UC or no UC??

[SunnySang]

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Hey Everyone,
Currently i am a student at a local community college. I have my classes set to a tag program to UC Davis for a Bio Major.
I live in Fresno and recently came across this link...
http://www.csufresno.edu/chem/undergrad/predent.shtml

Basically Fresno State is starting to sound pretty good to go to instead of a UC. With class cuts, higher tuitioen fees (32%.... WTF😱?? I think i read somewhere that the avg cost with room and board plus tuition is around 32-36k a year for a UC), Fresno State is starting to sound like a good option (i wld be able to live with my parents and state would cost me about 8k a year and much of that shld be covered with financial aid).

I was wondering if i could get some feedback on this. Would i be okay if i went to a state school VS a UC when applying for a dental school? I know a big part of it would still be my GPA and DAT scores though.
Thanks,
Sunny

 

[iwannabadentist]

do you realize that both a UC and a CSU are considered state schools? I mean as long as its a 4 year university, and you maintain a good GPA and get some decent DAT scores, you should be fine for dental school. At this point, I would highly recommend you stay away from UCs - the amount of money you'd be paying for what you get out of it is not worth it. Save your money/loans rite now so you don't have to pay back that much after dental school. Cal State all the way

 

[ucla2134]

Ok, i am might be biased. But i have a friend last year applying have the same stat as me but went to Cal State Fullerton and applying to the same school as me. He got 3 interviews, whether i got 4 times as him. So i think the UC title might help

 

[xjmgenius]

In my opinion, you should choose a UC over state.

I interviewed at UCSF and USC recently, half of the people at both interviews were from UC schools, and I only met one person from a state university. The UC title definitely helps if you want to get into a CA dental school.

 

[HopefulDent]

I beg to differ. I went to a csu and kept a solid gpa. I received 3 interviews, one of which was from ucsf. I think as long as you keep a solid gpa and do well on yourdat you'll be fine. I have a friend who went to fresno state and applied with a 3.9 and 20/20/24 and has had 8 pre-dec interviews.

 

[Shinpe]

I think depending on the UC, it would be the preferred choice. I don't know about the reputation of Fresno between adcoms but these are things you gotta consider. Even between UCs, there are some who are clearly more competitive and the adcoms take that into account. a 3.9 from berkeley is worth more than a 3.9 from UCR or Fresno state. And you could only do so good at any school (max 4.0 right? lol) I think adcoms take it into account the school specifically. I'm not sure how UC Davis vs. Fresno compare in terms of competitiveness and reputaiton but that's something you gotta consider. In general, UC has better reputation, but I've heard horror stories about hardness of classes from some cal-state friends. And again, it would depend on the specific CSU and UC but the general trend I feel is tilted towards UC.

 

[junkemails44]

I went to a csu and I have 7 interviews. It really depends how you build your application. But please don't think that CSU system isn't having a budget issue. They reduced so many classes. It's not even funny...

 

[junkemails44]

In my opinion, you should choose a UC over state.

I interviewed at UCSF and USC recently, half of the people at both interviews were from UC schools, and I only met one person from a state university. The UC title definitely helps if you want to get into a CA dental school.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I have not yet to see anybody from a CSU system at my interviews(except for me).

 

[dmitriyivanov]

Dental schools don't consider Cal State Grads as competitive as UC Grads (3.5 UC grad is more competitive than 3.8 Cal State), yes you can say that I am biased (UCSB Bio Major Grad), but the level of classes and the course load at any UC will never compare to the CalStates. If you want to be a competitive DS applicant I recommend UC. Just look at the stats of any DS school in California (for example what are the feeder schools to USC, UCLA, UOP, Loma) there is about 1 student in the entire class that holds a degree from the CalState. Plus, you won't be saving that much money if you go to a CalState over UC. 👍

 

[junkemails44]

Not if you live near the school and get a full scholarship for tuition plus living expenditure. ( I have no debt, which is a big plus) Believe it or not, many outer state schools do not even know the exisistence of other UCs beside UCLA and Berkley. At NYU interview I was asked about whether UC Davis was a good school by a faculty member.

 

[BoxerRumble]

That may be true for NYU, but UCSF and UOP definitely know about UC Davis and it's reputation. I'm sure all California schools know how to rank every UC and State school in their own state.

 

[BoxerRumble]

I also suggesting emailing some schools about this as they can give you the best answer. This is something I'm sure a lot of future and present pre-dents will be interested in. Also, I know for sure that, at least for medical school, they weigh better undergrad schools vs lower tier schools differently. Some schools have a point system where they give a certain amount of points for GPA, test scores, PS, volunteer, etc and also different points for what undergrad they went to. I know this because my brother's friend is/was an adcom member for medical school.

 

[junkemails44]

That may be true for NYU, but UCSF and UOP definitely know about UC Davis and it's reputation. I'm sure all California schools know how to rank every UC and State school in their own state.

Right. My point was to say that it would be exaggerating to say that "every" UC is better than all of the CSU schools, which certainly is not the true. Many people seem to think that this so called UC title will give you an edge, but do people really think that will help them get into a dental school in anyway????? I really had no idea UC was that prestigious.

 

[sassykat]

i went to Berkeley, then transferred to my state school cause of $$$ and now i think it's going to bite me in the ass. stick to the UCs (good ones), seriously.

 

[BoxerRumble]

Right. My point was to say that it would be exaggerating to say that "every" UC is better than all of the CSU schools, which certainly is not the true. Many people seem to think that this so called UC title will give you an edge, but do people really think that will help them get into a dental school in anyway????? I really had no idea UC was that prestigious.

Oh, then of course UC's have a rank within the system. Just look at US News. I bet the Adcom will take a look at those rankings if not just for an idea or reference. But if he's comparing UC Davis, ranked 42nd in the nation vs Fresno state which isn't even ranked and it's considered a tier 3 school...the better choice would be UCD. Honestly though I would ask the schools since none of us really knows how they weigh the schools.

 

[whoaaitzkyle]

I'd go with a UC. The "adcoms" are just faculty members that work for the school and one of their jobs is to review applications. I feel this debate continually gets brought up year after year, but in the end no one can prove who is right. How do you know UCs are more competitive than CSU schools? How do you know certain UCs are more competitive than others? With that same answer, I bet the faculty members also have that same view as well. Just that alone could possibly be the way adcoms favors students from certain schools. On the other end, who knows, maybe schools hire people solely to look at applications all day so all adcoms has better to do is to try making their job more interesting by reading SDN threads, give 10.25 points to a berkeley student and 8.65 points to a CSU Fresno student I know Western doesn't do that, but we all know there are certain dschools out there that think they are God's gift to the world...you know who you are 😉

 

[junkemails44]

I love how you really did not justify the reason why he should go to a UC. It really is upto you. It is what you do not where you go. Attending a CSU certainly did not hinder my chance. Heck, I have eight interviews.

 

[wantVCUdental]

BOTTOM LINE: IF you are good, no matter where you go, you will succeed!
If you are worried about money go to CSU, because if you are a strong student, you'll distinguish yourself and show the adcoms you are worth it! the only risk is that you may get lazy when you are with a less competitive group and that's why schools prefer students coming out of competitive undergraduate schools. Becuase those students are on average, more motivated and more academically capable.

 

[BoxerRumble]

I agree with wantVCUdental. If you want dental school to not feel like catch up, then being better prepared from a more academically challenging environment would help quite a lot. But I don't know how Fresno State's programs are. I can tell you from my experience at UC Davis was great. I really love the school. UCD has a good mix of students, those who are very motivated and study hard, those who study a bit, and some slackers. It's not like going to UCB where everyone is cut throat competitive. There's a lot of nice people you'll meet at UCD,and I'm sure also at any other school. The campus is beautiful, nice and spacious, fun biking to class, good bus system, GREAT food, good faculty, nice research opportunity with the medical center in Sacramento, lots of resources for students, clubs, volunteer opportunities, etc.

But your question, is UC worth the cost? Well, w/ the tuition hike and everything, I am leaning towards it not being worth it. You can kill at Fresno State with a great GPA, and IF and I think only if your DAT score tells the same story, it won't matter if you went to a UC or not.

 

[anonymousername]

inside California: UC ≠ CSU (infact UCD >>>>> CSUF)
outside California: UC = CSU (in other words: what's the difference?)


if your GPA is high and your DAT is low, you will show that you can only hand CSU level coursework. If your DAT is high, you show that you can hack it like UC/private school applicants.

 

[whoaaitzkyle]

I love how you really did not justify the reason why he should go to a UC. It really is upto you. It is what you do not where you go. Attending a CSU certainly did not hinder my chance. Heck, I have eight interviews.

chill dude. don't get all passionate about your CSU school. some of my good friends are in dschool from CSU schools. I do agree that the fee hike is ridiculous, but I'd still go to a UC. here's my justification as requested...

Avg High School GPA incoming class at CSUF: (43% of student body = the real average is lower)

10% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
12% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
21% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49


SAT Critical Reading: 430 - 530
SAT Math: 450 - 560
Writing unavailable

Avg High School GPA incoming class at UCB: (50% of student body)

Average unweighted GPA
3.91
Average weighted GPA
4.34

SAT Reasoning Test scores
(25th % 75th percentiles)
Reading: 590-710
Math: 630-750
Writing: 610-720

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=705
http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp

It's really irritating when people in the CSU system say they are comparable to the students at UCs. Granted these numbers are the AVERAGE, but I strongly feel if all of our classes are on a bell curve and the same percentage gets the A, then technically by looking at numbers alone we can conclude the students in the UC system have to compete amongst students who had a higher GPA in high school. yadadadadadada you know where I'm going with this. gotta study good luck with your choice. To the OP, I think the UC experience is worth it and think the "college experience" alone makes it all that much more different than the CSU system (I'm speaking in particular about UC Berkeley or UCLA since I've been in their college town areas).

 

[junkemails44]

chill dude. don't get all passionate about your CSU school. some of my good friends are in dschool from CSU schools. I do agree that the fee hike is ridiculous, but I'd still go to a UC. here's my justification as requested...

Avg High School GPA incoming class at CSUF: (43% of student body = the real average is lower)

10% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
12% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
21% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49


SAT Critical Reading: 430 - 530
SAT Math: 450 - 560
Writing unavailable

Avg High School GPA incoming class at UCB: (50% of student body)

Average unweighted GPA
3.91
Average weighted GPA
4.34

SAT Reasoning Test scores
(25th % 75th percentiles)
Reading: 590-710
Math: 630-750
Writing: 610-720

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=705
http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp

It's really irritating when people in the CSU system say they are comparable to the students at UCs. Granted these numbers are the AVERAGE, but I strongly feel if all of our classes are on a bell curve and the same percentage gets the A, then technically by looking at numbers alone we can conclude the students in the UC system have to compete amongst students who had a higher GPA in high school. yadadadadadada you know where I'm going with this. gotta study good luck with your choice. To the OP, I think the UC experience is worth it and think the "college experience" alone makes it all that much more different than the CSU system (I'm speaking in particular about UC Berkeley or UCLA since I've been in their college town areas).

Bro, I have never once said that a CSU is better than a UC. As a matter of fact I did not even tell Op to go to a CSU. And still again, your only reasoning is the fact that students at berkley are smarter than a csuf. So what experiences are we talking about? If you are promoting a UC, bring up something other than high school GPA of student body. Of course people that attend berkley are smarter than people at a csu. So, what? Like I said the bottom line is it is NOT the school you attended. It is what you DID. Do you honestly think that attending Berkley got you into Western university? So, if I attend place like Pitt or Stony, will I be a better dentist? Schools do not make who you are, it really depends on what you do.

 

[anonymousername]

Bro, I have never once said that a CSU is better than a UC. As a matter of fact I did not even tell Op to go to a CSU. And still again, your only reasoning is the fact that students at berkley are smarter than a csuf. So what experiences are we talking about? If you are promoting a UC, bring up something other than high school GPA of student body. Of course people that attend berkley are smarter than people at a csu. So, what? Like I said the bottom line is it is NOT the school you attended. It is what you DID. Do you honestly think that attending Berkley got you into Western university? So, if I attend place like Pitt or Stony, will I be a better dentist? Schools do not make who you are, it really depends on what you do.

you're under the assumption that CSUF and UC Berkeley (top 20 school) are equivalent in difficulty when they are not. The grade deflation at top tier schools makes it much harder to earn a high GPA, which is one of the main basis for admission.

 

[junkemails44]

No I have never said that. I do think berkley students are better students generally. But that still does not mean all csu students are less qualified.

 

[whoaaitzkyle]

No I have never said that. I do think berkley students are better students generally. But that still does not mean all csu students are less qualified.

I'll agree with that statement. we're all just trying to help the OP out. I think there are many opportunities with both the UCs and the CSUs. Unfortunately, I think whether we like it or not, the reality of admissions is that prestige does have a factor...with that being said, I don't think that makes any CSU grads less competent. In response to your other statement, I think going to Western will have it's downfalls (i.e. getting into any specialities since the school isn't established), but with the same reasoning I do not think I will be any less competent of a dentist when I graduate...I'll just be experiencing that "other side of the coin" where I don't have that established prestige if I ever want to do anything after graduation.

 

[UCfan]

Hey Everyone,
Currently i am a student at a local community college. I have my classes set to a tag program to UC Davis for a Bio Major.
I live in Fresno and recently came across this link...
http://www.csufresno.edu/chem/undergrad/predent.shtml

Basically Fresno State is starting to sound pretty good to go to instead of a UC. With class cuts, higher tuitioen fees (32%.... WTF😱?? I think i read somewhere that the avg cost with room and board plus tuition is around 32-36k a year for a UC), Fresno State is starting to sound like a good option (i wld be able to live with my parents and state would cost me about 8k a year and much of that shld be covered with financial aid).

I was wondering if i could get some feedback on this. Would i be okay if i went to a state school VS a UC when applying for a dental school? I know a big part of it would still be my GPA and DAT scores though.
Thanks,
Sunny

As a UC alumni, I can easily say that you can go to CSU. Maybe it can be even more beneficial for you. UC schools are generally very competitive (I went UCI by the way) and making high GPA is really hard (especially for small class size). The last fee increment (I believe that more than 30 percent) makes it really expensive compared to CSU. If you do really well on DAT, CSU can worth a lot (because you will not spend a lot of money for undergrad).As you see many CSU graduates got interview too. In other words it is very possible to go to DS with a CSU degree.
However you need to think the other side. What will happen to you, if you change your mind? You decide not to persue a dental career. With CSU degree it can be little bit harder for you to find a job. I am actively contacting with my old classmates (engineers), and they (almost 50 percent) found job without any problem. Others are attending Professional and Grad School. In other words, they did not have that much difficulties after graduation. I do not have enough knowledge about CSU, but I believe that in industry UC degrees worth more than CSU degrees in California(I am talking about engineering degrees). I am not sure about other degrees.
I do not know how dental schools weigh undergraduate institutions. If you think that you can handle DAT, I can recommend you to go to CSU. It is risky decision, and you are the only one who will make it.

 

[Tommy43087]

Dental schools don't consider Cal State Grads as competitive as UC Grads (3.5 UC grad is more competitive than 3.8 Cal State), yes you can say that I am biased (UCSB Bio Major Grad), but the level of classes and the course load at any UC will never compare to the CalStates. If you want to be a competitive DS applicant I recommend UC. Just look at the stats of any DS school in California (for example what are the feeder schools to USC, UCLA, UOP, Loma) there is about 1 student in the entire class that holds a degree from the CalState. Plus, you won't be saving that much money if you go to a CalState over UC. 👍

Its not all schools in Cali actually its just USC with that stat that you reffered to, and this used to be my biggest argument of all time using USC as an example. I always said go to a UC so you would be more competitive, etc. Now i feel Differently i have 4 predec interviews(not THAT many i know) and am confident that i willl end up at the DS i want to be at. The difference is that i am way less in debt and didnt have to kill myself trying to get into a UC.

And BTW go look at the updated stats on USC's website, their class is made up of about 10% cal state students so it definitely increased.

Although i still dislike the school im at (CSUN) i am still happy with how things turned out and am no longer sad that i didnt seize the opportunity to go to a UC

Bottom line OP go to a CSU save your money, do awesome in your classes, kill the DAT, build your application and you will end up at whatever school you desire period!

Good Luck👍