<p>Although I understand that its my decision as to which college I attend I just wanted to see anyone's input on my current situation. I had gotten accepted into my top schools which included UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. As a pre med I thought those were all amazing opportunities that I had been granted a chance to make the most of. However, I had also gotten accepted into a small liberal arts school called University of San Diego with a $15,000 scholarship, which ,made the tuition nearly equal to that of UCLA. Hearing about the competition at the UCLA and how its hard to graduate in 4 years, outside opinions have convinced me that my chances of making it into med school are lower than if i went to USD (since med school admissions is a numbers game). Eventually i decided to attend USD with reluctance but still left UCLA on my mind since I had never rejected admission(i accepted both to prolong my time to make a choice). It's been two months and I've been doubtful and confused with my decision. I'm going to USD mainly because of med school but I turned down UCLA even though I fell in love with the campus and the opportunities it entails. I still haven't denied that school and i'm questioning if should still attend USD. I just wanted to ask you guys from your college experiences if it really matters where you go to college as long you strive to succeed and if I'm truly passing out on UCLA and attending USD for the wrong reasons. I appreciate all the time and effort in any input you guys put. thanks so much.</p>
<p>Go to UCLA. That is where your heart truly lies.</p>
<p>Go to UCLA</p>
<p>I strongly would suggest you go to UCLA. Your chances of getting into Med school are going to be up to the amount of work you put in and how well you do on the MCAT.</p>
<p>USD will be just as difficult, if not more difficult, than UCLA if you (1) aren’t happy with your choice and live every day there with regret over not picking UCLA and (2) don’t truly connect to the campus and the people there. I completely agree with CheesePuff that UCLA is where your heart truly lies. In my mind, this decision is clear as daylight.</p>
<p>Going to the school where the campus and opportunities suit your personality will most definitely motivate and help you excel, you’ll find you’ll have a better shot from UCLA than USD. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’d say go with whichever makes you happiest. Though I think it may be a bit late for this year–wasn’t the SIR due in May?</p>
<p>If you’re regretting your decision, I’d try to get back to UCLA</p>
<p>You’ll do better at a school that you love, simple as that, even if it’s more challenging. I’d say go to UCLA.</p>
<p>I thought about my response before reading the other responses. Interesting that I was going to respond exactly the same way. </p>
<p>Back in the 80’s, I was fortunate to attend a school I was totally excited about going to (UIUC) and I had a great 4 years. To me, it is important to love where you are – it should feel really special to be there, you should feel a vibe that is special for you, etc. </p>
<p>So while this is a very personal decision, based on what you described, I’d go with UCLA. If you had posted that USD (or UCSD) is where your heart is, I would have suggested that school. Life is short – my process for life decisions has been to consider things objectively, and then follow my heart – I have rarely regretted decisions I made in this way. </p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>70% of UCLA undergrads manage to graduate in 4 years. Students may not always get their 1st choice for electives, but they are getting out in time. See [UCLA</a> Faculty Association](<a href=“http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-ucla-undergrads-reported-to.html]UCLA”>UCLA Faculty Association: More UCLA Undergrads Reported to Graduate On Time: Higher Tuition Cited)
I still can’t figure out what this means. Even if it did take 5 years at some college to graduate, how could that possibly affect your chances of admission to med school?</p>
<p>thank you guys so far for your opinions!
@mikemac well the graduating in 4 years was its own thing and its just because a prolonged graduation is unnecessary since i’ll have enough years to deal with in medical school. When i said how people told me its hard to get into med school in UCLA, that meant that the cutthroat competition and grade deflation make it much harder to get let’s say a 3.5 GPA compared to getting that GPA at USD. And since med schools don’t care where you come from others including my parents say that you might as well go to the school where you will most likely get better grades in. USD is still of course, but the smaller classes, less competition convince others that it’s the better choice over UCLA.</p>
<p>^Remind your parents that GPA is only one, albeit an extremely important, aspect of medical school admissions. However, I think you’ll find that when comparing these more prestigious universities to state or regional ones, the top-tier schools generally have higher MCAT scores, greater opportunities for internships/community service, and more counselors to guide their students along the pre-med “track.”</p>
<p>Just throwing it out there.</p>