UCD VS. UCLA for life science/pre-health?

ADHDFTL
Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:04:29 +0000

UCLA and UCB and probably UCSD to a lesser extent (but not by much) all are relatively cutthroat I hear. Since a lot of classes are curved and so many strong students are going to those schools you’re bound to get some general indifference/unwillingness to help at minimum, maybe some sabotage in worst case scenarios. There definitely are more “gunners” at those schools.

That said your admittance to any school after undergrad is going to depend more on GPA and what research/letters of recommendation you have, not on USNWR rankings. Remember that UCD has opportunities for research as well and from what I hear if you’re interested you can jump right in. At UCLA there is a huge amount of competition for these positions because everyone is trying to pump up their apps. It seems to me that UCD offers a more genuine learning environment.

UC Davis is also moving up in the rankings and is increasing selectivity every year too. There is a definite trickle-down effect from UCLA/UCB as those schools reject more and more qualified 4.0 2100+ students. The mid-tier schools are being brought up quite quickly and this year it will probably be an even larger jump.

Rankings do matter but they only matter if you loosely group schools together into tiers. Grad schools don’t weigh an application based on its rank in USNWR. They just have a rough idea if it’s top 50, 50-100, 100-150 etc. UC Davis will compare favorably to other schools for undergrad and what really matters is your GPA and research.

It’s important to visit both colleges and decide yourself above all else. Go where you feel comfortable and will succeed. It’s 4 years of your life, don’t go somewhere you don’t really want to go based on a magazine’s ranking =).

EDIT: I’ve talked to a lot of doctors (being test for any complications with my cold hands and feet) and they have all said that it is important to go where you feel happy. My most recent doctor was disappointed with her undergrad at Berkeley because she had to take a lot of general ed requirements that consumed valuable time. I likely will go to UC davis for pre-med but I’m still waiting on william and mary and I’m on the waiting list for Rice. Oddly enough I am still waiting on UCSD as well since they lost my application and are debating on whether or not to evaluate me >_<. I would want to go to UCSD for a more cognitive science-ish major though, pre-med there is a bit crazy I hear.