Should I attend UCR or SDSU?

State Forums
1

I have approximately 2 weeks before I need to make my final decision to commit to either UCR or SDSU.

For attending UCR, I would most likely major in neuroscience as a pre-med student l, and at SDSU I would major in psychology (B.A.) also as a pre-med student.

I am hesitant about both schools because I haven’t visited either of them due to the corona virus. What am I looking for in a school?
-In California (home-state), STEM-driven, student life, honors, nearby cities/accessible resources off campus, above-average dorm life, research opportunities.

My goal is to get into medical school at Stanford. Stanford has been my dream medical school for quite some time. I want to choose a school that I feel I can adapt to easily but, unfortunately, I haven’t connected to either school.

—————
UCR recap:
Pros to UCR: Research opportunities, STEM-driven, great profs, medical school (accepts 24 UCR students), nearby LA/city

Cons: weather is crap (very desert-like), more expensive than SDSU, surrounding area off-campus is dangerous and has a high crime rate

SDSU recap:
Pros to SDSU: An hour from home, nice weather, nice campus/campus size, family prefers that I attend school here, research opportunities, cheaper, great professors, in San Diego/within a compacted city of opportunity

Cons to SDSU: not as STEM-driven in comparison to UCR, stigmatized as a ‘party school’, don’t feel confident that I can stay focused without getting distracted from on-campus social-life

——————-

I want to choose a school that I can access all the necessary materials to go beyond the expectations of medical schools. Both are very good schools for similar and different reasons.

If you could offer any insight to either school, or play in favor to any of the two schools (UCR, SDSU), I would be very thankful.

2

Stop dreaming about a particular medical school. Most pre-meds who do apply to medical school apply to 15-30 or so medical schools, hoping to get into one (only about 40% of those who apply get into any, and most of those get into only one).

If you want to practice medicine in inland southern California, UCR has an early admission program to its medical school: https://somsa.ucr.edu/thomas-haider-early-assurance-program . Basically, a UCR student can apply a year earlier than usual to UCR’s medical school; if admitted, that skips the usual (expensive, time consuming, and stressful) process of applying to numerous medical schools the next year.