<p>Which would be a better choice for pre-med and help me be accepted into a med school? Also which one is better at sciences (esp. neuroscience since its my major)? Does it help that UCLA has a med. school on campus and has UCLA-Harbor hospital?</p>
<p>or is ucb the better choice since ucsf is so close?</p>
<p>cali_blondie,</p>
<p>Don't forget that you are likely to change your major (if not your career goals) at least once in undergrad. Don't worry so much about your prospective major or distance to UCSF. After all, UCLA Medical Center is right on-campus at UCLA, and it's not like you're really losing much by doing work there instead of at UCSF.</p>
<p>The real answer is "neither one." Yes, Cal is stronger academically than UCLA in most things. But that will not matter the least bit if you don't enjoy your time there. Do not define your four years of college solely by getting into grad school. Consider the fact that the vast majority of people will either change their major or career goals. You don't want to be at a school you hate just because you originally wanted to be a "________". </p>
<p>It doesn't "help" that UCLA or Cal has anything nearby. That is not a factor in admission. What will matter will be your ability to perform in the pre-medical required courses, your GPA, your MCAT scores, and your research/activities. Not much else will really matter. Heck, graduates of top LACs have a much better time getting into med school than even most top research universities, and they almost never have medical schools even affiliated with them.</p>
<p>The most important questions on your mind right now should be "where will I do my best?" and "Which school will offer me the best experience?"</p>
<p>I couldn't have said it better myself UCLAri.</p>
<p>I'm actually in the same position as you cali_blondie, but decided upon UCLA because I feel that I'll be much happier there, and I just love westwood. I'll also be pre-med, hopefully we can study and encourage each other sometime!</p>
<p>this is from my experience/observation
many people who 1. accepted to both cal and ucla, 2. want to go to med school chose ucla because gpa is a very large part of med school admissions and it is more difficult at cal to get a good grade.
other than that, location or social preference didn't seem to be a significant factor.
in my opinion, i don't think it really makes a big difference. 3.5+ at a high tier public university is much better than a 3.5+ at a high tier private university (grade inflation is becoming more and more ridiculous these days), so it really depends on how confident you are about yourself (both academically and how certain you are on your medschool dream)</p>
<p>riyam,</p>
<p>Unfortunately, some date would suggest that the 3.5 at Stanford will still beat the 3.5 at UCLA/Cal, but that's a different debate.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that UCLA is easier than Cal. Not by a long shot. If anything, I think that it's an unfortunate urban legend that gets passed around and really hurts a lot of potential pre meds. Do not fall into that trap, guys. UCLA is no cakewalk.</p>