Hello,
My S was admitted to these schools, receiving Regents’ scholarships from UCI and UCR.
He was admitted as a Bio Major, with the intention of pursuing medical school.
As he is my oldest child of four, and with rising costs of education, I am inclined toward UCR as his scholarship is substantial ($10k annually) but he is worried about the potential lack of rigor at UCR, the caliber of professors and students at UCR, as well as limited research opportunities…
(He isn’t too concerned about a college town environment, or Greek life, or the social scene in general -)
He likes the sound of UCSD, except he is concerned about the intensive coursework at his college, Revelle.
From what I have read on CC, UG is not as important, but will medical schools frown upon attending a less challenging/ prestigious program such as UCR? Or are the UCs judged quite equally? (except for Cal and UCLA…)
Any insight would be most appreciated! Thank you in advance!
You do know that UCR just recently opened a Medical school and offers the following program for UCR undergrads:
The Thomas Haider Program at the UCR School of Medicine provides a unique pathway into medical school for up to 24 qualifying UC Riverside undergraduate students.
To qualify, the students must have attended UC Riverside for six consecutive quarters and have completed their batchelor’s degree at UCR.
Successful students are admitted to the UC Riverside School of Medicine, where they complete the four-year curriculum.
How to Apply
Students who meet the criteria are eligible to apply to the UCR School of Medicine through the American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®) and will be placed into the Haider Program applicant pool.
Yes, we are aware of the Haider program. However, it is very selective and only reserves up to 24 spots for UCR undergrads, those who are committed to staying in the area to practice medicine.
UCSD is uber competitive and does have some weeder classes. To get into Med School his grades have to be near perfect. Revelle has a number of humanities requirements which are difficult. So if he thinks he would thrive in a very very competitive, cutthroat environment then maybe he wants UCSD. Seems like everyone there is “premed” or engineering.
What about UCI as he will be given some money there and academically it is a step up from UCR and not as cut throat as UCSD?
I think UCI and UCR are both great choices.
UCR is a great school, and the professors there are great! I took a summer course at UCR and my professor was amazing (Mrs. Huffman for psych)! Don’t be fooled, UCR is a fairly decent school, and my cousin got into UCR Medical school after attending UCR for undergrad. Just because it’s UCR doesn’t mean it’s bad for pre-med. Also, don’t think that UCR is an automatic easy-A walk in the park. I took psych 001, and the class was still curved so that most kids get Bs. You have to be top of the class to get an A. (But as long as you study all the material, and understand it, you’ll be just fine).
Irvine is also a great school. It might be slightly more competitive than UCR, although I’m not speaking from experience. To be honest, I say they’re both fair game.
I say go to whichever location you think you’d thrive more.
As for UCSB, it’s a big party school. If you think you’ll be able to focus at that school, I say it’s fair game with the other two schools.
The only one I’m unsure about is UCSD, just because I hear how cutthroat and stressful it can be at times.
He should go to the school where he has the best chance for a high GPA and access to medically related EC’s/shadowing opportunities etc…,
He should go where he would be happy for 4 years. A happy student= successful student.
Gumbymom is spot on. Go where the scholarship support is high, cost of living low, morale strong, and where there is a potential pathway to direct continuation into med school. Most top UC students end up going out of state for med school paying private tuition; many never get in at all. This includes UCB and UCLA. There are not enough med school positions in California relative to our state’s population. I know this because as a residency program director, I reviewed thousands of applications and interviewed hundreds of applicants over more than a decade. The average debt these California kids carry after OOS med school is equivalent to a mortgage with no house attached. Don’t obsess over tiny differences in perceived status among schools. Be smart! And best of luck to your S. Full disclosure: I went to UCSD undergrad, UCSF for med school. And you know what they call the student who graduates from the least prestigious med school? Doctor. 
Thank you for all of your helpful and insightful posts. We will be revisiting the campuses again to help finalize his decision.
@vlnmom this is how USNWR ranks the 4 public schools based on their Graduate biology programs ( I still don’t know if the include the undergraduate program in this ranking
- UCSD
- UCI
- UCSB
- UCR
Since all are in the top 100 US schools academically it would be difficult to say, I think “premed” not really a necessary label to pursue medical school and probably someone who has gone to medical school can shed some light on that. UCSD and UCI both have Schools of Medicine so this might increase opportunities in the area. There is a hospital near UCSB in Goleta, it is called Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital and it’s quite small but there may be opportunities with some other facilities. UCR is in metropolitan area so there are probably a lot of doctors and hospitals in that area as well.
Where did he end up going?