Hi everyone,
I am a biology major and I recently got admitted to both UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. I know that UC San Diego is a better school for biology, however, since I’m planning on eventually applying to med school, I’m afraid that the competition might lower my GPA.
At the same time I’m worried that Santa Barbara is a party school, which would make it difficult to focus on education.
Does anyone know if the the undergrad school matters for med school applications? And is UCSD much more competitive than UCSB? Which school would be better for pre med?
How do you “know” that? For PhD programs, sure, but what do you think they teach undergrads that isn’t taught elsewhere?
In fact any college is the country is perfectly capable of teaching the dozen or so lower-division courses required for med school admission and covered on the MCAT. Whether you work work for good grades, get to know some profs so you get strong recs, take part in appropriate ECs, and develop compelling essays is up to you.
Med schools don’t care where you went for undergrad.
Know yourself. Nobody drags you to parties, but if you won’t be able to resist and hit the books just knowing they’re out there and that some friends are going, then SD is your better choice.
Learn what it takes to get into med school by reading thru the very informative https://www.rhodes.edu/sites/default/files/PreMed_Essentials.pdf. There is also a good handbook at https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/gradstudy/health/guide and no doubt many other websites, as well as books.
The real question to address at this point is not what college, but why an M.D? Have you looked into the medical field and considered the alternatives? From the day you start college it will be 11-15 years before you are a practicing doctor. Its almost a reflex action among HS kids, they think of a career in medicine and its “I’m pre-med!” Doctors are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, nurses, speech pathologists, physician assistants, to name but just a few. Spend a few hours browsing on http://explorehealthcareers.org Unless you’ve considered the alternatives and have spent time actually working in a health care setting (which is an unofficial requirement to get into med school, BTW) its better to think of yourself as interested in exploring a career as a doctor rather than someone who has already made the decision.
@mikemac Thank you for the links to the websites and for taking your time to answer my questions. I’m sorry I wasn’t very clear with some parts of my question. I meant to say that I assume SD is better for specifically biology major based on the ratings and statistics I found after doing some research and I am not sure if medical schools care about the ratings of the school for the specific major. Also I read that there are more research opportunities available at UCSD, however, I am not sure if that is true.
I am not a high school student, I am a transfer student and I am almost done with my GEs and lower division classes. I have done some research and I know about all the other options and I am aware of how difficult it is to become a doctor, however, for now I am sure I will at least attempt to get into a med school.
Regarding UCSB, I know it is a really good school and I am not afraid of the peer pressure to party. I am just a little worried about the noise coming from the outside that could make it a little difficult to focus on school.
Sorry again for not being very specific.
It will not matter whether UCSB or UCSD is where you attend. Both schools will provide you with opportunities you need to gain an interview/acceptance into a med school. Whether you receive an interview for med school will be on whether you take advantage the opportunities offered. You have to be proactive from the start especially as a transfer student. As a note most CA students who get into med school will attend OOS as there are simply not enough slots in CA. And also keep in mind that all US med schools are good schools and can serve as a pathway to whatever long term goal you may have in medicine, getting into any one is the goal.
One thing you mentioned is research opportunities at UCSD. What are your long term goals (eg, research, patient care, etc). Although others may disagree, the reason I ask is that research is not a mandatory EC. If your goal is more patient care, then just having “research” to check a box may not be important. In S’s case, he did work PT in lab for 3 years and participated in research (nothing published). The big plus for S was that during the summer, he not only received course credit (grades of A) for his time in the lab, but the head of the lab was a department head and wrote S a very strong rec letter. Although I never read the letter S told a funny story that when he asked for rec letter I guess S was a little timid. Prof laughed and gave S an invaluable lesson that when he asks for LORs in the future, make sure you ask the potential rec letter writer if they can write a “strong” LOR. (Sorry I digress). If your goal is patient care, then clinical ECs could be more meaningful on your app, especially when it comes time to write personal statement answering as to why medicine.
Both are great schools, pick the one where you think you’ll fit in better as if you’re happy you’re more likely to do well GPA wise. Hopefully you’ve been doing well GPA wise so far. UCSD I think offers a wider range of courses in areas like physiology, anatomy, etc, but if you think that makes UCSD better or will “prepare” you for med school, no. You’ll probably forget what you’ve learned by time med school starts and neither will be in as depth as what one would experience in med school. Good luck
@Jugulator20 Thank you!