Hey y’all. I was accepted to both UCSD and UCSB for chemistry. The only school I’m waiting on now is Cal but I’m expecting a decline. In the case that that happens, which would be better for a chemistry major and future pharmacist such as myself. UCSD gets higher rankings on some lists but I’ve heard amazing things about UCSB’s science department, and it keeps getting higher and higher on these lists every year. Opinions? If it makes any difference, I’m far from an outrageous partier, however I don’t think I could handle a socially dead school.
Surprisingly, UCSB’s chemistry program is generally ranked higher by a few points. But if your end goal is pharm school, UCSD might be a better choice. SB’s pharmacology major is part of the departments of biology, whereas UCSD’s pharmacological chemistry major is actually a chemistry major. Also, UCSD has a pharmacy school and three hospital pharmacies on campus, so if you think you’ll be good at making connections and capitalizing on research opportunities, San Diego might be a better destination (especially if you someday change your major). UCSD’s not Santa Barbara when it comes to parties, but as long as you’re even a slightly social person you’ll be able to find parties and break free of the “socially dead” stereotype
UCSB has some info about pharmacy opportunities at http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/academics/health/volunteer
if you have any friends with older siblings at these schools you should try to chat with them to get a feel for the schools. At UCSB just about everyone lives on campus or right off-campus in Isla Vista, giving the campus a real residential feel. At UCSD students usually live in the dorms 1st year, but then disperse to the greater San Diego area after that. The wealthy people of La Jolla like the jobs and prestige of UCSD, but aren’t so keen on undergrad students. Many students live near the beach in Mission or Pacific beach and commute to school. Consequently the 2 schools have a very different feel.
I wouldn’t pay any attention to rankings. At the undergrad level any college in the country can teach you all the science you need to enter pharmacy school. What’s going to matter whether you get in is how hard you work to get good grades, if you get relevant experience, if you get to know some profs to get good recs, and how well you do on the PCAT. I doubt there is any advantage education-wise to one of these over the other.
If you applied to and got into UCSB’s CCS, I’d go there.