UCSB or Santa Clara for Biology/Premed?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Santa Clara University
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<p>I have about nine days to make a decision as to where I will be attending as a freshman in the fall. However, I am stuck between UC Santa Barbara and Santa Clara. I have visited UCSB and I liked the campus, but I am not sure that I liked it ENOUGH. I definitely wasn't head over heels like some of my peers were for their respective schools. I didn't get to visit Isla Vista either, just the campus, so I don't even know what it's like. I LOVE the big city, and IV is just a small town, right? I don't need crazy parties, but I would like some parties, will I get that at SCU? What is the surrounding city in Santa Clara like? I plan on majoring in biology/pre-med and going on to either graduate or medical school later.</p>

<p>UC Santa Barbara:
Pros: Well respected, ranked number 2 in world for impact on science research, ranked 41 overall in country, strong science prgrams.
Cons: Not too many opportunities for internships, no big city and I love the city, large undergrad body where I may feel like just a number. NO PRE-MED TRACK. (Do I NEED to attend a school with pre-med or will they still help me?)
Total cost to me: $4,700 (wouldn't need loans)</p>

<p>Santa Clara:
Pros: Smaller class size. Silicon Valley right at my feet.
Cons:I hear it is like high school with cliques? Less prestige, not well known.
Total cost to me: $8,007 (would need to take out about $3,000 for loans, keeping in mind i will need loans for med school)</p>

<p>I really don't know what to do, my parents don't want me to take out any loans and they don't understand why I can't just go to the cheaper school, but I love the city environment, it is where I feel at home. I also love the beach, but I felt that there wasn't much to do at UCSB (I didn't get to see IV though). However, I hear that there isn't much to do around SCU either, which is hard to believe because it's right next to San Jose. I am not super religious, I'm Catholic but would rather not go to church regularly, mass isn't mandatory there, but will everyone else be going anyway? Please help! I am so lost.</p>

<p>Oh and I would like to transfer to Berkeley ASAP (probably junior year, would it be ok to do one year at either SCU or UCSB then to a community college and apply to Berkley (94% of accepted transfers come from a community college)?</p>

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<p>I’ve met a few people that went to UCSB, so I don’t know much about that school. I’m a recent SCU alumnus.</p>

<p>Parties: Won’t be like UCSB. There are definitely some big ones at SCU. You don’t need to pledge a frat or sorority to go to most, either. I think Greek life at UCSB is pretty large, but like I said, I’m not sure. So they won’t be epic ragers that State Patties Day, but there’s plenty of fun to be had.</p>

<p>Definitely not a high school environment. I didn’t find SCU to be cliquely at all. </p>

<p>Surrounding area: It’s in old Santa Clara, which resembles a typical CA suburb. Downtown San Jose is about ten minutes away. San Francisco is an hour away on CalTrain. If you have a car, the entire Peninsula region is convenient. Nearest beach is Santa Cruz, doable by public transport, which takes about an hour or so. If you want to spend every day at the beach, SCU isn’t for you, but if you’d be happy with a Saturday or two per month, you’ll be okay.</p>

<p>Most people stick around campus, but by choice, not because they’re forced to. </p>

<p>Reputation: SCU’s reputation will not keep you out of top graduate or medical schools. It doesn’t have the pull of, say, an Ivy League school or Stanford, but it’s still very well respected in academic circles. Stronger name on the West Coast, but people in academics will know SCU all around the country. (Largely thanks to our Jesuit affiliation.) </p>

<p>Religion: Definitely not a omnipresent force at SCU. Lots of people go to church regularly, but it certainly won’t make you an outcast if you choose not to. </p>

<p>Loans: You do have med school to think about, but it isn’t like $9,000 in undergrad debt is burdensome. Still, less debt is less debt, so I guess this gives UCSB a slight advantage here.</p>

<p>One note, however. I know a lot of UC/CSU kids who had a lot of trouble getting into required classes, which pushed back their graduation date. This is pretty much unheard of at SCU. You may not get the professor you want, and you may be forced to take one or two classes a little later than you would have liked, but not graduating in four years due to course unavailability is unheard of.</p>

<p>Internships: Most medical schools like to see some undergraduate research and shadowing. On the latter, you’ll be okay as long as you can find a hospital nearby. Because San Jose is larger than IV, you’ll probably have more options in that sense, but as long as you can find one that lets you shadow a few docs for a little while over four years, you should be okay. </p>

<p>The nice thing about SCU’s science department is that there’s no MS or PhD program, so the professors have to use undergraduates as research assistants. Something to consider, I guess. </p>

<p>Transferring: Transferring is a hassle. (I know, I transferred to SCU after one year.) Pick the school you think you’d be happiest at. I think you could be probably happier at either UCSB or SCU and I think by the time freshman year ends, you’ll be happy to stay at one campus. Going to three different colleges over the course of four years sounds like no fun.</p>

<p>Hope I helped a little bit. Keep reading up on the two and let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with. Good luck!</p>