Best UC for premed?

Pre-Med & Medical School High School Student Topics
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<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I’m having a bit of a dilemma and the closer May 1st comes, the more indecisive I get. I have been accepted to UCLA (Human Bio and Society), UC Berkeley (Psych), UC Davis (Bio Psych), UC San Diego (Psych–Thurgood Marshall College), and others, but those are my top 4. I’m have already completed my IGETCI and my units will transfer over after my first semester/quarter. So basically, I won’t have to worry about completing all the general ed requirements, unlike most entering freshmen. I’m premed despite my major, and have to take the bio, chem, ochem, and physics series. </p>

<p>I’m wondering which UC would be the best for my situation. The tuition costs are about even. </p>

<p>UCLA: pros-prestigious, has a track record for being great for premeds, in SoCal. cons-very expensive (cost of living wise), far from home, tough to get a high GPA.</p>

<p>UCB: pros-prestigious, close to home, in the Bay Area. cons-very expensive (cost of living wise), grade deflation, cut throat, terrible premed advising. </p>

<p>UCD: pros-very connected with med school, close to home, easier to get a high GPA and balance ec’s with studying for MCATs, laid back atmosphere. cons-not much to do in Davis, less prestigious. </p>

<p>UCSD: pros-fairly reputable, in SoCal, Sun God festival. cons-difficult to stand out as a premed since 25% are bio majors, cut throat, no school spirit, expensive. </p>

<p>Thank you so much for your help!</p>

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<p>I am in a similar situation with you (with all these schools as my options) except I’m a freshman applicant and not a transfer applicant. Pre-med at UCB is very cutthroat and difficult to achieve a high GPA (solely based off that I would eliminate UCB). Med school admissions are all about high gpa + high MCAT, and the prestige of your undergraduate school is rarely taken into consideration. The only time when it COULD be taken into consideration is comparing a student with the exact same MCATs, extra-currics, but one has a 3.7 GPA at UCB and the other a 3.7 GPA at UCD (then they will probably take the UCB student), BUT most of the times a 3.7-4.0 GPA at a less prestigious school will ALWAYS be taken over a lower GPA at a more prestigious school. The next thing to consider is you should go to a college that has a med school (and a hospital on campus for the purposes of finding internships, etc.). UCSD, UCLA, and UC Davis all have that so all of those 3 would be okay in those terms. Next look at location, social life, etc. UCSD is known to be more boring, and cutthroat (I eliminated UCSD because many of my friends there HATE it). So I would narrow it down to UCLA and UC Davis (I’m deciding between the two myself). While both are great schools, I ultimately will end up going with UC Davis over UCLA because it’s easier to maintain a high gpa, while studying for MCATs and doing my extra-currics! It’s a tough decision though. But based off many med school admission officers have told me about the importance of a high GPA and high MCAT, UCD makes the most sense. So if you ask me, GO WITH UC DAVIS!</p>

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