<p>well as the title says. my parents want me to stay closer to home(USC) but I know that UCSD has better science? Where should I go? Does USC have comparable sciences to ucsd?</p>
<p>Go to UCSD.</p>
<p>san diego. isn't it like ranked 3rd in the nation or something?</p>
<p>Which do you, OP, like better?</p>
<p>but isnt the competition at ucsd like crazy hard?
i heard so many people drop becuase of the harsh competition.
im trying to choose between usc and ucsd too. and im leaning more toward usc just because the competition is easeir. hm. what do you guys think?</p>
<p>yeah i have the same views as conf123</p>
<p>The pre-med program at UCSD is, without doubt, superior to USC. As a result it is competitive.</p>
<p>If your objective is academic, and you're willing to work hard, pick UCSD. When you graduate, you will have excellent options for the future, ahead of most others.</p>
<p>If your objective is to have a degree from a decent school, but allow for social/recreational opportunity, pick USC. Upon graduation, you will be in line behind the cream from UCSD.</p>
<p>wow dashcart</p>
<p>looks like i have to go to UCSD</p>
<p>I would love to see the statistics that make you think that UCSD is sooo much better than USC in terms of science and premed.</p>
<p>I haven't found any, and trust me, I have put a lot of time into researching USC's science and premed programs. The fact of the matter is that the statistics that I have seen indicate that there is a marginal difference between the two programs, if any.</p>
<p>I might add, when applying to med school, your gpa, interview, and MCAT matter much more than the marginal (if any) difference between USC and UCSD's pre-med programs</p>
<p>Who started this rumor? UCSD's reputation is due to the strong faculty in biosciences. But the weird thing is they didn't produce more outstanding students on Ph.D. level than most other peer schools. Considering the undergraduate quality is another level or two lower than their Ph.D. program there, I could not believe their pre-med is MUCH superior to anyone. Based on my personal encounter with about a dozen UCSD students, I can say only two or three are really bright ones.</p>
<p>is it true that it is harder to get better gpa at ucsd than usc tho?</p>
<p>Sorry - I think my characterization came across as implying that UCSD is <em>much</em> better. That was not the intent. I did, however, mean to say that the best (cream) from UCSD pre-med will comprise a more desirable applicant pool for Med School than USC.</p>
<p>In the past few years, the UCSD pre-med program has improved much faster than average, based on increases in research citations, grants, and number of post-graduate and doctoral candidates produced. Based on these data it is ranked in the top 10 feeder colleges for Med School, and USC is in the high teens (based on last year's data - I got this data when researching something quite different - from Princeton Review, I think).</p>
<p>So clearly there is a difference, but given the distance between the rankings, there will probably be substantial overlap in quality.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I recently heard that the UC med schools don't like to take their own, and would rather accept students from private universities (i.e., USC). Consequently, if you are planning on applying to med school, especially within California, might not USC be the preferable institution with this in mind?</p>
<p>I have the same question as conf123</p>
<p>At which school would it be easier to earn a higher GPA?</p>
<p>De ansa is USC be easier.</p>
<p>i was just wondering if pre-med students ever have contingency plans? I knew a guy who was pre-med at ucsd dropped out within his first month and now he is stuck there doing some lame major he doesnt even like. If we would have went to usc he could have gone into film, business, journalism, etc. Just some food for thought...</p>
<p>Thnaks guys for the responses, I was leaning towards usc; and it looks like I will be a trojan for the class of '11.</p>
<p>I'm considering USC for premed over Duke and Northwestern because of a full tuition scholasrhip to USC. </p>
<p>I don't know if my rationale is off, but as long as I like USC, this should be fine right? I mean it would definitely be less competitive than the other two schools and I could probably get a higher GPA. To the OP, I think as long as you do well at USC, you'll be fine....you're not at a disadvantage so someone with the same stats at UCSD...you just need to get involved in research & EC's that show your interest</p>