<p>So I am still torn between ucla and ucb. The only thing I hear from the people that wants me to go to ucb is that ucb has a little more prestige and that the school is near silicon valley, a place that can provide a lot of pre med students with internships and research opportunities. Also, do med schools even care about which school is ranked higher? say that two students received identical gpa and mcat scores, would the med schools choose a ucb student over a ucla student? I am so confused. Right now I am leaning towards ucla a little more because it is closer to home and I love the socal weather.( I haven't visited ucb yet but will) But, I do not want to miss out on attending a school that is perhaps better for my future.</p>
<p>I don't know that there is any relationship between UCB, Silicon Valley and pre-med or medical school opportunities. Cal is certainly physically close to UCSF, which is a graduate medical school, and close to Stanford Medical School.</p>
<p>I haven't heard of any hospital in the Bay Area being a medical research or training hospital, though S.F. General gets plenty of attention because of HIV/AIDS issues, and Stanford Medical Center receives attention and research $$$ just because it's Stanford.</p>
<p>I don't think stating that "UC Berkeley has Silicon Valley" scores any real points in the ongoing Berkeley vs UCLA battle on CC. Cal really doesn't "have" Silicon Valley. They just happen to be near each other (about 55 miles apart), though Stanford is technically in Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>wait, I don't see how silicon valley has anything to do with pre-med students. But whatever - no a med school will not differentiate between a UCB and UCLA student if both are similarly strong in all areas of the application.</p>
<p>Berkeley has Silicon Valley? I come from Silicon Valley. The western edge of it. We are like a 60% asian community and a rich small quiet town named Cupertino.</p>
<p>Berkeley to me has no relationship to Silicon Valley. The east bay is just ghetto. Coming from the west bay, I find the east bay to be a poor, underquipped, ghetto part of the Bay Area. I mean I walk to class and I see SF across the bay, but really SF is QUITE different from Berkeley or Oakland downtown. It's a LOT cooler.</p>
<p>Remember Chapelle and his SF tour? He was talking about how SF is filled with rich white ppl and once you cross the bay into Oakland/Berkeley, you get "Welcome to Oakland b!tch" from a black guy. Yea.</p>
<p>If you go to StanFUrd, you can say you have Silicon Valley. You're right across the street from HP World Headquarters and a bunch of other tech companies. You're in the rich neighborhood of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, where houses cost over $1 million and are only 3 bedrooms.</p>
<p>In my opinion, UCLA has LA. It has the whole damn city written all over it. It has a LOT more than Cal. I mean UCLA is in a MUCH better neighborhood. Prestige comes with Cal, but you also live in a crappier environment.</p>
<p>I've personally worked at SCC Valley Medical Center down in the South Bay. There are PLENTY of good hospitals in the area especially in the South Bay that you can get research opportunities. StanFUrd offers tons of research too. I've done work there too, but not at the hospital (although I know friends who have gone there).</p>
<p>There's always the Lawrence Livermore lab where you can do research. It may not be purely medical, but you can surely get something related....</p>
<p>I can vouch for qwerasdf's response as I am also from Cupertino. I completely agree on their comments. There are tons of hospitals and research opportunities in LA. In fact, UCLA has a medical center ON its campus. Considering LA has a population of over 3,000,000 people (that is JUST in the actual city), I'm sure there are numerous other hospitals and labs nearby that are looking for interns, etc.</p>
<p>wow thats really cool. even tho i dont live in silicon valley, i do find that the Bay Area is actually smaller than it is. I mean, a large portion of the east Bay Area is quite ghetto.</p>
<p>but what u said about more opportunities in LA has reinforced my decision to go to UCLA.</p>
<p>thanks guys, I just wasn't sure what to do. Go bruins!</p>
<p>ucla not only has the medical center on campus (ranked top hospital in the west by usnwr) but a med school, dental school, eye center, and tons of other med-related stuff... undergrads doing science research at ucla is VERY popular</p>
<p>I consider LA not just as a city but as a municipality. In that sense it has some 13 million people in that area. Bay Area is only 8 millionish.</p>
<p>UCSF was part of Cal before it got spun off. Now that's a top 5 med school.</p>
<p>"UCSF was part of Cal before it got spun off. "</p>
<p>someone else offered evidence that it did NOT spin off cal in a thread about a few weeks ago. </p>
<p>"I consider LA not just as a city but as a municipality. In that sense it has some 13 million people in that area."</p>
<p>true. if you look at the vanpool routes (in the office of parking services), it goes EVERYWHERE: numerous locations in the san fernando valley, desert, san gabriel valley, inland empire, orange county, etc. people who work at ucla come from this huge metropolis.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, do med schools even care about which school is ranked higher? say that two students received identical gpa and mcat scores, would the med schools choose a ucb student over a ucla student? I am so confused.
[/quote]
Med schools look not just at scores but at your essays, your recs, your volunteer experience, your research experience, and your interviews. To think that a tie in the 2 scores you mention turns on the difference in school rep is wrong. Go to the school that is a good fit for you, where you'll be involved and happy. Study hard, get to know your profs, volunteer. </p>
<p>The truth is the school name isn't going to make the difference, its what you do in college that will determine whether you get into med school or not.</p>