JDWiseW

Passed over UCLA, UCSD, and University of Redlands (who offered my a bunch of $$$ but is just WAY too close to where I already live...). Simple reason: they offered me more money. Longer reason: They offered me more money, I'm in the Honor's Program, guaranteed 4 year housing. And they offered more money.

alicantekid

ShoeFactory - I'll give you $1,000 if you graduate with a 4.0 from UCI. You make it sound like it's easy. Every year there are maybe 3 or 4 people out of thousands who graduate with a 4.0. One of my friends actually pulled it off...she's graduating from Johns Hopkins med this year. I have another friend who pulled it off in Poli Sci and she's doing a Ph.D. at Harvard now.

And I disagree that UCLA will give you more prep for the MCAT. I think that MCAT prep is more up to you than the school. Of all my friends who took it, the lowest score that I know of was a 33 and the highest was a 40 (the same girl who got the 4.0). But I think these people probably would have gotten the same scores regardless of where they went to school, where it was UCLA, MIT, or Cal State whatever.

As for me, I went to UCI over Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, USC, Notre Dame, and Brown. I was also in CHP and don't regret it for a second (maybe except for Saturdays in the fall where there's no football team to root for). I'm currently a grad student at UCLA, where I have tons of classmates who went to undergrad at more "prestigious" schools. But we all ended up at the same place, so UCI was a great choice for me.

snozle

Carnegie Mellon, it was a really tough choice for me. I was rejected from Stanford, Berkeley, and UCLA and I really wanted to go to California.

I'm majoring in Computer Science and Japanese; I know Carnegie Mellon has a better Computer Science program, but in the end my decision came down to where I thought I would be happier. I liked everything about UCI better than CMU, the only thing that I liked about CMU better was the prestige, which I thought was a superficial reason to choose a college.

ShoeFactory

the lack of 4.0's are usually because of what class?

and what you said really makes me feel that uci was the best choice.

jas0n

snozle: Screw Carnegie Mellon :P.

Hey ShoeFactor, I agree with alicantekid. I've always heard from my cousins in med school and friends shooting for med school that nothing but yourself can prepare you for the MCATs. From what I've seen so far, the same goes for GREs. I'll end up doing nothing for GREs. I need to start studying by next year =\. Also, the lack of 4.0s is due to UCI not having grade inflation. Remember an A- means a 3.7. The curves I've seen so far for lower-division permit about 17% of the students As and that doesn't mean a flat A - it includes A-'s. The professors here do not want to give out As like other schools. For example, the physics department has a policy that each class must have a 2.38 +/- 0.5 GPA average. That means the average can be a 1.88, which is a C-. Most teachers like to make the median a C+/B- though. You'll see more when you get on campus.

alicantekid: Let him go for now =]. He's just an incoming freshman. He'll learn for himself haha. By the way, what was your major at UCI and what are you studying at UCLA?

darkmafiaguy

random question for you jas0n: Which other UCs have similar grading systems? (i.e. A- is a 3.7 and not a 4.0)

mj300

snozle:

as jason told me earlier, UCI is specialized in Comp Science. It is the only UC that has diff school just for comp science.....so I dont think it would make that much of a diff for u in terms of prestige

A- = 3.7???.......w t f?????thats hella F***ed up...

cal90

ShoeFactory, sorry, off-topic I know, but just curious what does BME stand for?

ShoeFactory

biomed engineering

nate cali

Yup, don't count on getting that very high gpa anymore. Very very few students are able to do it. This isn't high school anymore.

In science classes, roughly only 15-20% are able to get A's. You need to beat out your peers because many science classes are on a curve. There are a lot of talented and bright students there at UCI, and you'll be surprised at good they are.

jas0n

Every UC uses the + and - system.

Just a reminder: The average GPA coming into UCI is 3.89 while the average gpa in the school is 2.7.

The Brian

college seems difficult as hell, especially with the A- = 3.7 weight.

i'm just gonna have to work my ass off and see where that gets me.

alicantekid

ShoeFactory - there are dozens of classes that trip people up. I guess the first hurdle, especially if you're in CHP, is Humanities Core. It's a great class and you'll learn a ton, but it's very hard to make it through there unscathed without at least an A- here or there. It's an 8 unit class, which means that every quarter you'll get two grades - one for lecture (based on exams) and one for discussion (based on papers, assignments, and participation). If it's not Humanities that gets you, then sometimes it'll be organic chem.

I think it's unrealistic to expect to get a 4.0. That would be awesome if you got it, but to even expect a 3.9 (especially in BME) is just setting yourself up for disappointment. If you're ambitious, you should aim to be in the 3.6 and higher range, and hopefully you'll exceed that. But if you want to go to grad/med school, then I think 3.6-3.7 is the benchmark that you want to look at. That being said, the average GPA for CHP students at graduation is just under a 3.7 (at least it was when I was in school).

I also agree with what nate cali said. You'll be surprised at how smart your peers are. I remember thinking that because I had gotten in to a bunch of higher-ranked schools, I would go in to UCI and be the smartest guy there. Boy, was I wrong. There were students there who had much lower GPAs and SAT scores than I did, but because they had much better study habits (maybe from having to try harder in high school), they often kicked my butt on exams. I got a pretty big wake up call after getting my first quarter grades, and I had to adjust my studying habits accordingly. So my advice is to go in humble and work like you're the dumbest kid there, not the smartest.

jas0n - I was a Bio Sci major with a minor in Psych when I was an undergrad at UCI. I am currently a 2nd year MBA student at UCLA.

ShoeFactory

I'm in the school of engineering so i dont have to take hum core (cousin told me to do that).

My study habits aren't that great but I havent been slacking for 4 years. I'm taking 7 ap classes this year. My weak point is english so i want to get through the writing classes with an A. I think im quite competent in sciences and math but we will see.

The only thing im hoping right now is that i can have the self control to keep studying hard.

mj300

what if you are in donald bren school and ur in CHP........do you have to take Humanities core?.....( well im not in ChP...but i'm thinking of applying after 1st quarter. Hopefully, my gpa will be high enough).....
and is there any way i can get around that writing class...for example, take it at CC during summer?