I was admitted as a Regents scholar to Davis, and the University honors program sounds amazing to me- the faculty advisor and the honors thesis with research both seem like advantages that could help me be succesful. My ultimate goal is to go to medical school and I know that research and volunteering are crucial on top of maintaining a good GPA. I was admitted to UCSD as a bioinformatics major, and I know that UCSD has a lot of resources in terms of research. I’m the kind of student who would approach professors for research opportunities. The prestige of UCSD is also tempting but I don’t know if I should let go of Honors at Davis for it. Does anyone have any advice in terms of which college would be better for me as a Premed student?
In your shoes, I would go to the UC that loves me more, so long as you can see yourself happy there. Can’t think of anything bad about free money! And Regents is prestigious indeed.
BTW I’m a UCSD alum.
I would go to the honors program. But have you visited both schools?
My brother is a UCSD alum, so I’ve only seen the school while visiting him. I went to the regents and honors preview at Davis and really enjoyed it. I liked both campuses but am currently leaning towards Davis because the honors program guarantees me research opportunities and because of the regents distinction on the diploma. It’s hard to know if I’m making the wrong decision though…
Well, I’m biased because my husband and I went to Davis and loved it. Objectively, I think the honors program is a good thing, especially at a large UC.
I also know someone who graduated from UCSD a couple of years ago (pre-med, although at the end she decided to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psych) and she said UCSD was cutthroat for pre-meds, with people trying to sabotage other students. That is hear-say, though. Was your brother also pre-med?
Another vote for Davis:
My dd majored in NPB Neurophysiology, Biology and Behavioral Sciences. She had internships and lab jobs all 4 years at Davis. She worked in a free Diabetes Clinic in Sacramento. Her friends worked at the UC Davis Med center.
She got into all of the pharmacy schools that she applied to. Her friends got strong scores on their MCATs, and so far, a couple got into midwestern Schools of Medicine.
The med students at her clinic actually helped her with direction on how to study. The students are helpful to each other.
You will love Davis!
Thank you! I plan on majoring in Biotechnology and hopefully spend my time researching in labs. My brother was Pre Med at San Diego but did not end up pursuing medicine. I hope the resources available at Davis will be availble for Biotechnology as well.
With their ag/animal-sciences tradition, Davis has some wonderful resources available for all of the biological sciences. And there is no friendlier, more supportive school in all the UC system. Go to Davis.