Hello! I’ve been accepted by UMICH, UCD, and UCI, but I’m having a huge issue with choosing one. UMICH has always been the “easy” answer, and I’ve had countless people tell me that it’s the obvious choice over either of the other two. However, I’m from Ann Arbor, and despite how amazing it is, I’d like to leave if I can. UMICH is an excellent school, and I understand that it’s technically the “better” college. Plus, on forums, people tend to talk down UCD and UCI, and it makes me really nervous that I’m making the wrong decision. Having been admitted for biological sciences or biology-related majors, I’d like to think that I’ll get the same opportunities and education from any of the three choices, but it’s so hard to tell when everyone online is just disagreeing and being generally hostile towards the UCs. I want to one day pursue medical school – am I making a mistake?
Congratulations 
on 3 tough acceptances.
UCD in particular is a fantastic school for sciences and you already know UMich is great. They’re comparable.
That being said, if you’re instate for Michigan, you’re Oos for UCs and costs are going to be very different.
Do your parents have 300k in savings? Can your family afford UCs easily, without loans?
Attending UCs may well mean you won’t be able to afford med school or make your life very difficult with debt. If that’s not the case then UCD would be a great choice for Biological Sciences.
Hello! Thank you so much! I’m very fortunate to not have to worry about costs when it comes to college, and I understand that’s not the case for most people, so I don’t often mention it. Having brought this up to my parents before, they told me that payments aren’t my responsibility until medical school. Thank you for the insight, it’s been really hard to get good advice when so many people tell me varying things. I’ve heard UC Davis biology is only strong because of the agricultural part – how much of that is really true? I know that the rankings are comparatively very high (though those can be superficial as well).
I have no problem with choosing UCD or UCI over UM if you think you would be happier (and UCD in particular is very strong in bio sciences)…but not in your case. You are in state for UM and OOS for UC? UM is too good a deal to pass up.
UC Davis seems similar to CALS at Cornell in this regard. Nonetheless, I believe students from either of these schools would be very well prepared for medical school with proper course selection.
These three universities are all very good, and are specifically very good for biology and for premed students. There are of course a huge number of universities that are very good for premed students. I am not concerned about the academics.
One small nit is that UC Davis has the #1 ranked DVM program in the world. The pre-vet required classes are the same as premed required classes (some optional classes may be different). There would be some very strong pre-vet students in your classes at UC Davis. I do not see any problem with this.
A bigger issue is budget. Even if your parents can pay for your bachelor’s, budget is still an issue for anyone who starts university thinking “medicine”. Medical school is very expensive. If you ever get to medical school, it is likely to cost more than $100,000 per year by the time that you get there. Medical school alone could very well cost you $500,000. You do not want to take all of this as debt, and it would be best if you can avoid taking even half of this as debt. Even doctors have trouble paying off medical school debt.
Since you are in-state at the University of Michigan it is likely to be quite a bit less expensive compared to the various Universities of California (assuming that you are out of state in California). This leads to the question: What is your budget? What is your budget without taking on any debt for your bachelor’s degree? What is your budget for a full 8 years of university if you do end up in medical school?
And the University of Michigan is a very, very good university.
Another issue is that premed classes will be very demanding at any of these three very good universities. You will need to go in planning to work hard in your classes.
Finally, most students who start university intending to be premed end up taking some other path. Some (a minority) end up in medical school. Some find that they cannot maintain a “medical school worthy” GPA in premed classes, and end up having to choose a different path. Some decide that they would prefer to take a different path. You might want to think about some alternate majors and career paths that appeal to you, and think about which of these schools would be better.
We might also note that of those who decide not to go to medical school, some end up instead getting a master’s degree (as one example, to go into biology research instead). This can also cost a fair amount (although less, mostly because it is likely to only take 2 years rather than 4). If you save money for medical school, and never get to medical school, the money may still be useful in other ways.
I think that you need to ask your parents: If you choose the less expensive (and still academically excellent) university, can the money that you save be used to pay for medical school in the future? If you do end up in medical school, you do not want to take the full cost as debt. Even taking half of the cost as debt will be a huge burden that could take decades to pay off.
Most students who start off premed never end up in medical school. However, I do not think that you want to start off in September on a path that is going to make it difficult to pay for medical school in case you end up on that path.
why UC? You can get to med school from anyone of hundreds of colleges.
I get wanting to “go-away” for college, but besides that, what is the value prop for Irvine or Davis? What about the college community? Ann Arbor is the quintessential educational experience. In contrast, Irvine is a sleepy suburban town, in which a lot of students go ‘home’ for the weekend. (Davis has more of a community.)
I personally would not advise paying OOS fees for a generic major at a UC.
You’re only making a mistake if you dwell on the decision.
Many a kid chooses a safety school over a reach (both mine in fact) and this isn’t close to that situation.
No school can assure an outcome and you could conceivably do as well or even better from a UC (or any school) than U Michigan. Different kids have different outcomes - of course, in aggregate Michigan does well but it’s not everyone.
Bottom line - if you want to go to a UC and can afford to do so, you shouldn’t let an alternative acceptance that you’re not interested in stand in your way…note the part about you’re not interested.
Make your pick and don’t look back.
Best of luck.
I think that the responses you are getting are good. To summarize: the academic quality difference is negligible, the cost difference is considerable.
In terms of quality - you can get an amazing education at any of these three schools. They are all excellent universities, among the 69 members of the American Association of Universities (the top research schools in the US). You should not hesitate, on the basis of academic quality or future plans, to feel that you could get an excellent education and any of these three.
In terms of cost, though: this is a significant difference. Whatever the cost difference is for next year, X4.
So the consistent advice is to focus your thinking not upon worries about academic quality, but rather upon the cost differential, and how that might impact your future options in medical school or some other future. And if your family is sufficiently wealthy that it does not matter, then Ok. But you mentioned that your family said Med School was all on you. Would they be willing to put cost savings from your undergraduate years into an account that would be available to you after your Bachelor’s degree? And if they could, would that matter to you?
Whatever money doesn’t go to undergrad, will go to medical school. Of course, I completely understand that, with that being the case, UMICH is still the better financial situation despite being able to afford undergrad. However, the UCs have been my dream since I discovered them because I originally wanted to get a DVM or pursue marine biology, though I had originally hoped for UCB or UCLA. Even though I’m not on the same path as I originally was, I just never really thought about UMICH in the same way as them, and I don’t think that I still do. I believe I’d be able to be happy anywhere, but at the same time, I think that if I don’t take a risk and be adventurous now, I may never end up wanting to leave. Davis is a beautiful town, and I had a wonderful time during the Aggie Day, and I’ll be visiting Irvine soon as well. Ann Arbor just doesn’t thing the same way, as it feels more like home than a new start.
So this changes the equation - potentially.
Med school will be $400K+. The UCs are another $325K+. UCD showing $78K+ in the first year and there’s inflation.
Can your family afford this over the next 8 years? And if they can, do they want to afford it?
Because let’s be honest - if they can’t or you’d have to take out loans - then there are a lot of colleges not in Ann Arbor that wouldn’t be close to $78K a year - and many you can still get into. They might not be your dream - but in reality, in many ways, a big flagship is a big flagship is a big flagship - whether it’s Iowa State, Mississippi State, Arizona, or a UC.
And the last thing you want to be is a 40 year old doctor paying thousands a month in debt - just like those doctors today rue this situation.
So have that discussion with your family related to the next 8 years - can than handle $750K without you having to take loans - or significant loans.
If the answer is yes and they support the UCs, then great.
If the answer is no, then you still have time to get in apps elsewhere that will cost a lot less.
In the end, budget often drives decisions.
Some will tell you - the first four years are what matter because the odds of you going to medical school are slim - so be where you want to be.
But I’m a believer in believing in you - so whether you end up in medical school or not, I’d want to plan for it.
Best of luck to you.
Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll be sure to talk with my parents about this!
You are so, so, so lucky to have Michigan in your backyard! I get the wanting to go away for college thinking among high schoolers, especially those who grew up in the shadow of a university that has accepted them. I live in a college town and my children’s college-bound classmates are all “anything but XYZ” in our town. As good as the two UCs are, I’m not sure if they are worth 75k per year when you could pay <40k to go to Michigan which is excellent and amazingly well-rounded, with an outstanding medical school to boot. Your parents could save some of the money for your medical school which as you know isn’t cheap. If my family is in your situation, the decision would have been easy for us.
I truly get wanting to go away for college, but I think you have put yourself into a bit of a bind here by having as your options such costly universities that serve a pretty specific role in the UC system. Like, and I don’t want to bias it, but based on what I have read about the experience of Davis and Irvine undergrads–I think they are a great deal academically in-state, but I am not sure I would personally want to spend a ton on them OOS for essentially lifestyle reasons.
So I don’t know, I feel like the real solution to this issue would be some very different alternative not in Michigan, either less costly, or alternatively more bang-for-your-buck in terms of the student experience. And you can truly do premed anywhere decent.
If you are paying list price, then it looks like UCD and UCI are about $40k per year more expensive than Michigan (it would be approximately the other way around if you were a California resident).
$160k over four years is a lot of money that could mean needing $160k less debt for medical school if you do get into medical school. Even with physician pay, that is a significant amount of money when it comes to debt to pay off.
UMich is the right four letter answer 
160k is a lot of money especially since OP has plans for med school.
By the way, I assume you know this, but I believe UCD has around 4% domestic OOS students, and UCI is under 3%. There are more internationals, but internationals don’t have competitive in-state options of course. And in fact according to this source, there was ONE student from Michigan at UCI, and a whopping three at UCD:
Of course it is fine to march to the beat of your own drummer, but I do think this is reflecting a reality that it is really, really hard to see the value in these UCs if you have a solid in-state option. The real point of them is to give California residents more capacity for flagship-level academics than Cal and UCLA alone can provide. And they do that, but again that tends to only make sense as a value proposition if you are actually a California resident, or maybe an international.
Why not have your cake and eat it too? Go to UMich and take a year abroad to experience some new locations or join some zanny club that will expand your boundaries in other ways. This way you can have the benefit of $ saved and graduating from a school with a great reputation.Also, UMich as a student will have a significant different feel than what it is like to be from there. 50% of the students hail from outside Michigan for example.
Irvine is NOT comparable as a choice. It is a commuter school.
Davis is strong, and if your heart wants to experience CA, you can’t go wrong at Davis.
- The school has a strong cross section of Californians (aka very diverse)
- It’s a sunny place- figuratively and literally
- A college town that is close to the mountains (Tahoe) and close to several cities (Sacramento, EastBay and SF).
Congrats and best of luck to you in your decisions.
I would ask your parents if they would pay for medical school (or grad school) if you went to one of the UCs. If the answer is no (which is a very reasonable response) then Michigan is the answer. I believe you said that if you attend Michigan any extra money will go toward medical school.
Did you apply to any other schools? I agree that you can study abroad at Michigan.
Congrats on your acceptances!
And if they say that they will pay part or all of medical school if you go to Michigan, even more reason to pick Michigan
Going to Michigan will be a huge asset to allow you to broaden your horizons. It’s half out of state, has excellent study abroad opportunities and will facilitate internships throughout the country. The only thing the UC schools beat Michigan in is warmer weather