I was accepted to UCSD in the Bioengineering: Biosystems major and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at UCLA.
I don’t have any scholarships at either university so cost isn’t a factor. Also, I am fine with either location. I’m wondering how the UCLA social scene is like, especially someone who is a pre-med.
I plan on going to medical school after graduating from either university and then I want to go into medical research. Therefore, research opportunities are very important for me.
Which university do you guys think is best for a pre-med student interested in doing research as soon as possible? I hope to get at least one published paper out of my research experience by the time I apply to medical school, but I understand a lot of research is based off of luck. Thanks!
@BallpoinkPen . . . you probably can’t go wrong with research at either. It looks like there’s a bunch of medical complexes on the other side of the 5 freeway for UCSD, and UCLA Reagan is on campus, just west of the life sciences buildings at UCLA. They both have a lot of research groups on campus. I’m sure there is some luck involved in getting research. Sorry I can’t help you more.
I think the chance of getting research positions will be about the same in both although I’m not sure that your goal of being published before you graduate is realistic at either.
Socially, UCLA dorms are located on The Hill so in centralized cluster/community. UCSD is spread out and divided into colleges.
There is a pre-med forum on this website. You might post your pre-med question there as those people are very knowledgeable about the opportunities at different schools. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/
@BallpoinkPen - I don’t know about pre-med specifically or UCSD but my D had a summer paid fellowship in a lab for engineering the summer going into her junior year at UCLA in which she was published. Maybe ask the UCSD community if anyone has had a similar experience.
We visited UCSD many times. La Jolla is a great area but my D (and the rest of our family) much prefer UCLA’s campus.
It’s harder to get a good gpa in bio engineering than MCDB
California is a bad state for premed, based on med schools per capita. So, there are thousands of unsuccessful med applicants every year. So, it comes down to Plan B, your major. If you are all-in for premed, go to UCLA. If you would also be happy with an engineering degree, choose SD.