<p>It is neither difficult to transfer into UCI for Bio. (TAG) nor to change major to Bio. once at UCI. In fact, you can change your major from Undeclared to Bio. Sci. during orientation, before you officially start. The only thing you can’t do is change your major into Business Admin. or some sort of Engineering.</p>
<p>If you are planning to go to medical school, you’d better become great at the sciences after your first year. UCI may not be as prestigious as say, UCLA or UCSD, so it’s easy to assume that its students are not as high achieving. Don’t be fooled; it will be difficult to make yourself competitive for medical school no matter which school you go to for undergrad (as far as the UC system goes that is). For example, some people might have the idea that they have a better shot at getting into Harvard Medical School if they decline UCLA and choose to UCI; UCI=less competitive students=higher GPA=in at Harvard. This is not what it’s like in reality, so I would suggest that people pick the school they would enjoy going to more over the one they think will give them a better shot at med. school. I don’t know if you’ve been accepted to any other UC’s yet but this is just a warning, incase you only want to come to UCI for the sole purpose of getting into med school.</p>
<p>In 2010, 36% of applicants from UCI got into medical school (may or may not have been the medial school of their choice). The average science GPA of those accepted students was a 3.62. FYI, that’s pretty darn high at the college level, and this is the science GPA (Bio, Chem, Ochem, Math, Physics, ect), meaning it’s not buffed up by all those free A’s provided by general education courses. You might begin to see why it’s imperative that you improve your skills in the sciences. Not unlike at other UC’s with medical schools, the school with the highest acceptance rate for UCI applicants in 2010 was UCI’s own medical school. 244 students applied, 21 students were accepted. That’s less than a 10% acceptance rate, and this was the school with the highest acceptance rate for UCI students! BTW, all the stats. you could ever want to know about UCI and pre-health planning can be found here:
[UCI</a> Bio Sci Student Affairs: Current Students: Health Science Advising](<a href=“Undergraduate Cabinet - School of Biological Sciences”>Undergraduate Cabinet - School of Biological Sciences)</p>
<p>I guess the main message is, you will pretty much have to be one of the top students in your class to have a shot…anywhere. That’s why people apply to 20-30 medical schools at once, because it’s so hard to get in at least one. You say you are not “great” at sciences. You say that you never really studied. Well, if you studied more (as you will quickly learn you have to do), then maybe you will become great at the sciences. </p>
<p>Whatever happens, you have to make sure that you hit the ground running. Doing bad the first year is not necessarily a death sentence as far as pre-health ambitions go, but it definitely will make it much harder to catch up–and the curriculum only gets tougher. The freshman Bio. curriculum will give you but a small taste of what all your core classes are like. Yes, it’s true, the fabled weed-out courses do exist (and this is honestly killing me right now). Some courses are deliberately ambiguous as to discourage students who actually want to understand the material (anyone taking Bio98?). Don’t fret though, that’s what the curve is for. If you’ve worked hard, and studied hard, and still can’t get the info down, be assured that there are many who have worked less than you, who will likely score lower on the curve than you. You will seldom have to study as much as 8-10 hours a day if you are smart about picking your instructors and are willing to seek help when needed (go to discussions, TA office hours, professor office hours, tutoring, ect). </p>
<p>Make sure you know what you’re getting into. Medical school is a commitment that goes far beyond the planning that starts early in your undergrad years. I’ll assume you’ve discussed this with your brother already, but incase you haven’t, ask him for his perspective on the whole process. Just get all your facts down and make the right decision.</p>