forluvnpeacemom

Leviathan08-
I also thought that Pentland dorms were nice. That is where I have decided to stay when I attend UCR in the Fall.

How about you?

Leviathan08

I'm attending UCM. I denied UCR, but if I would have choosen it the pentland dorms would have been my first choice. They are so kool.

compaq10

UC Merced dorm is very good. If your major is Bio Chem, it's a good place to study since its lab is not as large as UC Davis, Berkeley, UCI, UCLA's lab (average 800 vs 200).I've heard UC Merced is going to open a Medical School in 2010

Premed4life

Yes, they are opening a medical school in 2010/2011...but it wont be a traditional medical school.

I expect the new medical school to drastically raise the prestige of UCM, I may not even mind telling people I went there

Aznxkaiser

Why is it not going to be a traditional medical school? How would I enter the program?

Premed4life

Its not going to be a traditional medical school due to the fact that it will be lacking a...teaching hospital. Once the medical students undergo their first two years of medical school (the actual class part) they will be sent to various hospitals around the central valley (ie fresno, bakersfeild) to finnish their "medical schooling". I actually think this is a good idea on behalf of UCM, because frankly if there was a teaching hospital in Merced, the most exciting thing a student would see would be a broken leg from tripping over the Old Grannys cat on the way to the farmers market to sell their oranges. As opposed to a triple heart bypass using the latest tech.

Aznxkaiser

Thats cool! So Merceds ranking would probably shoot up...heh

Premed4life

yes, but for merceds ranking to shoot up...we would have to be ranked first

Aznxkaiser

Bwhahah true that...but I mean it would be placed probably closer to UCR?

Leviathan08

lol omg! ranks....who cares! It's the knowledge not the number US NEWS gives it. right?

Detox

Wow, I'm a 2nd year UCM student also...I cannot even tell you how unhappy I am with this place. I can literally go on and on about how I got screwed over at UCM as a pre-med student and sadly, there is an incredible amount of information that the staff and faculty are keeping from their students. I'm glad I found out some of the things I did because I did it just in time to transfer to a more prestigious UC. I won't go into details here because I've already gotten in trouble by spilling some **** about UCM online but bottom line, if you're pre-med you better transfer out quick.

fusionall

I don't think I would be the only one eager to hear (or rather read) about the things the UCM staff are keeping from students. Enlighten us Detox?

If not out of courtesy, please do so out of fairness. I think incoming freshman, especially those seeking guidance in the pre-med major, would benefit from your knowledge.

What kind of trouble could you have gotten in to? Something the First Amendment doesn't cover? Also, if you're transferring to another UC, what does it matter now right? Just wondering...

Detox

Listen I would absolutely love to sit down and spill everything to you guys but I'd be risking my reputation as well as my professional undergraduate career. It may sound a little extreme I know, but I ****ed a lot of people off by running around UCM saying this **** and I ****ed some of the staff even more off by posting something online on another forum...a staff member found it, registered on the forum, and tried to downplay the severity of my situation with UCM cuz they are VERY concerned with PR and the kind of image they present themselves with. Who the hell would have thought they'd find me on the internet lol...they knew exactly who I was too cuz my situation is unique. It was funny cuz other members stood up for me and totally called the staff member out on what they were saying...it was a total coverup and people realized it. They can't have one of their top students running around giving them a bad rep and I understand that. So I learned my lesson and stopped giving specifics about me. I feel that even by typing this now, it will somehow turn into a problem somewhere down the line.

Just know this, if you go the pre-med route at UCM then you need to get AT LEAST a 3.8 GPA and a higher than average MCAT score (we're talking >33 range) to even be potentially considered for a CA med school. That's the simplest I can break it down to you. They want your money and they want your presence so they will never give you the truth cuz obviously then you wouldn't attend. Here's something else that might help, I posted this in the other thread fusionall had going here but one of my professors actually told me that I won't get into med school out of UCM for the first few years and she recommended that I either get a Masters degree from another university after I graduate from UCM or I transfer to another school.

I<3UCM

I'm a graduating senior at UC Merced, I've been here since it opened in 2005 and I love it. I'm a history major, so I can't speak for natural sciences or engineering students, but for me it's been the best possible college experience. There are so many opportunities you have here that you just don't get at other UCs.

I've interned in Yosemite National Park during the summer, where I was paid to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. That summer there were 10 spots for interns in the park. 8 were reserved for students from UC Merced, and 2 were available for everybody else in the country.

I just got back from a semester in Washington DC where I worked in the House of Representatives and had an amazing time.

I've assisted a post-doc researcher at Stanford with her project on bilingualism, been able to conduct my own experiments of color perception, and the school is paying for me to attend the Cognitive Science 2008 conference this summer.

I also worked in a microbiology lab on a project related to microbial diversity patterns.

I'm going to BYU for law school next year, and was accepted at UC Hastings, William and Mary, and 6 other schools.

There's at least a dozen professors that I could get together with for lunch any day of the week, they just love to talk to their students outside of class. Some professors are busier than others, but if I've ever had a question or concern, there was never any problem getting to talk to the professor about it.



My experience isn't typical, and I recognize that, but the point is that going to UC Merced will in no way limit your opportunities while in college. If you're worried about graduate school, all of the other UCs are just DYING to get UC Merced graduates. I talked to the head of admissions at UC Hastings and he told me that the entire office got really excited when they received their first UCM applicant.

Leviathan08

WOW! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew UCM wasn't so bad. Everyone, who attends UCM, on this forum talks as if it's hell!
It has been confirmed ladies and gentlemen, college is what you make it. =D