<p>I have visited both campuses and I got a better overall vibe from UCSB but my dilemma is that I think UCI will better prepare me for medical school, any thoughts?</p>
<p>uci actually has a school dedicated with medicine, along with a medical center…</p>
<p>ucsb offers that but it doesnt have one dedicated to it</p>
<p>If your really set on medical school…yeah, I’d say go for UCI for the reasons above.</p>
<p>Not necessarily my friend. Go where you will be happy. At UCSB you will find less number of pre-med students compared to UCI. It will be easier for you to excel here and there are tons of volunteer opportunities and research opportunities at UCSB. It all comes down to you in the end. </p>
<p>I know only three people from UCSB who applied to medical schools. Three of them are going to UCSD, USC and UCSF. Trust me, you have everything you need in UCSB to excel. Infact, you should call up a medical school and ask them the same exact question that you asked on this forum. </p>
<p>Tell them that you felt better “overall” vibes at UCSB compared to UCI, and ask them if it would make you better off if you went to UCI based on the fact that they have a medical school. If the Medical school advisor tells you it would make a difference…by all means go to UCI. </p>
<p>Call UCSF’s medical school advisor and chat with him/her…don’t call UCI’s medical school advisor. :)</p>
<p>
Can you be more specific here? Just how will UCI do a better job? </p>
<p>Do you think they have better teachers? Cover more material in their classes? Have better advising? Enroll better students? Something else?</p>
<p>I do agree with yasuynnuf1947–can not say it better than that.</p>
<p>thank you yasuynnuf1947</p>
<p>I probably shouldn’t speak unless I got my facts straight, hehe. I wonder if I can retract my last statement? Yeah, I change my mind, go for UCSB! Although I do think Irvine does have the very slight edge for medical schools, it is not worth going to a school you don’t enjoy. Competition is a factor as well.</p>
<p>No problem. 
Good luck.</p>
<p>sfbaykid, your choice is crystal clear. </p>
<p>First, some background. You’re part of one of the largest frosh classes in US history. They’re not making any more spaces in med schools, so even if the same percentage of kids apply that usually do, the competition will be tougher. Recently about 45% of kids applying to med school got accepted, so the chances of rejection are very real. And it gets even worse. Turns out that med school apps mirror the economy after a delay. If the economy goes bad, juniors and seniors can’t decide “forget about Wall Street; I’ll go to med school” because it takes a couple of years to get thru the premed requirements. So the spike in apps shows up in force 2+ years after the economy tanks. Well, guess what? Everyone and their brother knows the economy is horrible right now, and is worried about what they’ll do after college. So I’d expect the acceptance rate to fall into the 30’s like it has during past hard times.</p>
<p>Now back to your clear decision. It’s UCI. What you’ve written is a variant of Pacal’s wager. As for outcomes, look at it this way. Go to UCSB and get into med school, its win-win. You went to the place with the better vibe, you’re going to be a doctor. But what if you don’t get in? The rest of your life will be haunted by the thought that maybe you COULD have been a doctor if you had gone to UCI. </p>
<p>On the other hand, suppose you go to UCI. Get in, and you’ll never know if it gave you the edge that got you in, but its at least possible. Don’t get in, at least you’ll know you did absolutely everything possible to try.</p>
<p>What evidence do we have that UCI will prepare him better? How do we know UCSB won’t give him that extra edge?</p>
<p>sfbaykid, if I were you, I’d be reading threads at a forum like Student Doctor Network ([Student</a> Doctor Network Forums](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]Student”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)) instead of CC, if I was going to go by any of the advice of people on forums about pre-med stuff.</p>
<p>As an aside, since I’m also from the bay area, you should consider whether you really want to be fairly far away from any major cities… I didn’t expect to feel like I’m “in the middle of nowhere” sometimes, but I do.</p>
<p>
Even though I disagree with you, I kind of see what you’re getting at.</p>
<p>Half-jokingly though, I thought, “Did this guy just compare going to UCI to believing in God?” I guess it’s my inner philosophy minor yearning to break through.</p>
<p>
- Absolutely none. 2) Maybe it will. But that isn’t really important. It’s what he believes. If I had clear-cut evidence that showed UCSB was inferior/superior for every person under every conceivable circumstance, I’d share it. But this evidence doesn’t exist, and I don’t believe it even could exist. </p>
<p>The point of a forum like this, I hope, is to give useful advice to people. And we have a kid here who’s torn – on the one hand he thinks UCI is better for his life goals, but on the other hand he’d prefer 4 years of college at UCSB. Asking advice on how to weigh the 2 options, IMHO it’s best to accept his conclusions as valid for him and give advice on how to proceed as if they were true.</p>
<p>
Ha!! I meant the comparison not in terms of the actual subject of Pascal’s wager, but the meta-argument behind it. That is, what are the consequences of being wrong if I do/don’t-do some action.</p>
<p>But if he goes to UCI and <em>doesn’t</em> get into Med school, then he’ll be haunted by the fact that he passed up the school he preferred and still didn’t get into med school.</p>
<p>Unless you can find clear evidence that UCI gives students a clear edge in med school applications, I think it’s best to go where you think you’d be happier (and more productive and successful).</p>