For UCI I got accepted as a biological sciences major.
For SDSU I got accepted as undeclared.
For UCSB I (obviously) got rejected which hurt me a lot because it was one of my top choices. I applied as Pre-Biopsychology.
I want to go on to med school to become a doctor.
I wanted to have a good college experience, and I was led to believe UCSB offered that. The students there are (allegedly) very social, and it’s a relatively highly ranked school. I was led to believe that UCI isn’t very diverse and that the students there are very cutthroat. A lot of people also told me that it was a relatively boring school. For SDSU, I visited, but I honestly just wasn’t feeling too great about it. I don’t think I could see myself going there, but that could change I guess. There’s also a lot of talk about classes being hard to get and the possibility of graduating later than you planned because of that. For UCR I’ve heard it’s really dull and there’s nothing to do there. I also heard that it’s not even that safe in Riverside. All schools, from what I’ve heard, have good biological programs.
I was told that appealing to UCSB has a really low success rate, but what do you guys think? Should I just suck it up and go to another school or try my hand at appealing to UCSB? If you guys think I should suck it up, which school do you guys recommend?
Thanks in advance 
What would be your basis for appealing at UCSB? I think you need to move on and get excited about your other choices.
All the UC’s and even SDSU will be competitive if you plan to pursue a “pre-med” curriculum. You want to attend a school where you have the best chance at a high GPA and access for medically related EC’s such as Research/Volunteering/MD Shadowing. If you apply yourself, any of the above schools on your list will meet these needs but you also need to feel that the school is a good fit. Advantage for UCI and UCR is that have a Medical school and SDSU has many hospitals in the area where you can get those medical EC’s. You need to visit and/or revisit each school and look at them with an open mind and form your own opinion and not hearsay from others.
Just remember that where you go for Undergrad will not define, it is what you do with the opportunities you are given.
Best of luck with your decision.
@Gumbymom Thanks for your advice. My basis was going to be some familial issues I had during my freshman and sophomore year. I don’t want to get too into it, but it resulted in separation. I just had a really difficult freshman and sophomore year. I honestly don’t really know which school would be a good fit for me, so I guess I’ll just have to visit them like you suggested
If you visit and don’t like the schools, go to city college and transfer. In high school, the only school that wanted me was UC Merced, and three years later, I get accepted to UCSB and UC Davis (and I am still waiting on other acceptances). Just go, you won’t regret it. You will save money, figure out how to succeed in college in a non-threatening environment, learn more about what you want, get a second chance, and have a much better chance at getting into the schools you want. Feel free to contact me as I am happy to talk about my experience.
@doihaveashot2016 And wow, that’s really impressive!! Thank you for your advice My only thing was that I wanted a college experience and I feel like I might not get that at a community college.
I know what you mean. Sometimes I think I might have missed out, but the maturity I have gained is amazing (and I really have had the best years of my life at cc. I go to SBCC, and I’ve had so much fun. Student life here is good! Yeah it’s cc, but I’ve gotten involved, made a lot of friends, got a job on campus, and I have partied hard too lol). You could always “move out” to go to cc, and room with other students so you would get a non-traditional college experience. There is a large community of students living around SBCC, and in Isla Vista, where UCSB is.
I really know what I want from a school now and I am much more confident so I think I’m going to get a lot more out of university. Plus now I have two years to fully enjoy and appreciate my college experience! I can’t wait!
Suck it up an go to SDSU , UCI , or UCR those are great options and you can get good opportunities to do shadowing and get a higher GPA to apply to med school with.
@doihaveashot2016 Thanks for your input!! It’s nice to know that you had a good community college experience because I know that a lot of people do not. Regardless, I don’t think my parents would even let me go to community college so I don’t really think it’s an option for me. Thanks though
@collegebound4197 Thanks for the advice. I don’t really like SDSU UCR or even UCI too much. Since I don’t really like any of them I’ll probably just end up going to the highest ranked one (UCI). I haven’t visited the school yet so my opinion could change but I doubt it. I’ve been told it’s a commuter school with no school pride so it sounds pretty dull to me. Again, my opinion could change.
If you want to go to UCSB there’s a way to get much of the full student experience by starting at SBCC. I wrote a post about it at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1975735-backdoor-way-into-ucsb.html
@anglesweetz: Do not go by other people’s opinions about the schools in question. You really need to visit because fit is very personal and go on these visits with an open mind. Remember you will be probably spending 4 years at any one of these schools and you should not feel like you are settling. Make the most of the opportunities you have been given and ranking will do little if you are unhappy and do not succeed in your classes.
@mikemac Thanks!! I’ll check it out!
@Gumbymom Thanks but I feel like I will feel like I’m settling regardless of which school I go to. I literally wasn’t even really considering any of the schools I got accepted to while I was applying to schools.
I hope you find a school you love! And do check out @mikemac post because that is what many of my peers at SBCC have done. Best of luck to you!
@mikemac I just started reading your post and it already seems really helpful! I’m definitely going to look into that option!
@doihaveashot2016 Thanks! I’ll try and see if I can do that!