<p>Hello everyone! So its that time of my life where I have to make a decision on where to go for the next 4 years! :( And as you can see from the title, I have narrowed it down to UCLA and Emory. I am 150% sure (ATM) that I want to be a doctor, and have been sure of this for the past 10 years. However, from all of the people I've talked to, that can change very quickly once you reach your first college chemistry class. This is why I am asking you all to give me some advice.</p>
<p>For financial aid, I basically did not get any. My family is middle class, and we fall under that sad portion of people that are neither rich enough to not have to worry about paying for college nor are we poor enough to qualify for financial aid. Here are my financial statistics for the two schools:</p>
<p>UCLA: $30,500 (Including tuition, room and board, books, transportation(I live 30 minutes from westwood), and other personal expenses)</p>
<p>EMORY: ~$53,000(Including tuition, room and board, books, transportation, and other personal expenses.</p>
<p>UCLA would be around 125,000 over 4 years whereas Emory would be 215,000-220,000 over 4 years.</p>
<p>I will be majoring in "Neuroscience" at UCLA and "Neurobiology and Behavioral Biology" at Emory.</p>
<p>Here are my both comments, appraisals, and concerns about attending each school. Please do tell me what you think about them, and if you have attended these schools, if you think they are accurate, and what you think I should do in regards to my decision. </p>
<p>UCLA:</p>
<p>Positives-
-Very good brand name
-UCLA Reagan hospital nearby (I've heard its fairly easy to get volunteer positions there)
-Since i live near home, I can come home when needed for no cost and will have tons of support as my family is right over the hill.
-Quarter system allows for awful classes to be over quicker. Also, if I don't get a class one quarter, I'll have more chances than a semester system.
-The food is INCREDIBLE!! (I spent a week there so I know from experience)
-The cost is very affordable, and since I see med school in my future, I would love to be able to be debt-free as I enter med school.
-It is very easy to switch majors. I talked to the engineering people (because engineering would be my backup) and they said they get tons of transfer papers and its fairly simple to transfer, you just have to have respectable grades.
-There is a TON of school spirit.
-They are very big on neuroscience, which is what I've wanted to do for the past 10 years. (Whether the grad students get all the perks to that I don't know)
-Since I'm close to home, I can easily take classes at the community college or even at UCLA over the summer and not have to pay huge fees for live there(which i would at Emory).
-Very diverse school
-Beautiful Campus
-Will learn to fend for myself as I will need to in real life</p>
<p>Negatives-
-Very large school
-Almost no professor/student interaction
-Impossible to get intro classes
-Advising is pitiful
-Large possibility of graduating in 5 years.
-The very fierce PREMED competition
-BUDGET CUTS AND TUTION RAISES!!!
-Class curves, and class sizes
-Housing availability or quality
-Getting research and internship opportunities because there are so many people looking for them.
-Lack of academic help (tutoring center which was supposed to be very good was just eliminated due to budget cuts)
-Office hours are always full
-CUT THROAT COMPETITION
-Staff seems to not care at all about the student body.</p>
<p>PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD TO THE ABOVE AND BELOW!!!!</p>
<p>EMORY:</p>
<p>Positives:
-Small private school
-Has lots of money to fund research or other programs
-Chance to explore a new city
-Small classes, more professor/student interaction
-Easy to get classes
-AMAZING advising for both pre-med and major
-Housing is incredibly nice
-Easy to get research and internships with the CDC and Emory hospital within walking distance.
-Great tutoring offered.
-Beautiful Campus
-Collaborative effort/ United community
-Easy to balance extra curriculars with academics
-Semester system is slightly more relaxed, not as stressful.</p>
<p>Negatives:
-Almost no school spirit
-Cost is outrageously expensive, especially with med school ahead.
-Switching majors is pretty much not an option since engineering at Emory isn't really impressive compared to UCLA
-Very tough classes, less opportunities to make it up in GPA because of semester system
-Name is not as well known among the common population.
-Still a weeding process for Pre-med students.
-Food is not so great.
-Very far away from home, less support from parents as I will be only going home 4 times a year.
-Will kind of be fed everything I need. I won't learn the skill of getting everything by myself. Won't learn real-life skills.</p>
<p>So that is basically what I know about the schools, and my comparison of them. However, I really really really would appreciate advice on what to do. I figure if I go to Emory, I'll have more opportunities for research and internships, and be able to learn more efficiently, but at a much higher cost. A big thing is that if I decide I don't want to do medicine, I will have wasted so much money. At UCLA, it will be an extremely tough road, and the way things are going, it will only get tougher, and I might even have to stay an extra quarter. However, I just need a place that will help me get to med school. I know that a lot of it is up to me and how well I do in my classes, but it helps to have support or balance in college. So please, give me advice on which college I should choose, and please share any experiences you all have had with these colleges. THANK YOU!!!</p>