UCLA vs UCSD vs SCU( Santa Clara University) for premed

[amy09]

I'm an out-of-state student recently admitted off the waitlist at both UCLA and UCSD. I had initially committed to Santa Clara University, but I’m now reconsidering, especially with my goal of pursuing premed. I’d really appreciate any advice on how to decide.

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[amy09]

I'm an out-of-state student recently admitted off the waitlist at both UCLA and UCSD. I had initially committed to Santa Clara University, but I’m now reconsidering, especially with my goal of pursuing premed. I’d really appreciate any advice on how to decide.

bumping the post since I only have 2 days left to decide, please help!

 

[usagimd]

Is there a cost difference to attend? Please make a pros/cons list for each school so we (and you) can see what you prioritize

Here's my take as a UCLA alum: I loved my college experience and was very happy at UCLA/did very well in undergrad. The weather and food are also unbeatable. However, the opportunities they offer are limited and can be competitive especially with shadowing/research as many students there are also premed.

 

[amy09]

Thanks, usagimd, for the reply! Yeah, there is a cost difference , I got a scholarship from SCU, so it would be about $20K less per year. But my parents are okay covering the difference if UCLA is a better option for getting into med school. I've always gone to small private schools, so my biggest worry is whether UCLA is super competitive or cutthroat. I'm planning to major in biology.

 

[usagimd]

So you'll save about $80k if you go to SCU, which is not an insignificant amount of money that can be used towards medical school.

I wouldn't say UCLA is a "better' option for getting into med school as it is still a large public university so they are not able to cater to individual student needs as a smaller private school might. The most "cutthroat" experiences I would say I had would be:

1. Enrollment-- you are at the mercy of a random enrollment time and if you have bad ones, you might have to rethink your entire schedule and many prereq classes fill up very fast (i.e. physics!!) so you might have to take them over the summer
2. Lower division classes are HUGE like 200-300 people per lecture = difficult to make personal connections with professors, so if you plan on applying trad to med school, getting a good LOR is a little harder
3. You have to apply for clubs
4. There is no undergraduate research portal rn as UCLA has a hiring freeze

However, despite all this, I would not change anything and would 100% go back to UCLA if I could do it all over. I think that you know yourself best and whether you will be able to advocate for yourself adequately to succeed/stand out at such a large public institution. Please also consider aspects outside of getting into medical school-- where will you be happiest as a teenager? UCLA is a wonderful mix of academics and social life and often has some of the happiest students because of this.