csu vs uc

[Postictal Raiden]

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hi SDNers,

I am currently in a situation where I need to decide whether to transfer to a CSU or to a UC. I know that earning a degree from a UC is more impressive than earning it from a CSU. However, due to the student- instructor ratio at CSUs, I believe I will receive a better quality of education there.

I really want to transfer to a CSU because I want to maintain my 3.4 gpa, and because it is much cheaper than attending a UC. On the other hand, I am affraid that attending a CSU will hinder my chances of making it to a medical school.

I would really appreciate insights from anyone, and especially from those who attended CSU and made it to med schools.

 

[MossPoh]

I think you are nitpicking a bit. You'll be best where you are happiest. The school really doesn't matter that much. Adcoms have more to do than keep track of the educational quality at every school across the country. There are people here that went to schools with 2000 people or less. Don't sweat the small stuff and go where you are happiest.

 

[cyclohexanol]

hi SDNers,

I am currently in a situation where I need to decide whether to transfer to a CSU or to a UC. I know that earning a degree from a UC is more impressive than earning it from a CSU. However, due to the student- instructor ratio at CSUs, I believe I will receive a better quality of education there.

I really want to transfer to a CSU because I want to maintain my 3.4 gpa, and because it is much cheaper than attending a UC. On the other hand, I am affraid that attending a CSU will hinder my chances of making it to a medical school.

I would really appreciate insights from anyone, and especially from those who attended CSU and made it to med schools.

You'll be fine. I graduated from CSULB in 05. All of my classmates who were applying to medical school got in and are doing well.

 

[waitwhat]

It doesn't matter where you go to school. I attended a CSU, Cal Poly Pomona, and in some aspects its actually ranked higher that some UC's i.e. Engineering, Hotel and Resturant Management. But its up there with the other Cal Poly, the other CSU's are ranked lower.

However, this doesn't matter when applying to medical school nor does your major. From my school alone, in my my major, we have people going everywhere for med MD and DO Touro, Western, USC, UCLA, UCSF, Cornell, Georgetown, etc. We also have had a fair amount get into top Ph.D programs (Yale, UCSD, UCLA, Berkeley, etc.)

What matters most is succeeding your pre-req's and and MCAT as well as having some significant extracurriculars, strong LOR's, and a solid essay. If you're worried about the quality of education, the material learned is standard. OChem is OChem wherever you go and the same for physics, bio, etc. Competiton may be a little higher in the UC's but as far as material learned its what you make of it. Class size at the CSU is also smaller so the professor will know your name instead of being a number.

I'm not preaching for CSU's but I just want to illustrate the fact that if you are set on medical school, the name of your school is far down on the totem pole.

On a side note, they just established a new program at Cal Poly Pomona which is a linkage with Western COMP (DO) and they have a guranteed number of spots for qualified Cal Poly Pomona students.

Hope that helps.

waitwhat out.

 

[ringhal]

I can tell you as a former member of a medical school admissions committee that your choice of undergrad is very much a factor in your application. People who say otherwise have no experience with screening applications to medical school, giving interviews or the discussions that determine the final vote.

Is it the sole factor? No. It can definitely be a deciding factor if your application is borderline. And I can guarantee that long-time admissions folks in CA know about the differences between the UC schools and the Cal State schools. That being said, my medical school class ran the gamut from several CSU's to Harvard to even Julliard.

It is certainly not my place to advise you to transfer, but I feel you should be correctly informed that in some cases it does matter.

 

[MossPoh]

It is dependent on school. I know people that were on a adcoms at other schools that told me it made no difference, excluding the most obscure of schools or community colleges. (I also have friends that work full time in admissions) Some schools might factor it in more than others. Of course if all is held equal then the person that went to a highly regarded school will get chosen over some podunk place for an interview but I think post interview there really isn't much of a difference. They either like you or they don't.

 

[NonTradDO]

CSU sounds a lot better than UC in terms of price and class size. I'd go CSU!

 

[hoopstaahh22]

what you also need to take into consideration is the quarter vs. semester system. if i remember correctly, all the uc's (with exception to uc berkeley) are on the quarter system. most csu's have the traditional two semesters (i think the cal poly's may be on the quarter system...at least slo is). which type suites your learning style better. if you have always been a semester student, it will take some adjustments to the quarter system...it can be a lot faster depending on the professor.

i agree that the uc's have a better reputation than csu's (with exception to uc merced bc it's so new). so if you have your sights set on harvard or john's hopkins or any other high tierd md school, then you may have a better shot at a uc (not to say you can't get in if you went to a csu, but a uc may "look better"). if you don't care about that then go to a csu...you will save money and the classes are smaller, and since we will be taking out massive amounts of $$$ for med school, i would want to keep my undergrad debt to a minimum.

i think csu's are great schools (my entire family graduated from csu's), but that stigma that uc's are better will always be around. just like the stigmas about community colleges. just do your best and forget the rest!

 

[hoopstaahh22]

what you also need to take into consideration is the quarter vs. semester system. if i remember correctly, all the uc's (with exception to uc berkeley) are on the quarter system. most csu's have the traditional two semesters (i think the cal poly's may be on the quarter system...at least slo is). which type suites your learning style better. if you have always been a semester student, it will take some adjustments to the quarter system...it can be a lot faster depending on the professor.

i agree that the uc's have a better reputation than csu's (with exception to uc merced bc it's so new). so if you have your sights set on harvard or john's hopkins or any other high tierd md school, then you may have a better shot at a uc (not to say you can't get in if you went to a csu, but a uc may "look better"). if you don't care about that then go to a csu...you will save money and the classes are smaller, and since we will be taking out massive amounts of $$$ for med school, i would want to keep my undergrad debt to a minimum.

i think csu's are great schools (my entire family graduated from csu's), but that stigma that uc's are better will always be around. just like the stigmas about community colleges. just do your best and forget the rest!

sorry i meant to say suits not suites!

 

[dangit]

I think every school has their own agenda and they will probably want students from certain schools whereas other schools, because they have different agendas, dont' care as much. (just my theory)

anyway, i went to berkeley for undergrad and did two years of postbac at SFSU. In retrospect, i really liked sfsu better than berkeley because the professors at sfsu taught better. i'm sure you know, but CSU (like SFSU) hire professors to teach, not research, whereas UC's (esp berkeley) hire professors to do research. So, in my experience, I definitely learned more from SFSU, was happier. I was miserable at berkeley and at times wanted to drop out, but stuck it out because i'm stubborn like that at the expense of my happiness/sanity. heh

anyway, because I was happier, i did better at SFSU. i think in the end, it's up to you. if you want to go to a UC because you want that prestige, then go for it, but it will definitely be harder to do well because the curve isn't as nice. in retrospect, the material is equally difficult wherever you go, uc or csu. the curve on the other hand is not as friendly at UC's because they have to maintain a quota. In general, only 15% can get As, 30% can get B's, 30% C's....etc. (i think i'm off on the percentage of As) anyway the point is, if everyone worked equally hard, there would still be a bell curve distribution of grades. not everyone can get A's.

Also, consider if you do very well at Berkeley, it's be in your favor....greatly. i had friends who went to dental and medical school and they all say the same thing.. berkeley is way too hard. med school isn't as hard as berkeley. it's the volume of material that kills you in med school. however, the difficulty in med school isn't as bad compared to berkeley. so if you do well in berkeley, youll be overly prepared. i'm not sure if the other UCs are like that, i can only speak for berkeley since i went there. PM me if you have questions. good luck!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Well, you guys gave me a lot to think about. I am set on transfering to CSU. I will save money and will maintain better grades over there than if I transfer to UC. I am not planning to attend Harvard; I will attend any med school that accepts me.

thank u all

 

[BNZN32]

I attended a CSU, and had excellent professors and classmates. At my campus there is no shortage of smart, motivated science majors. However, the rest of the student body is definitely not at the same level. They seem to have no intellectual curiosoty.

I've taken a lot of classes at the nearby UC, and like the atmosphere better. There seem to be more intelligent people in all majors there. If you are looking for the "college experience" I would go UC. If you don't care about that, and just want to get done w/ your requirements, then CSU will probably serve you well. Many of my classmates who were at the upper end of grades have gone on to very prestigious grad/med schools.

Food for thought: my pre-med advisor even commented on the bias against CSU in graduate school admissions. It makes sense, CSU is easier to get into...

Even though I had a great experience here, if given the choice again, I would choose the UC without a doubt.

 

[ILikeFood]

I did my undergrad at UCSD and a 2 year postbacc at a CSU. I felt I learned more at the CSU because of the smaller class size and the WAY more accessible professors. The student population just isn't as high grade as a UC. There are a higher percentage of dummies there going through the motions than at a UC, which is bad in the sense that you don't feel the stimulation of being around intelligent people, but makes classes more manageable, especially the harder classes that you will have to take (ochem, biochem, etc). Aim for the sky in terms of your GPA, MCAT, and clinical experience if you want an interview with a california medical school though. One of my classmates had a 3.99 gpa (one A-), a ~30-33 mcat, research, and shadowed a bit and only managed an out of state MD acceptance. She did receive interviews from four California schools, but for one reason or another, they didn't work out. Kind of ridiculous considering she was pretty much the most outstanding CSU applicant a person could hope to become.l

 

[EricH]

I graduated from CSUF in 2008 and am overall very happy with my experience. Because we are down the road from UCI I've had a few good conversations about this with other students.

My .02

CSU pros:
1. Access to research. Because CSUs do not award PhDs and are generally lower tier research schools it seems to be MUCH easier to get into a research lab and do significant work. I was a Health Science major, and I LED a major chemistry project under a tenured professor for almost two years. While we haven't published (yet), it was a matter of luck. Six more months and I would have had a paper with me as the first student author.

2. Student/ Teacher ratio. While my UCI friends struggled in 400 seat classes, the largest class I ever had was about 150 students. Most classes were only about 50 students in size. The professors knew our names and how we were doing in their class. We had lots of access to our professors in office hours and some even came to our group study.

3. Quality of faculty. While not BETTER then UC, damn good! My chemistry professors got their PhDs from UCLA, Cornell, and MIT. My cell Bio professor got his PhD at Stanford and did is post doc at Harvard, where he also taught the medical students.

4. The students are less cut throat. All my UCI friends talk about the "competition." We didn't do that. We busted our *****es, worked together and made good grades. There was never a grade quota, if you got the right %, then you got the A, period. We all could have had A's.

5. Cost....its an issue, not huge, but there.

Cons:

1. Lets face it a 3.8 from CSUF is not viewed the same exact way as a 3.8 from UCI. Mostly due to the stuff cited above. But so what? Just because I had an easier time learning the material and had more support doesn't mean that I know less. The cut throat system doesn't necessary make the learning better, it may just make the grading harder. That being said, a 3.8 from CSUF will be viewed much better than a 3.0 from UCI.


2. It's annoying to have everyone trash talking CSUs

UCs are selective for higher caliber students....and that's your competition.
If I had it to do again, I still would have gone to CSUF. Good luck.

 

[MasterShakeDO]

Good post EricH.
To the OP- have you considered UC Davis? I did not go there and do not know much about it but I would consider it a strong "feeder" school to Touro. Our Dean of Admissions, has a great relationship with the folks up there and it seems at least 10 per class come from Davis.

 

[FlipKali]

I'm currently a graduate student in Biochemisty at a UC as well as completed my undergrad at a UC. The prestige and name does carry a bit of weight. My bias towards a UC is obvious, but if you want to at least do research in your undergrad, I would definitely go to a UC. There are many outstanding professors with a great personalities that you can work for that are at the forefront of their field, however there are the exceptions. Many of which will support you, and help you realize your goal. (if you work for some professors that are on the admissions for the med school, they might actually help you get in at that med school.)

I never really cared about the huge class sizes. I don't see a difference once it reaches anything above 40, except trying to diffuse in/out of the class when class starts/ends. If you need help. there is always office hours for the professors, and many ta's, that are barely used at all except during those few times of the quarter. Once you get into your upper division classes, if your so concerned about class size, it drops quite significantly. I've had classes from 8 people for upperdivision classes, to around 120.

The "college experience", i'm assuming your in your late teens/early 20's, is something you definitely want. Attending the large concerts, on your choice of poison or lack of one, going to the games, or participating in the traditions, shouldn't be simply thrown out. This should be in my opinion, a large factor in your choice. Where else do the Grad students keep alcohol in lab, and have initiation drinks with everyone(professor may be included)... - lets ignore everything wrong with this. You definitely want your last years as an undergrad to be a fun one, you're giving up quite a bit of your life after that.

There is a lot of talk about the competiveness that comes with the UC. It's true, but most professors don't like failing students. There is quite a bit of grade inflation at the UC's, and as long as you put in the time and effort into your classes you will do fine - You earn the amount of work you put in. I don't like hearing that statement about competing with those who are cut throat and because of that, due to the curve, its harder for you to earn your grade - It just gives me a bad taste in my mouth as it screams you would rather compete with mediocrity. Think of it as a slight taste of what it would be in med school, as it would in my mind be much worse. Just worry about yourself, and not others. Berkeley might be different, but they're just crazy over there... kidding

Anyways, just remember though a 3.8 from a cal state would look better than a 3.0 from a UC, but how it would compare with a 3.4 from a UC I would think seem slightly more equalized - no matter how wrong this is.

 

[EricH]

Anyways, just remember though a 3.8 from a cal state would look better than a 3.0 from a UC, but how it would compare with a 3.4 from a UC I would think seem slightly more equalized - no matter how wrong this is.

I think a 3.6 vs. a 3.8 is more fair. 3.4 vs. 3.8 is a little derogatory.

 

[FlipKali]

I think a 3.6 vs. a 3.8 is more fair. 3.4 vs. 3.8 is a little derogatory.

Fair enough. I meant that the gap between those two gpa's would not be seen as a .4, but much less, not that a 3.4=3.8.