California colleges! Can you suggest a good one?

In My Humble Opinion
1

While I was reading a thread earlier about -paying- for college, it got me to thinking about my own collegiate aspirations…

I was planning on going to college here, in Utah, but that’s becoming less and less likely as monetary and residency issues abound. Rather than waiting here for residency, the faster, cheaper alternative would be to look into colleges back in my home state of California.

California is too damn -big-! I’m looking over all these schools, spanning such a wide geographical plane, and it’s kind of intimidating, to be honest.

I’m still a freshman, so the cheapest route right now would be to find a good community college. But following that, I want to attend a school, one that I can afford in this lifetime, that can offer me a good pre-medical program, seeing as I’d like to become a doctor, or at least work in a related field.

So–can anyone out there give me a good suggestion? Or just pitch in any campuses you happen to like? I trust your judgment. I’ll review each and every one. If I end up going to a college that a Doper recommends–I’ll buy every single Cecil Adams book, along with a T-shirt and coffee mug.

2

For pre-med stuff how about Davis or UCSD or CalTech in San Louis Obispo? (This comes from a humanities out-of-state point of view, so disregard if ridiculous) If you have a crapload of money materialize consider Harvey Mudd? I think San Fran State also has a well-regarded med-school set up (and of course UCLA is set up for med).

3

Depends. What do you want to major in? Do you want to be a freakin’ hippie or live in an area with a lot of sunshine and pleasantness (sorry, NoCal, had to throw that in :)). Large or small? Rural or city? Give us some help here.

4

I don’t care. :slight_smile: Someplace nice. I guess a city, or at least near a city, would be convenient, though. I’m more familiar with Southern California since I grew up in the inland empire, but the bay area is nice, too. (Except for San Francisco proper, which is just too big and freaky to live in)

Most pre-medical programs have majors outlined in them–but to be more specific, I’d like to go with a more biological/zoological approach. These ‘life’ sciences I tend to have a better knack for then courses involving chemistry at large.
(Most pre-med programs probably involve chemistry and physics too though, I guess…oh well. Guess I’ll have to find a tutor…)

5

Try this site for basic info:

http://www.cccapply.org/
The UC system (Davis, Irvine, Berkeley, UCLA, etc.) is composed of universities that cost quite a bit more than community colleges. They’re where you go once you’ve completed your community college studies.

Avoid large expensive cities and concentrate on smaller cities and communities - Sacramento , for example, has Sac CC and American River CC (the latter being the better). The parking fees at these community colleges can be higher than tuition and fees; books are always expensive. Investigate Stockton, Eureka, Watsonville and Sonoma in NoCal – sorry, but I’m unfamiliar with those in SoCal. Look for a city that has job opportunities and that can be fun. Your living expenses will be your first financial priority, but if you go too backwater you might not be able to find much parttime work.

The UC system and state university system guarantee acceptance upon successful completion at a community college. While doing your research, check to see what percentage of CC grads went on to traditional four-year schools. That may give you a clue about the overall teaching and attitudes at the various schools.

Good luck!

6

The UC system isn’t that expensive. I would suggest going to one all four years and skipping community college if you can afford it. Much better experience.

Anyway, for bio, go for UCLA or UCSD if you are looking for a city-setting in SoCal. Friend of mine is a bio/pre-med major at UCLA and thinks it’s fantastic. I have to say, I’ve been pretty impressed with some of the opportunities she’s gotten there, but I’m not sure it’s anything better than what you would find at other large schools. Plus, Westwood is pretty darn cool. And there’s a farmer’s market every Thursday. Mmmmm…fresh kettlecorn.

UCSD might also be very good for bio. Especially since you have the Zoo and Wild Animal Park there and you might be able to get an internship there or something, which would likely be very cool.

Remember there are lots of opportunities for aid. Remember to fill out your FAFSA EARLY!!! and there are also Cal grants (I think that’s what they are called) for California residents attending California universities.

7

Alright, an area I have some personal experience in. Some background, I went to Moorpark Community College in Simi Valley and transferred after two years to UCLA where I will be a senior in the fall (just finished my first year). I reccommend this route, if you complete a program called IGETCI (which is reasonable) from a California community college with a decent gpa (3.2 or above) you can transfer to just about any California public school you want, you would need a much higher gpa such as a 3.85 or so to transfer to privates like Stanford. I recommend UCLA, I did my research before picking it and decided it was the best for me, Berkley is too liberal, they even bar public speakers who are more conservative from voicing their opinion there. The only problem I’ve had with UCLA is the high price of housing in walking distance to campus, but you can find a cheaper apartment on the bus route with little difficulty. The pre-med program is excellent although it is heavy in Chemistry as I’m sure all pre-med programs are. good luck and feel free to ask any further questions. I lived in the dorms with other transfer students so I’ve heard about all the flavors of community college from around the state and a couple from other states.

8

Being that you’re from Utah, you might want to look at schools on the East Coast. They want more geographic diversity, and I doubt there are many Utahns, so it’s definitely worth a look. It’d be helpful if you told us your GPA so far, I guess you’re too young to give us your SATs.

9

UCI might be a good choice, depending on your specialty preference.

I had a friend who was pre-med at Chapman in Orange, but I don’t know what kind of reputation they have in the field.

10

Chapman’s a darn good university, although, it really more makes its mark in education. And I believe that they have an agreement with Harvard where, if you have the grades, will get priority in transferring there.

UCI’s a good place for bio, but it’s in the middle of nowhere (Irvine, South County). That’s why I think UCLA would be a better choice. OTOH, you will most definitely have an easier time being accepted to UCI than UCLA.

11

For a private school, St. Mary’s in Moraga is excellent, and had a fine pre-med program. Morage is just over the hills from Berkeley, so close to a city. It’s not as expensive as many private schools, and it has a very good scholarship program. It stresses a full education, liberal arts as well as sciences, so once you’re a doctor , you’ll be able to talk to people about stuff besides their blood pressure.

I’ll put in a plug for Sonoma–although I can’t speak to the pre-med program. My neice went there a few years ago, and it was a good place for a girl from a small town–close enough to San Francisco so that thhe big city culture is within your grasp, but locate in a much smaller community. The weather is better than Davis or LA–not so hot, not so smoggy. I was impressed by the scholatic community–smaller classes, lots of interplay with professors, focus on learning, not competition (but pre-med is alwys cut throat, I suppose).

I’m also very fond of Humboldt, in true northern California, a school with a well deserved reputation as a hippie hold-out (hell, it makes Santa Cruz look positively conservative). The setting is beyond gorgeous, nothing beats redwoods, and the ocean in N. Ca. is much more beautiful than the flat beaches of Southern CA. Historically, it has leaned towards biology, forestry and marine science, so I have no idea how it is in pre-med. It is far from any big cities (5+ hour drive to San Francisco, 8 hours to Portland), and cultural diversity is rather limited (Native American and Asian were represented in my day, but not a big African American or Hispanic population). And I think the weather is perfect–lots of fog, plenty of rain, rarely above 70 even in the middle of summer, no snow–but then, I was born there, and i rusted early.

Last bit of advice, weigh the consideration of the help going to a name school will be to getting you into med school very carefully against the value of being at a school where you can develop as a human being, be that a small school, a quirky school or a big school. Being miserable during college is not a good idea, feeling like an outsider won’t help you later in life. Look for someplace that will place challenge you and be a safe haven.

12

Ahh–that’s the problem though. I -am- a Californian, I moved here to Utah with the intention of settling in for college, but I’m having trouble meeting the residency requirements, and I don’t want to skip college for -another- year or so waiting for beauocracy to sort itself out.

My high school GPA was 3.3, my college classes from Cal State San Bernardino (A little less than a year’s worth) are a GPA total of 3.18 (If I remember correctly)

My SAT total is 1110, 570 for verbal, 540 in math. I haven’t taken the SAT II, so it may or may not be something I need to look into if I go by route of transferring from CC to a public University.

UCSD sounds interesting–so does UCLA. I don’t know that many people in either areas, though, so finding roommates might be tricky. Can any of you tell me about community colleges in those areas?

(UCI is the school that offers a video game design major, isn’t it? Mega groovy.)

13

UCSD isn’t a community college, which is what I thought the OP wants. Odds of getting accepted there in '98 were 3 in 26 (next to impossible).
Mesa College in SD is a community college…Monterey Peninsula College is also one, is near me, kinda dumb
& pretty easy as far as the work is, cheap too.

14

Well, in the north Orange County area…your best community college bet is probably Golden West College or Fullerton. Both pretty good. Orange Coast I think used to be good, but I’m not sure if that’s still the case. Or maybe I’m confusing Golden West with Orange Coast. But I don’t think so.

15

if you are looking to transfer to UCLA the community colleges in the area are…

Santa Monica City College - very close to UCLA almost everyone is trying to transfer to UCLA, same general atmosphere, bad traffic but near the beach, decent transfer rates

Pierce College - Trashy campus in the San Fernando Valley, it’s like high school with ash trays… on the plus everyone that has completed the honors program they have in place has been accepted to UCLA (EVERYONE)

Valley College - Mediocre in all respects, decent campus, decent transfer rates and so on… I’ve heard thier film department is exceptional for a community college. Considering your going for pre-med that isn’t really an issue

Moorpark Community College - I went here so I may be biased but, beautify campus in Simi Valley (45 minutes from UCLA) good transfer rates (I transferred to UCLA with a 3.52 as a math/Econ major but have friends who transferred with a hair above 3.0) cheap housing in the area.

College of the Canyons - also about 45 minutes from UCLA very nice campus in Valencia good transfer rates but I’ve heard it’s a slacker school (maybe just rumors)

there are plenty of other community colleges also but these are the ones I know the most about and are close to UCLA so lots of the students will be trying to transfer there… I made some friends who transferred with me and I still talk to. Good luck and remember if you go to a communtiy college stay focused, while at Moorpark I saw a good number of well intentioned students on their 4th, 5th, or 6th year with no motivation left. but on the brighter side I saw plenty make it in 2 years, and even have a friend who went through Pierce in 1 year.

16

Just for the record: all community colleges which are part of the California Community College system (which are pretty much all of them in the state) have exactly the same tuition: $11 / unit for residents. Various colleges may have extra fees in the form of health insurance, student union fees (which cap at $10 / year / student), record fees, etc. Even with the low tuition, CA residents may also be eligible for a fee waiver, depending on income, Pell eligbility, and a few other factors.

17

Just an idea: Since you’re already in the inland empire (you said San Bernardino, right?), hold out another couple years. I think it’s somewhat difficult to get into, but UCR has a joint program with UCLA. You do undergrad work at UCR and as long as you keep up a certain GPA, you spend the first two years of med school at UCR and the second two at UCLA. The whole thing takes seven years, and you finish with a B.A. or B.S. from UCR and an MD from UCLA. You can find out more here:
http://biomed.ucr.edu/bsmd/

And let me just second the notion of the Claremont Colleges, where I went to school. True, they are pricey, but they also have great financial aid programs. I think about 70% of the students there have some kind of aid. Great atmosphere and great teaching. Harvey Muddand Pomona have the best admission rates to med schools.

18

Now that UCR/LA program looks -very- interesting…it looks like just the kind of program I’m looking for. Now if only I could find out if I qualified for admission–better get started on that. :stuck_out_tongue: :slight_smile:

I wanna thank all of you for these suggestions–if any of you have any more, or anything else to say, please submit it!

19

For anyone else who may be reading, let me add one thing about Harvey Mudd College, which is where I’m currently attending. They’re now offering a $15,000/year merit scholarship on top of whatever need-based aid they give you. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s available to transfer students.

Also, if you’re applying to any private school, be sure to pay a lot of attention to your essays. A good essay is worth a lot more than high SAT scores or GPA.

20

Like LifeWillFall, I went to a community college–Mt. San Antonio, in Walnut–before transferring just down the road to Cal Poly Univ. Pomona. I think I got a pretty good education at both, though I don’t know what the situation is at Cal Poly these days.
Mt. SAC is still a good place–and I am biased, since I teach there–although it is quite large, 400 acres and 40k students. They have their system worked out pretty well, though, by necessity.
There is also Citrus College in Glendora–I teach there too–and it is much smaller, just 11k students. Some very good faculty there. (Biased again.)

You could come and visit me at one or both.
:slight_smile: