UCLA (more money) vs UCI

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>I am in an awkward dilemma concerning where I want to spend the next four years of my life. I am choosing between UCLA, which is giving me 13k a yr, and UCI, which is only giving me 2k a year. Yes, UCLA is giving me more aid, but I personally don’t believe I can be happy and succeed at UCLA with its more competitive environment /overall smarter people. </p>

<p>My parents obviously want me to go to UCLA, but I seriously doubt I can do well there as opposed to UCI for Pre-med. I know both UC’s are competitive for pre-med, but wouldn’t UCLA be obviously more competitive?? (A greater proportion of UCLA’s student body will be composed of competitive/smarter students as opposed to UCI). Is the money worth the extra time and effort for the same GPA in UCI? I feel like I will jeopardize my GPA going to UCLA for pre-med. Not to mention losing the time I will have studying for tests such as the MCAT with UCLAs more demanding courses. </p>

<p>Also, I have read that professional schools don’t take into account the prestige of one’s undergrad university. How valid is this statement? I know if two applicants to some professional school have the same GPA (disregarding all else), the UCLA applicant will have the edge, but wouldn’t I be able to achieve a higher GPA in UCI compared to UCLA with the same effort?? With a greater amount of competitive students, the curve will obviously be more detrimental. (I will put forth my greatest effort regardless of university, UCLA can’t “push me beyond my limits” simply b/c it is more competitive)</p>

<p>Am I wrong? Is pre-med at these schools the same difficulty even though UCLA’s student body has generally greater academic statistics? </p>

<p>For UCLA, is it more difficult to obtain research opportunities and recommendations due to the greater competition? I have heard that these things are easier to obtain in UCI. </p>

<p>So, UCLA is more prestigious, competitive, and has a convenient hospital. Are these things worth the extra money? I personally do not believe I can be happy and can grow in an environment full of over 4.0/2000 SAT students. I know there will be a time, if I am successful, where I will only have peers who are very intelligent, but I believe UCI is a place where I can grow into a stronger individual who won’t mind this – but is that and believing I can do better worth the money?</p>

<p>If you read my entire post, I sincerely thank you. Please share your wisdom concerning my problem and help me in my decision :]</p>

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<p>The difference is negligible. The rigor of coursework is going to be almost exactly the same. Some classes will be difficult, some will be easy. It wont be very much more competitive of an environment either.
Go to whichever one offers better aid, imo. You’ll thank yourself later. That is a huge difference in the long run, over 40k savings if you got the same aid every year.</p>

3

<p>agree with above. If it was the other way around, i’d say go to UCI, but since it isn’t, UCLA should be a no brainer. Have you ever been to irvine? irvine sucks soooo hard. Maybe UCI is cool, but there’s litterally NOTHING to do in irvine. i’ve only been there twice in my life (including once last week) and both times i asked myself ‘why the hell am i here??’ </p>

<p>also there’s many misconceptions about med. school:</p>

<p>[Avoid</a> 4 Medical School Admissions Myths - Medical School Admissions Doctor (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-school-admissions-doctor/2011/04/11/avoid-4-medical-school-admissions-myths?s_cid=rss:medical-school-admissions-doctor:avoid-4-medical-school-admissions-myths]Avoid”>http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-school-admissions-doctor/2011/04/11/avoid-4-medical-school-admissions-myths?s_cid=rss:medical-school-admissions-doctor:avoid-4-medical-school-admissions-myths)</p>

<p>if you’re going to go premed, you can take internships at UCLA. Med school isn’t going to be easy, so getting used to the higher workload will be essential. Also, you can do internships at UCLA’s RRMC, live in LA, etc. And if you change your plan, and major, UCLA has way better rounded faculty than UCI for whatever you might want to do.</p>

<p>this should be a no brainer.</p>

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<p>Let me put it another way.</p>

<p>If you can’t handle UCLA for undergrad as a pre-med, you can’t handle med school.</p>

<p>It’s that simple.</p>

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<p>I really appreciate the replies and opinions, thank you guys! </p>

<p>As for being unable to handle UCLA, it’s more like I feel my efforts will get me farther in UCI than in UCLA. However, if UCLA is more difficult, I suppose it will definitely help me more in the long run, wherever or whatever I end up doing, not to mention the aid as well.</p>

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<p>asianguy168,</p>

<p>My wife, a current med student, once said that med school is a level of work she couldn’t have imagined even after having done everything at UCLA.</p>

<p>I highly recommend you challenge yourself and go to the best school you can-- assuming you don’t end up a med student in the future, the opportunities you will have had there will help you a great deal.</p>

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<p>UCLAri,</p>

<p>You make a very good and valid point. I’m just afraid the “extra difficulty” will deprive me of the opportunity to get into med school, or whatever type of school, in the first place. Though like you said, getting into med school without the best challenge isn’t going to help me anyway…</p>

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<p>asianguy168,</p>

<p>Nah. On the margin, you’ll probably do just as well at UCLA as you would have at UCI. Besides, the MCAT can do wonders for a .1 or .2 GPA difference, and if you’re smart enough to nail the MCAT, you’ll do just fine in admissions.</p>

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<p>I’d just like to clarify the flawed consensus. UCLA is definitely harder than UCI. I don’t understand why people are telling you it’s the same difficulty. That’s like saying UCSB engineering is about the same as Cal Engineering. Does that make any sense at all?</p>

<p>UCLAri could be right about doing about the same at both UCLA and UCI but that is all about how much work you put into your courses at each college.</p>

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<p>g0ld3n,</p>

<p>I don’t doubt that UCI will be slightly less difficult than UCLA, but the difference will be, at best, slight. The student bodies are statistically fairly similar. I still don’t think that the idea that UCLA is SUPER DUPER HARD is true.</p>

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<p>Choose the cheaper school and forget about the difficulty of the student body. There are competitive pre-meds anywhere you go. 40k is not worth the little difference in difficulty.</p>

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<p>^Seconded. Sure, you can say UCI is “easier” than UCLA. But what are you basing that perception on - are you assuming that because the average student body at UCI has lower admitted stats than at UCLA? </p>

<p>Pre-medical classes at any university will take a lot of effort to succeed in. Do not pick a university based on what you think will be easier, especially if you’ve never taken ANY courses at that university yet. Your own effort will get you through these next four years. And since they’re the next four years of your life, you better make sure you pick a place where you’ll be HAPPY living in (remember the tours, the city you’ll be in, etc.). I’ve seen medical school interviewees from a broad gamut of colleges, ranging from liberal arts Pomona College all the way to Ivys like Harvard. </p>

<p>That said, I believe the school DOES shape the applicant. The opportunities you have will be invaluable. UCLA has RRMC on-campus and provides great support to community outreach groups, for example. Other schools offer different advantages too. </p>

<p>Remember kids: the MCAT is the great equalizer.</p>

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<p>Jinobi, </p>

<p>Yes, I am basing that belief on the average student body of UCLA compared to UCI. Higher average statistics may correlate with more competitive and hardworking students, which would make it more difficult concerning the class curve. At least that is what I believe. </p>

<p>You are definitely right that the pre-medical road will take great effort, and I suppose only the best will avoid getting “weeded” out. Does that mean higher average statistics no longer matter because every student in those classes will be of the same caliber? Like, those classes will only have UCI’s best and UCLA’s best, meaning their really is no difference in difficulty between the two schools. Is this true? Can this invalidate the claim that UCLA is “harder”?</p>

<p>Again, I appreciate all the replies, thank you guys :]</p>

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<p>asianguy,</p>

<p>I think you’re overanalyzing based on presumptions on the student body at each school. </p>

<p>Think of it this way: which campus would give you more opportunities (volunteering, financial aid (important), outreach, research, hospital internships within reach [UCLA Ronald Reagan right on campus, vs. UCI 15 miles away], and most importantly the “feeling” you get for the campus as a whole. </p>

<p>Feeling: how well do you think you’ll fit in on campus? Did the people you meet on tours/Bruin Day impress you? Did you like the surrounding area (Westwood vs. Irvine/Tustin)? I ask you this because you’re going to study a heck of a lot better if you’re content with your surroundings. </p>

<p>I felt UCLA offered me opportunities for leadership within community service and campus organization that could not be rivaled elsewhere - I regularly served 6 different ethnic enclaves because of the diversity found in the LA area. Ronald Reagan and the School of Medicine gave me invaluable clinical and research experience - I could walk across the street from my research lab to the hospital for followup with my cancer patients. Westwood has a decent college town feel - and though LA Metro sucks in comparison to SF or NY, I didn’t feel like I needed a car like I would in Irvine. </p>

<p>Just giving you my experiences. Ask around on the UCI board too for some perspectives. After talking to UCI friends, I’d still say UCLA gave me more opportunities as a whole.</p>

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<p>Don’t settle! I made that mistake and it cost me years of my life. You can’t NOT choose UCLA.</p>

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<p>asianguy168,</p>

<p>I stand by my earlier statement: if you can’t handle the slight difference in students at UCLA, then you will not be able to handle med school, where pretty much every student will be exceptional at either UCLA or UCI. </p>

<p>The MCAT is the great equalizer, as Jinobi said.</p>

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<p>just remember that many, many students switch their majors within the first year of college. many freshman enter UCLA as pre-med, business econ, and pre-law and figure out it isn’t for them. not only do you have more money at UCLA, but the comparison…IMO isn’t even fair.</p>

<p>no offense to UCI, but UCLA has better opportunities, a better location (heart of LA, and the bus system makes everything accessible), division 1 sports teams, better school spirit (having a legitimate basketball/football team makes a big difference), and more diversity in the student body. UCI is a commuter school as well, and a car is a must there.</p>

<p>the MCAT is the lie detector…you can have an easier time in UCI, but MCAT will truly reveal how you stand against your peers. </p>

<p>if you did a comparison of the school environments and you just loved UCI’s, I understand. however, its only about class difficulty…the choice is obvious. UCLA would give you a vastly better college experience for the next 4 years…and when you’re happier, you’ll put in the work</p>

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<p>Meh, you guys are right, this “UCLA is harder than UCI” argument is over-exaggerated, the greater difficulty in UCLA, probably slight, will only help in the long run and isn’t worth losing the money. </p>

<p>And yes, I have visited both campuses and an somewhat familiar with the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, I am still a lot more comfortable with Irvine’s environment - is the environment/comfort worth the money? Should I simply forget about the environment and try my best to accommodate myself and be happy with UCLA’s?</p>

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<p>omg you cannot be serious right now. CHOOSE UCLA. IF THEY ACCEPTED YOU, THAT MEANS THEY BELIEVE YOU CAN HANDLE THE COURSEWORK. you’re going to regret choosing UCI.</p>

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<p>asianguy168, <em>Long post!</em></p>

<p>First off, consider talking to UCI’s financial aid office as soon as possible. Also, update your FAFSA and whatnot. Financial aid should be equal across the board (adjusted for location) unless this is a special scholarship UCLA is offering.</p>

<p>I am glad you have finally come down to the conclusion that UCLA is only slightly harder than UCI. I’ve met many impressive students at UCI during my undergraduate years there (I am now at UCLA for my MS/PhD for electrical engineering). In fact, I like to think there is a nice population of UCI students that didn’t get into UCLA because they just didn’t bother to try in high school…like I did :]. But I’m at UCLA so that obviously changed during college. Although…I wouldn’t exchange my undergraduate experience at UCI for UCLA.</p>

<p>I sincerely hope you learn over the years that any UC can provide you with all the opportunities you need to excel in your major. I feel like many still don’t realize that; although schools like UCI are ranked lower, these campuses are still densely packed with opportunities that are rarely milked to its potential. Although UCLA has a hospital across the street from its campus, you are able to choose from a diverse selection of hospitals in Orange County. UCI’s medical center is located in Anaheim, HOAG hospitals are located in multiple locations, CHOC is located in Orange, and many other smaller hospitals are swarming the area. If you look around Orange County, you will find there is an uprising in health related things. However, I’ve noticed UCLA has a huge emphasis in the research sector with all the extra research buildings that seem more affiliated with the hospital/industry than with the professors on campus (feel free to correct me). Opportunities are abundant at UCI, and one should not naively say otherwise. On the note of driving…driving is normal! It’s California!</p>

<p>I chose to move to UCLA to experience another environment and meet more professors in my field since I’m heading towards the academic route. So far, I have been satisfied in both areas. However, I’ll be honest, I’m more of a suburb guy. I totally understand how UCI is great place to be – it really is! The scenery and places to go without dealing with traffic has been a great experience for me. Also, UCI is located inbetween LA and SD. I would never trade it in to go to UCLA for undergrad. As a >21 year old, I have visited many bars and such around the area, and my friends from Irvine frequently drive up to join me. But that’s probably not important to you =P. You’ll find me frequently visiting Orange County these days. I miss UCI a lot, and wish I could go back right now. But I’m here for good reasons, so you won’t see me going back.</p>

<p>In terms of the campus activity, I will admit that UCLA has a stronger campus involvement and such (including more traditions). A lot of it has to do with its old age compared to UCI. However, this does not make UCI a hindrance to gaining leadership opportunities. During the course of my undergraduate years, I’ve found plenty of leadership experience within community service and campus organizations (sometimes a bit too much which impacted my grades!). I was especially involved with my engineering department which lead to great relationships with professors and great letters of recommendations that got me accepted to schools like Cornell, CMU, USC, etc. as well.</p>

<p>I just want to conclude saying that it’s absolutely important to go to a school you will feel happier at because of the culture and location (minus the difficulty!). Your happiness will reflect in your day to day performance as a pre-med student and possible leader in an organization. Let me know if you want to make any specific comparisons since I have pretty good idea about differences between schools.</p>