If you had to choose, which one would you pick?
UCSD is almost free with perks of priority registration, honors program, guaranteed housing, grad library privileges, professor mentorship, and extra research opportunities.
Cal is Cal. Great chemistry program but might be a GPA killer for grad school and I assume is significantly more competitive for undergraduate research (even though great opportunities as well).
I want to choose the program that will provide the most experience and preparation (without ruining my chances of getting into a graduate program).
I hope to continue on to grad school for a pharmD or chemistry phD. UCSF has been my dream and I know Cal is their feeder school. However, I feel like if I succeed in San Diego (GPA/letter of rec/research) I will have a decent shot too. Please, any advice from anyone who goes to Cal/UCSD or is familiar with grad school selection. I’ve been told the prestige of an undergraduate program has little to no importance if you plan on graduate school.
I’m in this same boat…Davis or Berkeley. I’d talk to your counselor and teachers. Personally, I would go for SD. In the end, graduate school is more important than undergrad, and you’ll be able to make more connections being the top of what is still an excellent school. Well, best of luck!
Regents Scholarships and the research opportunities in La Jolla aren’t really worth turning down for Berkeley.