UCLA VS UCSD (Bio track)

Hi all, I am a senior in high school who just got accepted to UCLA (Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (Pre)) and UC San Diego (Human Biology). I am planning to attend med school in the future (hopefully).

I really like both schools. However, I am a bit concerned about choosing UCLA because I checked the classes I’ll have to take and they all seemed very challenging. I’ve also heard that it is impossible to get a good GPA at UCLA. On the other hand, I know that UCSD has a ‘better’ biology program, which probably means that UCSD will be as challenging as UCLA.

Can someone help me with deciding where I should attend? It’d be really helpful if I could compare two schools in terms of possible research/volunteer opportunities, the amount of pre-med help offered, etc.

UCLA and UCSD both have outstanding biology departments. Any “better” that UCSD has is minor to negligible; being pre-med in biology is going to be challenging at both.

Do you actually want to study biology because you’re interested in it? You know you can be pre-med with a major other than biology.

Yes. I wanted to major in bio and minor in visual art… but I heard bio major is super challenging so I might have to let go of visual art.

First of all, bio is not a hard major. It is an average difficulty major so get it out of your head that you face an extraordinarily difficult task. Both programs are typical of the average student at both universities. After you accept that it’s average in difficulty, it becomes obvious that you should simply choose the best school by your criteria.

Also, average GPA’s at both schools are about the same. UCLA-3.14, UCSD 3.15.

Bio will be hard at either school. Choose the one where you want to spend the next 4 years.
And as noted above, you can apply to med school with any major as long as you take all of the prerequisite courses.

Being in the top 20% of every biology class and premed class IS very hard, by definition you have to be better than 80% students there. Anyone who thinks that’s easy is delusional. It’s better to go in with your eyes open, and the first week of class when all the freshmen are going put every night and blowing off office hours, be the one who’s doing the work.

I’m in a very similar situation, though I’m pre-pharm. I got accepted for Bio at UCLA and Human Bio at UCSD. I’m having the worst time trying to decide because I got a Chancellor’s Scholarship for 20k at UCSD, but UCLA is my dream school.

Thanks for all the comments. I am also worried about the ‘pre’ status. For UCLA, my understanding is that if I fail required classes for the major I got, I will have to choose another major. Can someone explain how this works? Honestly, I am more worried about the chemistry and physics I’ll have to take more than bio itself…

Do you know if the low average GPA makes it hard for UCSD grads to get into med schools? I am wondering if I should go to a completely different school with higher average GPA.

Go to UCSD and get the GPA you earn. Why go to a school that is easier?

There’s no slack cut for UCLA grade deflation. You need a 3.6, meaning that you need to be top 10% in every early pre-req class and top 20% in the rest of your classes. Premed at UCLA is a blood bath because everyone is the cream of the crop, CA is the most competitive state for premed, and 90% of these top students will be cut. So, pick another major or go elsewhere if you don’t want to play the odds. My advice to you would be to pick another major and focus on doing very well in it. Get an EMT certification, log in the hours. Try to think of other professions.

The way weedout classes work is that the median grade is cued to roughly 80%. So, half the class will have more, half will have less. Considering that in order to have a shot students need to achieve an 87%, that gives you an idea of how few students make the grade in each class. Remember that ALL of these students are top students so those getting a 65% are not slackers.

Completely agree with @MYOS1634 ; Now just image the horrible suffering of those 42% enrolled in UCLA who used to be straight A students in HS, now to see that perfect record getting demolished class after class!
It is not even easy for the Regents scalars (my daughter being one) to go through it un-scratched!

Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but UCSD is not any easier than UCLA. I am currently a 4th year human bio major at UCSD and I have compared the material that I am learning against what a few of my friends who are bio majors are learning and their classes are actually a lot less details with professors who ask straightforward questions rather than the ambiguous exam and homework questions that you get at UCSD

^ that’s basically it. It’ll be very hard at both. Use summer time well, do not overload, spread the premed pre-reqs over 4 years, first semester do not take both biology and chemistry to give yourself time to adjust, push one of these to start the sequence in the spring and catch up with a community college class over the summer (you’ll take higher level classes so you’ll show you can do well in those).
Go to the career center early on to plan for a possible plan B. Keep in mind that slow and steady wins the race.

Students are very competitive in chemistry classes. You will not only compete with premed students but also with engineering students. The midterm exam for my first chemistry class was cancelled because of bomb scare made by some unprepared premed student. After the first chemistry class, many students changed major.

FYI: UCLA Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) major also requires Calculus I - III or I & II (Life Sciences). One of my kids who majored in Microbiology and Immunology, was required to complete Calculus I & II as a degree requirement (the same required calculus courses for engineering students, i.e., NOT Life Sciences Calculus). Calculus I and Statistics are the minimum math requirement for most med schools. IMHO, the MIMG curriculum at UCLA looks more challenging than a Human Biology major at UCSD.

In comparison with a Sociology or Psychology major, who only takes the “minimum” required pre-med courses, who is more likely to have a higher GPA upon graduation? Relatively speaking, two students with identical “high” MCAT scores, one a MIMG student with a 3.4 GPA and the other, a Sociology student with a 3.9 GPA, which of the two would be more likely to get accepted to at least one medical school? Ben Carson was a Psychology major at Yale, before completing medical school at the University of Michigan.

@Jamrock411 are we looking at the same curricula? Both schools require calculus sequence, stats, chemistry, biology, and physics but the similarities between MIMG and Human Bio end there. For one, human biology requires OCHEM (which OP would have to take either way for premed but in terms of the program difficulty that already tips the scales).

Both schools are hard and will have a ton of research and volunteering opportunities with large medical centers on campus. With regard to premed advising, I think UCSD has an edge. Academic advising is spread throughout the six colleges, making it easier to get an appointment or a walk-in with your counselor. Department advising is also usually accessible and the dedicated premed advisers are friendly and helpful (the one I’ve met, Adele, had a lot of pointers for my MCAT prep).

Wow. That’s really intimidating. I actually thought about changing majors, but then I think staying in a major that might help me prepare for MCAT may be better. What do you think? Is it hard to study for MCAT by myself?

The premed requirements cover the MCAT, and then you study on your own (+, often, with a prep course).

For pre-med or pre-dental, there is no magic in either UCLA or UCSD, they are equally difficult.

Case in point, two kids I know went to UCLA the same time, bio major, we are close friends to their parents. One graduated with Honor and went to UCSF upon graduation. One has average grade, puts around for 5 years, did post bacc part time, finally, got into a dental school, while her classmate is practicing already.