<p>I'm a high school senior and have the option to go to Vanderbilt or UCLA and cannot decide whatsoever. While Vamderbilt has a stronger/more prestigious reputation and is closer to home, UCLA has been ranked much higher in the premed and biological sciences rankings in the last few years and has more intern/research opportunities in the field I'd be studying. With the overall goal being Stanford Medical School, which do I choose?!?!</p>
<p>visit both and see which you like more. if that is not possible check out the campus viibe section here and also books like insider guide to figure it out. either way it’s great to be able to attend either!!</p>
<p>Are you a recruited athlete or something? How do you already know that you have “the option” to go to Vandy or UCLA?</p>
<p>??? What “premed” rankings? Do those even exist? And, I doubt that bio rankings matter AT ALL for a premed. Are those rankings for the grad school? Even if those bio rankings are for the undergrad, it would be largely irrelevant for a premed. </p>
<p>It is silly to think that UCLA would be better for a premed than Vandy. UCLA has a lowish acceptance rate for med students. It has too many premeds, and the premed advising is not good.</p>
<p>Bio is bio…virtually any school has a good bio program. UCLA and Vandy and OTHER schools will have research opps. </p>
<p>Forget about aiming for a particular med school. If you make it to Stanford SOM, then fine. But, all US MD schools are excellent and getting into ANY US MD school is an achievement. </p>
<p>Why are you majoring in Bio as a premed? Bio majors are a dime a dozen. If for some reason you don’t go to med school, what will you want to do with your life (75% of premeds never apply to med school)</p>
<p>…and good heavens…you made 8 threads that are the same.</p>
<p>Stanford isn’t going to care whether you went to Vanderbilt or UCLA. I used to work at Stanford, and I assure you the school is beyond worrying about prestige or ranking.</p>
<p>It’s a question of whether you prefer going to undergrad at a smaller, private university or a big, public university. </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids </p>
<p>Yes, I have been recruited by both for baseball and, therefore, know that I have “the option” to go to either.</p>
<p>Also, I am referring to these rankings: <a href=“Subject Rankings 2023 | Top Universities”>http://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings</a></p>
<p>As for prestige, being from the south I wasn’t sure if Vandy was only considered to be elite in this area rather than the whole nation. For all I knew, UCLA could’ve been more respected (especially from a premed standpoint) on the west coast (giving UCLA more standing with Stanford).</p>
<p>As for research opps, UCLA is in the center of the research community for biotech and has significantly more opportunities than Vandy.</p>
<p>I am majoring in Bio because not only is that where my interest is, but if for some reason I don’t go to med school then I can get my phd and become a researcher for a biotech corporation.</p>
<p>And I made the thread in 8 different categories cause it was urgent due to the fact that I only have a week left to commit to either school… Haha sorry!</p>
<p>That link appears to be dealing with grad school and med school rankings. For bio, it included UCSF which is only a grad school. For medicine, it lists UCLA, which sounds like it is ranking the med school, not “premed.”</p>
<p>Anyway, since you will be a premed athlete, a bigger concern will be with time management and how the commitment to your sport will affect your grades and ability to participate in research.</p>
<p>Are you looking to go into Academic Medicine? If not, what is the preoccupation with Stanford SOM?</p>
<p>What are your stats? Are you strong for those schools? Premed can be brutal because of the weeding that goes on. </p>
<p>First, and most importantly, if you’re any good at baseball, you need to go to UCLA (Vandy’s team is already good enough!).</p>
<p>With that out of the way, this really does come down to a big public university vs a smaller private university. It’s two very different experiences. The nice thing about Vandy, as a recruited athlete, is that you get to combine the private university experience with big time SEC sports (er…forget that…GO PAC12!).</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>^
lol…from a Gator fan who doesn’t want any additional SEC competition. ;)</p>
<p>My concern is this student’s stats. He hasn’t mentioned any. Are they tippy top? Are they strong, but not strong for these schools? </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids
Well before getting offered, we always have to send our academic info through the admissions offices to make sure we can go there. So from an academic standpoint, they have lead me to believe that I will do well! My ACT composite is a 32 and my GPA is a 3.9 unweighted and a 4.4 weighted.</p>
<p>@Gator88NE
Being from a big school, it wouldn’t be hard to make the change into a public university. My biggest concern would be the transition from the south to California. But at the same time, it might be a nice change to be in a small, private school environment. Also, while still being in the south.</p>
<p>A lot of these questions, only you can answer. </p>
<p>One advantage for Vanderbilt (I really shouldn’t be listing advantages for Vandy!), is location to your family. Not only will you see them much more often (we’re not talking every weekend here, but 2 or 3 times more a semester), but they will be able to travel to some of your games. If you’re working a summer internship in Nashville, you’ll still be able to visit with the folks. </p>
<p>But then again, as a parent, I’m biased.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about research, other than as an EC to help you get into med school or grad school. Nashville/Vandy has more than enough opportunities. In fact, you could still do a summer internship out in LA (that’s what summer internships are for!). For grad school, you may want to choose Stanford, but after 4 years of college and working with your professors, you’ll have a much better idea of what you want to do. You may find that research being done at UNC-CH is much more interesting, or you may have made a connection with a professor at UT-Austin.</p>
<p>Then again, if you decide on grad school, and still have a year of eligibility, UF is clearly the spot for you!</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Disclaimer. If anyone from the enforcement office of the NCAA is reading this post, I’ll like to state that I’m a BIG University of Alabama booster and concerns with inappropriate “recruiting” should be taken up with @mom2collegekids. </p>
<p>How do you know you have the option for these schools? I don’t believe Vandy, at least, has issued any acceptances yet.</p>
<p>In any case, forget rankings in “premed and biological sciences”. That is completely worthless. Both schools are among the most highly thought of in this country, for just about everything. As far as intern/research opportunities, you can only take one. I am sure there is more than enough to choose from at either, although at UCLA it might be tougher for an undergrad to do anything meaningful, given the huge size of their graduate program. Or you might get lucky and be able to do something great there. But Vandy is probably going to be more undergrad oriented towards research opportunities. Hard to say, but it only takes one.</p>
<p>But you have to actually get into these schools first, so the decision could still turn out to be an easy one.</p>
<p>I’m a high school senior and have the option to go to Vanderbilt or UCLA and cannot decide whatsoever. While Vamderbilt has a stronger/more prestigious reputation and is closer to home, UCLA has been ranked much higher in the premed and biological sciences rankings in the last few years and has more intern/research opportunities in the field I’d be studying. With the overall goal being Stanford Medical School, which do I choose?!?!</p>
<p>OK, I didn’t see this duplicate discussion until after I posted that. So I merged the threads. You answered the question about knowing you can go to either one.</p>
<p>Everything else I think still applies, and you have gotten some very good advice in that you have a pretty stark choice between a medium sized, research oriented private school and a large, research oriented state school. I recommend trying to spend 2 days and nights at each (if the NCAA allows that) and attend classes, get a feel for the balance between team and academic demands, and just your own overall comfort level. In your case, the relationship between you and the head coach (manager) of the team will also be critical. Is one going to support your premed ambitions more than the other? Ask around and see what people think about that, because of course the staff will tell you they support you all the way, right up until that practice conflicts with a big exam you have to study for. So don’t be afraid to probe.</p>
<p>Two good choices, obviously. I would think one would just feel more right to you than the other, once you have a chance to check them out more.</p>
<p>"How do you know you have the option for these schools? I don’t believe Vandy, at least, has issued any acceptances yet.:</p>
<p>If he is a highly recruited senior, he probably already has offers to both of these schools. Assuming that is the case, his GPA and test scores will definitely be good enough for either university. I had a relative who was offered admission to Northwestern as a high school junior, provided that their minimum scores were achieved/maintained. </p>
<p>“Disclaimer. If anyone from the enforcement office of the NCAA is reading this post, I’ll like to state that I’m a BIG University of Alabama booster and concerns with inappropriate “recruiting” should be taken up with @mom2collegekids.”</p>
<p>Not to worry, I highly doubt the OP is considering Alabama.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>My nephew was a recruited athlete for a top school, so I know a little bit about how it all works. And, I have a son in med school, so I know how THAT all works.</p>
<p>Yes, supposedly a recruited student has been deemed strong enough to “succeed” at the school. BUT…what does “succeed” mean to the SCHOOL? To the school, that just means getting a GPA high enough to graduate. THAT DOES NOT mean getting a GPA high enough for MED SCHOOL. Do you understand the HUGE difference? The recruiting schools are not the least bit interested in determining whether you are strong enough to graduate with a very high GPA at their school. That is not their concern. The schools have likely determined that their recruited athletes can manage to graduate with a 3.0ish GPA…Do you see what I mean?</p>
<p>Are those the only two schools that are recruiting you? If not, which other schools are?</p>
<p>You will be very busy as an athlete and a premed, competing with stronger classmates. That would be MY CONCERN, if you were my son. </p>
<p>At Vandy, your stats are towards the bottom of the middle quartiles. At UCLA, your stats are stronger, but that isn’t a great school to be premed as an OOS student.</p>
<p>I’m looking long-term. I’m looking at your ability to achieve your med school goals. I see hurdles, big hurdles.</p>
<p>@Premed316 </p>
<p>@Gator88NE </p>
<br>
<br>
<p>what are you talking about??? And what is the point of @rjkofnovi 's post? Strange and irrelevant.</p>
<p>^^^ Lol…it was a joke. The NCAA doesn’t care what I say on CC. :)</p>
<p>
Print that out, hand it to your parents, ask them to hand it back to you in 4 years. You will laugh at the grandiose thoughts of a younger you, at a time when you will jump with joy at an acceptance from any US med school.</p>
<p>“And what is the point of @rjkofnovi 's post?”</p>
<p>" Lol…it was a joke"</p>
<p>“You will laugh at the grandiose thoughts of a younger you, at a time when you will jump with joy at an acceptance from any US med school.”</p>
<p>So true!</p>