Hey everyone!
I recently got accepted into both UCLA’s and UCI’s nursing programs, and I’m having trouble deciding which one to choose. UCLA has more prestige, but UCI is a lot more convenient for me to attend because I’d be able to live at home so it would be way cheaper.
My first gut reaction was to go for UCLA because the program is so selective and it’s a really good opportunity for me, but I’m worried that I’m not thinking rationally about what is more practical/realistic for the future.
I think I need a second opinion. Thoughts?
From what I understand, elite hospital places will generally recruit from the elite places only, or at least start their recruiting from elite places. For example, Stanford Hospital typically only recruits from UCLA and UCSF, and Johns Hopkins. That’s what I’ve been told from a reliable source. I would do UCLA if your goal is to go to an elite place for career opportunities.
Once you have experience though, it doesn’t really matter that much your school.
It depends on your financial background and if you’re able to have a decent college life there. I wouldn’t compare UCLA and UCI a whole big margin in terms of their programs–both programs are difficult to get into the first place.
I have friends that dorm at both UCLA and UCI and nearly all of them are struggling to afford them (like I said, if you can afford it then that’s great). I commute from home to UCI, and let me tell you, financially I’m not even sweating. Though, traffic can be hectic sometimes, but at least you’re saving alot of money.
Also, are you capable of handling the workload/competition? Yes, UCLA will have “smarter” students, so competing with them will always a priority sometimes.
Just because one has a better prestigious name over the other doesn’t mean your future road of being a nurse will be fully planned out. You can totally go to UC Irvine as any major, really, and apply to top prestigious school afterwards. It all depends on your grades, what you did, and how you spent your college life.
Like the previous comment said, it’s all about how much experience you have to clinical/hospital exposure.
(I got accepted to UCLA as well, but turned them down because I knew I wouldn’t have a great experience anyways in LA while all of my friends were going to Irvine/local colleges near me).
If you want to save close to $60K in housing, then go to UCI. Rent in Westwood is crazy. The competition at UCLA is serious and is something to consider. Practically everyone in South Campus UCLA is from the top 3 percent of high school graduates. As a nursing major, you are still conditional and your grades will determine if you are accepted to continue in years 3,4. Nursing selection is super competitive as my daughter’s boyfriend had a 4.0 GPA pre nursing at CSULB and was accepted to CSULB and SDSU nursing school, and LB originally wait listed him. Obviously, you are very bright and capable of succeeding at both schools. You just have to make sure your year 1 and 2 GPA is high enough to get into the program in years 3 and 4 or to transfer to another nursing program at another school. Go to the school you feel best fits you. After a few years of working professionally, no one cares where you graduated from. I’ve worked with some really awesome MDs and never have I cared if one graduated from Harvard or New Mexico. As a Bruin, my time at UCLA was awesome, lots of work but tons of fun too. Science majors don’t get to party like the frat boys but we still had some down time. Congrats and good luck in making your pick, it’s win or win, not much downside.
I think from an education standpoint, they’re not that different from each other. One big plus for UCLA is that the hospital is right there on campus, so when you’re doing rotations, the location is more convenient than at UCI where you wouldn’t be able to walk from the undergrad campus to the hospital.
Obviously money is a big factor, as in one case you’re not paying any rent, and in the other case you’re paying a ton.
I guess what it comes down to is what you want to get out of your college experience beyond the academics. If all you care about is getting a great education, then UCI might be the choice. But if you’re looking for a place with crazy amounts of school spirit, a more vibrant social scene, and living in a bigger city, then UCLA would be worth looking into.
But with either one, I think you’d have a good career as a nurse.
I didn’t go to UCLA, I graduated from UCI’s nursing school in 2017, and I landed a position in the Neuro ICU at Mayo Clinic (currently ranked as the #1 hospital in the US). There’s a lot more that goes into your employment prospects than where you went to school (grades, interview skills). Both schools are great and you will do well at either place as long as you maintain a high GPA and pass your NCLEX-RN.