Best UC undergrad for med school, UCI, UCD, or UCSB?

[SDpredmed]

Hi all I am new here and I am in desperate need of some advice.

So I’m actually in my fourth year at community college (smh) and just finished my A.A. in Business. The reason it has taken me this long is because I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do and I thought that business was probably the best all around degree. I also worked part-time/on-call during most of these four years; sometimes I had no work at all and sometimes up to 40 hours a week (average of 25-30, most ever was 60), because the pay was Great and I just couldn’t refuse. I also moved out for a year and half and that definitely distracted me from my school work. Basically, I didn’t know what I wanted and even though I knew I needed a degree, I was not even serious during school (I remember even going high and hung over in the first couple of years). I still ended up getting about a 2.8 gpa around this time.

I knew I loved school though and I was going to want more than a bachelors degree and that made start thinking that if I’m going to do that much schooling, I might as well be a doctor. I found a girlfriend, stopped smoking and drinking, and moved back into my mom’s house. Now I want to major in Biochem – Molecular Biology, and I have raised my GPA to 3.1. Now I need to do 2 more years at cc before I can transfer and but I’m done with all my pre-reqs and I’m starting my first year of Chem, Calc and Bio this semester. It’s really hard for me to raise my GPA because I have 94 credits already but if I get straight As I can have just under a 3.3 by the end of this school year. I know it’s going to be hard but I’ve never gave it my all in school and this past semester I tried the most I Ever have in school and I managed to pull of a 3.6 taking trig, business calc, managerial accounting and music; I still think I only gave about 80% effort.

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving. I really wanted to go to UCSD but that is now out of the question since they raised their TAG requirements to 3.5 this year. I can still TAG to UCSB, UCI or UCD with a min 3.2 by the end of this year, which I know I can achieve, and if don’t, then I know I’m just not cut out to be a doctor. I don’t think it’s too early to be looking at schools and I’m already stressing about where I want to go. So I have been doing a lot of research recently and I’ve heard most of the pros and cons from each of these colleges.

UCSB:
Pros – Good location, nice campus, good social environment, so cal, most diverse of the three
Cons – Too much partying, no med school on campus (less opportunities for volunteer work?)

UCI –
Pros - Good research opportunities, med school on campus, best for molecular biology?, I could Possibly commute or at least not have to move far away from San Diego.
Cons – Older campus (I really don’t care what the campus looks like though), less diverse

UCD:
Pros– Best research of the three?, med school on campus, college town, good biology program
Cons – Very far from home,

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving.

I’ve read that “prestige” doesn’t really matter, and they are all ranked about the same anyways. I don’t care to party at all, I’ve been partying since high school and that’s why I am where I am now. I want to spend my most of time studying and making sure I get As so that by the time I am through I will have about a 3.5 gpa with a big upwards trend, which I think will get into a good med school, If I do well on the MCATs of course. I really want to focus on which school will best help me get into med school. Is there any advice anyone can give me? Is there anything I am missing? Has anyone gone/ is going through a similar decision? I think this is going to be one of the hardest decisions of my life, maybe until I have to decide which med school I go to. Anyways thanks for reading this super long post, I hope someone can guide me in the right direction.

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[911 Turbo]

Hi all I am new here and I am in desperate need of some advice.

So I’m actually in my fourth year at community college (smh) and just finished my A.A. in Business. The reason it has taken me this long is because I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do and I thought that business was probably the best all around degree. I also worked part-time/on-call during most of these four years; sometimes I had no work at all and sometimes up to 40 hours a week (average of 25-30, most ever was 60), because the pay was Great and I just couldn’t refuse. I also moved out for a year and half and that definitely distracted me from my school work. Basically, I didn’t know what I wanted and even though I knew I needed a degree, I was not even serious during school (I remember even going high and hung over in the first couple of years). I still ended up getting about a 2.8 gpa around this time.

I knew I loved school though and I was going to want more than a bachelors degree and that made start thinking that if I’m going to do that much schooling, I might as well be a doctor. I found a girlfriend, stopped smoking and drinking, and moved back into my mom’s house. Now I want to major in Biochem – Molecular Biology, and I have raised my GPA to 3.1. Now I need to do 2 more years at cc before I can transfer and but I’m done with all my pre-reqs and I’m starting my first year of Chem, Calc and Bio this semester. It’s really hard for me to raise my GPA because I have 94 credits already but if I get straight As I can have just under a 3.3 by the end of this school year. I know it’s going to be hard but I’ve never gave it my all in school and this past semester I tried the most I Ever have in school and I managed to pull of a 3.6 taking trig, business calc, managerial accounting and music; I still think I only gave about 80% effort.

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving. I really wanted to go to UCSD but that is now out of the question since they raised their TAG requirements to 3.5 this year. I can still TAG to UCSB, UCI or UCD with a min 3.2 by the end of this year, which I know I can achieve, and if don’t, then I know I’m just not cut out to be a doctor. I don’t think it’s too early to be looking at schools and I’m already stressing about where I want to go. So I have been doing a lot of research recently and I’ve heard most of the pros and cons from each of these colleges.

UCSB:
Pros – Good location, nice campus, good social environment, so cal, most diverse of the three
Cons – Too much partying, no med school on campus (less opportunities for volunteer work?)

UCI –
Pros - Good research opportunities, med school on campus, best for molecular biology?, I could Possibly commute or at least not have to move far away from San Diego.
Cons – Older campus (I really don’t care what the campus looks like though), less diverse

UCD:
Pros– Best research of the three?, med school on campus, college town, good biology program
Cons – Very far from home,

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving.

I’ve read that “prestige” doesn’t really matter, and they are all ranked about the same anyways. I don’t care to party at all, I’ve been partying since high school and that’s why I am where I am now. I want to spend my most of time studying and making sure I get As so that by the time I am through I will have about a 3.5 gpa with a big upwards trend, which I think will get into a good med school, If I do well on the MCATs of course. I really want to focus on which school will best help me get into med school. Is there any advice anyone can give me? Is there anything I am missing? Has anyone gone/ is going through a similar decision? I think this is going to be one of the hardest decisions of my life, maybe until I have to decide which med school I go to. Anyways thanks for reading this super long post, I hope someone can guide me in the right direction.

Is the bolded really a good enough reason for you?

 

[flatearth22]

UCI and it's not even close (srs).

 

[SexyDoctor]

Uci

 

[SDpredmed]

Venom5 - That's not the reason I want to be a doctor. I remember those where some of my firsts thoughts when I first even Considered it. When I was younger, I never considered it at all, probably because I though I would never make it 8 years in school. I've come to realize that I really love school, learning and the whole student environment and thinking that if I go through it all I will one day be successful, wherever I end up. I can't say "I've always wanted to be a doctor", but that's because I never knew what I wanted to be at all. I want to be a doctor so I can work hard try to make the most out of my potential and learn for the rest of my life and meet and help people a lot of people along the way.

 

[FattySlug]

UCI all the way, and not because I went there. UCD has an ok college town but it is pretty boring and in a NorCal and SoCal contest the winner is obvious. UCD is not better then UCI in research. Getting good research is mainly about being in the right lab at the right time.

I don't remember the precise reasons but before I transferred everybody told me not to go to UCSB.

Also there are lots of hot Asians in UCI; not that it matters but just throw it in there. There is a nice gym with a kickass outdoor pool. I hang out there to swim every chance I got.

 

[SDpredmed]

flatearth22 - What do you mean by (srs). Sorry, I'm new here so I don't understand all the lingo and acronyms yet.

 

[kenshin421]

Usually people debate whether UCD or UCI, both schools are great. Usually people from NorCal prefer UCD and viceversa. From what I noticed from past threads, UCD is a bit less competitive, while UCI has the better research opportunities. Both UC's are great for premed, just choose the campus you like better and focus on EC's and your GPA.

About UCI with Asians, we call it University of Chinese Immigrants or Under Chinese Invasion .

 

[flatearth22]

flatearth22 - What do you mean by (srs). Sorry, I'm new here so I don't understand all the lingo and acronyms yet.

serious

 

[nysw]

Either UCI or UCD, but because it's closer, UCI.
Good luck

 

[FattySlug]

About UCI with Asians, we call it University of Chinese Immigrants or Under Chinese Invasion .

That is a dumb thing to say since most of Chinese students who go there were born in the U.S.

 

[SDpredmed]

FattySlug - The only reason I thought UCD had better research is because I read that it gets more funding for research.
When you say that you have to be at the right place at the right time sounds kind of like I just need to get lucky about finding research opportunities. What if I'm just not lucky? I would like to think that if I search for opportunities, how ever hard it may be, I will find them. But I know life doesn't always work out that way.

 

[FattySlug]

FattySlug - The only reason I thought UCD had better research is because I read that it gets more funding for research.
When you say that you have to be at the right place at the right time sounds kind of like I just need to get lucky about finding research opportunities. What if I'm just not lucky? I would like to think that if I search for opportunities, how ever hard it may be, I will find them. But I know life doesn't always work out that way.

If you want to get some published paper you need to spend time researching the labs you want to join because going to a lab that does not frequently offer undergrad chances to do meaningful research will not get your name on a paper. It is hard to spot such labs that's why I said it's more about being in the right lab at the right time, at least that's how it is for most people.

You could switch lab after one quarter but then that would be a wasted quarter and for a transfer like you and me, one quarter is a lot. But don't be disappointed if you don't get published since not many people do.

 

[Propylene]

FattySlug - The only reason I thought UCD had better research is because I read that it gets more funding for research.
When you say that you have to be at the right place at the right time sounds kind of like I just need to get lucky about finding research opportunities. What if I'm just not lucky? I would like to think that if I search for opportunities, how ever hard it may be, I will find them. But I know life doesn't always work out that way.

I don't know much about Irvine, but Davis has student-run clinics that give you excellent clinical experience, and the biggest student-internship program out of all of the UCs. There are lots of opportunities there but I'm sure Irvine has some similar programs. Being close to home is nice for undergrad.

 

[apoptosis123]

UCI hands down. Tons of research opportunities. Most of the med school campus (where a lot of the research opportunities are) is brand new. I also turned down UCD because it was far from home.

 

[SDpredmed]

Thanks FattySlug that's definitely great advice that I will keep in mind.

As far as demographics go, it's not important to me because being Hispanic I will be a minority wherever I go.

I thought that UCI would be a good choice for me too. But I know being mid tier UCs they are all good schools, and I don't want to disregard UCD or UCSB and miss out.

 

[SDpredmed]

I think I'm relieved to hear a lot of people say UCI. Although I wouldn't reject a school because it's far and I would have to get out of my "comfort zone", I think staying close to home would be important to me.

 

[hatteapear]

Hi all I am new here and I am in desperate need of some advice.

So I’m actually in my fourth year at community college (smh) and just finished my A.A. in Business. The reason it has taken me this long is because I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do and I thought that business was probably the best all around degree. I also worked part-time/on-call during most of these four years; sometimes I had no work at all and sometimes up to 40 hours a week (average of 25-30, most ever was 60), because the pay was Great and I just couldn’t refuse. I also moved out for a year and half and that definitely distracted me from my school work. Basically, I didn’t know what I wanted and even though I knew I needed a degree, I was not even serious during school (I remember even going high and hung over in the first couple of years). I still ended up getting about a 2.8 gpa around this time.

I knew I loved school though and I was going to want more than a bachelors degree and that made start thinking that if I’m going to do that much schooling, I might as well be a doctor. I found a girlfriend, stopped smoking and drinking, and moved back into my mom’s house. Now I want to major in Biochem – Molecular Biology, and I have raised my GPA to 3.1. Now I need to do 2 more years at cc before I can transfer and but I’m done with all my pre-reqs and I’m starting my first year of Chem, Calc and Bio this semester. It’s really hard for me to raise my GPA because I have 94 credits already but if I get straight As I can have just under a 3.3 by the end of this school year. I know it’s going to be hard but I’ve never gave it my all in school and this past semester I tried the most I Ever have in school and I managed to pull of a 3.6 taking trig, business calc, managerial accounting and music; I still think I only gave about 80% effort.

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving. I really wanted to go to UCSD but that is now out of the question since they raised their TAG requirements to 3.5 this year. I can still TAG to UCSB, UCI or UCD with a min 3.2 by the end of this year, which I know I can achieve, and if don’t, then I know I’m just not cut out to be a doctor. I don’t think it’s too early to be looking at schools and I’m already stressing about where I want to go. So I have been doing a lot of research recently and I’ve heard most of the pros and cons from each of these colleges.

UCSB:
Pros – Good location, nice campus, good social environment, so cal, most diverse of the three
Cons – Too much partying, no med school on campus (less opportunities for volunteer work?)

UCI –
Pros - Good research opportunities, med school on campus, best for molecular biology?, I could Possibly commute or at least not have to move far away from San Diego.
Cons – Older campus (I really don’t care what the campus looks like though), less diverse

UCD:
Pros– Best research of the three?, med school on campus, college town, good biology program
Cons – Very far from home,

So would really like to hear some advice. Counselors at my school are useless for advice and I cant even talk to my girlfriend about his because she doesn’t want to hear anything about me moving.

I’ve read that “prestige” doesn’t really matter, and they are all ranked about the same anyways. I don’t care to party at all, I’ve been partying since high school and that’s why I am where I am now. I want to spend my most of time studying and making sure I get As so that by the time I am through I will have about a 3.5 gpa with a big upwards trend, which I think will get into a good med school, If I do well on the MCATs of course. I really want to focus on which school will best help me get into med school. Is there any advice anyone can give me? Is there anything I am missing? Has anyone gone/ is going through a similar decision? I think this is going to be one of the hardest decisions of my life, maybe until I have to decide which med school I go to. Anyways thanks for reading this super long post, I hope someone can guide me in the right direction.

I would go with UCSB. UCSB is known as the undergraduate university which means that they have very little graduate students there which means that undergraduates have more chances to work directly with amazing professors. Professors at UCSB really want to work with undergraduates so you'd have opportunities to do research directly with the professors, rather than working under graduate students as you would at most schools. Also there is a lot of great opportunities for medical volunteering, such as the CCE program.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

UC Irvine is essentially a premedical campus, and all the students know it

 

[SDpredmed]

hatteapear - Thanks, that's definitely something I did not know or even considered anything similar.

I figured there has to be some medical volunteer work available. But my concern is that there are less opportunities and that is harder to actually get into the programs. ?

 

[ncrassa]

Yup. UCI.

 

[csmittyB]

UCD:
Pros– Best research of the three?, med school on campus, college town, good biology program
Cons – Very far from home,

The med school and med center aren't on the UCD UG campus. They're in Sacramento. Its not that far away if you have your own car. I think there is a bus that runs right to UCDMC. Not sure if this has any impact on your decision.

 

[tohsimas135]

Actually, at UCD the med campus is now in Sacramento, separate from the undergrad campus. They have a shuttle that goes there, or you could drive, but it's not suuuper convenient. Dunno what it's like at UCI. Edit: nvm, looks like I was beaten to the punch.

 

[indianjatt]

UC Davis all the way. Current undergraduate here and I love it (message me with specific questions). Honestly, I don't think UCD is less competitive than UCI. The competition here is pretty rough. I know 3 people personally who have already changed their mind about medical school because it was too hard for them.

There are many resources here: lots of on-campus labs, many, many more opportunities in SAC at the UCD med center, student run clinics, tutoring, etc. there are basically endless resources. (obviously slightly biased, but nonetheless it's a GREAT school. )

 

[KindofBlue]

I think Davis is a good school, but the city really sucks.
It's surrounded by fields and bunch of nothing, and you have pretty much nothing to do other than going to the bar, target, or In N Out. You can go to Sacramento, but that city is pretty s***ty; the people, the buildings, the air, the weather..
Weather in Davis isn't much better either as it is only 15 minutes away from Sac. They're pretty much inland cities, so in the summer (although you'll probably be going back to So-cal) triple digit temps are not uncommon.

I live in Nor Cal but if I had a choice, I'd go to UCI, if the surroundings matter to you at all.

 

[SDpredmed]

The proximity of the surrounding med schools isn't much of a concern for me. I'll have car and I'm used to having to commute at least a small distance right now. Currently, my school is 15 min from where I live and when I work it's about 30-60 min depending on traffic

I'm prepared to have to adapt somewhat to wherever I do end up. If I go to Davis it's good to know that it's a college town and I'll probably end up living as close to campus as possible. If I go to Irvine, I will probably end up moving somewhere between there and San Diego. I've been living the "college life" long enough at home and with my friends, so I won't feel like I'm missing out if I don't live near campus.

 

[SDpredmed]

Also, I wouldn't mind and would probably prefer if where I go is little more competitive than the others. I don't want to go to med school unprepared.

 

[hatteapear]

hatteapear - Thanks, that's definitely something I did not know or even considered anything similar.

I figured there has to be some medical volunteer work available. But my concern is that there are less opportunities and that is harder to actually get into the programs. ?

Because UCSB doesn't have tons of pre-meds there are plenty of positions to go around! I know when I applied for my internship, everyone who applied got in, and literally the first professor I e-mailed about research invited me to work in her lab.

On the partying side, it is definitely present but you don't have to be part of it if you don't want to be. Apart from partying Isla Vista has a lot of great culture if you get involved with places like the food co-op or a lot of the local music scene. I know on the last weekend I was there most of my time was spent surfing, hiking, listing to some folk bands, and having a barbeque potluck on the cliffs next to the ocean. On the other hand, I could have walked down the street a couple blocks and gone to a hundred loud dance parties if I wanted, but it was fairly easy to ignore if I didn't want to.

P.S. my research lab was on the tip of a peninsula and had a 240* view of the ocean... just saying

 

[SDpredmed]

indianjatt - I believe it is a GREAT school, that's why the decision is so hard! The student-run clinics also sound appealing to me.

hatteapear - Knowing that you can stay away from all the partying is good to know. I've never been up there but I've heard it gets pretty crazy.
"my research lab was on the tip of a peninsula and had a 240* view of the ocean... just saying" Wow, being from San Diego I love being near the beach/ocean and this would definitely be a big plus!

 

[SDpredmed]

Thank you Everybody who has replied so far! This has been a Big help to me!

So for now, I think I'm going to look at UCI with a little more interest than the rest. Hearing most of you say UCI would be the best for my situation helped a lot in reassuring what I already thought. I was really disappointed when I found out that UCSD was not going to be an option for me, but now knowing that UCI will also have a good program for my major, have volunteer work and research available, and is also the closest to SD is big relief! I already had an idea of this but I really wanted to consider both UCD and UCSB. Again, thanks for everybody's comments! I'll definitely be sticking around the SDN forums

 

[JESSFALLING]

UCD & UCSB both have max unit limitations which might impair you. (Don't know if UCI does??) I'd look into how all three handle this and factor it into your decision.

As for which I would choose...probably UCI or UCSB for location! UCD gets hot as hell around summer time! You might want to also consider applying to a few privates (American Jewish University comes to mind. They have a "Natural Science and Bioethics" major that's a hidden gem!...you get 20 hrs/week experience at Cider Sinai during your sr. year... and you don't have to be Jewish to apply! Their grads have gone to HMS, JHU, and UCLA!) and UCSD/UCLA...you never know!

 

[FattySlug]

UC Davis is the superior campus and the rankings show it. Most people that go to Davis love their experience there. What's so great about UCI? It's the UCLA/UCSD rejection school.

Likewise UC Davis could be considered UC Berkeley/Stanford rejection school.

 

[Chunkle]

Because UCSB doesn't have tons of pre-meds there are plenty of positions to go around! I know when I applied for my internship, everyone who applied got in, and literally the first professor I e-mailed about research invited me to work in her lab.

On the partying side, it is definitely present but you don't have to be part of it if you don't want to be. Apart from partying Isla Vista has a lot of great culture if you get involved with places like the food co-op or a lot of the local music scene. I know on the last weekend I was there most of my time was spent surfing, hiking, listing to some folk bands, and having a barbeque potluck on the cliffs next to the ocean. On the other hand, I could have walked down the street a couple blocks and gone to a hundred loud dance parties if I wanted, but it was fairly easy to ignore if I didn't want to.

P.S. my research lab was on the tip of a peninsula and had a 240* view of the ocean... just saying

Same here. First professor I emailed offered me a position. There is no competition for research/tutoring/clinical volunteering etc.. I got into all the UCs, picked SB because it gave me a ocean side view my freshman year, the most relaxed atmosphere, and the least amount of gunner Asians. To each his own I guess.

Davis gave a relaxing feel too, but the area turned me down.

Irvine in my opinion was an inferior school if you compare location and health related volunteering opportunities. The beach isn't a 5 minute walk, and there are too many pre-meds, not enough volunteering spots.

Opinions here are rather trivial anyways. You need to visit the schools, all three feels different. Go to the one that feel the best to you regardless of rankings. The one you feel best at is the one you will thrive in.

 

[JESSFALLING]

Same here. First professor I emailed offered me a position. There is no competition for research/tutoring/clinical volunteering etc.. I got into all the UCs, picked SB because it gave me a ocean side view my freshman year, the most relaxed atmosphere, and the least amount of gunner Asians. To each his own I guess.

Davis gave a relaxing feel too, but the area turned me down.

Irvine in my opinion was an inferior school if you compare location and health related volunteering opportunities. The beach isn't a 5 minute walk, and there are too many pre-meds, not enough volunteering spots.

Opinions here are rather trivial anyways. You need to visit the schools, all three feels different. Go to the one that feel the best to you regardless of rankings. The one you feel best at is the one you will thrive in.

Great advice. If I could do it all over again I would have gone to UCSC...love that school!

 

[FattySlug]

A lot of people in NorCal want to go to Davis and don't even apply to Stanford. Berkeley rejects usually go to UCLA or UCSD.

LOL source?

 

[obgyny]

UCI!!! But I'm a little biased (if you couldn't tell from my avatar)... I went to UCI for undergrad and now I'm going to UCI for medical school . Tons of research and volunteer opportunities. If you have any questions, let me know .

Irvine in my opinion was an inferior school if you compare location and health related volunteering opportunities. The beach isn't a 5 minute walk, and there are too many pre-meds, not enough volunteering spots.

There are LOTS of hospitals around here and LOTS of volunteer opportunities. Hoag hospital is competitive to get into because every premed goes for it. But there are so many other hospitals, clinics, health clubs, etc. I had absolutely no problems finding opportunities. The hard part was choosing between them!

And no, the beach isn't a 5 min walk, but it's still close.

 

[obgyny]

UCI –
Pros - Good research opportunities, med school on campus, best for molecular biology?, I could Possibly commute or at least not have to move far away from San Diego.
Cons – Older campus (I really don't care what the campus looks like though), less diverse

Isn't UCI the newest campus out of the 3?

 

[DrAnteater]

A lot of people in NorCal want to go to Davis and don't even apply to Stanford. Berkeley rejects usually go to UCLA or UCSD.

UCLA has a lower acceptance rate than Berkeley, genius.

 

[obgyny]

.

Love the username .

 

[frescoengano]

UCD & UCSB both have max unit limitations which might impair you. (Don't know if UCI does??) I'd look into how all three handle this and factor it into your decision.

As for which I would choose...probably UCI or UCSB for location! UCD gets hot as hell around summer time! You might want to also consider applying to a few privates (American Jewish University comes to mind. They have a "Natural Science and Bioethics" major that's a hidden gem!...you get 20 hrs/week experience at Cider Sinai during your sr. year... and you don't have to be Jewish to apply! Their grads have gone to HMS, JHU, and UCLA!) and UCSD/UCLA...you never know!

when i went to ucsb the max units was 22 (quarter system)... that's like 6 classes...

you can petition to have more, but i wouldn't recommend it.

go to uci (more asian chicks) or ucsb (more white chicks)

 

[PlacentaSac]

I would like say that all three UC's are great schools and you really can't go wrong with any of them. With that said

Point (1)
Both UCSB and UCD are tied at #39 for best National University Ranking (US News) and both are ranked higher than UCI.

Point (2)
Take this with a grain of salt, but there are more students at my medical school from UCSB and UCD than from UCI. (I only know of one). This doesn't really prove anything per say, but it is an interesting fact none the less. Please don't read into this point.

Point (3)
I went to UCSB and it is my recommendation. Go Gauchos!!

But seriously, go to whichever school you feel is the best fit for you. Ultimately the difference between the three is so small that the only thing that is really going to matter is what grades you get at the school you end up choosing.

 

[DrAnteater]

I would like say that all three UC's are great schools and you really can't go wrong with any of them. With that said

Point (1)
Both UCSB and UCD are tied at #39 for best National University Ranking (US News) and both are ranked higher than UCI.

Point (2)
Take this with a grain of salt, but there are more students at my medical school from UCSB and UCD than from UCI. (I only know of one). This doesn't really prove anything per say, but it is an interesting fact none the less. Please don't read into this point.

Point (3)
I went to UCSB and it is my recommendation. Go Gauchos!!

But seriously, go to whichever school you feel is the best fit for you. Ultimately the difference between the three is so small that the only thing that is really going to matter is what grades you get at the school you end up choosing.

Then you probably go to a low-ranked med school.

 

[giggle]

I think this is going to be one of the hardest decisions of my life, maybe until I have to decide which med school I go to.

Relax, OP. Just pick a location you like, and do really well there. That's all that matters. (Though, I gotta say I haven't heard much about the bio program at UCSB. They also don't have a med school. So I'd personally go for UCI or UCD.)

 

[PlacentaSac]

Then you probably go to a low-ranked med school.

Don't hate...Congratulate!

But I don't want you to think medical schools are rejecting you this cycle because you go to UCI, they will be rejecting you because your a smug A-hole. Just thought you should know.

 

[rHinO1]

Things worth considering when selecting a school:

1.) How happy will you be at this school? This is most important.

2.) After reviewing courses in several majors, which school offers the major you will be most interested in? If you like your courses, then you are more likely to do better. Therefore, you will have a better chance at getting a competitive GPA for medical school, and you will likely be happier.

3.) Proximity of the school to your support system (family, gf, friends, etc.).

4.) Cost of living, this is particularly important if you are paying your own way, living off loans, or your family is going to struggle to support you.


Things that you should ignore:

1.) People claiming their school is superior to make themselves feel better. Many people like to think their journey to medical school (or through life) was superior or more challenging than everyone elses.

 

[DrAnteater]

UC Berkeley accepts a higher number of OOS folks. In addition, UC Berkeley accepts students just for fall at a lower rate than UCLA. The figure of 24% going around is students accepted to both fall and spring. UCLA only accepts in the fall.

Maybe a little bit more research before commenting?

wtf ru talking about? the people who get accepted for spring did not actually apply for spring admission, it wasnt their choice that they were accepted for spring instead of normal fall admission. we are talking about total number applied and total accepted. period. UCLA has a lower acceptance rate. have a nice day.