cal state u: pomona . san fran

[dia009]

another question of opinion since i don't have many people to talk to about this, since everyone i know r from my university, who all think we are the best.. blah bla.. so it's pointless to ask...
i'm pretty much deciding between going to cal poly pomona and sfsu at this point and leaning towards sfsu.i was wondering if anyone who goes to these two schools can offer some opinions about
1. academic learning envi of the pre-med classes
2. competition (perhaps both are similar?)
3. faculty involvment/ care.
4. pre-med advising
and anything else pre-med at these two schools since both schools tell me "oh.. we care soo much..don't u worry about it"

following are my current considerations, if anyone has any comment or additions?

cal poly pro:
cal poly is a good science school. close to my house. can live at home.
cal poly con:
-they don't seem to care about post bacs. that's the impression.
-pomona is a terrible town.
-u have to take "quantitave analysis" or biometrics or something in addition to gen chem and o chem... more classes than i need. -->

sfsu pro:
-i've lived in l.a forever, went to college at ucla.. i'm kind of tired of this perpetually hot and sunny place.
-people who went for post bac seem to like it.
-gen chem ii and o chem overlap, allow a biochem class in 2 years.
- i like walking cities... i hate drinving..
con:
- rent
- new city.. but it's kind of exciting though

money isn't that big of a deal here, but it is still a consideration.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[4theanimals]

well, I can't offer help to all your questions, but I can give you some info. I will be graduating from Cal Poly this spring. I am a pre-vet major not pre-med so I can't halp you so much there. I know that almost all the sciences I have taken have been great, higher level courses. The classes are pretty competitive as you have a lot of pre-vets and pre-meds in them. The exception - I am currently taking the 1 quarter Biochem class, it's a bit of joke. If you have the time I might suggest the year long series.

re: faculty. Overall, the quality of profs is pretty good. I have had some great and only a couple that made me want to throw them off a building. Most are very useful in office hours. I find office hours are generally underutilized so it's a good time to impress the profs if looking for a letter of rec.

The advisors in pre-vet are amazing. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the college of science. I do know that they have a pre-med advisor but I don't know anything about it.

Yes, Pomona the city is ugly. But the campus is somewhat an oasis in the middle of it. After all, it is an Ag school, so there are lots of green fields and cows, horses, etc. If your going to live at home the fact that the city of Pomona is ugly shouldn't matter too much.

Is post-bacc under open univeristy? I had a friend who was doing some of his pre-med pre reqs and it was a pain. He had the absolute lowest priority for classes. He would have to sit in a class for at least a week not knowing if he would actually be added. Now, I will say that depite that he seemed to get every class he needed. I think he made friends with professors before trying to get into their classes, so whatever works.

Hope that helps some. Let me know and I can try to help with other questions.

 

[dia009]

Thanks~
I applied for a 2nd bachelor...
Open u / extension sucks everywhere, unless u brown nose the professor before school.

well, I can't offer help to all your questions, but I can give you some info. I will be graduating from Cal Poly this spring. I am a pre-vet major not pre-med so I can't halp you so much there. I know that almost all the sciences I have taken have been great, higher level courses. The classes are pretty competitive as you have a lot of pre-vets and pre-meds in them. The exception - I am currently taking the 1 quarter Biochem class, it's a bit of joke. If you have the time I might suggest the year long series.

re: faculty. Overall, the quality of profs is pretty good. I have had some great and only a couple that made me want to throw them off a building. Most are very useful in office hours. I find office hours are generally underutilized so it's a good time to impress the profs if looking for a letter of rec.

The advisors in pre-vet are amazing. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the college of science. I do know that they have a pre-med advisor but I don't know anything about it.

Yes, Pomona the city is ugly. But the campus is somewhat an oasis in the middle of it. After all, it is an Ag school, so there are lots of green fields and cows, horses, etc. If your going to live at home the fact that the city of Pomona is ugly shouldn't matter too much.

Is post-bacc under open univeristy? I had a friend who was doing some of his pre-med pre reqs and it was a pain. He had the absolute lowest priority for classes. He would have to sit in a class for at least a week not knowing if he would actually be added. Now, I will say that depite that he seemed to get every class he needed. I think he made friends with professors before trying to get into their classes, so whatever works.

Hope that helps some. Let me know and I can try to help with other questions.

 

[Nasrudin]

I like sfsu. Its cheap (the tuition), i love S.F. The teaching quality is good. This area gets a lot of high quality lecturers from the premium grad schools in the area and the fact that a lot of talented people want to live here.

The competition is brisk at times but not like other schools I've heard about--Berkeley etc. Screw advising. What can they tell you that you can't figure out for yourself--that's just my opinion. The advising at this school is an overworked outfit with a few well-intentioned and nice people but don't expect any extra attention if your so inclined. Although they do have some enticing programs for minority science students if you fit that criteria.

Cal Poly probably has a stronger reputation but I don't consider reputation in my criteria--that's for people with fatter wallets. Sfsu will be a good experience for you if you come here most likely...that's about all I can say.