Hello, I was recently admitted to both UC San Diego and the University of Michigan and I am wondering as to which program has the better premed program. I believe 40% UCSD premed students are accepted to medical school. I was admitted to the Honors College at Michigan which boasts an 80% medical school acceptance rate to medical school. Are there any other factors to consider? Which school is best for premed students?
Costs since you want to keep Undergrad costs as low as possible. The best school would be were you can get a competitive GPA, have access to medically related EC’s and where you would graduate with the least amount of debt.
Take MD acceptance rates w/ a grain of salt since they are easily “cooked”.
@yikesyikesyikes Could explain what you mean by MD acceptance rates being “cooked”?
Both schools will offer you the opportunities and resources to be a successful premed, whether you do so is much more on your efforts, much less on which school you attend.
As to “cooked”: let’s say 250 students start as premed, 70% change their minds for various reasons (eg grades), leaving 75 premeds who get to point of applying. Of those that apply 30 get accepted. School proudly states in glossy brochure that 40% of their premeds got into med school.
I don’t know much about UMich, but I know at UCSD you’ll be often sitting in premed classes of 200-300 very bright students, all competing for say the 15-20% of the As the prof hands out, most students will get Cs or worse. The weeding out will be brutal.
Agree with @ gumbymom above.
Class sizes may be a bit smaller, maybe 50-300, and a few more A’s handed out (top 25%), but UMich pre-med sounds similar. Cheaper is good.
“Weedout” courses that all premeds must take such as chemistry that have a curve where only a certain percentage can get A’s
But that isn't the only way. The next hurdle is the committee letter. Not all schools have these, large publics do not, but if your college offers one then if you don't submit it then med schools assume you withheld it due to a serious problem. This gives these colleges the ability to control who can apply to med school since they decide who gets positive letters of rec. Let me write the letters of rec and I can get any college in the country a 80% admit rate. All the info you need is in https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf As one college often recommended on this forum ells its students [quote] The Committee's level of recommendation and the tone and content of the letter to be written is discussed with applicants as openly as possible.[/quote]
And surprise! Of those that end up applying, 81% get in.
However UCSD has been doing especially badly at med school admissions, to the point they launched an inquiry.
Is UMichigan affordable?
If so, that’s what I’d take.
LSA honors is superb, you’ll get a lot of personal attention and it’ll help out the advantage of everything Michigan has to offer. But be ready for really hard classes.
At Michigan, take some of your classes Honors to avoid the large weedout classes, if you have credit use it.
BTW, LSA Honors also locks you into South Quad for housing freshman year, which is a great location on Central Campus, where all your classes will be located essentially across the street, it’s remodeled and has its own dining hall, one of the best on campus. And very social. 
What is the difference in cost? Which is more affordable? That’s something to think about, especially if you’re going to Med School.
You need to think about which school is a better fit. Would you rather be in scenic Ann Arbor or San Diego? San Diego is a bit smaller. Consider that too. Both have similar social scenes. Michigan has a better rep, if you take advantage of opportunities at UCSD you can be just as successful. Additionally, Michigan has a bigger sports scene if you want that.
However, the difference in med school acceptance rates are huge. That is something to consider. But, if you think UCSD is a better fit and works out better financially, I would give more consideration to UCSD.
Personally, I like Michigan better but only if they are equal in costs.
Undergraduate cost is not really a factor, however I will probably be able to qualify for instate tuition at UCSD after my first year. The total cost of OOS Michigan would be about $265k while 3 years instate and 1 year OOS at UCSD would be about $153k. The real question I’m grappling with is whether saving that $112k is worth the possibility of me not being accepted to a top-tier medical school. As I said before, however, undergraduate cost is not the most important factor thanks to my extremely lucky financial situation. Regardless of undergraduate cost, I will be taking on a lot of financial debt if I do decide to attend medical school, which is a segue to my next point.
I’m not 100% married to idea of becoming a doctor, but my path seems to be trending toward that. My passion for the sciences and desire to help others seems to have placed me on that track for a long time, but I may end up trying something in college that I enjoy far more. That being said, is there any relative difference between switching majors at either UCSD or Michigan? Both are large state schools, and I understand that it may be difficult to switch majors in terms of graduating on time and getting all required classes in.
As for fit, I have seen UCSD and enjoyed the campus, but I feel as though the 6 college system will create a feeling of disunity amongst the students. Instead of being UCSD students, they may feel like Muir or Marshall students. In terms of sports life, Michigan clearly has an advantage. I plan on attending one of Michigan’s Campus Days where I can tour and get a feel for the campus and other people I would meet. The Campus Day will probably be the deciding factor of my choice.
Tl;dr: Cost of undergrad is not particularly something I’m concerned about but UCSD has the potential to save me $112k, I’m not 100% committed to medicine as an 18 year old and therefore am wondering what the process of changing majors at each university is, and I have yet to tour Michigan but plan on doing so in the Spring; the Campus day will probably be a deciding factor.
Within LSA or CoE, switching majors at UMich is relatively easy. You don’t even have to declare a major in LSA until second term of sophomore year. But, transferring into the BBA program at the Ross Business School would be difficult.
Your concern about the 6 college system really isn’t a problem. I have more friends in other colleges than in my own and we don’t even think about the colleges, except when we complain about our GEs to each other lol
Getting residency for tuition purposes in California after initially starting school as a non-resident student is very difficult: https://www.ucop.edu/residency/residency-requirements.html
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All US medical schools are good
All medical schools are good but they are not equal. UM has a top tier med school and guess what, they take a whole lot more from there UM undergrad class then from other schools.
@cowboy48 , look at what @Jugulator20 said. Also, some schools refuse to endorse their students for med school if they do not meet certain thresholds (usually with respect to their gpa or science gpa). That, way their weaker students know they do not have a chance and do not even try applying.