@MYOS1634 Hmm ok…I guess I never really considered those aspects. As I said before though, I live super duper close to campus, so I really don’t know if the extra $12-15k is worth it. I’ll discuss it with my parents I guess.
It will be easier to get to a UCSD medical school interview if you are a student at UCSD. Of course, getting to the point of being invited to such an interview is difficult.
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@DoctorP Aw man, I was really hoping that UCSD Med would favor its own undergrads. Do you think there would be at least a slight bias?
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Why would they?
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It will be easier to get to a UCSD medical school interview if you are a student at UCSD.
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@ucbalumnus Why do you think that? Is there any evidence of this?
^ Wouldn’t a UCSD student be able to walk to the interview?
Lol
I misread UCB’s words. I thought he said, “it would be easier to get a UCSD medical school interview…”
I didn’t see the, “to.”
Hey @wormholes, congrats on having to decide between 3 great schools! I recorded my response to your original post, take a listen!
https://youtu.be/XweKOhVcQUU
Not CMU unless you absolutely love the school.
@OHIvyCA Wow! Thank you so much!!
@herosaurus17 May I ask why?
It’s very expensive and for pre med, Its not worth it… It’s extremely rigorous and the students study non stop. I live in pgh and the students at Pitt are way more social and seem to be way happier. The campus is in a cool area but if UCSD is cheaper, I would go there. Obviously this is just my opinion but for pre med I think cmu would not be worth it.
…”which of these three schools would win?”
It’s not about which school will win, it’s all about whether or not you can take advantage of the resources each of your three choices has available to produce a competitive app that a med school will be willing to offer you an interview. Any of your three choices will do the trick.
“I would just like to know which school would be the smartest choice.”
Consider the school where you believe you will fit in as if you’re happy you’re more likely to do well GPA wise. As a CA resident, consider cost (aka cheapest–UCSD) as most CA premeds who start med school will start OOS as there is simply not enough med school slots available in CA and going OOS for med school will be very expensive. If you’re interest is in patient care, you should consider patient centered ECs, as opposed to being concerned with a school’s research opportunities. Doing research just to check off boxes is not impressive. Have a Plan B as most who start on day one of college as premed will never get to point of applying and will change their minds along the way. Good luck.
@OHIvyCA You do not know about new MCAT. It is NOT scored out of 45 as in your video. No insight there at all as a consultant. A lot more free help about Medical School admission is available on internet. Your video is NOT very helpful.
Well, it’s also likely because students who live on campus are wealthier and more likely to be traditional-aged, and are less likely to have to work a job to make ends meet, care for children or elderly parents, or worry about how they are going to pay next semester’s tuition. There’s not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between on-campus living and grades or even involvement. A middle-class traditional-aged student who lived 15-30 minutes from the UCSD campus and has few familial obligations could likely be as involved as she wanted to be.
You can establish a college/independent adult identity living at home. Millions of 18-25 year olds live at home with their parents because they don’t go to college or they ahve to commute because that’s the only way they can afford it, and most of them grow up to be independent adults. You can mature just fine if you stay at home, too.
@juillet Thank you so much for the insight. I was really worried after being told that students who live off-campus don’t tend to do as well as their on-campus counterparts…
^ it’s still the case though…
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Thank you so much for the insight. I was really worried after being told that students who live off-campus don’t tend to do as well as their on-campus counterparts…
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I can understand not borrowing or stretching the budget just to pay for room and board. But, there are advantages to being on campus. If financially you must commute, then you can be more like a resident student by spending extra time on campus…study in the library, join clubs, etc. Don’t just line up all your classes back to back and then go home.
@MYOS1634 So are you saying that just because I will go home everyday, vs. stay on campus, my grades will be worse…?
@mom2collegekids Yes, I definitely plan on doing that! I don’t want to make it like another four years of high school 
Not necessarily, but rather I’m saying it’ll be harder to keep top grades because of everything that a student who lives on campus can do, which is more difficult if you don’t - you could decide to say on campus till Midnight every weekday of course, and just go home to sleep, then return for your first class, but I’m not sure how practical that is.
@MYOS1634 Hmm okay. But aren’t there some advantages to commuting as well? For example, you don’t have to worry about food/meals, you have the help of your parents, it’s quieter, etc. etc. I’m just trying to look at it from both sides.
You have food in the dining halls, quiet in the library and study rooms (and quiet floors if that’s what you want). I’m not sure how your parents ‘help’ - surely by now you make your own bed and can handle a washing machine, nor do you expect your parents to help with homework on all subjects when the University has tutors. I suppose your parents can provide comfort when you get a bad grade; there’s also familiarity if staying in a house and area you know well, with people you know well.
However those to me are as much a plus as a minus, because they speak of independence and growth.
I know students often have to commute, but I know this is time that would be better spent in productive activities.
The main benefit is that it clearly saves money, and for many students, it’s the key factor for them to attend college at all.
A compromise could be that you could live on campus your first year, then move back once you’ve established a 'college schedule ’ and good habits, rather than continuing with high school habits.