Hello!
I have recently gotten all of my decisions back for college and now I am deciding between UCI and Northeastern. At UCI I would be a Biology major and at Northeastern I would be majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience. For any school though, I am planning on being on the pre-med track.
I’m having trouble deciding between UCI and Northeastern but I am leaning towards Northeastern. I just want to hear some other people’s opinions.
I like UCI except for the fact that their social life and school spirit are lacking…and the kicker: I live 2 minutes away from it which is not ideal for me.
With Northeastern, I got accepted into their N.U.in program and I love their Co-op opportunities, but I’m not sure how this would affect my classes needed for med school or classes I should take before the MCAT.
I’m sure that I would be able to find research at both schools, but I’m worried about possible grade inflation or deflation. I have heard that UCs have grade deflation and that Northeastern has slight grade inflation. Is this correct? Also, I don’t know which one has stronger academics, probably UCI? But by how much?
Lastly, Northeastern will cost a lot more than UCI since I am in-state for UCI. I got a scholarship for northeastern though for 20,000 a year but it is still more expensive than UCI.
If I am not considering anything I should, missed anything, or got anything wrong, please let me know!
Thank you!
My son is at NU, but not pre-med. On the NU Admissions Instagram page there was a Q&A session for pre-med majors. Maybe it was recorded. They have Husky Ambassadors, students who could answer your questions. Have not heard of grade inflation or deflation at NU. My son got As in high school in challenging AP classes and continues to do well in college. You can get credit for AP scores of 4 and 5. Good luck with your choice.
A few notes:
Generally, it’s probably a good idea to take those pre-req’s on campus, so your first semester in NU.in would be gen eds. Otherwise unaffected, so I wouldn’t be too concerned there.
I don’t think it’s meaningful to split hairs here, especially for a pre-med. They are both solid pre-med options in an academic vacuum.
This is the real kicker. Generally, spending as little as possible on undergrad for premed is the best move. But it seems like you fit better at Northeastern and it also lets you be more independent, away from where you grew up, etc. It’s a classic fit vs cost choice here to me it seems.
The question is this: How does spending for undergrad affect spending on medical school? Will either require loans if you go to Northeastern? If it does, it’s hard not to say UCI is just too worthwhile to ignore. But if you can afford it, I think you have a good argument here for the better fit in Northeastern.
Hi! I’m a student at Northeastern and I have many friends that are pre-med, and their experiences so far have been really great! I have friends who have co-oped in the ER at Mass Gen Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and probably every other hospital in Boston. There’s also tons of research on campus and off-campus that you can get involved in right away. NUin is a great program, and everyone who I know did it, absolutely LOVED it. It won’t affect your time at NU in terms of graduating or make you stay longer. Not sure if it’s official but in my time here I think NU grade inflates very slightly. Also, living in Boston is so fun!
Definitely Northeastern!
That seems like a great way to cut costs and save money for expensive medical school.