UCSD or UCR? (GE's, time and money)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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<p>Before you all jump and tell me UCSD, let me tell you the details first.
I live in Fontana, I'm a senior, top 2% of my class, and I was accepted to both UCSD and UCR.</p>

<p>Here's the catch.
I want to major in biology (human), and eventually get into med school.</p>

<p>At UCSD, I was offered no money at all.
I was accepted into ERC college.
I heard that I need to take MMW and foreign language. This school is mainly for humanities major or anything related to that. So most of those classes would be pointless for me. That's time and $ wasted.
AND!.....my family cannot afford a dorm so we tried to find a condo/apt 10 min or so from the campus. Even though these houses are from the 70's or so, they're still at least $100,000. Maybe if I was taken in at muir or revelle, I would. But I made the foolish mistake of making ERC first choice because of that study abroad program. I didn't know about all these fine little details till it was too late....and I heard that intercollege transfer is HARD and for me, that's a little too RISKY.</p>

<p>I don't want to spend extra time doing GE's I don't need.</p>

<p>At UCR, I got the chancellor's scholarship. Plus I can commute (I'm under 30 miles away), my friend commutes there too. I won't be wasting time or $ on unnecessary GE's. And there's always the haider program and their future med school, which I could help to pioneer.</p>

<p>It really is a debate between time, $, and safety. You could also say reputation.
Sure UCR doesn't have the highest rep, but am I really gonna bypass it for more $ prob, housing prob, GE's I don't want or need, time wasted, and just "reputation"?</p>

<p>If I keep my grades up, I can go to whatever med school I want after my GE's right?</p>

<p>So tell me, what should I do?
I'm really confused.
Thanks guys.</p>

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<p>I would definitely choose UCR over UCSD because of your situation. Don’t just pick it for the reputation lol</p>

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<p>commuting 30+ miles one way can be tough as well. I would go to both places and decide. You need to see if you can fit in at UCR and not regret later. Try to see if you can change colleges within UCSD though if you are in the top 2%, you shouldn’t have difficulty with the requirements. Housing is an issue…not sure if you can qualify for any other grants/loans…?</p>

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<p>To be honest with you, I would suggest you just do the CC route and not slack off and hope to transfer to a UC afterwards. Hopefully then your financial problems won’t be as bad. (Transferring to UCR won’t be too hard for you after 2 years, and you still get the degree)</p>

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<p>@purplet1ger: That’s what I was thinking, I mean does it really matter where you went for your GE’s?</p>

<p>@fall2016 parent: It is, but I wouldn’t have to dorm. At UCSD, I really have no choice. As for incoming freshman, I can’t change colleges unless I go to ERC for one year first, which sucks…I really can’t qualify for grants or loans because our income is 140k…I just can’t afford it because I have 2 other siblings and part of my income goes abroad to my family in the philippines.</p>

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<p>@andrewl: I just feel like I worked too hard to go that way. Couldn’t I just do UCR and transfer to another UC or even med school afterwards?</p>

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<p>Undergrad school doesn’t matter, whereas graduate school matters.</p>

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<p>Tough choice …all I can say is it is an individual decision, some kids thrive better being on campus and I think resources and opportunities will be far greater at UCSD. Even if you take some loan to pay for housing, perhaps you have a better return on your investment…? Again just my opinion…I would ask in the UCR board as well.</p>

<p>Did you take AP english or AP level foreign language.? then the GE requirements may not be hard and you may get ap credit…? Also if you move off campus after a year or so, may be you can save money on ucsd dorms. Perhaps the kids who actually go here can chime in.</p>

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<p>I would say UCR. Save your money for grad school. Just make sure you get top top grades at UCR.</p>

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<p>@purplet1ger: That’s what I thought. Plus, it’s still a UC…so it isn’t like that bad right?</p>

<p>@fall2016parent: Yeah, I felt the same way about UCSD, but i think foreign language is only foreign language. Plus it’s just so much $ and time…had it been another college in UCSD, I wouldn’t be thinking about this, most likely.</p>

<p>@engineerisme: Do you really think it’ll work out for me that way?</p>

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<p>UCR may not be the best UC, but I heard they have a pretty good, stable medical program there. :slight_smile: It’s okay, as long as you go to a great grad school it doesn’t matter!</p>

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<p>I understand your situation. hmm first of all, I don’t think its possible to not dorm 1st year im not too sure about this so dont take me on it. But if it is possible not dorming, you can find ppl online who is willing to commute near school there are plentity upperclassmen who look for roomates. I commuted with 5 ppl rent was around $450 + utility and food= $700 a month. Tuition itself is around $12000 so total tuition a year should be less than $18000 a year. ERC GE is not all too bad yes MMW is annoying but seriously think about the gap between UCR and UCSD no offense to UCR students. you should do whatever you can to get here.</p>

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<p>@purplet1ger: So no matter what, considering my failure situtation…UCR is the best for me (:</p>

<p>My only other hope is UCLA accepts me, because my aunt lives close by. Like no problems at all, I just don’t know if I would even stand a chance to be accepted :(</p>

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<p>@ucsdveteran: It isn’t the fact that the GE’s are annoying…it’s the fact I’m paying for things that I don’t need. If they were free, hey I’d probably take it. But I don’t need these. So isn’t time and money consuming? It’s a game of tug of war between reputation, time, money, and dorms.</p>

<p>UCR pulls me in because I won’t have GE probs, no dorming probs, and less money probs.
The only thing pulling me to UCSD at this point is reputation.</p>

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<p>This is not true - whether you see it or not, you will benefit from a core humanities requirement. If you are taking human bio with a possible medical field, some of these core requirements will help you. A friend of mine who recently did a medical assistant degree, had to take tons and tons of writing courses.</p>

<p>I get the feeling you are not too enthralled because of the GE requirements. I dont think that should be the criteria. It will give you a more rounded education and I believe if you have taken ap level language and foreign language, it really should not be a big deal.</p>

<p>Another thing about commuting, with gas prices almost $5/gallon and with 30+ miles, and insurance/parking fees, that would factor in quite a bit of money/month.</p>

<p>Anyways, as I said, the decision is yours and you need to be comfortable with it. But not getting to it because you consider the GE’s a waste, should not be the factor.</p>

<p>By the way, did you get into UC Irvine? Some kids are opting for the honors program there and that may be another choice as well. Anyway, good luck with your decision, I would really make it to all the admit days before deciding.</p>

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<p>To be honest with you, ERC’s GEs isnt that much worse than the other colleges. It should not be a determining factor of whether you come to UCSD or not. It might be even easier than UCR’s GE’s. I never really compared them but you should take some time yourself comparing the number of classes you need to take for each UC. People only say ERC has bad GE’s because they have more when compared to Muir, which has relatively few.</p>

<p>I know going to a CC would make it seem like you wasted so much hard work in high school, but i would not view it that way. All your work just makes you more prepared to fly through the CC courses and transfer to some other really good colleges. I had a friend who turned down UCSD because of financial reasons and she is breezing through CC classes and will likely to be able to transfer to UCLA this fall.</p>

<p>You also have an option of contacting the UC departments to see whether they’ll allow you to get guaranteed admission after you take a year or two at a CC and pull out good grades. I’m not too sure how this system works but if they allow you to, at least you wouldnt be wasting your time.</p>

<p>UCSD has one of the top bio programs in the nation while i doubt UCR has one even close to it. (No offense) I honestly don’t think its a good investment to go to UCR when you’re capable of a much better school, especially with one with a department in your major that is as well known as UCSD.</p>

<p>On a side note, I know someone that lives in Fontana that is entering college this fall too that’s Filipino. Maybe you know her! :)</p>

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<p>If money is an issue I wouldn’t so easily dismiss going to community college. Like others have mentioned, it’s not like your hard work in HS is wasted, it isn’t. If you took AP classes then those still count when you transfer to a UC in 2 years. All the courses you would take in those first 2 years at a UC will be the same courses you take a community college for a fraction of the price. If anything community college is a chance to hit the restart button on your GPA, and if you do really well (3.8+) you can pretty much transfer to whatever UC you want, like UCLA. And if you don’t get into UCLA, big deal you transfer to UCR (which is very easy to get into as a transfer, 3.22 is average for admits) and you still saved yourself 2 years worth of UC tuition.</p>

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<p>I say you now have a choice that will determine next four years of your life. i do emphasize school reputation is not everything. I guess you have a tough situation at your hand. But if i were you, i would challenge myself to make it happen and come to UCSD because the school offers many great opportunities especially research, amazing beach setting, exceptional students, etc (from personal experience). I’m not saying UCR doesn’t offer you any opportunity for these things. It’s just that there clearly is a good gap between UCSD and UCR (its not like the gap between UCLA and UCSD). you have to ask yourself whether sacrificing UCSD is worth your situation at hand.</p>

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<p>Ah, I’m really stuck…another reason I’m iffy about UCSD at ERC is because I would need to finish all their GE’s, and then still need to do my pre-reqs. I know I need writing, but isn’t this MMW excessive in my case? I really wish I had studied this more in detail earlier…but I’m still not sure what would be best for me and my family…</p>

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<p>And I’m sorry, but the family and I have both dismissed CC as an option…</p>