<p>I have been accepted to both Merced and Riverside. I plan to be pre med and was wondering what my chances of getting into med school are if I went to UCM, because UCM is not accredited. I am my currently a senior in high school so my college grad class would be lucky number 13 (2013). So will UCM be accredited by than and will I have a segnificant chance of getting in to med school? Also what is the town like (I have visited the campus but I just drove through the town)?</p>
<p>I had my eyes set on UCM for a month or two. I’m a junior and plan to be pre-med. But I realized that clinical experience will be a minimum as Merced only has 40,000 people and only 1 small hospital.</p>
<p>Honestly, go to UCR…</p>
<p>The accreditation thing restricts you from any sort of graduate/medical school outside of the UC system.</p>
<p>i would prefer to go to ucr but thats just me</p>
<p>I may be biased since I attend UCM, but I would suggest coming here as opposed to UCR. Why? UCR has been open for 50+ years and still maintains a bad reputation. UCM has only been open for 4 years and is still building its reputation.</p>
<p>Oh, and about accreditation, that’s happening this year. A university gets its accreditation when it has a graduating class, and this year the pioneer class will walk the stage.</p>
<p>Now, about getting into med school…that’s ultimately your choice. Maintain a high GPA, get involved with research (which is arguably easier to do at UCM as opposed to UCR simply because of the lack of competition for valuable research spots), and score great on your tests. The establishment doesn’t define you, you define the establishment. </p>
<p>The town is slowly developing into a college town. Forte Yogurt will be opening its doors soon, there are a number of family owned Asian and Mexican restaurants that students like to frequent, and there are several movie theaters.</p>
<p>Maybe this will help you change your perspective about UCM.
[UC</a> Merced - About UC Merced<a href=“BTW%20Jason%20got%20into%20Cal%20for%20undergraduate%20school%20but%20turn%20it%20down%20for%20UCM”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.ucmerced.edu/spotlightdetail.asp?spotlightid=167]UC”>http://www.ucmerced.edu/spotlightdetail.asp?spotlightid=167]UC</a> Merced - About UC Merced](<a href=“http://www.ucmerced.edu/spotlightdetail.asp?spotlightid=166]UC”>http://www.ucmerced.edu/spotlightdetail.asp?spotlightid=166)</p>
<p>Here what you can say about UCR at your med school interview: I go to UCR.
Here what you can say about UCM at your med school interview: I go to the newest state of the art research university. All lab facilities are new at UCM and I developed close relationships with my professors. I did undergraduate research, took part in developing and supporting ucm clubs, and I help develop UCM.</p>
<p>UCM is not best place to live because it is not UC developed city, yet. (Fresno and Modesto is like a 30 minutes drive away if you want to have fun.) Merced has the cheapest living expense in comparison to all the UC. You can get a room off campus for $450 a month with all utilities paid.</p>
<p>^^^^Those articles about UCM getting accepted to med schools have me considering UCM for pre-med again,lol.</p>
<p>“UCR has been open for 50+ years and still maintains a bad reputation.”</p>
<p>This is ridiculous. UCR is ranked #89 IN THE NATION by US News ahead of places like Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State. If anything UCR’s reputation is growing and has a GREAT pre-med program. Go to UCR.</p>
<p>UCR has a great pre-med track. Yes, it’s competitive. If you have faith in your work ethic, you should go to UCR</p>
<p>UCR is in a way bigger metro area. I got a full ride to UCM but I picked UCR over it. It super underrated.</p>
<p>thomas haider program… guaranteed UCLA med school. Enough said.</p>
<p>haha all these people from UCR posting!</p>
<p>owned!</p>
<p>First of all, UCR has a transfer program with UCLA for med majors.
Second, UCR has improved a lot.
Just look up the top 100 schools and see what schools aren’t ahead of UCR. Ex. Arizona state & UCSC.
Although there are many pros and cons about UCR, I suggest you pick UCR because even though UCM is building their reputation, it’ll take time. I just strongly suggest you visit both campuses and see how you like it. Also, most UC’s run on a quarterly system, yet UCM runs on a semester system, so that might help with your decision. Most important is the environment that surrounds you. (Northern California vs. Southern California) I currently live in NorCal, but I go to UCR so I had a great experience in SoCal for my freshmen year. It is a year i’ll never forget. The decision is up to you, but I heard in UCM that there is nothing to do, but I guess if you have a car that would change. Hope I helped with your decision! UCR is really not as bad as what people say, it truly is an under rated school because there are many good professors that teach there. I’m already excited to go back for my sophomore year! :]</p>
<p>UCR has a bad reputation? Yea, I suppose so. I go to UCR myself and I only heard bad things about the school prior to attending, but now that I’m actually here and in the engineering program, I have to say that I’m quite happy with the school’s academic prestige. I like the research and the professors, and I kind of realize now that I’m in college how naive it was to even consider my school of choice based on where it was ranked in a magazine article lol. </p>
<p>Overall, I know that the med is pretty good and the program is tough. I got my butt handed to me in BIO5A. I thought it was a class I could have slept through since I only need one biology class, but my stupid counselor threw me in with some MIT professor that was teaching it -.-"</p>
<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>As a senior at UC Merced, I have a pretty good perspective on many of things you guys are grappling with. Its obvious there are a lot of opinions out there about Merced being bad. But looking at things from the inside out, I can provide you guys with a perspective few can, unless some other graduate corroborates. </p>
<p>Lets examine exactly what they’re saying. Its a small school, being that is opened in 2005, is there any reason to expect it not to be? It doesn’t have a reputation, again opened in 2005, there is no reason to expect otherwise. I know in applying to a good graduate school, reputation matters, but only to a degree. If you have great grades, lots of extra curriculum, and fabulous recommendation letters from your professors, you can get in any good graduate school you want. For example, our 2009 class commencement speaker got in UCSF med school, its no harvard, but he was granted admission to Stanford pre-med program and turned it down to come to UC Merced. Now, many naysayers out there will say, yea if you get into a Columbia, NYU, or Stanford Natural Science program, your chances of getting into a Harvard/Yale grad program is greater. Of course it is, we’re talking about NYU and Columbia. Who is comparing UC Merced to those schools? If they are, they are out of touch with reality. </p>
<p>A reasonable comparison is to compare UC Merced to other recently opened UC’s. Again, comparing UCM to Cal or UCLA is like comparing Michael Jordan’s son to Michael Jordan, he’s obviously less capable cause he’s younger. UC Merced compared to Santa Cruz or Riverside would be a fairer comparison. They were opened the most recent in UC history and they’re solidly ranked. Opportunities at UC Merced though are in much more abundance. Being that our university is so new, there are many clubs, research programs, internship programs and professor assistantships and individual research programs you can be a part of. Usually, only select students have the luck, grades, capability to get into comparable programs at other UC’s, being that they’re so few and competition is greater. </p>
<p>I and over 100+ undergrads received the privilege of leading independent research projects under the stewardship of professors and have published research in NSF journals, how many undergrads at other UC’s get to do that? </p>
<p>Getting to the topic of Accreditation, a hot topic I am seeing. Its a valid concern for students interested in going to graduate school. I wholeheartedly concur. But, our school is going through WASP to be accredited in the American Association of Research Universities and will be fully accredited by 2011. Most, not all Graduate programs will accept this answer and not disqualify you as a potential candidate. In the event that they threaten to, our provost and Executive Vice Chancellor will be on the phone with the head of that graduate program and settle any questions, concerns they may have about accreditation. Now, I know to some students and graduate programs, being in the process of getting accredited won’t be good enough, and for them then I say Merced’s probably not for you. Some programs and individuals stake so much on reputation alone that there really isn’t anything you can do to change that. UC Merced’s new, its a baby in the UC system, what can you do? You can’t rush whats already occurring naturally. But just to give you a taste of whats already happening on this baby campus should give you a taste of the potential the students and this campus for the future.</p>
<p>For 2009, the only college campus chosen by the First lady of the United States, Michelle Obama to speak at was at UC Merced. If you guys didn’t know this, look it up, its all over the news. UCM was voted the most green campus in the entire UC system, receiving Gold LEED certification. </p>
<p>Our engineering teams won 1st place in a UC wide and national competitions in robotics. We have the 2nd most prolific in terms of getting patents for Solar research at our University, Dr.Roland Winston. We also have 2 Nobel laureates, one in physics and another in biology at our campus. The physics Nobel laureate is researching Gravity Wave transmission that could render fiber optics obsolete in trans-oceanic communication. We have Kobe Jones, former LA Galaxy midfielder, US Olympian developing our first NCAA caliber soccer team. Obviously I am tooting my school’s horn a little bit, but the fact is, these things are all true and they’re happening right now. We have a Management school under construction and have enough space to fit UCSD in. There are a lot of negative facts out there, some have some truth in it but many fail to capture the real opportunities at campus. We have the most opportunities for individual research under a professor out of any UC campus. Most of our faculty are from other UC’s, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, so you can decide the caliber of education that gives. We have the best Professor to student ratio of any UC campus in the system, meaning more access to professors at office hours, more professors teaching classes and not TA’s. These things do not get publicized, which is really too bad, b/c I think most students when they find out these hidden gems and realize their fellow students at other UC’s don’t have them feel pretty damn good about their decision. </p>
<p>Now, we don’t have a huge selection of majors and prolific sports teams and completed facilities or a super developed graduate program, but who would expect those things when your out only 4 years? If anyone expects differently and then judges harshly on UC Merced not meeting those unrealistic goals is simply out of touch. Its my belief, the real reason you go to school is for the education and access to resources that will help you reach that goal. If you’re going to a school so you can get out and brag about going there, I think there may be more complex issues then just wanting to get a good education there. Sure, UCSD and UCLA are more reputable schools, but most of their classes are taught by TAs until you reach upper division. Do you really think the “quality” of education in a reputable 500 person class taught by a TA to be better than the same class taught by a professor to a class of 50 at a less reputable school? Anybody in a smaller class will get a better feel for the material, the professor then in a auditorium with hundreds of other people. I think more than anything, most freshmen at campus could use more 1 on 1 interaction with their professor then to fend for themselves in a sea of other students. Again, its just my opinion. If you went to a big, reputable school and loved it, great. My point is, quality is highly subjective and I believe the qualities that UC Merced provides enhances the education quality of college much more then other, big schools, even if they are more “reputable”. </p>
<p>I hope this gives you guys a new perspective on UC Merced, feel free to pm me with questions. </p>
<p>YL</p>
<p>■■■■■…</p>
<p>UCMGRAD is a ■■■■■. UCR ftw. UCR > UCM</p>
<p>Please explain how he is a ■■■■■, EminentFigure.</p>
<p>If UCR rejected me, do I have a shot at Merced?</p>
<p>I think its sad that someone from another UC chooses to call another UC student a ■■■■■ after posting an opinion about their school when this individual from UC Riverside can offer no such facts about their own campus. UCR > UCM ftw? LOL, I am a college student, I can see when someone has nothing to say and uses stupid acronym in place of a thought out answer. But personally, I have no grudge against you Eminent. But, I can offer many reasons why UC Merced is superior for a student looking to get a better education and wants to get the most out of their college experience, can you? Balls in your court buddy.</p>