Hi All. I'm about to transfer from my community college stage to either a UC or Cal State to finish up my upper division courses. What schools look the best if you get your degree from Cal States? I was considering either Cal State LA or Cal Poly Pomona or Cal State Long Beach and I'm aiming for a degree in Biology... Which school looks better? Does it really matter? Does anyone here have a degree from either one of these schools and already in pharmacy school? I'm also considering UC's but not too sure yet... kinda confused 😕 HELP!
Need Advice on Cal States/UC's...
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UC automatically looks better as it is the more prestigious institution. From an employer perspective, most I've heard about will divide resumes into piles marked "CSU" and "UC" and hire from the UC pile first.
For pharmacy school...it might not make a difference since schools accept community college credits, so taking CSU classes vs. UC might not be a huge difference. A huge factor might be the ability for you to get a research position since UC is a research institution. CSU's cannot grant Ph.D's by law, so research is on the UC side of things.
If you want a degree in biology, UCSD, UCLA, and UCI are probably the schools with the best programs. HOWEVER....the difficulty of these programs mean your GPA won't be that high. As I said above, some out-of-state schools are ignorant of the difference and won't weigh a lower UC GPA with a higher CSU GPA.
Despite graduating from a UC, if pharmacy is your ultimate goal, go the easier route and go to CSU so you can have the higher GPA. You'll also save a ton of money in the process. I think the best CSU's are Sonoma State, CSU East Bay, and San Diego State University. They tend to be the most impacted.
Hope this helps!
For pharmacy school...it might not make a difference since schools accept community college credits, so taking CSU classes vs. UC might not be a huge difference. A huge factor might be the ability for you to get a research position since UC is a research institution. CSU's cannot grant Ph.D's by law, so research is on the UC side of things.
If you want a degree in biology, UCSD, UCLA, and UCI are probably the schools with the best programs. HOWEVER....the difficulty of these programs mean your GPA won't be that high. As I said above, some out-of-state schools are ignorant of the difference and won't weigh a lower UC GPA with a higher CSU GPA.
Despite graduating from a UC, if pharmacy is your ultimate goal, go the easier route and go to CSU so you can have the higher GPA. You'll also save a ton of money in the process. I think the best CSU's are Sonoma State, CSU East Bay, and San Diego State University. They tend to be the most impacted.
Hope this helps!
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From what I hear, best CSU are San Luis Obispo, Pomona, CSUN and LB are pretty good too.
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pharmacy schools don't care where you come from...they look at characteristics that define YOU alone like your your grades, your EC's, your PS, your LOR's, etc.
in my opinion i recommend you go to a cal state and obtain your degree there. like someone said above, it will save you money and CSU's are slightly easier than UC's because of the more personal connection with professors...and you most probably won't run into an arrogant, egotistical professor like you would at a UC
i transfered from Fullerton College to Cal Poly Pomona as a biology major and i'm doing pretty well there
in my opinion i recommend you go to a cal state and obtain your degree there. like someone said above, it will save you money and CSU's are slightly easier than UC's because of the more personal connection with professors...and you most probably won't run into an arrogant, egotistical professor like you would at a UC
i transfered from Fullerton College to Cal Poly Pomona as a biology major and i'm doing pretty well there
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Although the UC system may be more prestigious than the CSU system (due to higher admissions standards and pH.D degrees), going to a UC does not always look better. Here in Silicon Valley and the SF Bay Area (connections to high-tech companies and well-known pharmaceutical companies), employers can easily hire more CSU graduates than UC graduates. It's about how much experience and knowledge of the field you have, not because you go to a certain school.
In the CSU system, San Jose State University has a very strong science program, particularly in my study of Biology and Chemistry. Its Biochemistry courses are as challenging or even more challenging than some comparable UC courses. There are plenty of opportunities for research at SJSU. You just need to ask a professor. I graduated there and got a good experience assisting my professor in her research on Vitamin D. Some of my classmates have published articles and they don't go to a UC!
Yes, for pharmacy school, it doesn't matter if you go to a CSU or a UC. However, you can't really weigh a lower UC GPA with a higher CSU GPA. It is not easier to go to a CSU nor is it harder to go to a UC. CSU's are cheaper though. How well you do largely depends on the the courses themselves, the teachers, and your motivation. Don't assume that the best schools are the most impacted either. If the programs are impacted, then it would be harder for you to add classes. Take into consideration how you would thrive in certain locations and situations as well.
I'd say you should research the programs for the schools and see if it fits with you rather than looking at the schools' reputations. Hope that has been helpful.
Thanks alot guys... I was really looking into Cal State La or Cal Poly Pomona since they are way closer to my home than any UC is, plus as you guys have stated is WAY cheaper... This really puts things into perspective for me ... I really appreciate your responses...
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Yeah, I think I could have done just as well at a CSU, but I definitely do NOT regret my decision to go to a UC. It makes me feel nice, especially since there kind of is a stigma within the state of CSU vs. UC. But if you're confident in yourself, you can rock a CSU degree and do well with it.
Either way, if you get your degree before January 3, 2011...it'll have Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature on it. It's kinda nice having that on your wall, woohoo!
Either way, if you get your degree before January 3, 2011...it'll have Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature on it. It's kinda nice having that on your wall, woohoo!
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It really does depend on the specific schools. The upper-tier CSU's(Cal Poly SLO, SDSU) tend to be considered more 'prestigious' than the lower UC's (Merced, UCR). The thing about the two piles of resumes for the different systems is pretty rediculous.
However, grad schools really look at grades and scores, as previous posters have mentioned. If you do well for yourself and keep focused, you WILL get in, no matter what undergrad you attend.
However, grad schools really look at grades and scores, as previous posters have mentioned. If you do well for yourself and keep focused, you WILL get in, no matter what undergrad you attend.
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Agree about UC Merced....I heard students there just aren't ready for a UC education, and that their student government was HORRIBLY put together and had to be tossed out entirely. Then again, it's their 1st-2nd year in existence, I'm sure Harvard had that same problem in the 1600's, haha.
And Merced is in the butt **** of nowhere, all my friends from there referred to it as "Merdead." Check back in 20 years, Irvine was also in the butt crack of OC and all of a sudden The OC hits television and everyone wants to go there, haha.
Disagree about UC Riverside....despite being the "runt" of the UC system before Merced opened (and subject to mockery by UCLA/Cal/UCI/UCSD students), it's still a top 50 public university (#39) and a top 100 US university (#88).
To my knowledge none of the CSU's are ranked on the "big" lists. They are ranked on individual programs, such as SLO's engineering and architecture programs.
But again, moot point in the context of pharmacy as we've discussed above.
And Merced is in the butt **** of nowhere, all my friends from there referred to it as "Merdead." Check back in 20 years, Irvine was also in the butt crack of OC and all of a sudden The OC hits television and everyone wants to go there, haha.
Disagree about UC Riverside....despite being the "runt" of the UC system before Merced opened (and subject to mockery by UCLA/Cal/UCI/UCSD students), it's still a top 50 public university (#39) and a top 100 US university (#88).
To my knowledge none of the CSU's are ranked on the "big" lists. They are ranked on individual programs, such as SLO's engineering and architecture programs.
But again, moot point in the context of pharmacy as we've discussed above.
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Yeah, technically SLO is ranked as a Master's University, since it doesn't have enough PhD programs in conjunction with UC's (SDSU does, though). However, the student body (3.9 GPA, 1250 SAT) is more on par with the Middle UC's than of most other CSU's, so I'd say it falls more in line w/ Davis, SB, and Irvine. Students also get into rather good grad schools coming out of CP undergrad in science.
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When UCSF says the average matriculating GPA is 3.43, does that mean I have a chance of getting in from the newest CSU if I have grades around that range?
Or does that GPA refer to UC grades?
Or does that GPA refer to UC grades?
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lol, is that where yours is?
mine's somewhere in the closet
mine is in my dining area/kitchen, haha...i didn't have any room. I have a giant frame for it.... i figured..i paid $20k for this degree, might as well pay $150 for a nice frame to display it.
I'm saving the BIG frame for the PharmD 😀
