<p>Go to UCSD, you'll feel alot better when you get into the same Med-School you could have gotten into with Rice, and you wont be an extra $60,000 in the hole.... I had a friend who go into Rice and didn't go after talking to several doctors he knew who said that its far better to do well in a less prestigious/less expensive school and just rock your GPA and testing and end up in med school with less debt than going to Rice.</p>
<p>He made up his mind and chose some UT sattelite over Rice.</p>
<p>Oh and you'll open up a spot for me so I can get off their waitlist!</p>
<p>Matt30: It is my understanding that Rice's student body population (3000 undergraduates) is much, much smaller than UCSD's. Therefore, a 90% med school admit rate at Rice is not necessarily better than a 47% med school admit rate at UCSD. While the percentage appears higher, the actual numbers may not be.</p>
<p>Squarehead: If you feel that Rice is more "prestigious" and thus will enhance your med school application, then go there inspite of the increased cost. Just remember that comparing Rice with UCSD is like comparing oranges with apples. Rice was established in the late 19th century and has had over a hundred years to garner the respect it has today. UCSD was established in the 1960's, and in its short life of 40 years has quickly risen to be a premier university for biological sciences and biomed engineering.</p>
<p>Pilebay: I know of someone who graduated from Yale with honors and another who graduated from MIT: both could not get a seat in a US medical school. One went to Granada, and the other to McGill in Canada. So to say that getting admission into a good graduate program is difficult and endemic to UCSD is not true...it happens even in ivy league schools.</p>
<p>Back to Square: Visit both places, talk to students, examine both programs, see how you like the location of each university. As it was suggested earlier by coureur, since both are great places, strong in academics, it really boils down to what suits you the most.</p>
<p>I made up my mind, UCSD it is. After talking over the issue with my parents and my friends, I have come to view prestige to be much less important than the quality of academic programs. And in bioengineering, UCSD pwns Rice. Add the fact that UCSD is $15k cheaper and the choice becomes pretty obvious.</p>
<p>I attribute Rice's high med school acceptance rate mostly to the higher quality of its students. Since I was admitted to rice, I have proven that I am of "rice quality". Success of getting into med school is mostly based on the quality of the student, not the prestige of the school. And therefore, UCSD it is.</p>
<p>Sogui, I free up my spot at Rice for you. BE happy!</p>
Humid? Uh... no.. San Diego is not humid. And I would'nt say hot, either. In the summer, the average max temp in La Jolla is about 75 degrees - warm and sunny, but not "hot." Minimums in the mid-60's. Anything above 85 degrees here (which is rare) and everyone thinks they are about to die..</p>
<p>Trust me, I live here :D SD weather is great.</p>
<p>How is it not humid? It's on the Pacific Ocean?! Even Green Bay, Wisconsin can get a little muggy because it's on a large lake????
Portland, Oregon also gets that way because of Willamette and Columbia rivers. And, I know that the average temperature here in SW Washington is way lower than San Diego. I have relatives that live in San Diego...so I'm familiar as well. I could be wrong about the climate since I've only visited during summers and late spring.</p>