<p>I got accepted to both UCI and UCR in their Biological Sciences major, so I was wondering which one really is better for premed! I understand that UCR, as a low-tier UC would have less competition, but I also heard that its premed track is actually fairly competitve and difficult (often comparable to Berkeley's). UCI, on the other hand, has more Biological Sciences majors and of course, more competition but most of those in the major get weeded out within the first two years. </p>
<p>I'm also considering UCR because of the Thomas Haider program, but because there's only 24 seats available, I'm sure that it'd be a far reach for me! I'm also not quite sure if it will still be there when I graduate in 2015. However, UCI is still above on my list right now because of their great undergraduate English program, as I plan on at least minoring and hopefully double majoring in English. </p>
<p>Which school would be better suited for someone on a premed track (and a minor in English too!)?</p>
<p>I would be cautious about assuming UCR is easier than UCI. UCR may be “less prestigious”…but if you’re speaking med school, the competition will probably be tough regardless of where you go. They will both be similar in the difficulty of the classes. People do get weeded out of the bio major at UCI, but not a crazy number…as you may think. And also, you don’t have to be a bio major to be med-school competitive. If you are passionate about English, I suggest that you major in English at UCI (or UCR) while taking pre-med courses. Of course, the Thomas Haider is a valuable opportunity, but I wouldn’t count on getting in. Also, UCR is getting its own med school soon so the program might not be relevant by that time.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m probably 80/20 on going to Irvine rather than Riverside, but my mom keeps on bringing up the Thomas Haider program. And thank you! I’ve tried calling them but they can’t give me a straight answer on when the medical school will be completed.</p>
<p>How difficult is it to get a good GPA in UCI for Biology anyways?</p>
<p>Uh…in short, it’s hard, but far from being impossible. I can’t really answer with full confidence yet because I’m just a freshman who hasn’t gone through the infamous “weed out courses”. I think I gave a similar answer here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-irvine/1107968-uc-irvine-cut-throat-people-make-seem.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-irvine/1107968-uc-irvine-cut-throat-people-make-seem.html</a></p>
<p>Hope it helps</p>
<p>If I could give that post two thumbs up, I would! Thank you so much!</p>