<p>Not sure what you’re talking about. UCLA has plenty of successful medical students annually at the school. It can be difficult and very competitive though. I can’t say that Vanderbilt will be easier though.</p>
<p>UCLA has several state of the art centers on campus, including the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and the new Wassman building, which has expanded facilities for the Stein Eye Institute and the DGSOM. I can’t imagine research / internship opportunities would be very hard to get at the university.</p>
<p>I’d visit both and see where you feel more comfortable. Both are excellent universities so you should select for fit.</p>
<p>Of course there are premed students at UCLA who get admitted to a MD school. The numbers aren’t great percentage-wise (about 50% of applicants) and the med school advising isn’t great (also no Committee Letters), which are also my concern. I don’t see much/any advantage for an OOS premed at UCLA. Granted, if he’s there on a full athletic scholarship, then the cost won’t be an issue. </p>
<p>That said, I do not think Vandy would be easier, not at all.</p>
<p>My points are speaking to his ultimate goal…getting into med school. I want him to carefully consider everything…the impact of playing a Div I sport at a big Div I school…the impact of being at a school that will have plenty of gunners (UCLA)…the impact of possibly being one of the weaker premeds (at Vandy). Yes, these schools have determined that he can succeed (not flunk out) at these schools…that is not the same as getting a med-school-worthy GPA. </p>
<p>Fast forward 2-3 years from now…I don’t want this student looking at his good-but-not-med-school-worthy GPA and kicking himself for not thinking about some of these things. Getting a BCMP and cum GPA of 3.4 is a problem for med school. It isn’t a problem for simply graduating from either school. </p>
<p>What would happen at UCLA if after one year he decided that baseball was hurting his grades? Could he still afford to go there? At Vandy, I think he might still qualify for aid. At UCLA, he would be OOS and would be treated as such.</p>
<p>Just things to think about.</p>
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<p>This is sooooooooo true. Read the SDN forums and you will see posts from top students crying tears of joy after receiving ANY MD med school acceptance. There is a very long thread there where people tell their “good news” stories. </p>
<p>I can still remember EXACTLY where I was when my son called me with the news of his first MD SOM acceptance. I burst into tears (thank goodness DH was driving). I was happy when he received more acceptances, but that first one opened the floodgates. </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I do see the difference and have thought about that! Honestly, I don’t worry too much (probably not as much as I should) about balancing the two since I have been taking advanced placement classes my whole life while playing baseball with only 2 weeks off every year. Not to mention the fact that playing baseball at both enables me to over 100 tutors covering every subject for free, so that helps! As for other schools recruiting me, UPenn, Columbia, South Carolina, and Oregon (although I quickly ruled out UPenn, Columbia, and Oregon since I’m not to big of a fan of the north).</p>
<p>Well, of all of your recruited schools, I think Vandy may be your best bet. You might want to avoid taking Ochem I or II during spring semesters. </p>
<p>As I suspected, a lot of scholastically weak students apply to medical schools from UCLA. For example, 15 students applied with a GPA of less than 3.4; and over 30 students applied with a GPA of less than 3.6. While these certainly aren’t low GPAs, they’re not exceptional. Students applying to medical schools aren’t competing against the average UCLA student, but among the very best ones. And in a school as elite as UCLA with like 28.5k undergrads, that ends of being a lot of students! For example, let’s look at this guy:</p>
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<p>Unsurprisingly, this guy is super competitive. Just like many of the other students intending on applying to top graduate and professional schools. I agree with your comment about there being lots of gunners at UCLA. I was one of them in fact. Granted, I didn’t do as well as I could have done, but all things taken into consideration, I think I did pretty well.</p>
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<p>I don’t know much about committee letters, but I found this online:</p>
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[quote] Does UCLA offer committee letters for applicants?
Given the large number of pre-health students at UCLA, the University does not provide a committee
letter at this time. Medical schools are aware of this fact.<a href=“emphasis%20mine”>/quote</a></p>
<p>It doesn’t make it seem like a big deal. And given the amount of applicants they’re able to get in with sufficiently high test scores, I doubt it really is.</p>
<p>I’m curious, but what percentage of Alabama students get into at least one medical school? All I was able to find online was that Alabama students are typically admitted by medical schools which are in the south.</p>
<p>@Premed316, I’m glad to see you mentioned tutors. I believe that is a significant. My son is a college athlete and found a wide variety of academic support offered by schools. I’m sure at this stage of the recruiting process, you’ve already spent time with current players at each school. I would reach out to those that are pre-med, engineering, etc. and see how they’ve handled juggling D-1 athletics with competitive academics. It should give you a good idea of the kind of support you can expect - very important when you’re spending a lot of time on the road during your season. </p>