Any negative thoughts or rumors about UC SAN DIEGO?

[BjOrKnRaDiOhEaD]

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hey guys,

i was just curious if anyone had heard any negative comments or rumors about uc san diego......i havent heard of any, so i was just curious

thanks

 

[jlee9531]

ucsd is nice.

they have a required thesis from what this guy i met that goes there tells me but its not relegated to only science. so i think i would enjoy that. however i wont even have to worry since they rejected me 😉

my friend interviewed there back in january and she had nothing but nice things to say about it as well.

 

[coachB]

i think if you do a search you will find plenty. but like anything you read here, take it for what it's worth.

 

[Newquagmire]

they complain about a high number of lecture hours, but i'm not sure it's any more than other schools with traditional curriculums

 

[Jalby]

For summary:
thesis requirement
32-36 hours of class a week
They used to meet 2-3 saterdays during first year, but I heard yesterday they don't do this anymore.
Honors/Pass/Fail with only the top 10% (might be 15%) of the class getting honors

If you do a search for UCSD and bad, you'll come up with a lot of stuff. I'd worry more about this after your interview.

 

[genome25]

its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego! not much to do in la jolla (very conservative rich neighborhood...) but drive a little out to cheaper housing, fun bars/clubs and better beaches. the beaches right by school don't get that nice and hot (only few days in summer). but this is more about the location than the school...

 

[Jalby]

Here is a good thread from a UCSD 2nd year who goes through tons of questions. The best positive thread on UCSD I've seen on here and very informative.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68946

And it is 10% of the class who gets honors, not 15%.

 

[finnpipette]

the lecture hours really isn't that bad...it's like most schools. don't have to go to all of the lectures, they hand out extensive syllibi (sp?).

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by finnpipette
the lecture hours really isn't that bad...it's like most schools.

That's out and out wrong. I don't know of any other school that has 32-36 hours class a week.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98172

 

[Eraserhead]

I was 100% convinced UCSD was amazing and the almost perfect place for me until I read about it on SDN... I left my interview day bouncing off the walls and ready to sign the check... but now I'm not so sure... I don't think its a horrible place by any means but I don't think its the best choice for everyone. Personally, I have trouble sitting in a lecture hall all day and wouldn't feel comfortable skipping many lectures and swimming on my own. I think the PBL based curriculum is more for me, where its designed for you to have to swim on your own a bit and cut out the less important lecture hours. Also, I don't want there to be an honors category at the school I choose and if there is, I don't want there to be pressure and much notice given to who is competing for the honors. I know I won't be. At UCSD, the students didn't seem that much different from premeds in this respect... whereas at other schools people had let the dog eat dog competitive nature go and that was a breath of fresh air for me. I hated Berkeley for this reason...

If I didn't have any other choices, I wouldn't worry about it, but since I do I think I'm being more picky than I have to be... but being happy for 4 years is more important to me than a school having cutting edge research (yawn....).

 

[Eraserhead]

But anyway, since this is up here, I'd still like to hear from more UCSD students... my tour guides were cool anyway 🙂

 

[Nutmeg]

Originally posted by genome25
its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego! not much to do in la jolla (very conservative rich neighborhood...) but drive a little out to cheaper housing, fun bars/clubs and better beaches. the beaches right by school don't get that nice and hot (only few days in summer). but this is more about the location than the school...

😕 I'm so baffled by this, I don't know how to respond, except to just say I disagree entirely.

 

[eyeful]

Originally posted by Jalby
For summary:
thesis requirement
32-36 hours of class a week
They used to meet 2-3 saterdays during first year, but I heard yesterday they don't do this anymore.
Honors/Pass/Fail with only the top 10% (might be 15%) of the class getting honors

If you do a search for UCSD and bad, you'll come up with a lot of stuff. I'd worry more about this after your interview.

Why are you always accentuating the negative on all the schools that rejected you?

BTW, its spelled SATURDAY.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by eyeful
Why are you always accentuating the negative on all the schools that rejected you?

BTW, its spelled SATURDAY.

You'll notice I also bumped up what I think is the most informative post on UCSD which is very good. The OP asked for the negatives and I summarized the main ones.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Everyone needs to get off of Jalby's nuts. He's a helpful guy!

 

[dentate_gyrus]

its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego!



Say what you will about the lecture hours, but slamming the weather and location is just strange. The "fun" neighborhoods are a whole 2 exits down the I5. The school even runs a shuttle on weekends to pick up the drunks and bring them back to campus. Their are no less than 4 excellent surf locales within a 5 minute drive from the school. The fog burns off by 11AM like clockwork leaving sun all day until sunset. And the reason the beaches don't get hot is because the temperature is almost always 65-75 degrees, even in the "dead" of winter. I haven't worn a jacket in years unless it rains.
I moved from NorCal and my biggest complaint is that I have to wear sunglasses constantly when I am outside.

 

[Eraserhead]

LMAO...

Originally posted by dentate_gyrus
its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego!



Say what you will about the lecture hours, but slamming the weather and location is just strange. The "fun" neighborhoods are a whole 2 exits down the I5. The school even runs a shuttle on weekends to pick up the drunks and bring them back to campus. Their are no less than 4 excellent surf locales within a 5 minute drive from the school. The fog burns off by 11AM like clockwork leaving sun all day until sunset. And the reason the beaches don't get hot is because the temperature is almost always 65-75 degrees, even in the "dead" of winter. I haven't worn a jacket in years unless it rains.
I moved from NorCal and my biggest complaint is that I have to wear sunglasses constantly when I am outside.

 

[Nutmeg]

Originally posted by dentate_gyrus
its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego!



Say what you will about the lecture hours, but slamming the weather and location is just strange. The "fun" neighborhoods are a whole 2 exits down the I5. The school even runs a shuttle on weekends to pick up the drunks and bring them back to campus. Their are no less than 4 excellent surf locales within a 5 minute drive from the school. The fog burns off by 11AM like clockwork leaving sun all day until sunset. And the reason the beaches don't get hot is because the temperature is almost always 65-75 degrees, even in the "dead" of winter. I haven't worn a jacket in years unless it rains.
I moved from NorCal and my biggest complaint is that I have to wear sunglasses constantly when I am outside.

Thanks. I didn't know how to put it.

 

[supersunny]

Originally posted by dentate_gyrus
its foggy la jolla and not sunny san diego!



Say what you will about the lecture hours, but slamming the weather and location is just strange. The "fun" neighborhoods are a whole 2 exits down the I5. The school even runs a shuttle on weekends to pick up the drunks and bring them back to campus. Their are no less than 4 excellent surf locales within a 5 minute drive from the school. The fog burns off by 11AM like clockwork leaving sun all day until sunset. And the reason the beaches don't get hot is because the temperature is almost always 65-75 degrees, even in the "dead" of winter. I haven't worn a jacket in years unless it rains.
I moved from NorCal and my biggest complaint is that I have to wear sunglasses constantly when I am outside.

i would hand you a clappy smiley for this but it looks too creepy 👍

 

[celticmists18]

THE TRUTH ABOUT UCSD FROM AN UNDERGRAD ALUMNI:
first, the weather: its california people, the weather is nice (and I'm comparing it to the only other place I have live, northern california)
second, if you have interviewed there and liked it (aka, had a good gut feeling) don't listen to what anyone else is saying, eveyone has there own spin on things what matters is what YOU thought.
third, I hung out with a bunch of the med students and they seemed to be a generally happy lot. you have to work, but this is med school people its true everywhere!

 

[Eraserhead]

all i can get out of ucsd people is "you have to work hard anywhere" or "its not that hard" or "we do have SOME spare time..."... etc.

i'm just wondering why the feedback is not as positive as it is at other schools.

Originally posted by celticmists18
THE TRUTH ABOUT UCSD FROM AN UNDERGRAD ALUMNI:
first, the weather: its california people, the weather is nice (and I'm comparing it to the only other place I have live, northern california)
second, if you have interviewed there and liked it (aka, had a good gut feeling) don't listen to what anyone else is saying, eveyone has there own spin on things what matters is what YOU thought.
third, I hung out with a bunch of the med students and they seemed to be a generally happy lot. you have to work, but this is med school people its true everywhere!