<p>I've done a bit of research on this already but I'm still torn between these two schools. I was originally set on UCSD because it is one of the higher ranking UCs and because of the campus but I've been told to really take into consideration Davis. Right now I am just considering four factors: Prestige, Competition, GPA, Strong Academics</p>
<p>Pros of UC Davis
1.Less competition
2. Easier to get a higher GPA for med school
3. Academics somewhat strong.
4. Only like an hour away from where I live</p>
<p>Cons
1. Traditionally it's been less prestigious
2. Not as strong neuroscience program. However, the rankings are for graduate programs so I'm not sure if they really apply. </p>
<p>Pros of UCSD
1. Strong neuroscience program
2. 40 percent of pre-meds get into med school . ( I couldn't find data for Davis)
3. Great campus
4. Traditionally, it's been more prestigious </p>
<p>Cons
1. Cuthroat pre-meds and more competition
2. Harder to get a higher competition</p>
<p>If anyone can help me out that would be great. Also, I'm waitlisted for Berkeley and LA. It might feel odd turning down the "better named school" if I get off the waitlist and still end up sticking with Davis. However, I've heard that med schools don't really care about undergrad prestige. </p>
<p>This is what others have been saying in regards to this topic but I could use some additional advice. Thanks</p>
<p>"I am in a similar situation with you (with all these schools as my options) except I'm a freshman applicant and not a transfer applicant. Pre-med at UCB is very cutthroat and difficult to achieve a high GPA (solely based off that I would eliminate UCB). Med school admissions are all about high gpa + high MCAT, and the prestige of your undergraduate school is rarely taken into consideration. The only time when it COULD be taken into consideration is comparing a student with the exact same MCATs, extra-currics, but one has a 3.7 GPA at UCB and the other a 3.7 GPA at UCD (then they will probably take the UCB student), BUT most of the times a 3.7-4.0 GPA at a less prestigious school will ALWAYS be taken over a lower GPA at a more prestigious school. The next thing to consider is you should go to a college that has a med school (and a hospital on campus for the purposes of finding internships, etc.). UCSD, UCLA, and UC Davis all have that so all of those 3 would be okay in those terms. Next look at location, social life, etc. UCSD is known to be more boring, and cutthroat (I eliminated UCSD because many of my friends there HATE it). So I would narrow it down to UCLA and UC Davis (I'm deciding between the two myself). While both are great schools, I ultimately will end up going with UC Davis over UCLA because it's easier to maintain a high gpa, while studying for MCATs and doing my extra-currics! It's a tough decision though. But based off many med school admission officers have told me about the importance of a high GPA and high MCAT, UCD makes the most sense. So if you ask me, GO WITH UC DAVIS!"</p>
<p>"I'm going to buck the trend and say Davis.</p>
<p>A little background: I attended UC San Diego straight out of high school and thought it'd be great: beach just down the street, mountains not too far away and weekend trips to Mexico if necessary. I'm from a smaller southern California beach town so I thought I'd feel right at home in La Jolla.</p>
<p>Fast forward nine months and I couldn't wait to leave. The fragmented nature of the college systems meant that each community was it's own enclave. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not the fantastic selling point UCSD makes it out to be. The 'vibe' on campus, for lack of a better term, was also off-putting. It was incredibly competitive in a cut-throat, no-you-can't-ask-me-what-the-professor-just-said way. Perhaps you're suited for that kind of environment, but I certainly wasn't. La Jolla isn't much of a college town, and the housing prices definitely reflect that.</p>
<p>I ended up not returning to UCSD (grades were not stellar but I wasn't on academic probation or anything) and instead opted to attend a community college for a year. I applied to transfer all over and ended up attending UC Davis, a school I was accepted to as an applicant in high school. I wasn't thrilled about going to Davis for the usual reasons (small town, not close to bigger cities except Sacramento, perceived lower status than UCSD) but in retrospect, it is easily one of the best decisions I've ever made.</p>
<p>The community is phenomenal and is incredibly student-friendly. There are countless opportunities to do pre-med stuff (six student-run clinics, a great advising center, lots of clubs), great facilities (the Arc is the athletic center and it's about 6 years old), relatively inexpensive housing, and top-notch faculty. It's about an hour from Berkeley/SF and 2.5 hours to Tahoe. </p>
<p>Further anecdotes: of the six people who started at UCSD from my high school class, only one person graduated. Four transferred and one quit school all together, and those who left cited similar reasons to those which I've shared.</p>
<p>TL;DR: Davis is great, don't write it off until you get a feel for what's actually going on there because UCSD isn't all it's cracked up to be."</p>
<p>"Go to ucsd, or better yet irvine or davis. My good friend rues the day he came to LA over USC and the midtier UCs. His GPA is in shambles while his friends from high school who he knows are less intelligent than him are getting excellent gpas without breaking a sweat at the mid-tier ucs. It might also interest you that I know several people from sd and davis who've gotten into "good" med schools(ucsd med school, northwestern, baylor, even washu at st. louis) without going to a top 25 university. I honestly don't think the admissions people at med schools care too much about where you did undergrad. I mean, it's all well and good if you do well but if not you're ****ed, which is why i say if you ca get into a comparable private, go there as you'll be helped by grade inflation and more opportunities, or put your pride on the backburner and go lower. Why make life harder than it already is?"</p>
<p>"I have heard this soooooo many times from UCSD students, especially about the cutthroat insane psychos that are pre meds there...I guess that is one thing to consider. UCD is likely where im going for med school and i must say its a lot better then people give it credit for. As far as a pre med goes its def going to be less competitive and the student clinics there are simply something that wont be at many schools. Davis has some really unique ones that encompass both med students and undergrads in a lot of great ways where you can gain great experiences. The location of UCSD just was always a huge draw to me. But student wise, I always hear that UCD is great from everyone who goes and that the students there are just happier then some of the "prestigious" UCs like SD/ berkeley / LA. At the 3 main UCs that are "prestigious" i always hear students complaining about how horrible it is...while at the ones like UCI, UCD, UCSB, i hear how much better they like it there. Maybe something to consider OP. I know while UCI wasnt my favorite, the time i spent here was good in that it was relatively stress free (especially compared to friends at the big UCs), and that i met a lot of great people. Im not sure i could have said the same going to a place like SD."</p>
<p>"i kinda agree. i remember three years ago when i had to make this same decision (LA vs SD), and I used the same logic of "where will my gpa be the highest?" So I guess it's excusable that everyone is so worried (especially since like a quarter of the incoming class will be premed).</p>
<p>I honestly think that if you work hard, you can do well at any college. And honestly, if you cant do well during your undergraduate study, how the hell do you expect to make it through medical school which is like 10000x harder?"</p>