Which undergraduate school should I go to ?

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khan786

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I am four years away from joining a medical school, however, at this stage I have been admitted into three universities and I would like your opinion on which school is better.

University of Washington - in state
New York University
UC San Diego
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In state would probably be cheaper for you, but San Diego is so awesomeeeee and gorgeoussssss :p. Ok, maybe I'm biased because I'm from San Diego, who knows. UCSD has a great rep, I don't know much about the other two hehe :(
 
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Aidan said:
In state would probably be cheaper for you, but San Diego is so awesomeeeee and gorgeoussssss :p. Ok, maybe I'm biased because I'm from San Diego, who knows. UCSD has a great rep, I don't know much about the other two hehe :(
Click to expand...
All 3 have a good rep....Udub for the win.
 
what happened to your name!
 
I recommend UCSD. UCSD is highly respected by medical schools. The sciences are highly competitive and if you can make it through the the early courses, your chances for medical school are excellent.

I graduated from there and at my graduation ceremony, the chancellor reported that UCSD had the highest acceptance rate to medical school for any public university.
 
I'm a fan of nyu. high acceptance rate to med school for those who end up applying. I know 3 nyu grads who are currently harvard med first years.
 
Wylde said:
what happened to your name!
Click to expand...
I dont know what your talking about...


Op...all 3 univ are highly respected and will prepare you well...Maybe NYU and UCSD have a little more respect, but its not worth the OOS tuition.
 
khan786 said:
I am four years away from joining a medical school, however, at this stage I have been admitted into three universities and I would like your opinion on which school is better.

University of Washington - in state
New York University
UC San Diego
Click to expand...

Your chance at getting in to medical school will be pretty much the same from all of these schools. I would pick UW, because it's your state school.

However, as a current UCSD student, I'm obliged to say that your chances of finding EC and (paid) research opportunities at UCSD are hard to beat. The Salk Institute, Burnham Institute, Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), and UCSD itself are like four campuses all within walking distance. Additionally, the first three do not have undergrads, so the spoils are all yours (the Salk takes only UCSD grad and undergrad students). Proximity of Pfizer and about 20+ spin-off biotech companies in La Jolla + UTC do not hurt either.

As far as 'clinical' stuff, there are three hospitals within walking distance from the main campus (Thornton, VA, Scripps La Jolla). The UCSD Hillcrest shuttle comes every 30 mins and takes you to Hillcrest (beautiful downtown SD) which has three more hospitals (Hillcrest, Scripps Memorial, and SHARP) in addition to literally 100+ small private practices (I shadow a urologist here).

As for the campus itself, you will need to come by to see for yourself. We now have the Price center expansion, and for the first time in 40 years, UCSD has a 'campus center' comparable to, if not better than, UCLA's Ackerman Union and Kerckhoff Hall. UCSD is very pre-meddy, so if you're planning on being a hardcore pre-med, you'll fit in perfectly.

I would still pick UW if I was in your shoes ...:rolleyes:.
 
i cant tell you what to do, but what i would choose is

first)NYU-Highest ranked out of the three. Great Dorms and an AMAZING city! in the village on top of that! NYC is one of the few places that live up to the hype. But it is expensive and they are rather stingy with aid.

second)U Dub-its a great school in a great metropolitan city. Seattle is amazing, despite the rain. Also, Football and Basketball are pac-10 if you are into sports. Larger school pride because of it.

3rd) UC San Diego. Its a great school, but its tough and competitive. You are not going to get any preference from their med school as an alum. Sand Diego is great, but the school is not in SD. its in La Jolla, which is full of older people. Best weather out of the three. Low school spirit.
 
mdmarty said:
Your chance at getting in to medical school will be pretty much the same from all of these schools. I would pick UW, because it's your state school.

However, as a current UCSD student, I'm obliged to say that your chances of finding EC and (paid) research opportunities at UCSD are hard to beat. The Salk Institute, Burnham Institute, Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), and UCSD itself are like four campuses all within walking distance. Additionally, the first three do not have undergrads, so the spoils are all yours (the Salk takes only UCSD grad and undergrad students). Proximity of Pfizer and about 20+ spin-off biotech companies in La Jolla + UTC do not hurt either.

As far as 'clinical' stuff, there are three hospitals within walking distance from the main campus (Thornton, VA, Scripps La Jolla). The UCSD Hillcrest shuttle comes every 30 mins and takes you to Hillcrest (beautiful downtown SD) which has three more hospitals (Hillcrest, Scripps Memorial, and SHARP) in addition to literally 100+ small private practices (I shadow a urologist here).

As for the campus itself, you will need to come by to see for yourself. We now have the Price center expansion, and for the first time in 40 years, UCSD has a 'campus center' comparable to, if not better than, UCLA's Ackerman Union and Kerckhoff Hall. UCSD is very pre-meddy, so if you're planning on being a hardcore pre-med, you'll fit in perfectly.

I would still pick UW if I was in your shoes ...:rolleyes:.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

UCSD is great and NYU is cool but In-State at an excellent state school is the wise choice.
 
UW.

Harborview has a pretty nifty volunteering department.

The culture is the obnoxious green-idealistic hippie bull**** that's rampant on college campuses, but the professors and sciencey people aren't nearly as bad. Neither are real people in Seattle.

The science programs are pretty good. The engineering programs are good.

Can't beat 7k instate tuition either.
 
I graduated from UW not too long ago. The UW has a lot of good things going for you:

In-state tuition, wih a four-year total that might be cheaper than one year at UCSD or NYU.
Great research in just about any subject you can think of.
Clinical opportunities at the UW, Harborview, or other clinics in the region.

At the same time, it is a fairly large campus, most science classes are 200+ (freshman classes can be 400+), and it can be easy to be sucked into anonymity if you're not careful. But, I'm guessing this might be a similar situation to a lot of other places.

Overall, all three places will provide you the similar opportunities and experiences, slightly varying due to location. All three will give you a good chance to get into med school. Out of high school, I had a similar decision to make as you, and I had a pretty decent time at UW and I'm satisfied with my decision.
 
Thanks so much for all of your advice! I see everyone's point about going to UW since it is in state and also a good school. However, I am from California and wanted to go to to UCB or UCLA but I was not accepted. I also would have a greater advantage in getting into a California medical school if I were in CA. Also, if I want to go to the east coast for medical school, I think that UCSD may hold more weight than UW. Am I right?
I know these schools have a lot of regional appeal so I am worried that east coast schools won't recognize them. The more I have been researching, the more I have realized that UCSD is great for pre med and I am really lucky that I got in out of state. So, with these things in mind I am leaning towards UCSD.
 
UDub all the way

Frat parties + Pac 10 football = can't be beat
 
Udub, cause they probably like their own for medschool and Udub is an awesome medschool.

Besides, as an NYC resident, I can tell you for a fact that NYU is the singlemost overrated school in the world. Save the money, go to Udub.
 
u-dubb:thumbup:

in-state tuition. if you're serious about med-school, you'll want to save as much money in u-grad as possible. esp if you're a strong student, and place into a science-department major, scholarships are relatively easy to get.

but essentially, it doesn't matter which school you decide to attend-- good luck to you & your pre-med path =)
 
khan786 said:
I am four years away from joining a medical school, however, at this stage I have been admitted into three universities and I would like your opinion on which school is better.

University of Washington - in state
New York University
UC San Diego
Click to expand...

I think there's value in going to a school that's not in your state, in terms of personal growth, showing you are capable of moving anywhere, etc. Money aside I would pick NYU hands down--the reputation, the city (the city), and all the opportunities that come with that. Having said that financial aid there really does suck.

Since you are already a resident of WA, there's no need to go to school there undergrad to guarantee acceptance for med school. They understand that many of their best are going to be attracted to other schools for undergrad, and I know quite a few undergrads from WA who went to my east coast school and got back into UW for med school (after all the med school's rep is a lot better than the undergrad's rep, and that will be enough for many to matriculate there). I feel like in the east coast, more of the "common" people recognize UCSD than UW, but I don't know if that translates to east coast medical adcoms.
 
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