UCs vs Cal States

College Search & Selection
1

So college acceptances have come out and I am having a very difficult decision with where I should go. I actually got accepted to mainly all the schools I wanted. Essentially like all the UCs and Cal States I applied to. I’m super grateful for this since I got into those prestigious Cal and UCLA, but now I have many options and I’m not 100% sure what to do.

I want to work in biotech in the future so I applied to some colleges as a cell, molecular, and developmental major and some microbiology (kinda leaning more towards microbiology). My top right now are UC Davis (microbiology), UCLA(cell, molecular, developmental bio), and Cal Poly Slo (microbiology) - UC Berkeley (cell, developmental…) is a maybe.

My main issues with the UCs are like the huge class sizes, not getting as much attention with professors, and because I want to work in biotech I want to have a lot of hands on experience but because UCs are more research based, which is still good, but I feel like having that hands on experience would be more beneficial for me. If you guys would have advice on like whether these things are necessarily true or how they work that would be great. (Also like specific to these colleges I’m choosing from if you can.)

The thing is that Cal Poly Slo is super hands on based and I’ve been reading about the fact that most have jobs secured before they even graduate or get a job immediately after because of so much focus they have. And the classes seem really cool too in regards to microbiology. The issues though are that it is about 14k a year while UCLA is about 12k a year, UC Davis is like 3k a year, and UC San Diego (also kind of considering) is a full ride.

It is the more expensive one but I’m wondering if a UC would be better still because of that research or maybe the prestige of locations in regard to biotech/microbiology industries. I live in LA so I would be closer to UCLA in case I would commute.

Essentially, I’m just looking for advice on these colleges because I’ve been incredibly stressed on where to go and what exactly would be worth it for me. Also advice on the differences between UCs and Cal states and how they would benefit me.

I’m also visiting Davis and UCLA soon.

2

quote It is the more expensive one but I’m wondering if a UC would be better still because of that research or maybe the prestige of locations in regard to biotech/microbiology industries. I live in LA so I would be closer to UCLA in case I would commute.

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UCLA highly discourages students from commuting, especially as freshmen. The university is demolishing some parking structures and building residence halls in place of them; lot 15 is adios.

No offense intended, but the promotions of CPSLO is extremely rich on this board. By all means, go to SLO; it’s a very good school, and if you were to do well there, you’ll find a med-school seat. There aren’t many SLO students who apply to med school in a year ~ 50, but this will be to your advantage.

3

Oops, sorry . . . you want to work in biotech. You didn’t get into bioengineering?

4

How much do the cost differences matter to you and your family? I.e. what will your parents contribute?

5

You have misunderstood what is important. To get a good job in the sciences you need a PhD, not undergrad experience or an undergrad degree. With a BS in a branch of Biology you are likely to only get low-level jobs in labs with little room for advancement. A PhD is not a job guarantee, there is a glut of science PhD’s as a few minutes searching online will show you. But the impact to you is this ripples down; employers can easily fill jobs with PhD and MS holders.

Indirectly experience matters; you need to work in a lab both to get the experience a PhD program wants to see before they admit you and to get to know a prof for a strong letter of rec. And if you find out you hate working in labs in your 1st 2 years or so then it will let you avoid making a big career mistake.