<p>Basically I've been torn between the two for a while now and it's just so hard to make this decision. Currently I want to study business as an undergrad and possibly go to med school later on. I know, it's totally different paths but I like both fields of study. At BC, I got into CSOM so I would be studying business but I heard UCLA's Business Econ major is comparable (obviously not the same) and is definitely still good. Also, about the pre-med programs, I know that BC has a program that will definitely help guide you along the way but does UCLA have that sort of thing too? I know that UCLA is very strong in the medical field because of its grad school. However, which one has the better prep classes and professors that will help me more? Last thing, I heard that when I graduate, it'll be a lot more impressive to get a UCLA diploma than a BC one. Is that true? because it'll help me with job opportunities. Thanks for the advice!!</p>
<p>any advice please? need all the help I can get!</p>
<p>I heard from a coworker that BC claimed to have nearly 100% placement for pre-meds.</p>
<p>really? that seems really high! does BC really prepare its students that well?</p>
<p>im in a very similar situation bc vs. uofm and i am still torn with 2 days to go... i talked to a prof at bc yesterday and he told me its easy to get undergrad research but i didnt ask about placement, im really torn...gaahhh</p>
<p>Not quite, but 91% from the BC website.</p>
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[quote]
Surf the web. We realize that many of you did your initial college searches last summer. You visited various web sites to determine which colleges have the programs that were of interest to you. Now is the time to peel away the layers to find out which programs offer the most opportunities for you both during college and in the future. For example, if you applied only to schools that offer a pre-medical program, have you done the research to determine each college's medical school placement rate? (We'll get you started - in 2006, 91% of BC's senior medical school applicants with a minimum GPA of 3.2 and a minimum MCAT score of 9.0 were admitted to at least one accredited medical school. This is nearly twice the national average). At most colleges, admission officers are facing their busiest time of year right now, attempting to review thousands of applications in just over two months. While they are out of the office reviewing applications, the Internet becomes one of the best places to acquire this information.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The</a> Waiting Period - Boston College</p>
<p>UCLA is much lower, about 50% from the aamc website.</p>
<p>If you are white, its 41%
FACTS</a> Table 2-7. Undergraduate Institutions Supplying 100 or More White Applicants to U.S. Medical Schools</p>
<p>If you are Asian, it's 50%
FACTS</a> Table 2-6. Undergraduate Institutions Supplying 35 or More Asian Applicants to U.S. Medical Schools</p>
<p>if you are in state cali, go with UCLA</p>
<p>go to UCLA much better school, much cheaper, much better experience, much better for med school</p>
<p>Being from Boston, I know that BC is well known here, obviously. But do people from CA look at you like you are from Mars if you say you went to BC? Is it well known on the west coast?</p>
<p>Everyone in Boston knows of UCLA, but is the opposite true?</p>
<p>BC isn't as well known in the west coast. I think only in the New England area and some midwest regions</p>
<p>BC is well known in the San Francisco and Los Angeles area. Many BC alums are employed in IT professions in Silicon Valley. California is the fifth most represented state on campus and there are many BC students and alums in Seattle. It is about as well known on the West Coast as USC is on the East Coast.</p>
<p>A few comments. First, you write "which one has the better prep classes and professors that will help me more?" Chem is chem, math is math, no matter where you take it. Nobody has a magic formula for teaching them. As for profs going out of there way to help you, UCLA (like any large state school) is going to be impersonal. Profs are happy to help you if you make the effort to go to office hours, but don't think they're going to pick you out in class and take the initiative to get to know/help you.</p>
<p>As for med school admit rates, it is a totally meaningless number because it is so easily manipulated. First off, note that columbia's post above compares oranges to apples; he compares the overall admit rate for every applicant from ucla to those with a specified MCAT score & GPA from boston college. More importantly, many colleges (but typically not large state schools) provide something called a "committee letter". If your college offers it, you are required to submit it to med schools. This is how colleges with the impressive admit rate get there, how obscure colleges manage to boast of a 90+% admit rate. If the committee doesn't think you're a strong candidate can say you are "recommended with reservations" or, more ominously, "not recommended". Either way, you're wasting your time and thousands of dollars applying if that's what your letter will say, and those that are informed that's what the committee will say usually don't bother applying. Voila! Admit rate looks good when only the strongest kids apply. And BC has a committee; see BC</a> Committee Evaluation Process - Boston College</p>
<p>Last, it seems like 1/3 of all kids enter college thinking to some degree about premed. Many of those that are diehard end up changing their mind once they start taking college-level science classes or they discover other interests. So unless you already have substantial time volunteering in a medical setting and know that you're going to get into the medical field even if it means as a nurse or some other capacity, I wouldn't base too much of your college decision on going into medicine.</p>