So I recently got of the waitlist at LA and will be pursuing a double major in neuroscience and cognitive science if I attend. If I go to Davis, I will be pursuing Biomedical Engineering. I do not know if engineering will be a match for me, and I’m afraid that if I do not do engineering my job prospects look pretty bleak. I plan to go to med school, but would like a safety net in case that doesn’t work out. Cost is not an issue for me.
Pros UCLA:
prestige
location/ climate/ social life
research/ internships
excellent academics
Pros UC Davis:
engineering (broader scope)
less competition= more opportunities?
closer to home
Why would you not go to UCLA if you’re planning to do med? It’s one of UCLA’s most renowned programs.
Bioengineering doesn’t have better job prospect either. So go to UCLA.
I was considering doing Bioengineering as a pre-med too, but then it was brought to my attention that I would have to get a high GPA if I wanted to get into med school and engineering would have made this extremely difficult. I switched to a MCB. I think it’s a decision of “Do I really want to go to med school?” If so then go for Neuroscience for the sake of your GPA. And from I read about BioE is that it is the “jack of all trades” so it’s not so easy to find a job unless you have a higher degree. Just something to think about.
No matter where you go, you would still have to get a very high GPA in anything to get into med school.
UCLA should have some kind of statistics regarding GPA breakdown for some popular majors. Like for UCSD there are 30% graduated from Bio with GPA higher than 3.5. For engineering it was like 20-23%.
Thanks goal the input guys! I ended up choosing Davis.