UCD or UCI for pre med?

niktheslick
Sat, 28 Mar 2015 21:57:01 +0000

Hey guys I’ve been going back and forth between the two colleges for some time now and I really cannot decide. Next week I’ll be taking a tour of each campus, so hopefully I can make a decision then. But for now, any comments would be appreciated.

Some info/things I’ve heard:
-I’m Asian Indian
-My major is biological sciences at both schools
-I currently live in SoCal, so Irvine would be a lot closer to my family and I would get a car. Also a good portion of my friends are going to UCI, while none of them are going to UCD (I don’t really see this as too big of a problem though, but it is a factor)
-UCI and UCD are really close in the rankings, but I’ve heard UCD is slightly better for pre med (correct me if I’m wrong)
-I heard UCD is less competitive than UCI for pre med and the professors are better at UCD, but I’m not too sure if this is true.
-I’m not too big of a partier, so that’s not a factor.
-research opportunities are good at both schools.
-UCD has a lot more options in the bio field. For example, if I decide to drop pre med because it is too much, I can switch into a biotech major or env science major and then get a masters in business and hopefully work for an industry of some sort (my alternate plan if med school doesn’t work out)
-I’m really into Asian girls and I heard UCI has a lot of them (lol jk)
-I feel as if going to UCI would be more comfortable for me, but going to UCD would be a new, different experience.
-I love to get involved and take leadership initiatives. (I feel like Davis provides the edge here)
-I’m really into sports (am thinking about playing club tennis in college)
-I think what it boils down to is which college I can get a better GPA at and which college best prepares me the best for the MCAT.

So as you can see, it’s like 60-40 for me right now. I’m slightly leaning towards Davis, but I’m not entirely sure yet. I would appreciate it if anyone could offer their two cents. It would really help if people who attend/attended UCI or UCD for pre med could give their take.

And one other question, is there a certain major that would prepare me best for med school? Because right now I am signed up as a bio major and I realize that if I do not make med school, there is not much to do with a bio degree. That being said, could I major in something like biotech, env/agricultural science and still pursue pre med? This way I’ll keep my options open if I do not get into med school as having a biotech degree, for instance, is more useful than a bio degree in terms of landing a job.

Thanks.