In case this would help you come up with better advice, here are my goals: Grad-school-wise, I’m debating between going to a school of pharmacy and becoming a pharmacologist or going to a med school and becoming a geriatric physician. Either way, I hope to work in an underserved area, preferably a Latino area, considering I am Latina and Spanish-speaking.
Why UCI:
-Pharmaceutical Science Major
-For me, it’s cheaper than UCLA (UCI is 16,000 out of pocket; UCLA is 26,000)
15 minutes away from home
-I have friends who go there who say research opportunities are generally more accessible
-Personality-wise, I feel like I would fit in well with the UCI student culture. Sometimes, I fear I’d find UCLA overwhelming because while I love people, I do have my moments of shyness. But again, I’m sure you can find your people wherever you go (I would appreciate any insight on student culture at both schools)
Why UCLA:
-Biochemistry major at UCLA
-Latinxs/Chicanxs for Community Medicine (LCCM): This organization serves the people of Los Angeles communities and communities in Tecate, Mexico by providing health services (education, screenings-This organization could give me a glimpse of the environment I would like to work in in the future)
-about 2 hours from home (not super far)
-a wider variety of research opportunities (it seems harder to get research opps at UCLA though)
The iKNITiative: Knitting club that donates knitted goods to the community (I love knitting and to know that I can also help out folks is really really great)
-I know this is a bad reason, but attending UCLA is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t believe any school should be attended based off of prestige, but I also think if I didn’t take this opportunity, the “what-if” would always be in the back of my head
I would love to go to UCI’s Medical School, specifically through the PRIME-LC program. It prepares students to work in underserved Latino communities. Would going to UCI as an undergrad hurt/help this aspiration? I’ve asked this before and someone told me that top research facilities typically want their undergrads to go somewhere else for med school. How true is this? Would this be the case for UCLA’s med school as well? Both are insanely competitive to get into but I just want to learn more : )
Thank you so much if you take the time to read all this. I am a 17-year-old first-gen student so I would appreciate any insight.
My daughter (also a Latina) just graduated with a degree in pharmacy from UCSF (medical school and professional program).
Her entering classmate were mostly from other schools throughout the U.S.
You have NO guarantees that if you go to undergrad at UCI and UCLA,
that you will get into those schools for your professional program.
We all have these moments, but let me advise you that you will not get through your interviews or schools if you don’t take risks. Stepping out of your comfort zone is what will drive your career goals.
My advice would be to go to UCLA, because of the experience and variety of diversity there in everything. Although it’s almost a college town/small city, everything is accessible on campus.
UCI is known as a “commuter” UC. I’ve had several students go there who didn’t “fit” the school and didn’t feel that it offered enough social events. If you are on a budget, you may want to stick with UCI because pharmacy schools are typically at medical schools and you pay the same price. You will be on loans, loans, and loans, if your parents don’t have the cash saved for pharmacy school. There are limited-to-no scholarships for pharmacy.
Every accepted student is a strong student, has strong PCATs, has strong clinicals’s and has strong interviews. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be accepted into the program.
I assume this is a per-year cost. Where is the 10 grand going to come from? If it’s something your parents can afford and are willing to pay, great. If it is you taking on loans, the most you can get frosh year with just your signature is $5,500 (it goes up slightly with more years in college). So you’ll need a cosigner or have your parents take out loans themselves for the difference. If money is a factor, then I’d recommend UCI.
As for clubs serving the community, UCI has that too: Redirecting... And while research is nice, only do it if you are interested. A generation ago it was a prerequisite, these days it’s just another EC. What is actually required for med school admission (even though unwritten) is experience in patient care. See https://www.rhodes.edu/sites/default/files/PreMed_Essentials.pdf or other resources you can find online.
But I don’t want to split hairs. Either school is more than capable of preparing students for careers in the medical field, advising them, providing peer support, etc. In the end success is on your shoulders; did you work hard for good grades, take advantage of support services, get to know some profs for strong recs, have patient care experience, get a good MCAT.
Yes, I know it isn’t guaranteed, but I was wondering if UCLA or UCI undergrads are given priority in their grad schools or if there is a pipeline program for undergrads into those schools.
Yayy congratulations to her! That’s really so awesome! How did she like her studies? Was she always interested in pharmacy? What was her academic pathway like in college?
Thank you so much for letting me know this! I was researching their student organization website but couldn’t find that specific organization. Hahaha, this makes my decision a bit harder now knowing that both schools provide this.
No, there is no advantage of getting into their grad programs if you come from their undergrads. Two completely different committees.
Our daughter had a very strong pre-pharmacy advising program at UCD.
She had a strong resume, beginning in High School,
with biotech classes and
summer jobs in labs at UCSD
lab tech at my friend’s vet office after school.
This experience helped her gain lab jobs at UCD because she already was familiar with autoclaving, centrifuging, universal precautions, etc.
She was a UCD volunteer clinical intern at a very well-respected diabetes clinic for low, SES, medically indigent patients; many were farm laborers in the Sacramento area, near Davis.
She had a panel interview and had to compete with dozens of students to gain that internship. Her lab experience was crucial but being bilingual was almost required.
She also had an internship in Madrid, in their pharmacy program, during one summer. (Too hot! I visited her in Madrid and the temps were in the hundreds.)
She interviewed at 8 med schools/prof school programs and got into all 8.
Studies were hard- memorizing the meds and side affects is a LOT of information.
Covid impacted UCSF because they received the first cruise ship of infected patients and the school asked the PharmD students to help with the overworked staffs.
PM me if you need more information.
