I am stuck between UT Austin Plan II and UCLA. I want to do the pre-med route at either school with a econ/business econ. degree or biochemistry. If I go to UT i’ll do Plan II + Econ. + pre-med, possibly transferring to Business Honors or Health Science Honors. At UCLA I’d straight up do Business Econ. or Computational and Systems Biology.
After scholarships, I will be paying around 29K for UCLA and will be a part of the Alumni Scholars Club. UT will be a full ride. However, please don’t consider financials too much in your advice.
I honestly didn’t like the city of Austin very much and I loved UCLA’s location next to Santa Monica and in Westwood. I’m truly split between the two; both have their pros and cons:
UCLA pros:
-better national and international reputation than UT
-location
-Alumni Scholars Club
-location.
-unique Comp. and Systems Bio major, versatile (?)
UCLA cons:
-compared to Plan II, larger class sizes
-perhaps more cutthroat than UT for premed students
UT Pros:
-full ride
-Plan II honors (w/ smaller classes)
-venerability of Pan II (how reputable is this program nationally?)
UT cons:
-location
BTW, I live in Texas, but want to work in Cali or NE.
Medical school is expensive, so the money saved by taking the full ride at UT Austin should be a significant consideration. Also, Texas public medical schools and Baylor are relatively lower cost for Texas residents than most medical schools. Being in Austin will make it more convenient to go to medical school interviews at these medical schools.
Since you are otherwise split on non-cost factors, it makes sense to let the $116,000 difference make the decision.
UT Austin has the required brand pull for graduate studies. Yes, UCLA has a better brand image beyond the country. Location wise, UCLA wins and cost wise UT Austin wins> However, if you don’t like Austin, then the obvious choice is UCLA. In terms of quality of education, the difference will be nil!
For far less than $80k, this student can take vacations to Calif.
Not only would it be silly to pay $80k unnecessarily for UCLA when UT Plan II is free, this student has no idea how being an OOS premed at a UC, particularly UCLA, UCB, UCSD, is a roadmap to career-path-change.
There are just too many gunner-premeds at those UCs. The atmosphere is ugly because each premed there knows that not only the weeding is rough, but even those who survive to apply to med school, only about 40% get a med school acceptance.
It is almost a sheer guarantee that if this student goes to UT, does well (GPA 3.7+, new MCAT 508/509+, good medically related ECs), has an intelligent app list, submits AMCAS, TMDSAS apps by June/July of app cycle, s/he will get into at least one, but likely a few, US MD med schools.
FWIW, my daughter is a freshman in Plan II but is pre-law, not pre-med. Its a phenomenal honors program and she is loving her first year at UT. Great program, full ride…this does not seem like a close call to me. You have said not to focus too much on the money but someone (most likely your parents) will be forking over 29k/year should you decide to attend UCLA. The money might not matter to you but I’m sure that your parents can think of a few things that they’d rather do with that $, especially when you have another very attractive option. Good luck and “hook em.”
I think that those who will be pursuing serious majors/careers over-estimate how much time they’ll have to enjoy their campus surroundings.
@ltrose Can you share with us what sort of “extra support/advising” is available to the Plan II students? What benefits are available? I don’t know a lot about Plan II, but from what I understand it was primarily created as a way to keep tippy-top Texas students in Texas. If true, I imagine that UT put in place an attractive program to create a “small school within a big school” environment.
When we visited during orientation last year, the person in charge of the Liberal Arts College indicated that they sometimes refer to Plan II as “Little Harvard.” Plan II is a funny animal. It is not simply an honors program but is also its own major, with its own curriculum. Having said that, most Plan II students are able to easily work in another major or several minors into the program. The program is very writing intensive and attracts a lot of reader/writer/research-types. Many of the students go into Plan II with the idea of being future doctors, lawyers and academics. The students are assigned a Plan II advisor but the real draw, IMO, is that Plan II draws some of UT’s best professors, who have to request to teach a Plan II course. For academic superstars, it gives students some of the benefits of an LAC (small class sizes, research opportunities) while also offering students the advantages of a major research college.
For those interested in Plan II or who are considering other honors programs, I would direct people to http://publicuniversityhonors.com/ (the website is called Public University Honors). That website is a tremendous resource for those who want to learn more about the best Honors Programs in the country. Also, the gentleman who runs the site has written an e-book ($7.99, also available on Amazon for $14.95).
I’m sure, mom2collegekids, that you are right that Plan II may have been initially created as a way to keep academic superstars in Texas. But its reputation is now national in scope and Plan II has become a draw for top students, both in and out of Texas.
