UCR vs UCI for premed track?

<p>I posted this thread in the UCI forum as well:</p>

<p>I got accepted to both UCI and UCR in their Biological Sciences major, so I was wondering which one really is better for premed! I understand that UCR, as a low-tier UC would have less competition, but I also heard that its premed track is actually fairly competitve and difficult (often comparable to Berkeley's). UCI, on the other hand, has more Biological Sciences majors and of course, more competition but most of those in the major get weeded out within the first two years. </p>

<p>I'm also considering UCR because of the Thomas Haider program, but because there's only 24 seats available, I'm sure that it'd be a far reach for me! I'm also not quite sure if it will still be there when I graduate in 2015. However, UCI is still above on my list right now because of their great undergraduate English program, as I plan on at least minoring and hopefully double majoring in English. </p>

<p>Which school would be better suited for someone on a premed track (and a minor in English too!)? Also, how difficult is it to get into the Thomas Haider program?</p>

<p>Just so you know UCR is getting a med school (before you graduate) so if you do qualify for the Thomas Haider program you will be going to UCR not UCLA.</p>

<p>Ah, thank you! I tried calling them to see if the medical school would be ready before 2015 but they couldn’t give me a straight answer.</p>

<p>they are both good i guess. but UCI is better in terms of rankings (which does not really matter IMO) Try visiting both schools and see what kind of environment you like or want to study in because that’s what matters as well.</p>

<p>Ok so here is how it works at UCR. The Thomas Haider Program is specifically a UCR/UCLA program. Once you get accepted into the Thomas Haider Program, you do two years at UCR and than the other two years at UCLA. So pretty much, you got accepted into the UCLA medical school. There is a higher chance of a shot at UCLA medical school at UCR because the Thomas Haider Program is ONLY FOR UCR students. However, you are still competing with your fellow smart UCR students for a seat. The chances are higher because there are 24 seats and you are ONLY COMPETING WITH OTHER UCR STUDENTS.</p>

<p>Even though UCR is creating a medical school, it does not mean that those who are accepted into the Haider program will be going to the UCR medical school. The Haider program is meant for students to go to the UCLA medical school. Period.</p>

<p>Once UCR finishes creating their medical school, which will be in the year 2012, they will close the Haider program.</p>

<p>If anything, I advise you to go to UCI because they have a better science program. UCR is great too. They offer a good amount of financial aid if you need help with money.</p>

<p>Undergraduate work shouldn’t be taken lightly. You should be working your butt off the first quarter of college and shouldn’t be slacking off period. You don’t have the choice of relaxing because quarter systems are fast paced and you must be able to keep up with the work load. You can’t do anything about a C for a passed class and nor UCR or UCI will let you repeat the class just because it made your g.p.a dip. I advise you to never get a C or C- because that just ruins your g.p.a. C- are not accepted for medical school just to let you know.</p>

<p>Also, UCI let’s you repeat a course in which you get a C- in but UCR does not. If you went to UCR and you passed a class with a C and want to repeat, you won’t be able to gain permission to repeat the course at UCR or another UC or community college and have the units transferred back to UCR </p>

<p>If you did go to UCR and got a C-, what you could do is just take the class elsewhere at a four-year university (it must be taken at a four year) (ex. cal state or UC) and not transfer the units. Don’t bother asking for permission because you’re not going to transfer the units back anyway. You would just order a transcript from the school you repeated the class at and then put it into your medical school application.</p>

<p>Anyway, either choice is yours. Since you’re not graduating until 2015 anyway, there would be no point for you to debate in what school you want because there won’t be a Haider Program for you when you graduate. However, the UCR medical school will be there and will matriculate more UCR students.</p>

<p>For medical schools in general, a 3.5 g.p.a won’t be good enough. Honestly, you should know that it’s actually very hard to even be 3.5 or above. And if you think you can even be at a >3.8 while doing research and other extracurricular than that’s godly because only a very very small percentage of science students can achieve that. It’s very hard to maintain your g.p.a. because one B will drop it like no other.</p>

<p>Know that you will need to study hard at any school and will need to maintain your g.p.a.</p>

<p>I hope this helps you and sheds light on where you would like to go.</p>

<p>^incorrect
If UCR gets its medical school before 2015 those in the Thomas Haider program will be going to UCR med school not UCLA. I emailed the school about this concern and that is what they told me. So just a heads up</p>

<p>hmm… I was just wondering… what if I have a C+? I noticed you didn’t mention C+… I know med school doesn’t matter to me but I just want to know if C+ would be acceptable for med school.</p>

<p>Linoch, graduate schools look at overall GPA. Based on the stats from <a href=“http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf[/url]”>http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf&lt;/a&gt; it seems that your overall GPA has to be >3.6 and your overall science GPA has to be >3.5 to even have a decent chance of being accepted. It is generally the same with law school and other graduate programs. If you have an overall GPA of a C+ then you will have to achieve a stellar score on the GRE/MCAT/LSAT/GMAT in addition to having a solid personal statement and letter of recommendations. The application process is similar to the undergraduate application process but it is even more selective.</p>

<p>haha teenaxboee… you have some misinformation.
many students with GPA of under 3.3 is discouraged from applying to medical schools. However, 3.5, combined with other factors such as good MCAT score(32<), experiences, etc. DEFINITELY can get you into a medical school. Look up the statistics.
But it all depends on the individuals. I know of people who had a 4.0 and 40 something on their MCAT but didn’t get in ANY school because they didn’t get through the interviews. On the other hand, there are people with a mediocre GPA with 28 on MCAT who got accepted. </p>

<p>When I went on UCR’s campus tour, I was told that they will be having a program similar to HAIDER, but for UCR medical school. They are expecting to accept about 80 something students for their first year in 2012. It means that out of the 80 something spots, 24 spots will only be offered to UCR undergrad. students. </p>

<p>My advice is, school is what you make of it. Go to the one that you’d be able to use all the resources they provide and where you’d fit in. I’m sure UCI is more prestigious and has sent monre students to medical schools that UCR, but I also know of this guy at UCR (look him up) who got into all of the 8(?) schools he applied to, including Harvard medical school. It’s all up to how well you do.</p>

<p>i’m sorry for all the grammatical errors, was typing while talkin at work haha. also, think of the financial aid packages they offer, your expenses, etc. (in other words, not just academics but other things that would affect your performance)</p>

<p>I found these links about the Thomas Haider UCR/UCLA program</p>

<p><a href=“The Thomas Haider Program at the UCR School of Medicine | School of Medicine Student Affairs”>http://medschool.ucr.edu/admissions/haider_program.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.fiatlux.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=231”>http://www.fiatlux.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=231&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;