<p>I'm in a bit of a dilemma here. I've narrowed down my choices to UCLA and Drexel (and my first choice's waitlist, but that's the stuff of dreams, for now =|) and I'm curious as to where you guys think I might be better off. They're really two entirely different schools, which is probably why I'm having so hard of a time picking between them. A bit of background info: I'm from California and am planning on going to medical school afterwards. At whichever school I attend, I intend on studying a mash-up of Psychology and Biology (ex. Psychobio, neurosci, cogni sci, something like that).</p>
<p>Here's how it's lookin':</p>
<p>UCLA
Pros:
- That gut feeling, that "This might just be home..." feeling. I've visited twice, once overnight, and the campus vibe just feels, well, "right".
- Everyone seemed really friendly, lively
- I love love love the weather (warm weather was one of my priorities in picking schools)
- Diversity! (that's pretty important too)
- The place is beautiful; love the architecture, the classrooms, everything
- The food here is without-a-doubt the best food you'll find in a college dining hall, ever
- Location, location, location - UCLA's near the beach, near the city, near everything
- It's in-state, the flight home is like an hour and a half
- Great Neuroscience program / they have Psychobiology here
- Plenty of good pre-med opportunities/internships - through professors, programs, maybe even the med school
- The place is huge, meaning there's always something to do, someone to see, somewhere to be
- Just a great mix of people adding up to form a great school</p>
<p>Cons:
- I have zero financial aid. I'll basically be paying sticker price, minus the independent scholarships I'm gathering
- The place is huge, meaning less individual attention, more if-you-want-something-you're-on-your-own-to-go-find-it (it'd probably be easier to ease in to college at a smaller place)
- It's really competitive. This is the best of the best, gathered up and concentrated all in one school. That could be great in creating a great community, but it's not-so-great when you're pre-med, shoulder-to-shoulder with other people competing for med school. Also not-so-great for its potential impact on the GPA
- It's a UC, it's a cash-strapped public university. Tuition is liable to rise, and by a lot, and budget cuts mean huge(-r) classes and still, having to fight for spots in those classes. As well for anything else I might want.</p>
<p>DREXEL
Pros:
- The Drexel Co-op program, what they call "the ultimate internship". Basically they hook you up with (or help you find, they have a whole center set up for this program) a major employer (ex. Johnson & Johnson, Merck, etc.) for a two-quarter paid internship your sophomore year if you're on their four-year plan. If you're on their five-year plan, you do three of these internships for your sophomore, junior, and senior years. The average co-op salary is about 14k/internship. Great opportunity for job experience, and for learning skills applicable to the real world.
- They're really big on teaching a "practical education". They have nice realistic hospital/clinic simulation rooms that would offer good pre-med training
- They have a program I can apply to in my junior year that will guarantee me a spot in their medical school if I get in/have the GPA to get in
- Here, I would probably be at the top of the class - big fish in a small pond situation. (judging from stats, the scholarship I got, the campus vibe - not to sound arrogant here, but it really is looking like it)
- Located in Philadelphia, nearby everything. (Downtown is like a block away, UPenn is right across the street, hah!)
- Located in the University City district, which is nice because it gathers the students of three universities in one area. (the area gives off a Berkeley-ish feel, or at least, on the other side of UPenn it does)
- The dorms and classrooms are REALLY nice. Nice modern architecture too.
- Regarding money, this school is the total opposite from a UC. Tons of brand new facilities, no shortage of programs. The alumni laugh at the question "Did you ever have a problem enrolling in a class because too many students wanted to take it as well?"
- I received their largest merit scholarship and it covers about half of their tuition - under their four year program I would probably have to spend about 23.5k/yr (after having subtracted the average co-op salary from the total tuition over four years).
+ Under their five year program, I would probably have to spend about 8k/yr (after having subtracted the average co-op salary times three for each session from the total tuition, over five years). - If I'm going to Drexel, this is the route I'm taking.
- I'm not gonna lie, their mascot, "Mario the Magnificent" is a heck of a cool dragon.</p>
<p>Cons:
- The weather really sucks, from the perspective of a Californian. One student describes it as "Six months of snow and the harsh cold, then six months of mild weather."
- If I'm looking for diversity, diversity lives on UPenn's campus, not Drexel's. From having spent three days at Drexel, I'd say there isn't much of a minority presence on campus, and if there is, they're hiding. (I like the open-mindedness diversity creates.)
- The campus vibe wasn't too great. Not that lively, didn't feel welcoming. And for its admitted students' day, the school went way too much out of its way to put on a show for how we should see Drexel, if that says anything about the place.
- The dining hall food here really sucked.
- The place is really tiny, and feels really tiny, especially in the shadow of the big city and UPenn
- Flying home would take me 9 hours.
- They don't really have Neurosci/cognisci programs here, so I would probably major in Biology and minor in Psych or something...
- The impression I got is that there really isn't as much to do at Drexel in terms of joining organizations, intramural sports, other stuff I might like to do.</p>
<p>It really comes down to a few questions, but they're big ones: small school vs. big school, private school vs. public school, east coast vs. west coast, money vs. happiness... and all from a pre-med perspective.</p>
<p>Any opinions? Am I misjudging either of the two schools? Am I missing any pros/cons?</p>