I just got off the waitlist for UCSD and as excited as I am, I am also now very torn between the two schools. At Miami, I’ll be in the honors program, at a smaller school(which is a better fit for me), and a big fish in a small pond if you will. I also got into my major(psychology). At UCSD, I was just accepted into sixth college as undeclared but they have a great psych program, amazing research, and I’ll be a lot closer to home. I’m just worried about getting a good gpa for grad school(I want to apply to a md/phd program). Anyone have any advice? Both are approximately the same cost for me too, so cost isn’t an issue.
If you really want to go to med school then you should choose the program where you believe you will be able to maintain the highest GPA as this is extremely important for med school admissions.
Have you visited both campuses? UCSD is going to have a much different vibe than Miami.
Like @showmom858 said, the schools will definitely have very different vibes and you should visit both if possible. UCSD doesn’t have big-time sports or wild parties. That said, it’s a premed factory and you’ll have tons more opportunities to pad your application with research and volunteering opportunities (top 5 nationally for research funding, top 5 nationally ranked bio department, top 20 med school on campus and 5 hospitals within walking distance). It’s also more academically rigorous, so keep that in mind.
@showmom858 I have visited Miami and I’m going down to visit San Diego tomorrow.
@DoctorP The opportunities that UCSD offers is really important to me, but I am worried about the academic rigor because I want to get a high GPA so that I can get into med school. But then again, UCSD has better research opportunities that Miami would. I’m honestly just so confused right now haha
@bigdreams23 See how you feel after visiting UCSD. If you get the chance, hang around the medical school or the nearby Salk Institute for a little bit
@bigdreams23 - I hope you enjoyed your visit to UCSD!
@showmom858 I did! It was a beautiful day and the people were friendly. I met up with a friend and she showed me her dorm and walked me over to sixth college and I was even able to sit in on a cog sci lecture. I think I’m gonna end up choosing SD because I think it’ll provide me with a great education and prepare me for med school.
@bigdreams23 - glad to hear you enjoyed your visit! My D transferred to UCSD last fall and she loves it. The hardest thing for her the 1st quarter was just getting used to the pace of a 10 week quarter. Now that she is in her 3rd quarter she loves it. Just make sure to plan your schedule so that you don’t have all really tough classes together each quarter and that you spread them out. Good luck with your final choice.