<p>hey everyone...i am looking to attend either of these schools for a pre-med major. I know most of you are probably saying "easy...SD" but i wanted to hear a variety of opinions. I don't know how important it is to state but i am terrified of the competition at San Diego...and the only reason i am considering Santa Barbara is because I am positive I can keep up with the students there. For San Diego, on the other hand, especially in biology, I am scared that competition will take over and leave me no free time AT ALL if i want to become a doctor and have to study 24/7. I know my path ahead is rigorous either direction i take, but i'd like to hear everyone's input. </p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>have you visited both? very different campus cultures. if you like UCSB better then go there - college is supposed to be fun remember? you will still have a good shot at med school but you will need to have a higher rank there</p>
<p>if ucsd is so much harder than ucsb, don't you think med school admission committees know this too? Or is it just a little secret that HS kids know but the adults don't? </p>
<p>If what you say is true about the relative difficulty of sb vs sd, then you are going to struggle to get in med school if you go to ucsb. If it is wrong, by your own conclusion you'll struggle at either school.</p>
<p>i have yet to visit the campuses. I am going this friday to visit SD's campus. I am going to Santa Barbara on April 8th. I was just torn and constantly changing my mind about where I want to go. So i was hoping people's input could sway me to make a final decision. Either way i will be happy. But either way, i feel like i'll regret the other in a way. :(</p>
<p>You'll know once you visit. I promise</p>
<p>mikemac, med school adcoms dont really care if your school is hard. All they see is your GPA. Princeton premeds are admitted with an average GPA of 3.7. MIT premeds are admitted with an average of 3.7. Anyone knows that Princeton, with its grade inflation, is a lot easier than MIT. But apparently, med-school adcoms dont care.</p>