Hi CC Community,
I have heard back from all of the colleges. Here are the main schools I am looking at. There are more, but I have eliminated them:
Accepted:
- University of Washington, Seattle
- UC Riverside
- Pepperdine
Waitlisted:
- Case Western Reserve University
-
Oxford College at Emory University
-
UCSD
UW Seattle has the name prestige, a beautiful campus, ranked right next to UC Berkeley and UCLA for STEM, but far from home, cutthroat and the school grade deflates (lower GPA), and the weather is always overcast.
UCR has this weird generalization for being the lowest tier UC but has an amazing premed program called the Thomas Haider Program, where up to 24 UCR undergrads get direct admittance to med school without taking the MCAT. Grades are easier to come across as there is no grade deflation, the environment felt a lot less cutthroat and collaborative, and I would be making meaningful connections within the UC system that could benefit me in the long run when applying to med school and getting LORs. The downside for UCR is the area of Riverside itself, but it is in proximity to LA and San Diego.
We visited both campuses, and I found great people at both schools; at UCR, I liked how the students were all approachable, and they made me feel like I was a part of the community. At UW Seattle, I didn’t get a chance to connect to the current students but messaged premeds and they all told me the professors are amazing, but it will be challenging to get good grades as only 5% of the class of ~600 in the GE weed-out classes get an A.
As for Case Western Reserve, I am waitlisted and have been showing interest, I haven’t done enough research on the school, but again, it is in Cleveland, Ohio; I would be far from home, but it is world-renowned and known to be amazing for premed.
It would be great if I could get your opinion before making a decision. I am leaning towards UCR despite the name of UW Seattle and Case Western, but I want to make sure I make the right decision. If I can get some insight into both schools that would be great.
I am pursuing pre-med at both schools, I have a pre-health science major at UW Seattle, which means junior year I will have to apply for the major I want and there’s a chance I may not get the major I select. At UCR, I have been admitted for Neuroscience. I’m super confused right now and any information would be helpful! Thanks in advance.