UCSD v. UCR

[pie741]

so at this point i'm definitely sure I want to pursue a career in dentistry, apply and be admited to a dental school. there's one problem picking a undergraduate university. my options are limited and are basically narrowed down to two schools UCSD and UCR. on one hand is UCSD the university thats located in my home town, but has very competitive science courses, which i fear would ruin my chances of gaining a high competitive gpa. UCR on the other hand is a not so prestigious, has a rep for being the reserve school but there science departments are great and there isn't much competition. so my question is what seems to be the better option, UCSD probably a 3.0-3.4🙁 or UCR 3.7-4.0😀. the numbers i estimated from gpa of ppl that i know from my high school that went there, basically similar in academic ability to me😉.

thank you for reading. p.s. senior so decision are just around the corner..

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[hopefullyadent]

UCSD is hard..but not impossibly hard..UCLA and Berkeley on the other hand are HARRD...as long as you study hard, you should do just fine at UCSD..go to UCSD

 

[pie741]

so dental schools look more at where you went undergraduate more than gpa?

 

[Predent68]

UCSD is definitely doable if you study hard. It will prepare you very well for any professional schools. If you think going to UCR will be easy, you are wrong as well. Their basic science (lower div. is cut throat)

UCSD has the reputation, many research opportunities, one of the largest predent society, quite a few free dental clinics etc... will enhance your resume for dental school if dentistry is indeed your career choice.

Good Luck

 

[dentalaee]

Think again. Many people like you are thinking the same way. Also, UCR has what is called the Thomas Haider program, which I think it would spike the competition of basic science courses. If I were you, I would go to UCSD.

 

[476515678234896]

s so my question is what seems to be the better option, UCSD probably a 3.0-3.4🙁 or UCR 3.7-4.0

i hate when ppl talk like this, how you do depends on you...not the school that you attend. go to UCSD is harder to get into, more prestigious, it's bio program is world rebound, you know the area (you'll adjust faster)...i could go on. End game: they let you in because they think you can perform, it's up to you to prove them wrong.

 

[prsndwg]

so at this point i'm definitely sure I want to pursue a career in dentistry, apply and be admited to a dental school. there's one problem picking a undergraduate university. my options are limited and are basically narrowed down to two schools UCSD and UCR. on one hand is UCSD the university thats located in my home town, but has very competitive science courses, which i fear would ruin my chances of gaining a high competitive gpa. UCR on the other hand is a not so prestigious, has a rep for being the reserve school but there science departments are great and there isn't much competition. so my question is what seems to be the better option, UCSD probably a 3.0-3.4🙁 or UCR 3.7-4.0😀. the numbers i estimated from gpa of ppl that i know from my high school that went there, basically similar in academic ability to me😉.

thank you for reading. p.s. senior so decision are just around the corner..

Dental school could careless about your UC or CSU as long as you pull a 3.7. End of the story🙄

 

[cbizzle7994]

i hate when ppl talk like this, how you do depends on you...not the school that you attend. go to UCSD is harder to get into, more prestigious, it's bio program is world rebound, you know the area (you'll adjust faster)...i could go on. End game: they let you in because they think you can perform, it's up to you to prove them wrong.

this is completely wrong. some schools are definitely harder than others. being at a top school means only the top people go there. this means these top students compete against each other in all the courses. if the professors want to keep the class average at around a 3.0, a person has to be roughly in the top half of the class to get above a 3.0. this is much harder to do when you are competing with a bunch of geniuses. if you are at an easier school where people on average are not as smart, it is much easier to be in the top half of the class. i cant understand why people don't recognize this. i personally have been on both sides. i went to a less prestigious school where i could pull 3.7s without doing any work whatsoever and then i went to a prestigious school where i have to bust my ass to get a 3.4. everyone knows people who you know from high school that get good grades at an easy school when in high school you got much better marks and were in general just a better student

 

[476515678234896]

this is completely wrong. some schools are definitely harder than others. being at a top school means only the top people go there. this means these top students compete against each other in all the courses. if the professors want to keep the class average at around a 3.0, a person has to be roughly in the top half of the class to get above a 3.0. this is much harder to do when you are competing with a bunch of geniuses. if you are at an easier school where people on average are not as smart, it is much easier to be in the top half of the class. i cant understand why people don't recognize this. i personally have been on both sides. i went to a less prestigious school where i could pull 3.7s without doing any work whatsoever and then i went to a prestigious school where i have to bust my ass to get a 3.4. everyone knows people who you know from high school that get good grades at an easy school when in high school you got much better marks and were in general just a better student

i go to a so called "top school" and i can tell you first hand that the students who succeed are the ones who put in the necessary work. Those who fail are the people who don't study or don't grasp the concepts. It has nothing to do with the competition, if you have a strong work ethic and can synthesize material at the pace of the class, there is no reason for why you can't get A's.

 

[cbizzle7994]

i go to a so called "top school" and i can tell you first hand that the students who succeed are the ones who put in the necessary work. Those who fail are the people who don't study or don't grasp the concepts. It has nothing to do with the competition, if you have a strong work ethic and can synthesize material at the pace of the class, there is no reason for why you can't get A's.

i'm not saying its impossible to get A's. of course you can get A's at any school but there is no question that some schools are easier to get A's at than others. just as some classes are easier to get A's in than others. at some schools studying for 10 hours for an exam will get you a B+ while at others it will get you an A. if a person chooses to study for 50 hours for the exam they will get an A at both schools but one school is obviously easier than the other. it is impossible for every schools to be of equal difficulty. that is just a fact

 

[476515678234896]

it is impossible for every schools to be of equal difficulty. that is just a fact

this is true and I can't speak to the difficulty of classes at lower tier universities, but in the context of UCR v UCSD i think that it's really a non issue.

 

[qkchen]

go to UCR, i heard the students there party with their profs so it might be a good way to get a nice LOR 😀

 

[UCfan]

so at this point i'm definitely sure I want to pursue a career in dentistry, apply and be admited to a dental school. there's one problem picking a undergraduate university. my options are limited and are basically narrowed down to two schools UCSD and UCR. on one hand is UCSD the university thats located in my home town, but has very competitive science courses, which i fear would ruin my chances of gaining a high competitive gpa. UCR on the other hand is a not so prestigious, has a rep for being the reserve school but there science departments are great and there isn't much competition. so my question is what seems to be the better option, UCSD probably a 3.0-3.4🙁 or UCR 3.7-4.0😀. the numbers i estimated from gpa of ppl that i know from my high school that went there, basically similar in academic ability to me😉.

thank you for reading. p.s. senior so decision are just around the corner..

I am surprised how you can guess your GPA without attending it (what happen if you end up with 2.3 GPA from UCR for instance). Also how do you know competition at UCSD is greater than UCR? First of all both of them are UCs. UCR is a known school too. I heard that some of faculty members are leader of their fields (like all other UC campuses) and their agriculture and environmental science departments are known to be one of the best in the nation . I do not understand your attitude towards the same school but different campus. I do not like to hear from people that UCB and UCLA hands down attitude (I think that it is very immature). Ranking is one of the way of classing schools. If you think that you can have better GPA, do quality research and focus your classes and prepare DAT in Riverside then go to UCR. If you think that with your family support you will become a better candidate then go to UCSD. Personally I prefer to live in UCSD (because of the weather), but it cannot be your choice due to your priority list. The most important thing is realizing your potentials. If you are good, you are good wherever you go.

 

[dmitriyivanov]

San Diego hands down! UCR is easy and non competetive!

 

[elratoncito]

im a ucsd grad that didnt do so well there. UCSD is hard if you don't play the game right, which is to wait for the easy professors to take certain classes and get in with people that have old tests and all that good stuff nobody really ever told me to do. UCSD has one of the best pre-dental groups. Every interview i went on for dental school, the interviewer asked me about the pre-dental society without me bringing it up. SO thats a big plus. Just go to UCSD. Riverside is ugly anyway. Even though i graduated with a chitty GPA, i still feel like I got a really good education there and I don't regret it. Plus I got to party in amazing San diego weather for 4 years and i didnt do so bad in the end.



UOP Class of 2013!

 

[pie741]

thanks for the input every1. sorry if i was to specific with the UCSD and UCR scenario, but generally speaking is it a smarter move to attend a 4-year university for the gpa, sacrificing prestige?😕

 

[amali]

I actually went to both schools during my undergrad. I went to UCR my first two years and then UCSD my last 2. UCSD was definitely a tough school, but UCR is just depressing. I hated my time there. If you work hard, and "play the game right" you should be fine at UCSD. Also, they have a largely known predental society which is also a plus. UCSD hands down.

 

[silveryhair]

UCSD hands down they have a lot of resources for predents, lots of free clinics, so i'd go there if i were u.

 

[321931]

Go to wherever will make you happy. Don't go somewhere because of "it's hard" or "it's easy".

College happens once, and go to a place where you feel comfortable.

 

[dctim211]

The real question is: Does whatever competitive difference that exists (if any) between UCR vs UCSD justify going to a school that is far away from home and in a significantly less nice (for the lack of a better word) area? Will this difference outweigh, in a positive sense, the negative effects that being away from home in a less familiar area might have on my grades?

My answer: Having taken classes at a UC, a CSU and a top 20 US school, I would be lying if i said the competition was all the same. I would also be lying if I said this had zero impact on my grades. However, a key piece of information to this is figuring out if the classes you will be taking (Bio classes at UCR and UCSD) are typically curved (Bell Curve? Top score = 100? any other method?) or if they typically just go with some form of certain percentages being predetermined as letter grades. This is important because as long as the professors don't apply a bell curve to your grades, you are really only in competition with yourself. Meaning, choose the better environment, work hard, and get the grades you apparently believe you can get. If you hear that UCSD applies a bell curve in most of their bio classes while UCR does not... I think this decision gets a bit more interesting and I'd have to say that you would need to think a bit longer about it.

My 2 cents.

 

[meendabean]

I went to UCSD for a year and then came home to Nevada because of cost. since your parents are paying the same tuition for both, go to UCSD. They have more on-campus activities and free bands all the time. It's fun, especially the dorms and at Riverside, it's dead I hear. UCSD is UC Socially Dead but in comparison to UCR, it's way fun. I've heard from a lot of people. UCSD is hard. My GPA there was like a 3.3 and now it's a 3.9. I was failing tests there for the first time ever and trying my hardest but teachers grade hard. As far as getting letters of rec, UCSD class sizes are a lot bigger than Riverside. That's something to consider. Basically, you'll have more fun at UCSD and I think admissions will be somewhat lenient with GPA knowing you went there. Just stay involved and go to office hours so you don't blend into the crowd. The writing program at UCSD in Revelle College is killer btw. I hate even thinking about it

 

[meendabean]

The real question is: Does whatever competitive difference that exists (if any) between UCR vs UCSD justify going to a school that is far away from home and in a significantly less nice (for the lack of a better word) area? Will this difference outweigh, in a positive sense, the negative effects that being away from home in a less familiar area might have on my grades?

My answer: Having taken classes at a UC, a CSU and a top 20 US school, I would be lying if i said the competition was all the same. I would also be lying if I said this had zero impact on my grades. However, a key piece of information to this is figuring out if the classes you will be taking (Bio classes at UCR and UCSD) are typically curved (Bell Curve? Top score = 100? any other method?) or if they typically just go with some form of certain percentages being predetermined as letter grades. This is important because as long as the professors don't apply a bell curve to your grades, you are really only in competition with yourself. Meaning, choose the better environment, work hard, and get the grades you apparently believe you can get. If you hear that UCSD applies a bell curve in most of their bio classes while UCR does not... I think this decision gets a bit more interesting and I'd have to say that you would need to think a bit longer about it.

My 2 cents.

UCSD does curve for sure. I got a 45%, 89%, 90%, and 60% on tests in a Calc class and got an A. The only problem can be the curve isn't always so nice. There will be a lot of students just as good or better than you in the classes. It's something you have to get used to. It was tough at first but I just realized I wouldn't be acing tests like in high school. You can bomb tests and still do well at UCSD.(by bomb, I mean study all night and think your ready but you still fail. So does everyone else though so it works out)