Hey everyone,
So I applied this year for transfer. Out of 6 UC’s I was only accepted to UCR but was given a regents scholarship and enough financial aid that my education would be completely free. This is an amazing opportunity, but it really isn’t the school I was wanting to attend. After talking to admissions at 2 schools, it’s come to my attention that they didn’t count one of my classes from a Florida community college because they thought it was a remedial math course. It is not, it’s precalculus. However, it didn’t transfer smoothly in the system and as a result, without that class, I only had 59 transferable units. UCSD (my #1) and UCLA both told me that this was basically the only reason I was denied, even though I was 1 unit under the 60 unit requirement and should have had 63 units with the precalculus course. I’ve filed appeals but am not hopeful.
I’m looking for input and advice on going to UCR with the great offer they’ve given me or staying in community college for another year and applying again. My plan is to go to medical school, so there are courses that I can take at CCC this coming year that wouldn’t be a waste of time/money. However, this puts me a year behind schedule.
For context:
I’m 23 years old.
GPA: 4.0.
Major requirements were completed for all schools.
UCR is a well respected UC with a new Medical school which may help you make the decision. Although Pre-med at any of the UC’s is competitive, UCLA or UCSD’s name will not give an extra bump. What is important is your GPA, MCAT scores and your medically related EC’s. Medical school is expensive so complete your degree with no debt and become a superstar at UCR.
Best of luck.
It’s a no brainer dude. Go to UCR. You will probably even get into their medical school as well if you do good over there. Don’t buy into the hype of UCLA, Berkeley, etc. Only reason those 2 schools are so attractive is because of their location and sports.
@ucdochopeful2k19 Congratulations on your UCR admittance and regents plus financial aid to =FREE! It is an enviable position. That is a terrific school with lots of students going to medical school from there. The professors really care about their students, are knowledgeable about the med school process and write good recommendations as they know their students well. (That is those that go and put in the effort to utilize office hours and get to know the professors and/or do research) UCR has that “UC” reputation and the campus is very stem oriented. The campus is nice. I can’t think of a reason to go back to CC and be a year behind when you have this great offer
My advice, if the Regents is not the deal breaker: SIR to UCR, but appeal the other two. I have seen rejections overturned in similar situations. That gives you possibly more than one option.
Keep in mind regarding Regents, it may lower your FA. They often recalculate when scholarships enter the equation.
@Ohm888 I was already given my financial package including my regents scholarship. They will possibly go back on the amount of financial aid I’m given? That’s concerning.
Some scholarships affect it. I’m not sure how Regents is handled. Maybe someone knows.
@Gumbymom pretty much wrote what I wanted to write.
Admissions to medical school is tough. For premed students, there is a lot to be said for (i) attending a university where you can be in the top 1/4; and (ii) saving your money for medical school. To me attending UCR with a great scholarship seems to maximize your chances of getting accepted to medical school.
Understand that premed at UCR will be very demanding. Do not take any course lightly. Do not take the overall university lightly. There will be a lot of very strong students in your very demanding premed classes. Show up expecting to work very hard and determined to stay ahead in your classes.
I think your FA is safe. I got Regents for UCI last year and my parents thought it would be money given in one area and taken away from another (in scholarships) but it ended up being used to reduce my loans (making it $5k/year cheaper to go to UCI compared to the other UCs).
I know a guy who was admitted to all the UCs he applied to, including Cal. He was interested in medicine, and ended up choosing Riverside. He’s a doctor today.
There is nothing special about San Diego or UCLA. They don’t teach the courses any better. Their name on your application is not going to improve your chances. You will be competing against what may be stronger students, though.
I’ll also add that at this point it is important that you’ve had exposure to a medical setting, either you’ve been doing volunteer work or (given your age) have worked for a while in the medical field. If not then you’ll only have one year left to do this, assuming you’re planning on applying senior year. Exposure to the field is an unwritten requirement for admission to med school.
You don’t list your major, but if it isn’t something like biology or chemistry you should know that med schools like to see students who have taken the required premed classes at a community college take further classes at their 4-year college.
Lastly, spend some time understanding what it takes to be a strong med school applicant. Read thru the very informative https://www.rhodes.edu/sites/default/files/PreMed_Essentials.pdf. There is also a good handbook at https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/gradstudy/health/guide and no doubt many other websites, as well as books.
@mikemac thank you! I’m very well versed in the requirement. I have about 2000 volunteer hours in various clinical settings and have begun shadowing.
My major disinterest is in the location. I really don’t like riverside. I was actually just accepted to UCSC. Do you have any insight as to what it’s like to be premed there? It seems like Riverside actually has much stronger resources.
UCR is preferable. The location is a pretty campus in a blah city but most students don’t spend a tone of time in downtown Riverside. The connections, resources and preparation for medical school are very strong at UCR