UCI v UCD v UCR (honors) for pre med

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Hey guys it’s me again. Ignore my other post because I forgot to include UCR honors. I’ve been going back and forth between the 3 colleges for some time now and I really cannot decide. Next week I’ll be taking a tour of each campus, so hopefully I can make a decision then. But for now, any comments would be appreciated.

Some info/things I’ve heard:
-I’m Asian Indian
-my major is biological sciences at all 3 schools
-I currently live in SoCal, so Irvine and Riverside would be a lot closer to my family and I would get a car. I could also commute to UCR after freshman year and save money Also a good portion of my friends are going to UCR and UCI, while none of them are going to UCD (I don’t really see this as too big of a problem though, but it is a factor)
-UCI and UCD are really close in the rankings, whereas UCR is significantly lower in the rankings but I’ve heard UCD is slightly better for pre med (correct me if I’m wrong)
-I heard UCD is less competitive than UCI for pre med and the professors are better at UCD, but I’m not too sure if this is true.
-UCR offered me $2,000 a year
-UCR has a new medical school and it has an undergrad + grad program (a 6 year program, quicker than the tradition 8 years it takes) but it is really hard to get into (26 spots are reserved for UCR graduates) would being in honors help me get one of those spots?
-I’m not too big of a partier, so that’s not a factor.
-research opportunities are good at Davis and Irvine, but not so much at UCR
-I’m really into Asian girls and I heard UCI has a lot of them lol
-I feel as if going to UCI/UCR would be more comfortable for me, but going to UCD would be a new, different experience.
-I love to get involved and take leadership initiatives. (I feel like Davis provides the edge here)
-I’m really into sports (am thinking about playing club tennis in college)
-I think what it boils down to is which college I can get a better GPA at, because I plan to apply to medical school and GPA is a huge factor. But I’m not sure if a 4.0 at UCR looks better than a 3.8 at UCD/UCI, for example.

So as you can see, it’s a tough decision. I would appreciate it if anyone could offer their two cents. It would really help if people who attend/attended UCI/UCD/UCR could give their input

2

Since you live so close to UCR, definitely go in and talk to the pre-med advisor, the pre-med peer advisors, and the biological counselors to understand how difficult the program is, how difficult finding research opportunities is, how difficult earning a spot in the 6 year program is, and what tie-ins the undergrads have with the medical school. Also ask the career center what undergraduate research grants they offer.

A new med school means more doctors doing medical research (who need more lab assistants), and if you can be there on summers and breaks you’ll be super attractive. Being around in summers also means you can finish your coursework faster, so even if you do not earn a seat in the six year program you can graduate early. Start researching doctors now and emailing or meeting them to say “hi, I’m X and I’m considering attending UCR next fall and was looking at research opportunities. Your research on X is really interesting - what do you look for in your internship candidates?” You’ll also find that less competitive schools have more available and substantial volunteer opportunities around them (for example, you need to apply and interview just to help clean at the homeless shelters near UCB), which is also beneficial.

3

UCR is looking for med students who will commit to serve the local area because it is underserved. If you are inclined to do so, you will be an attractive candidate for one of the spots in the med school, provided you meet the academic requirements.