<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>I've been admitted into UCI for biological sciences and UCSD(ERC) for physiology & neuroscience. I am torn between these two schools and am wondering if any of you have turned down SD for UCI as a science major. </p>
<p>I've heard that both schools have impacted science programs and that SD is more competitive and difficult. I somewhat feel obliged to go to SD because of its rank, but feel that I would perform better at UCI. And if it's of any importance, I got into the Eleanor Roosevelt College, the one with the worst Ge's apparently, and don't really want to waste my time with MMW courses. </p>
<p>Also, in your opinion, if I plan on attending Grad school to be a Physician Assistant, would I be better off at a higher ranked school with a lower GPA or at a lower ranked school with possibly a higher GPA? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Higher GPA is almost always better.</p>
<p>I envy your position, I applied to both schools as the same majors. I got waitlisted by SD and haven’t heard back from Irvine.</p>
<p>Grad schools only care about your GPA, extracurricular activities, etc.
The last thing they look at is where you come from.
To be honest, pick the school that you will excel :).
Good luck.</p>
<p>Congrats on the acceptances! You’re lucky to have a choice between two such great schools. Going to PA school mostly depends on how much paid clinical experience you have though…and GPA to some extent. They really don’t care about school rank…people used to get in from community college but now they require a bachelor’s degree. Personally, I’ve found that you can’t get much clinical experience in Irvine without having a car. It’s kind of the weak point of the school. I don’t know about UCSD. </p>
<p>Regarding academics, you don’t even have to be a Bio. Sci. major to become a PA. I’m also thinking of going PA and have found that as a bio major I’ve taken some totally useless courses like Ochem and Physics…when they’re not even needed…when I really should be taking classes like microbio, anatomy, and physiology. You don’t have to be a major to get into any of those courses. That’s not to say it won’t be competitive at either school.</p>
<p>From personal experience, I’d can tell you that UCI was no walk in the park (except the occasional ones through the gorgeous, Aldrich Park lol)…but it was manageable. The professors are top notch (the TA’s, not so much at times); UCI has the BEST math professors ever (I HATE math with a passion and they made me somewhat enjoy it), and the BEST (organic) chemistry professors ever. The bio professors…meh…they’re hit or miss but there are a few great ones. If you put in a decent amount of effort, you can be guaranteed to be above the curve. The environment is friendly and quiet…there’s a great library constructed in the likeness of certain female parts that offers plenty of spacious study areas (unlike some schools during pre-finals hell). If you ever need extra help in classes, the tutoring program at UCI is also good (LARC) and the FREE tutoring programs (especially in bio) are surprisingly even better. </p>
<p>Also, the environment at UCI is definitely laid back and not at all “cutthroat” like rumors may say. TBH, I was never the brightest student ever (I got rejected to every single school I applied to out of HS except UCR and somehow, UCI) but at UCI, I was pretty much a straight A student…not to brag or anything. It’s not because I’m smart it’s just that a lot of people go into college and they suddenly stop putting in any effort at all…so these people lay down that nice curve for you lol. But now I’ve transferred to UCLA…and it’s completely different. The students here are super competitive and I put in the same amount of effort ending up with way (WAY) poorer grades 
I’ve heard that UCSD has an even more competitive bio program than UCLA so…that can’t be a good sign LOL. However, you were accepted to UCSD, and that means they believe you have the ability to perform well there. You probably do, it just depends on how much effort you want to put in. </p>
<p>Another factor you should consider is the environment. UCI is downright boring without access to a car, and more dead than a grave on weekends (perhaps this is a good thing if you are easily distracted). One of their selling points is that UCI is “15 minutes from Disneyland, the beach, and blablabla.” If you are lucky enough to have a car or know someone who has a car AND who is WILLING to take you to these places, then yeah, I guess that’s somewhat true. The dorms/dining options are pretty bad (with Mesa Court being a bit better)…with limited, expensive offerings off campus. You should be able to find your thing though…there are a lot of clubs…but a lot of them don’t seem to be all that into it…hmmm. Irvine is very safe though. You don’t have to worry about getting robbed all the time (well I suppose SD is safe too). UCSD is actually on the beach…so it can’t be right that people refer to that school as “socially dead”…but you’ll have to get a first hand account from someone who actually goes there. You need to visit both places ASAP (you can probably do both on a weekend day or something). Back when I stupidly thought I was a shoe-in for SD…I visited and except for that cool library straight out of Halo or something, there was very little I liked about the campus. But some people may also find Irvine unappealing so you should check them out yourself.</p>
<p>Good luck @Ahmer50 and thanks @codesnsd :)</p>
<p>And @oceanpartier, that was very helpful! I’m starting to lean towards UCI because of the ERC Ge’s that could possibly inhibit me from graduating in 4 years, but like you said about being a bio major and needing other classes, I feel that a physiology is more flexible for PA school. Anyways, thank you so much:)</p>