University of California Riverside - DOOMED?

[WatchMeRise]

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what do you guys know about UC Riverside? So far I've only heard negative comments. e.g "it's not that great of a UC" "There are much better schools out there" I have an acceptance from UCR. would going there for undergrad hinder my chances of getting into medical school because it's not a school with high renown?

they also have a medical school now right? does that change anything?

 

[Nantes]

You're doomed.

On second thought, no, you're not doomed, that would be ridiculous. Med schools care infinitely more about your GPA, mcat, EC's, and pretty much every other factor before they take undergraduate prestige into account.

Also, don't rely on the fact that riverside has a med school for any relief. Although they may show a very minute preference for those who go to their undergrad school, you will still have to be just as competitive as every other applicant for it to matter.

 

[WatchMeRise]

thanks
i definitely have a back up school then.
🙂

 

[RySerr21]

do you have any other acceptances to any other UCs? If so, i would consider the other options. I mean you arent going to get a poor education, but in general its considered at the bottom of the list of UCs. That being said, if you do well and participate in other ECs and are involved and what not, its not going to matter. Have you ever visited? Also keep in mine if you go to Riverside, that means you have to LIVE in riverside. that place is a crap hole. Its kinda, cuz we play them in rugby this weekend and at the end of practice our coach said "we are gonna have to play well cuz they are gonna drive all the way up here with a huge chip on their shoulders just from the fact that they live in Riverside." He was obviously joking, but that goes to show the opinion most people have of the place...

 

[RnD4Lyf]

I have a coworker who went to UCR for her undergrad in Mechanical Engineering and I would say she's probably one of the stronger engineers that we have at work. I think one of the important things that you need to do is get this hierarchy of schools out of your head and find somewhere that really fits you. I personally understand this as I've been to 3 university and finally found a home at Cal Poly Pomona (my previous two were SJSU and UCI). In regards to med school, you could go to Billy Joe Bobs College of Cornfields and still be on equal footing at some Stanford or UCB kid considering that you perform well and do your EC's. Hope this helps.

 

[Vicviper]

I've talked to a number of people who liked UCR, but then I also have a friend who started at UCR, and then transfered to UCI because he couldn't stand UCR. I think it might just be a matter of personal preference. Just try to get into research while you're there and you'll stand out from the elite school kids who don't have research. Good Luck!

 

[physics junkie]

It won't affect your chances at medical school...at all.

I turned down UCR and UCSC in favor of community college. I transferred to USC after 1 year. Looking back it wouldn't have made a difference other than the fact that riverside sucks.

No surprise that the engineer from UCR is doing well: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/ They have John Baez.

 

[WatchMeRise]

thanks for the feedback.
and yes, I have visited the school, and I really don't like the area. I hear back from the other UC's in March, so hopefully i get more acceptances. i was accepted into san francisco state, but im knocking that off my list for riverside

it's just that the area seems so depressing and boring for me.. i guess i won't know until i get there.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

thanks for the feedback.
and yes, I have visited the school, and I really don't like the area. I hear back from the other UC's in March, so hopefully i get more acceptances. i was accepted into san francisco state, but im knocking that off my list for riverside

it's just that the area seems so depressing and boring for me.. i guess i won't know until i get there.

If you dont like the area then you should not go!
Its all about where you are comfortable, personally from what i know about the UC's i think fairly good ones in the middle you should probably try for are Santa Barbera, Irvine, Davis, Santa Cruz (in no particular order). I would say Irvine is a good place to be though if your a student with average stats.

 

[WatchMeRise]

I'm not sure if UC Santa Cruz would be better or not.. any info on that school? the stats are very close to UCR's. I'm just not sure how the environment is

 

[Eisley]

I'm not sure if UC Santa Cruz would be better or not.. any info on that school? the stats are very close to UCR's. I'm just not sure how the environment is

Environment... if you don't like the smell of weed, you will learn to. 😀
It's pretty liberal and known for being a "hippie" school.

 

[WatchMeRise]

really? i didn't know that.
i thought that because it's near the beach, the area would be nice. but im not sure, ive never been there.

it's actually an easy school to get into (based on statistics), so im not sure how the academics are. but so far ive heard, im going to get the same education anywhere pretty much... as long as my gpa is high, and my mcat is solid, right?

still. i wouldn't want to drown in a place i can't stand for four years of undergrad.

 

[RySerr21]

really? i didn't know that.
i thought that because it's near the beach, the area would be nice. but im not sure, ive never been there.

it's actually an easy school to get into (based on statistics), so im not sure how the academics are. but so far ive heard, im going to get the same education anywhere pretty much... as long as my gpa is high, and my mcat is solid, right?

still. i wouldn't want to drown in a place i can't stand for four years of undergrad.

santa cruz is a beautiful place (my gf is from there originally so ive been there quite a few times). Especially if you love nature and nice scenery and what not. The people there are just different - thats the best and simplest way I can put it. Yes it is a pretty liberal place, and yes you might even describe the people as being "hippies" but in generall the people are really cool and interesting to be around. Going through the downtown area there is usually always some person or group of people putting on some type of street show whether it be instruments, singing, or something like that. I dunno, i thought it was fun just to walk through and people watch.

As far as the school itself, UCSC is generally considered to be at the "bottom" of the UC list along with Riverside and probably Merced. But like others have said, its really not going to make a difference where you go. Try not to worry so much about reputation, you are going to get a good education through the UC system and if you do well then you will have success in the med school application process. Go where you think you will be happiest. A huge part of figuring that out is vising the campuses, maybe even staying the night with a student host, sittin in on classes and meeting other students.

 

[WatchMeRise]

thanks for the info. clears things up a bit, at least from a secondhand perspective.

quick question for all of you,

if you got accepted to:

UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz, which one would you attend and why?

 

[Eisley]

thanks for the info. clears things up a bit, at least from a secondhand perspective.

quick question for all of you,

if you got accepted to:

UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz, which one would you attend and why?

Santa Cruz.

Riverside: reputation for being a boring/bad place to live (as noted above)
Merced: too new (2005). middle of nowhere.

Santa Cruz is in a good area, with the beaches and whatnot. You probably won't get bored as easily as in Riverside or Merced.

Plus I like weed

 

[RySerr21]

thanks for the info. clears things up a bit, at least from a secondhand perspective.

quick question for all of you,

if you got accepted to:

UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz, which one would you attend and why?

Probably Santa Cruz just b/c it is no doubt the best place to live. It will probably also have more interesting people and more interesting students. But like i said, you have to visit the schools. Maybe you fall in love with UC Merced and thats where you want to go. If that happens, dont let anyone on SDN or elsewhere tell you to go somewhere else.

 

[doctor2be2013]

UCR/UCLA Medical School Program:

http://biomed.ucr.edu/content/view/25/49/

 

[WatchMeRise]

UCR/UCLA Medical School Program:

http://biomed.ucr.edu/content/view/25/49/

great post!
thank you.

 

[Eisley]

If you dont like the area then you should not go!
Its all about where you are comfortable, personally from what i know about the UC's i think fairly good ones in the middle you should probably try for are Santa Barbera, Irvine, Davis, Santa Cruz (in no particular order). I would say Irvine is a good place to be though if your a student with average stats.

I don't know if SB would be a great idea for someone who wants to be a doctor, honestly.
Party school.

 

[WatchMeRise]

if your intentions in school are to party, any school is a party school in my opinion. isn't UCSD also a party school? but it also has a highly reputable science department right?

personally, I'd pick SB over riverside. that's for sure.
but doctor2be's post sounds interesting

 

[Eisley]

if your intentions in school are to party, any school is a party school in my opinion. isn't UCSD also a party school? but it also has a highly reputable science department right?

personally, I'd pick SB over riverside. that's for sure.
but doctor2be's post sounds interesting

No, SD actually has a reputation for being one of the less social UCs. Its science department is highly reputable though.