UW vs UCLA Undergrad? SOS!

State Forums
1

Hello everyone. I am trying to decide between UCLA and UW for my undergraduate schools. I have read many forums and asked people and I am really torn between the two. I have a GI Bill so both would be in state tuition although, I live in Washington. Also, I have a NROTC scholarship but I don’t think I will use it and if I do it will only be for the first year.

Some things to note:
I was directly admitted into UW for Biochemistry which is the major I want.
For UCLA I was admitted off the waitlist for pre-mathematics.
I am in running start so I have 90 + credits that I am looking to transfer.
UW I know all my credits will transfer.
UCLA I don’t know if they all will.
I hope to only spend 2 years at the school that I choose.
I want to be a doctor so I would be going to med school.
UW doesn’t offer anatomy courses, students have to petition to take them at the UW school of pharmacy.

I have weighed the pros and cons and I am really struggling deciding. Can anyone offer any advise. I would like to know why you would choose one over the other. Also, does anyone know how easy it is to switch majors at UCLA? Is UCLA that much better than UW?

2

No, both have highly ranked departments in this area. For example:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/molecular-biology-genetics

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/biology-biochemistry?page=2

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biological-sciences-rankings?int=9e8a08&int=a06908

http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html#area12

http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc1.html#RANKBYAREA

As one of the handful of exceptional direct admits to biochemistry at UW, you would be on the fast track to UW School of Medicine (and other medical schools).

Perhaps @mom2collegekids can elaborate on her advice given in posts such as these, as she has extensively reviewed the subject of OOS students intending to pursue “pre-med” at UCs (I think her son is now a resident at Harvard Mass General):

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20596689/#Comment_20596689

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20512947/#Comment_20512947

Good luck!