<p>Here is my dilemma. I was accepted to all three of these universities but I am not sure where I should go. I applied for bio at all of them and am planning on doing pre med. I will be living on campus no matter where I go and I want to have a great college experience and get a high GPA for med school (if that is even possible). Here are the pros and cons of each:</p>
<p>UCSB
Pros- Hot girls, on the beach (I love surfing), good distance from home, parties, great college feel
Cons- Too many distractions while doing pre med?, not exactly the most prestigious UC</p>
<p>UCI
Pros- Great biology program, good distance from home, close to the beach, I would be going with a couple friends, less "distractions" than SB and SLO
Cons- not very many attractive girls, few parties (from what I've read on CC), a commuter school, not a great college feel, a "boring" school?</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO
Pros- Balance of great social life and academics, BEACH
Cons- "Slammed by budget cuts?", not as prestigious as a UC, harder to get into med school after?</p>
<p>Note: I don't want to hear that these aren't reasons I should base my decision on. Even these details are important to me.. Thanks!</p>
<p>UCSB may not be the most prestigious UC (that’s Berkeley’s title), but I think it’s more prestigious than UCI and Cal Poly. If anything they are equal. UCSB is definitely not less prestigious than any of your other options. </p>
<p>If you want a great college experience, I would decide between UCSB and Cal Poly. The difference in prestige and academics between these schools is too small to base your decision on them imo. Visit each school and pick the one you feel you would be happiest at. All 3 are great options.</p>
<p>If i choose UCSB, does anyone think that living in isla vista, with all of the partying and other distractions that go on, will be a bad idea considering i want to do pre med courses?</p>
<p>My cousin was very sheltered, attended UCSB and failed out due to distractions. </p>
<p>I agree with XtremePower it all depends on your self discipline. If med school is your goal, a degree from either of your choices will get you there…it depends on your grades and MCAT score. You’ll do best in the environment you feel comfortable and allow you to focus.</p>
<p>You won’t have a problem getting into med school after Cal Poly if you graduate with a strong GPA. I have a SLO classmate that graduated not long ago that got into Dartmouth med school. It is all about your GPA and MCAT. In fact, if you party too hard at either SB or SLO and mess up your grades, it won’t matter where you graduate from.</p>
<p>And although SLO is not a UC, it is on par, nowadays, perception wise to all the mid-tier UCs. If you had read the rejection threads for SLO, many students got into UCs (SB/D/I/SD/LA) and got rejected to SLO. As collegiatedreams said, you can’t base your decision on such a small difference in prestige. </p>
<p>So choose a school that you can have a good time, but also have a chance for serious academics, get good grades, and party some, just not overboard. </p>
<p>IMO, you should choose either SLO or SB. Both are very residential (real college experience), with beautiful beaches, hot girls (yes, SLO has HOT GIRLS, which you didn’t mention in your pro), and solid academics.</p>
<p>Also, IMO, people tend to be more serious about school at SLO. They really care about doing well academically. Not that UCSB is not a great school with some serious students, but I just think they are more rare.</p>
<p>I heard an excellent suggestion for those who want to go to UCSB but who don’t want to be distracted: apply for the International Student dorm. Per the person who told me (who used to be an RA a number of years ago), they want Americans to live there to mix with the International students. And these dorms tend to be quieter, with more serious students. I don’t know if this is still the case, but it’s worth checking out.</p>
<p>I personally think Isla Vista is a huge distraction. But you don’t have to live there.</p>
<p>Many people think Isla Vista is one of the strongpoints of UCSB. It is a student-dominated community so all the friends you make at school are going to be a bike ride or stroll away, and it is right by campus. There are parties, again which can be a plus even for the studious. On a Fri or Sat nite when you want to unwind a bit there’s something to do, you can just ignore the weekday happy hours and the like if you care about academics.</p>
<p>Many people treat Isla Vista as a monolithic entity where there are parties every Thurs-Sat. The reality is, there are certain parts of IV that are like that, but many areas are just normal houses/apartments.</p>