<p>Ok, before you guys jump to conclusions on why I made this no brainer topic is because competition to med school is extremely hard these days.</p>
<p>UCSD has a prominent bio department, but also it extremely hard to get good grades…I am pretty strong in sciences (5 ap bio, 5 ap chem, 800 sat 2 bio, 790 sat 2 chem)…But i dont know how i will do compared to the others at UCSD</p>
<p>By attending UCR, i know that i will get A+ in every class…</p>
<p>Medical schools don’t take heavy emphasis on which undergraduate college you went too…</p>
<p>a 4.0 from UCR will look much better than a 3.5 at UCSD when applying to med school…i know its unfair but thats just how it is…</p>
<p>So i am faced with a dilemna here…Should i sacrifice prestige just to boost my chances into getting into med school? Or …?? help please i need your opinions thanks</p>
<p>First of all: have you been acquainted with stayoutofriverside? Because you should see what he has to say about the school and if his sn is any indication of what type of advice you'll be receiving from him... by the way, he's a resident at some hospital as we speak. :)</p>
<p>My friend was considering UCR because the school gave her a scholarship. She almost based her decision to go there because of that aid, but then her uncle gave her a piece of advice. His profession is a job interviewer and he said that when he looks at qualifications and sees that an applicant is a graduate of UCR, he'll most likely pick other candidates over that UCR graduate.</p>
<p>People can argue and say "it totally depends on what work environment that is", but you know what? Take it as it is: if the job interviewer is not impressed with the school, chances are other job interviewers in whatever professional fied across the nation express the same sentiment. Don't matter if their bias is messed up; they're the ones who hold the key to that job. She's now deciding btwn UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara; UCSD would have been one of her choices, had she gotten in.</p>
<p>If you're choosing the easy way out... Yeah, UCR's easy, fine. How hard will med school be, though? UCSD's going to be a challenge, but hey, getting through med school will be more rewarding in that way. As my chemistry teacher said, if you get through UCSD with good grades, any graduate school will take a long, serious look at you.</p>
<p>Just worry about the present. The future you have control over by what you do with today. :D I'm now making my bias more obvious: UCSD! UCSD! UCSD! Go to UCSD and I'll go to you for organic chemistry help, since I'm a Biochem major... Gaaash, I'm asking for an early deathwish. LoL</p>
<p>nemzy, I am on the same boat as you. Law school admissions are pretty stiff too, so I'm torn between prestige and an easy 4.0. I'm not sure just how much I'm willing to give up the prestige... not only for superficial reasons, but academic as well.</p>
<p>Here is an advice I was given that I would like to share with you: Go to the school that will prepare you both for the LSATs and most importantly, for law school. In your case, MCATs and med school. I don't know much about the MCATs, but going to an easy undergrad could really hurt you in med school. By getting easy 4.0s, you run the risk of not developping the necessary study skills, or much worse, not actually learning the material and grasping the knowledge you need for med school.</p>
<p>Also, I'm not sure that I buy that med schools don't take heavy emphasis on your undergrad, because you never really know. I've been told that if you have the chance to attend UCLA, UCB, or UCSD, then take that chance - especially if you plan on applying out of state, some of those schools may not even know UCR exists. </p>
<p>I'm sure you'll receive more input on this (here or elsewhere), but either way, here's where you can't go wrong: Go to the school that feels right to you. If that's UCR, then by all means go for it. Things will work themselves out. Who knows, you may be miserable at UCSD, or vice versa. I guess a question you have to ask yourself is not whether you are willing to give up prestige, but if you are willing to give up being happy. If you choose UCR and you end up miserable (only saying this because most are -- though that doesn't necessarily mean you will be), then, really, is the easy 4.0 worth the misery? Because sometimes college isn't only about what school you go to or about what grades you get, but also finding who you are and where you belong.</p>
<p>great post, j. project. (though I wouldn't necessarily advocate stayoutofriverside's behavior, he does have some information worth taking a gander)</p>
<p>yeah nemzy, I agree with the previous posts because with the scores you have right now, you will feel at home at UCSD.</p>
<p>but then again, you have to account for my bias because I am going to UCSD this year for biology too.</p>
<p>One thing to take into account: UCSD has more than enough research opennings because it's one of the largest public research schools, so that will be a good thing to take advantage of.</p>
<p>anyway nemzy, you obviously are smart enough to compete anywhere you will go to school. Go to UCSD..there is too much pre-med prestige to pass up.</p>
<p>what should i do? go to ucsd or uci for bio? I want to be a doctor. im a pretty good student school wise but my sat was only 1200 but i passed ap chem w/ a 3 and calc bc w/ a 3 Where should I go to get a better GPA?</p>
<p>Of course you'll an easier time to get a better GPA at UCI. You will however be passing up one of the best biological sciences department in the nation. UCSD also has great undergrad prestige for medical schools. It's ONE BLOCK away from the beach. And once your in at UCSD that SAT score won't mean anything. Throw it away and forget about it. I would suggest work your butt off at UCSD and it'll pay off.</p>
<p>my doctor told me to go to UCLA or UCSD if I want to end up going to med school. Med schools know that a graduate from UCSD with good grades has what it taked to be succeed in a medical career. I think you should go to UCSD. My friend is getting straight A's at cal state fullerton and he wants to go to med school, but I still doubt he'll get into med school. UCR may be better than CSUF, but you get the point. I mean, don't you think it's awesome that like 17% of UCSD graduates end up going to med school? Only 5% of UCR graduates go on to med school.</p>
Hey
Where did you end up I’m in the same situation now? And I really need some advices
UCR is much closer to my home and easier but Ucsd is known to be much better
I have 30 days to decide
@Mak1999 I don’t think “easier” is a good reason to choose one school over another. Yes, UCR is easier than UCSD, and Ohlone Community College is easier than both of them. But med school isn’t easy, and the schools they offer different levels of opportunities to prepare you for medical school. I think UCSD is a superior choice for way more than just its bio ranking.
For example, the town of Riverside has one major hospital about four miles from campus where UCR students can volunteer, shadow, or research. UCSD is the opposite: there are four major hospitals within one mile of campus. There will be more opportunities for you to participate in something that aligns with your interests. The same goes for research labs: UCR gets about $110 million in research funding, while UCSD gets over $1 billion. There are more bio/biotech companies in the La Jolla and Sorrento Valley area near UCSD than there are in the Inland Empire: in fact, in the US the region is only beat by Boston. I’m not saying these opportunities will walk up to you–they’re all very competitive for undergrads to apply to. But if the opportunities exist, and your friends in your premed classes are all taking advantage of them and working extraordinarily hard, it might drive you to do the same. I’m with pretty much every poster from twelve years ago that it’s still not much of a contest.