UC Berkeley, UCSD, UCLA, UCI Honors, UCD Honors, or UMich for pre-med?

[Thechiseler]

This is for undergrad by the way. I understand that this decision essentially boils down to preferences, but I'm having a very hard time deciding and would like to get some opinions.

Currently, I like UCB, but the intense academic competition is scaring me towards a school like UCI Hono or UCD where there is less academic stress . Really, I just want some input on the different pre-med environments at each of these schools, and try to factor these in to my final decision.

Thank you in advance.

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[Tots]

Moved to hSDN since the OP it is the appropriate place for this discussion.

Did any of the schools give you money?

I would be careful about choosing a school because of the perceived "easyness/hardness." I knew people who turned down UCB/UCLA for UCI because they thought it would be easier to do well and stand out and then subsequently didn't do as well as they planned and regretted their choice. Now obviously I have no idea how they would have done if they went to UCB/UCLA but I encourage you to consider other things.

 

[Thechiseler]

Moved to hSDN since the OP it is the appropriate place for this discussion.

Did any of the schools give you money?

I would be careful about choosing a school because of the perceived "easyness/hardness." I knew people who turned down UCB/UCLA for UCI because they thought it would be easier to do well and stand out and then subsequently didn't do as well as they planned and regretted their choice. Now obviously I have no idea how they would have done if they went to UCB/UCLA but I encourage you to consider other things.

The UC's are going to cost about 10k with no loans, while umich is 20k with loans, and thanks, this post helped a lot.

 

[UrbanRiver]

Go where you felt comfortable and factor in reputation. (Reputation does matter somewhat in the long run.) Premed classes are going to be hard everywhere, so you need to be at a place where you are happy and thriving. Berkeley and UCLA are, for example, very different culturally, and I chose Berkeley for reasons I mentioned above. It was an amazing undergrad for my personality and interests.. the school and the bay area had so much passion, ideals, and some amazing peers and teachers. I majored in a non-science field and now going to med school this fall. Go where you like.. major in what you love. Medicine is a field that welcomes interdisciplinary and passionate people. Enjoy college, and let it grow you. Good luck and congrats on your acceptances!

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[nysegop]

If I got accepted to all of those places I would choose UMich. That's where Sanjay Gupta went for u grad, medical school, and residency.

 

[Mufid]

I would recommend to not matriculate at U of M. You absolutely want to keep debt to a minimum if you are considering medical school seriously.

Like Tots and pandahunter said, factors, like major or social situations, contribute much more to workload and perceived difficulty in comparison to the reputation or academic quality of a school overall. I'm not sure if this is true for you, but for several people, competitive environments often motivate people to succeed.

Visit the schools and see how much you like each of them. Take into account the opportunities each of the Californian schools give you and how close to home you want to be.

I hope you figure out the best school for you and you do well over there!

nysegop, that's pretty much the dream for many Michigan residents who want to pursue medicine.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Base your decision solely on March Madness.

 

[Arijos0222]

Base your decision solely on March Madness.

Agreed.

All joking aside, UCSD or UCI are great schools and if you are a pre-med definitely go to either of those.

Or go to your state school

If you are from cali, UCSD or UCI of course

 

[bajastapler]

#1 go where it's cheap. #2 go where you will have fun. #3 go where you will beat the competition. #4 go where you will be best positioned for an alternate career incase pre-med ends up not working out for you (not being pessimistic just realistic.)