It sounds really interesting, but very challenging. I would definitively try to take to the easier electives, if I even do go to UGA. But thanks so much!</p>

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<p>Hey - I thought you were awesome?! :D</p>

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<p>Jenmarie, Congratulations on MCG, great school! You are going to be very busy next year and I’m afraid that we won’t be seeing many posts from you after this summer. Hate to lose you, but am also very proud of what you have done for yourself and UGA.</p>

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<p>My dad told me that every weekend students must come home (or at least leave campus). I’m assuming from Friday to Sunday. Is this true? Because I would rather not commute all the way home every week :/</p>

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<p>Noo that’s definitely not true! The only time students can’t stay in the dorms is during long breaks (as far as I know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break). If that’s inconvenient, I think you’re supposed to live in Reed.</p>

<p>Maybe your dad just wants you home :P</p>