Undergrad: uc davis or penn state

[snowi2222]

hello, I was recently admitted as an international student to uc davis(NPB) and penn state (main campus microbiology).

both schools have their pros and cons:

UC davis pros: Cali weather
More prestigious than penn state
lot of research opportunities
amazing major

note sure if cons (i would like your opinion): grade deflation
harder courses than penn state



Penn state pros: easier to get better grades
also a good and reputable school
cons: less prestigious
bad weather

The thing is that i am not sure if getting good grades is easier at penn state,and i am also not sure if getting good grades is that dificult at UCD(or if there is any sort of grade deflation)
Prestige does matter to me ,but as an international i know that the competition to get in an md school is even harder;therefore, i really need your opinion on which school to pick.


If uc davis is harder than penn state, do you think it is harder to the point that someone in penn state who has a 3.8 gpa would end up with a 3.3 in davis


Thank you in advance for reading my thread

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[deleted994889]

You forgot the most important consideration: price.

BTW, neither of those schools are particularly prestigious. Not that UG prestige (outside the top few) really matters much. Hard work and dedication will make the biggest differences for med school.

 

[snowi2222]

View attachment 299422
Table by AAMC. (A survey asking med schools, what were the most important deciding factors)

Notice the selectivity of an undergraduate institution is of least importance. I've known of a few of my upperclassmen who have been admitted to Top 20 schools.

thank you

I do know that prestige does not matter this much when applying to md ;however ,are you familiar with both schools i got into?
is the curriculum at penn state way easier than the one at ucd?
how are the research opportunities at penn state ?
is there really a terrible grade deflation at uc davis ?

 

[ACL_PK]

Figured I would pop in and give a little advice since I attended UC Davis as an undergrad. Can't really comment on whether the curriculum is more or less difficult when compared to Penn State though since I haven't actually attended both programs. However, one thing to consider is whether you would prefer a semester VS a quarter system. A quarter system is much more unforgiving as you only have 10 weeks per term.

But to touch on some things:
- NPB is a great major, and a majority of pre-meds tend to select this when entering Davis (both a pro and con). I entered as a NPB major but decided that I didn't vibe with the student personalities nor did I particularly enjoy the classes and switched majors.
- The pre-health physics track (7 series) is TERRIBLE, and I cannot recommend it to anyone.
- Great research opportunities, and potential chance to lead your own project (though the latter is slightly more rare).
- Various interesting classes at Davis outside of major!
- The pre-health counselors are kind of hit or miss. I personally can't recommend visiting them, BUT you do have a great pre-health community at Davis -- not to mention their annual pre-health conference is poppin' for making those connections.
- We also have many student-run clinics that undergrads can participate in! Whether you want to work with the homeless populations, LGBTQIA+, or under-served Hispanic/Asian/African american populations, there is probably a right fit for you out there. (You would directly be interacting with MD/DO/PA students while collecting some valuable clinical hours!)

 

[snowi2222]

Figured I would pop in and give a little advice since I attended UC Davis as an undergrad. Can't really comment on whether the curriculum is more or less difficult when compared to Penn State though since I haven't actually attended both programs. However, one thing to consider is whether you would prefer a semester VS a quarter system. A quarter system is much more unforgiving as you only have 10 weeks per term.

But to touch on some things:
- NPB is a great major, and a majority of pre-meds tend to select this when entering Davis (both a pro and con). I entered as a NPB major but decided that I didn't vibe with the student personalities nor did I particularly enjoy the classes and switched majors.
- The pre-health physics track (7 series) is TERRIBLE, and I cannot recommend it to anyone.
- Great research opportunities, and potential chance to lead your own project (though the latter is slightly more rare).
- Various interesting classes at Davis outside of major!
- The pre-health counselors are kind of hit or miss. I personally can't recommend visiting them, BUT you do have a great pre-health community at Davis -- not to mention their annual pre-health conference is poppin' for making those connections.
- We also have many student-run clinics that undergrads can participate in! Whether you want to work with the homeless populations, LGBTQIA+, or under-served Hispanic/Asian/African american populations, there is probably a right fit for you out there. (You would directly be interacting with MD/DO/PA students while collecting some valuable clinical hours!)

thanks for your answer obviously i rather have more time ,but did you feel like the curriculum was so hard that you always had no time?

do you know the rate of uc davis pre meds that go to MD?

 

[ACL_PK]

thanks for your answer obviously i rather have more time ,but did you feel like the curriculum was so hard that you always had no time?

do you know the rate of uc davis pre meds that go to MD?

It was definitely an adjustment initially, but I felt like there was an adequate amount of time during the quarter. What kinda sucks is that Davis doesn't really give a "dead week" where you have an entire week off after the quarter/semester finishes to study. There are instances where finals are the next day after instruction ends, yikes.

I don't know the exact number for MD matriculation, but I know numerous people who have/are headed to MD programs, myself included! It probs isn't that far off from other undergrad schools. Davis SOM tends to prefer their own undergrads though if that is a perk?