<p>We all know that UCLA has a better reputation and whatever but I want to know which school offers solid courses and a good reach to the medical field. I've heard poor things about how UCLA doesnt have great programs for students looking into med.<<tell me if I heard wrong!!!</p>
<p>c’mon anyone…</p>
<p>Not exactly clear what you are asking here, is it possible for you to clarify.</p>
<p>UCSD is known to have a really tough science clases especially biology. With this said how would you compare UCSD and UCLA. Also since other courses are required to enter med school, which school has better courses to offer. And as I said about UCLA having poor programs for pre med students I mean to say…med school looks for students who has done research or worked with hospitals. Do you know if this is true that UCLA doesn’t do a good job with providing their students with such programs.</p>
<p>I think you will find good premed at all the UCs, I think they are comparable, go with fit.
I want to clarify, I didn’t say UCLA is having poor programs, there is a lot of competitions at UCLA and having undergraduate degree from UCLA doesn’t exactly give you an edge at UCLA medical school.
I think most of the UCs have research for undergraduates from what I’ve read in the past.
Maybe other people can help you in this area. I don’t think my coworker’s kid had a research program but she did get into some program that was very selective. But she also has very high GPA, more like 3.9+, it’s a family of very smart kids.</p>
<p>UCSD and UCLA are the same for difficulty. I would choose UCLA just because it’s a better school and has a nicer campus. UCSD is boring all around.</p>
<p>It depends on what one likes. If you like the outdoors then UCSD beats UCLA. if you like to be surrounded by a lot of expensive shopping areas then UCLA. UCSD is more relaxing.</p>
<p>Concur that UCSD and UCLA should be the same in terms of difficulty–it would come down to what you decide to major in (biology easier than biochemistry or bioengineering, etc) You should pick a school based on where you would be happy and how the other qualities of the school fit what you are looking for in a college experience. </p>
<p>Going into my fourth year at UCLA, I can tell you there are definitely a lot of opportunities to create a stellar medical school application, but it certainly won’t be easy–as in, there is no one to hold your hand throughout the process of ensuring you will be a competitive applicant and a lot of the worthwhile volunteering groups are competitive to get into (sounds ridiculous, I know, but that’s how it is.) </p>
<p>It’s hard to take this advice now but don’t pick a school based on their prestige or “premed” program (that latter criteria is especially meaningless). There are far more important things to consider like location, cost, and especially how good of a fit you think the school is for you. </p>
<p>@neekzg apart from location and cost, can you elaborate on what fit means? Do you think a visit is enough to get this idea? Are you talking about competitiveness of the student?</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your idea on volunteer groups. Any idea how it is in UCSD or UCI or UCD?</p>
<p>You should certainly visit all the schools you are considering, and if possible during the week rather than a weekend because not many of us are on campus on the weekends so you’d see a much better picture of student life during the week. Unfortunately it’s not possible to know EXACTLY if a school is the best fit for you but you should perhaps make a list of things you consider important. When you get admitted to the schools of your choice, attend all their “admitted students” events since this is where they really try to showcase their strengths and the student body and try to lure you into committing to there for the next four years. </p>
<p>One factor to consider for “fit” would be school pride–this may sound weird but it’s something UCLA students are huge on. Attendance at sporting events or campus-held events is huge and the students that go here don’t ever stop talking about how much they love it here (I’d imagine it gets annoying to outsiders haha). Other schools aren’t all that into school pride or could care less about how their team does so it may or may not be important to you to be in this type of environment. (There’s still a lot of people at UCLA that only care about going there for the prestige and don’t care to learn about student clubs, campus events, or their fellow students, but these tend to be the minority here). Another factor you can consider is the surrounding city, what there is to do in the adjacent areas, or how far you are from other cool sites like museums or the beach. And also yes, the competitiveness of the student body is important as well but it would be relatively intense at any of the top UCs but I’d argue particularly intense at UCLA or Berkeley. </p>
<p>There’s a lot of things that go into your “fit” at a school but I doubt I’d be able to list them all. Hopefully you can find that out for yourself along the way but I can answer any questions you have about UCLA and specifically pre-med life. </p>
<p>As for the other schools like UCSD, UCI, UCD, I’m sure they have their fair share of student groups that allow you to have some clinical exposure and rewarding volunteering experiences but I don’t know any specifics. Not all of the pre-med groups at UCLA are overly competitive to join, so I wouldn’t let that deter you from coming here. </p>