I was accepted to the University of Washington Honors program and UCLA.
When I was first visiting schools, I applied to UW as a safety/foundation school because my scores were well above the averages and it seemed likely I’d get in. When I visited UCLA, I absolutely fell in love with it. Within 10 minutes of being on campus, I realized I could really see myself there and that I really wanted to go. I visited because I was visiting USC anyway, and I expected not to like it, but I ended up really loving it. However, I never thought I’d actually get in. I knew that if I did, this is what the decision would come down to.
After visiting both the schools a second time, I realized that I felt more supported as a student at UW. I felt that they had better programs, research opportunities, and pre-med matriculation. UCLA also has great programs and research opportunities, but I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about the UCs and pre-med students.
I feel like I’m taking a gamble either way because I can’t apply to the UCLA honors program until after accepting my admission and I don’t know if I’ll be admitted to the neuroscience major at UW until my sophomore year.
I really want to go to UCLA, but I feel like UW is the better fit. But I just can’t get excited and stay excited about attending UW because of UCLA. I think that if I accepted UCLA, I’d be happy, but I’d always wonder if I would be getting a better, more personalized education at UW. But if I accept UW, I’m choosing the college for a program that I may change my mind from anyway.
So do I pick the school I want to go to or the school that seems like the right choice?
If you feel that being in honors at Washington will give you a better chance at being accepted at an SOM – than at UCLA if you weren’t, and it is iffy – then go to UDub, even if you’re in a general bio program. The honors will give you special privileges which would be guaranteed. Then there’s the cost aspect per ucb; you didn’t mention it or in what state you are a resident.
Cost is about the same for each - there is no real cost advantage for one over the other. I’m out of state for both.
If I were in honors at both, would that make UCLA the better choice?
Also, I think it is important to note that I changed my mind often and I’m not sure that I will pursue neuroscience or premed all the way through college. I’m interested in just about everything and want to be able to have as many options as I can to pursue those interests.
OOS tuition, room and board are about $58,000 at UCLA and about $49,000 at UW. Did you get a Purple and Gold Scholarship at UW?
No matter what majors and minors you pursue (and there are over 180 majors at UW), the Interdisciplinary Honors Program is a nice way to make a large school feel smaller, where you would be among a strong cohort of about 250 freshmen who are able to take all sorts of interesting classes each quarter that are taught by select faculty in small class settings. You can satisfy a lot of your general education and areas of knowledge electives and enrich your standard major prerequisites and requirements with these Honors courses.
Do you have other lower cost options? If you go to expensive medical school, money saved in undergraduate may help you get through medical school with less debt at the end. Of course, if your parents are very wealthy and can easily afford both expensive undergraduate and expensive medical school for you, that may not be a concern.
I know it is not easy to get into the Honors programs at UW, especially as an out of state student, but I still feel like the name UCLA carries more weight.
The honors program is really pushing me to choose UW, but I’m hesitant still because of how much I loved UCLA. Is the education that I would get because of it really that much better that I should choose it over the school that I loved?
I don’t know what my plans are for medical school right now, or if I’ll even decide to go. I’m focused on where I will get a better undergraduate education that will set me up for whatever path I decide to take in life, whether it be medical school or something else.
I do not know how the two honors programs compare. Generally speaking, as major, comprehensive research universities, UCLA and UW are more similar than different, and a student can receive a great education at either school. Both are excellent across many disciplines (and have been for many decades), which is good for a student who is undecided on major. What you get out of your time at a school like UW or UCLA will largely depend on you. The Honors Program at UW will provide an additional level of guidance, advising and support, but I have no doubt that similar resources are available for all students at UCLA and UW who seek them out. If cost is not a factor, it may just come down to your personal preference, which only you can determine. If you love one more than the other on May 1, pick that one!
The following links will give you a sense of how outstanding and important UCLA and UW (and similar U.S. public research universities like Berkeley, UCSD, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, etc.) are in the production and dissemination of new knowledge. I would have loved to attend either school as an undergraduate. (I attended a mid-sized private university in the eastern U.S. many decades ago but have always held UW and UCLA in high esteem, and I have the pleasure of knowing several young graduates of these schools who are very impressive and successful but more importantly are very good people.)