<p>I want to start off as a pre-med in college to see if I like it, and I was wondering if UCLA or Texas would have a better pre-med program in terms of this:</p>
<p>-Ability to do research/get internships at the medical school (huge factor for me)
-Which one is less competitive/easier to get grades at...I know it's hard everywhere, but if someone has any idea about this, please comment. I heard that UCLA is cutthroat for pre-med, so I am somewhat worried about that.
-How many grads get into the top med schools (i.e. Stanford, HMS, etc.)
-Which is better for business and engineering since there's a decent chance I won't do medicine?
-Non academic factors such as social life, college town, etc.</p>
<p>I had a very smart cousin go to UCLA. Top of her class in CA high school with 4.0 GPA.. she said getting into medicine at UCLA is too competitive. She graduated with a ~3.3GPA</p>
<p>Yeah, I honestly think I like UT wayyy better than UCLA, but I'm just worried that UT doesn't have enough name outside of Texas. I know that it has a relatively similar peer assessment score to UCLA, but no one I know outside of the US has heard of UT (while everyone has heard of UCLA), and the only people that knew what Texas was that I talked to were people that lived in TX/the near south, people in engineering, or my friends that looked at specific department rankings. That's my dilemma between the two. UCLA is way more prestigious FWIW, and it might be hard to turn that down. </p>
<p>Can anyone comment on UT's rep outside of Texas, and even internationally?</p>
<p>EDIT: Btw, that acceptance rate seems really, really low. Only 51% of people that make it through all the weeders, etc. get in? Does anyone know what UCLA's is?</p>
<p>Hey, you want to go into medicine right? Trust me, the prestige of your college means nothing to medical schools. Try to take the med school acceptance rate lightly. If you work hard, you'll get into medical schools..whether you're at UT or UCLA.
But yea, why are you concerned with the name? Medical schools could care less if you went to UT. To them, a 4.0 GPA at UT is the same as a 4.0 GPA at UCLA. Believe me, if you're aiming for a top medical school outside TX, it doesn't matter where you graduate. </p>
<p>Besides, if you want higher acceptance rates, smaller schools are the way to go. But again, if you work hard enough, you'll get into medical schools... Most of how you'll do is based off the amount of work you put in. Don't based your decision off of the numbers.</p>
<p>Both TX and CA have tons of medical schools...but once again, UCLA is verryy competitive. That's the main reason I didn't apply in the first place.
Let me say this once more. Medical schools don't care about the prestige of your school. PICK where you'll be happiest and where you think your grades can be highest.</p>
<p>I agree with UcMichigan. Medical schools (and dental schools, for that matter) would rather see a 4.0 at StateU than a 3.4 at Harvard. And yes, that is coming from a real med school adcom (Yale, actually! He's a family friend).</p>
<p>I think that it will be easier to get a solid GPA at UT. UCLA is notoriously competitive and difficult because everyone is super smart and nearly every class uses a bell curve to distribute grades. Both are great schools with great "college experiences" to offer, but if med school is your goal, I think UT may be the better choice.</p>
<p>Granted, this may just be my way of dealing with my heartbreaking rejection from UCLA, where I wanted to be pre-dent...</p>
<p>ALSO! Consider cost. Med school costs a lot. More than you think. So if a school gives you a sizable amount of money, take it. You'll need all the extra money you can get to pay your way through that really great med school!</p>
<p>The only reason to choose one school over another in such a similar bracket is if one state gives preference to state residents. California schools do not, so there is no advantage to attending a UC as far as admission to a UC med school goes. However, Texas</a> appears to give preference to residents over non-residents, so being a resident of Texas may be an advantage as far as admission to a medical school there goes. Also keep in mind that Texas med schools run on an entirely different application than most others, who use AMCAS.</p>
<p>UCLA is not likely to be much more competitive than UT, as both schools accept a very similar cohort (read: excellent.) The most important factors for admission will be your GPA, science GPA, and MCAT. Achievement in the first two may be somewhat affected by the school you attend, but the MCAT is almost entirely exogenous of your undergraduate institution. You should attend the school, therefore, that you believe will offer you the best experience.</p>
<p>The undergraduate institution is nearly meaningless once you get to med school. Heck, the med school name is nearly meaningless. All that matters is getting the degree and how well you perform on boards and overall as a student. A good personality helps as well. Look at the placement records of some no-name med schools and you'll see that you can get great residencies anywhere.</p>
<p>And in the end, that's all that matters, right?</p>
<p>Thanks for the posts UcMichigan and UCLAri. That takes a huge load off of my shoulders, because my parents kept saying that because Orthopedic Surgery is so competitive, it's basically a must to have any shot at those residencies to go to HMS-tier schools to get in. I think from what's been said I'm leaning towards UT. It's still that whole international prestige thing though lol. I don't even know why I'm so hung up on prestige though. I think it's because there's a really good chance I'll go into business, and especially get into international stuff, and I'm worried UT won't have very much, while UCLA will help me out immensely on the international scale should I do business. So really, how well is UT known outside of the US?</p>
<p>Your parents are very misguided when it comes to how medicine works, unfortunately. Having the name "Harvard" on your resume means nothing for a good residency if you don't nail the Step 1 and do well at your school. Matching has nothing to do with where you did your undergrad. It has everything to do with how you perform as a medical student and on the USMLE.</p>
<p>If you are not entirely sure of your career goals, however, then UCLA offers you something UT may not, which is a somewhat better international name. It is my experience as a UCLA grad that it carries well abroad. However, unless you plan on doing entrepreneurial work, your undergrad name will be less important than your firm. A lot really depends on what you want to do and where.</p>
<p>go to UT,
Afterwards you can go to UT Southwestern (which really is a top notch med school)
Or Baylor in Houston if you're willing to pay for it....although UTSW will be a lot cheaper.
My mom went to UTEP and went to UT Southwestern, my aunt went to UCLA for her residency. and all my Dad, Uncle, and Aunt went to UM for med school.
My Aunt go in,and obviously went. She filliped houses when she lived in LA, so she bought a house on the beach. but she gave that up for Spokane WA, the price of living in LA is insane, and the housing market isn't so good...
the Austin area is one of the fastest economically growing places in the country. Along with all the Major Texas Cities (IE: Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, etc.).
Austin is the place for young people now, and in my opinion it is a quickly rising star in not only Texas, or the US but the Globe.
I would say UT, but If I were you I would want to go to UCLA too....</p>