UCR vs. Whittier College vs. CC?

College Search & Lists
1

hi! i need help choosing a college.

i was admitted to UCR for psychology. i got into whittier college’s pre-med program, but will be focusing mostly on psychology. i visited the campuses and love both of them. i feel more “at home” at UCR, but whittier has a lot more opportunities of traveling abroad and working with professionals. also, based on my test scores, i’m already in the higher percentage of whittier students, and could easily graduate with a high rank. that being said, i don’t think i would fit into the community well, and the city of whittier itself is pretty boring, so i won’t be able to have fun on the weekends. UCR is a lot more diverse and interesting, but there would be a lot of competition, and since it’s a public school, there wouldn’t be as much 1:1 help as whittier provides.

i’ve also been considering community college, just because i’ve heard that they have a program that can guarantee me admission to any UC of my choice. if i do transfer, i think i’d do well in UCSD, but i still have some time for that. also, i think community college may be a bit of a “break” for me (not sure tho, correct me if i’m wrong).

just btw for whittier and R: price isn’t really a concern for my family, because both colleges have given me scholarships. the distance of both schools is exactly the same from my house. i’m planning to live in dorms regardless of where i go. i know a few people going to R, but idk anyone going to W, so i think that would be a fresh start, but idk if it would be easy to make friends in a place that i don’t really fit in.

any help would be appreciated!
thank you so much :slight_smile:

2

Sounds like you toured both colleges and prefer the fit at UCR which is most important. You can also do the CC and transfer (maintain a good gpa) if you like. As a Highlander for life, UCR has great diverse people and programs (many in US News Top 100). Psychology at UCR is well ranked at #66 (2018 US News). They do have the new medical school ( first in California in 40 years ). The Bio Med Thomas Haider Program is EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE although it sounds like you are sticking with Psychology. UCR is growing faster than ANY OTHER UC for a reason. I was there back when they only had West Lothian & Aberdeen and Inverness Dorms (Westlo represent!). You now also have East Lothian and Pentland Hills. I hear the student recreation center is great as well. We only had the “old school” gym which worked fine for us…worked out hard and got quite buff! Amazing how fast the campus is growing. I barely recognized it when I was out there a while back! You will receive a great education and college experience at UCR or wherever to go I’m sure!

3

Premed? Go to UCR

What cc program has that guarantee??

4

UC’s have TAG for only 6 of the 9 campuses so UCLA/UCB and UCSD are not part of the TAG program. Yes, you are guaranteed admission to the one of the six UC’s (can only TAG to one UC) if you meet the course and GPA requirements and attend a California CC.

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/index.html