<p>hey
i got accepted to UMD and UC santa cruz, they are both out of state for me and i want to major in biology. i wanted to see what you guys think ? (consider the medical school oppurtunities after graduation also)</p>
<p>bump please…</p>
<p>I’d say go with UMD because Maryland (the state) is a big life sciences hub (which relates to your intended major).</p>
<p>do you have an idea about the acceptance rate of UMD students to medical school???</p>
<p>have you visited both schools???</p>
<p>they are VERY different. ucsc is very pretty, in a beautiful foresty area. the social scene is suuuuper hippy. naturey.</p>
<p>i’ve only visited umd once but it seems more urban. completely different look and feel. they are both good schools so i would consider where you want to end up in life and factor that into your location.</p>
<p>^^ Shayant,</p>
<p>Don’t know about the University at large, but for the Honors College it’s 98%.</p>
<p>Haha my image of UCSC is like, surfer boys and hippy environmental activists. And Maryland is like fratty guys and political/labor activists haha.</p>
<p>But that’s not really true because we have the “greenies” too ;).</p>
<p>But yeah I think you should visit both campuses as the locations are worlds apart…Washington DC is right on your doorstep at UMD and the beach is on your doorstep as UCSC…</p>
<p>Both are good schools and I’m sure if you do well you’ll get accepted to med school from either. Maryland probably has a higher concentration of academic-types since UCSC is trumped by UCLA, UC-Berkeley, etc. in the state of Cali, whereas UMDCP is Maryland’s flagship and where all the smart kids who didn’t jump ship from the state go haha.</p>
<p>thank you guys, those were really helpful. however the most important thing for me is academics and going to medical school afterwards. doesn’t ucsc have more oppurtunities since it is in cal and a lot of good med schools are in cal?</p>
<p>Well I live about 20 minutes from UCSC and it has a pretty bad reputation here so I can’t imagine it having a solid reputation anywhere else in the country. Go to Maryland!</p>
<p>I would also recommend that you look at the strength of the undergrad program. Just because USCS is in California means nothing in terms of better chances of getting into Medical School at a California University. </p>
<p>I lived near there and agree that it’s pretty much near the bottom in terms of reputation for academic strength. You are best to target an affordable and strong undergraduate program and plan to get straight A’s for the best chance at Med School.</p>
<p>I would also say don’t decide because you think you don’t care about the campus. You will be living breathing it 24/7 30 weeks out of the yr. Many kids transfer not because of academics, but because they hate the school life.</p>
<p>The other point would be is that they are on opposite sides of the country. For some it is hard to be that far away from home, especially as a freshman.</p>
<p>Med school admissions do NOT depend much on rank of undegrad school, location of undergrad school, etc. Admission is almost cut and dry GPA+MCAT scores.</p>
<p>That said, UMCP has a stronger reputation overall.</p>
<p>I don’t give huge credence to rankings, but MD is ranked 18th best public school in the nation. UCSC is 29.</p>
<p>More problematic with UCSC is that within California it does not have a fantastic reputation, though it is in the top echelons of public schools overall, primarily because there are so many great universities in California that it is easily trumped. UCLA, UCB, UCSB, UCD, UCSD, UCI are ALL ranked significantly higher than UCSC. Therefore, within Cali, UCSC is not usually a top choice for top students. </p>
<p>MD, on the other hand, is frequently a top choice amongst the top students in the state.</p>
<p>So, to conclude, MD has a better reputation, 1, and furthermore, it probably attracts a higher caliber of students overall and therefore may have slightly more challenging academics.</p>
<p>However, on the other hand, med school admissions don’t depend very much on reputation, and a biology textbook is a biology textbook wherever you go. Maybe the curve will be slightly easier at UCSC, and that will help you get better grades, which is ultimately the most important factor.</p>
<p>And I agree with bullet that though the academics/preparation for med school at each school are probably going to be similar, they are worlds apart - on different coasts, in different climates, in different surrounding areas, etc. You may be an extremely adaptable kid, and in that case I’d say go with MD. But if you live on the West coast and value being close to family, if you hate the winter, if you hate cities, etc. UCSC might be the better choice in the end.</p>
<p>thanks alot guys. i got my answer, i’ll probably go to MD</p>