UCI vs UCLA premed

[lalala00]

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I just received my acceptance for UCIs Public Health Sciences program and I am waiting to hear back from UCLA. I am a premed transfer student. Currently, I only have physics left from the prereqs for medical school.

My main concerns are research opportunities and letters of req. Also, is there a significant difference in the level of difficulty in upper division sciences? I have heard horror stories about UCLA science classes and since I will be studying for the MCAT I feel I might not be able to handle it.

 

[neekzg]

What major would you be entering with at UCLA? This is a huge factor in the difficulty of the classes you'll be taking. However, I would say most pre-meds at UCLA actually struggle most with the pre-reqs (I certainly did..) rather than their upper divs. The biggest reason for this is probably that they just get better at studying over time and are better equipped to tackle their upper divs as third and fourth years.

I've seen a fair amount of premed transfers do well but I would say they have a disadvantage because it usually takes a year or so to get used to studying/doing well in classes and just adjusting to college life (which can be very different from CC). At UCLA, there are A LOT of research opportunities available, volunteering organizations (for clinical and community work), interesting/good profs to ask for LORs (honestly dont think LoR quality differs with the university you go to though..), etc. to take advantage of but it certainly takes A LOT of initiative to make it all happen.

 

[DrDesire93]

What major would you be entering with at UCLA? This is a huge factor in the difficulty of the classes you'll be taking. However, I would say most pre-meds at UCLA actually struggle most with the pre-reqs (I certainly did..) rather than their upper divs. The biggest reason for this is probably that they just get better at studying over time and are better equipped to tackle their upper divs as third and fourth years.

I've seen a fair amount of premed transfers do well but I would say they have a disadvantage because it usually takes a year or so to get used to studying/doing well in classes and just adjusting to college life (which can be very different from CC). At UCLA, there are A LOT of research opportunities available, volunteering organizations (for clinical and community work), interesting/good profs to ask for LORs (honestly dont think LoR quality differs with the university you go to though..), etc. to take advantage of but it certainly takes A LOT of initiative to make it all happen.

I am a transfer student coming to UCLA this Fall as Chemistry (BioChem maybe) major. How are the sciences class structured? I mean do they focus on conceptual materials or on application? What would you recommend about study habit or preparation for the sciences classes? I talked to one my friends there and he said the competition is cut-throat. I understand that but is it possible for us to maintain decent GPA for med/grad school?
Sorry if I ask a lot of questions. Thank you!

 

[neekzg]

I am a transfer student coming to UCLA this Fall as Chemistry (BioChem maybe) major. How are the sciences class structured? I mean do they focus on conceptual materials or on application? What would you recommend about study habit or preparation for the sciences classes? I talked to one my friends there and he said the competition is cut-throat. I understand that but is it possible for us to maintain decent GPA for med/grad school?
Sorry if I ask a lot of questions. Thank you!

I don't know too much about Chem/Biochem majors but I'm sure the classes are harder than they are for Bio and the other life science majors. The classes will likely range from conceptual to application as well as some memorization (esp for Biochem). If you enjoy Chemistry and Biochem significantly more than Biology and the other life sciences offered at UCLA, I would stick to it, but if not, I would switch since they honestly tend to be more difficult. It's only worth it if you enjoy the material and can consequently do well. Competition is certainly tough but it's not the hardest out there, and you will have harder competition in med school so you might as well get used to it. In any case, I would recommend studying for your midterms/finals well ahead of time and not fall behind on the material, esp in classes like biochem where there's TONS of material covered. Studying techniques vary from person to person and you can search up how different people on this forum do well in their classes if you'd like.