I Need Help! I am torn between UCLA and USD. I really want to visit but cannot due to Covid-19. I am looking for insights about either college or comparisons of the two! Major: Biology/Pre Med. With scholarships, cost is equal between the two. Below is my current thought process (feel free to change my mind!!):
USD: Fits my personality better, I wanted to live in San Diego, was where I intended on going, got into USD Honors
UCLA: better academics/possibly better for my major, better for med school acceptances, but I am not sure about LA and the environment.
@izzyneedshelp . . . so you’re from CA and received “scholarships” (plural) from USD, to make the cost effectively the same?
Yes, I received a scholarship from USD making the cost about equal to UCLA. Cost isn’t a factor in my decision, so I didn’t want it to be a factor in people’s advice (i.e. go here it’s cheaper).
My niece went to USD. She liked it very much, felt the size was right to give a lot of opportunities but not so big as to not be able to take advantage of them. She did study abroad for one semester, was in student government, played on the club team for her sport, lived 2 years on campus and 2 years at the beach.
When touring schools, she liked UCLA a lot too, but I think in the end it would have been too big and too expensive (not instate for her).
@izzyneedshelp . . . there’s a former SEAL now astronaut who went to USD and studied mathematics, then went to Harvard Medical School. I’d would link his bio, but perhaps you should get to the link yourself – I’m now trying to be more cautious about suppling links; search “USD, Harvard Medical School” and it’ll take you to his bio.
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Normally, I would say UCLA, but given that you got into USD Honors, that might be a great idea! Med schools will know you were one of USD’s top students and it will help. I think the big question you should ask yourself is: How much do I care about class size? If you like the idea of smaller class sizes, USD is far superior. If it’s not that big of a deal, I would say choose UCLA.
@izzyneedshelp Based on your requirements, USD easily fits the bill. UCLA is too impersonal for what you’re looking at and USD will be quite a different experience as a small, private, Catholic institution. Your recommendations will likely be much more personalized.