<p>is ucla too competitve for pre-med, how many kids actually make it to med school? is it better to just go into a direct med program such as drexel if you got in?</p>
<p>a guaranteed program allowing one to get into medical school is always the best option. i dont see why you would pick anything else. nationally, the percentile is already a little under 50%, which does not include the students who eventually decided not to apply because of low grades or what not. so having the chance of getting into medical school with a guarantee is awesome. consider yourself in a position envied by others. i am. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>premed at ucla and at any large public school for that matter, will always be competitive. i hear the rate is around 50-60%, but dont quote me on that. also, berkeleys is about 60%, so i would assume ucla has similar stats.</p>
<p>probably choosing the drexel program is better. always better to have the guarantee of med school in your hand than not. </p>
<p>UCLA is competitive for pre-med. not sure how many drop out or end up not having good enough grades, but a good number among those who start out do. if you got into a direct med program though, you probably have what it takes to survive ucla pre-med anyway.</p>
<p>thanks guys</p>
<p>ive decided that i really just want to expose myself to a lot so i think ill be going to UCLA or Berkeley instead of a direct program. Im sure i want to be a doctor...but does anyone have any advice on this decision? is it extremeley foolish to give up a med program for a uber-competitive school?</p>
<p>well, it depends what calibar of med school you were aiming for. generally, from what i hear, for practioneer purposes, it is not a big deal. as long as you get into a medical school, you're already doing pretty good. on the other hand, if you are not entirely sure about premed (which is safe to say, since most students change majors. honestly, its really hard to say what you really like and what you really dont like at this point) and would like to go to a school where you can explore your interests just to make perfectly sure, then ucla sounds like a good idea; or its just that you think 4 years at drexel would later become unbearable. furthermore, if you are a successful ucla premed student, then most definitely you'll have a good selection of above-average medical schools to choose from.</p>
<p>if it were me, i would choose ucla too. i myself am afraid that in the end, i might choose not to do premed at all, which in that case, ucla has numerous other majors to choose from. however, drexel does sound very tempting, and it wouldnt be a bad choice if they also had a variety of other fallback majors in case you change your mind (i dont know much about the school); furthermore, at least you'll have more peace at mind studying there - you wont have to worry as much about your gpa and other factors because you're already in! and despite my preference towards ucla, im sure i could make it through premed there. just gotta stay away from parties. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>good luck on your decision</p>
<p>thanks tuke!</p>
<p>What should i do to be sucessful as a pre-med student at UCLA? How can i get an extremeley high GPA (any pointers?)? Also, what do i need to do in additiion to getting a high GPA and MCAT score? Volunteering etc?</p>
<p>haha, these are all questions you can ask in the premed topic area of the forum. i am just like you, fresh meat. i havent gone through premed yet but have done much research on the topic and i think im ready for the challenge (or not).</p>
<p>getting a high gpa at ucla would by no means be easy. their system is set up by quarters instead of semesters, so plenty of ways to bring up/down your gpa. not to mention, since it is a public university, most of your classes will have lots of students, especially in all the 101 classes and such. and i would assume most grades in the class are based on class curves (so your grade might actually be brought down because of a class curve). so, its not easy to make A's at ucla or any large public university for that matter - theres too much competition. you basically need to be at the top of your game.</p>
<p>the MCAT, from what i hear, is a really basic test. its like the ACT or SAT. read a book, study, and take the basic classes (even at a community college) and you'll be ready. taking more upperlevel sci classes will by no means help boost your MCAT score.</p>
<p>volunteering and research shouldnt be a problem at ucla. theres so many opportunities they provide for that. (LA's hospital system, and uclas numerous undergrad research programs)</p>
<p>good luck.</p>
<p>101 classes? :confused:</p>
<p>sorry, i guess 101 is sort of slang. by 101, i mean like, the basic/first classes - the very first class you take before moving onto the upperlevel classes. for instance, if you take your first bio class, it will be filled with students because i would assume a science course is required for graduation. thus, many may pick bio to fulfill this requirement. if you major in bio, as you move along your upper division classes, students will mostly be comprised of bio major students as well and not the random students majoring in economics or basketweaving who would otherwise compete with you for that A in bio "101". :rolleyes:</p>