Where to Undergrad?

In My Humble Opinion
1

For all those people in the sciences who’ve already gone through this entire spiel…

I am currently a 2nd year undergrad at UC davis. My major is Biotechnology. I like the school and all, but I just absolutely can not stand the town here(50,000 people >1/2 are students). The town effectively shuts down at 9pm, and Sacramento sucks compared to Los angeles for a night life.

I got into UCLA(and UCSD, but not UCB[although I don’t know why. I was better qualified then my friends who did get in]) once. I decided on UCD because of it’s recognition in the biological sciences. I have some regrets, but not enough to make me transfer just yet.

I guess i’m just asking does it really matter where you undergrad(biological sciences)? I’m considering transfering back to L.a where all my really good friends are, or perhaps berkeley where there just seems to be a greater concentration of like-minded people.

2

Also, what about physics?

3

huh? are you proposing a major for me or are you asking for yourself?

4

Asking for myself.

5

You might like Berkeley, although you need a lot of confidence to get by at the big UC schools. You can really get lost as an undergrad. (I was a grad student at UCB and taught in some of the big intro courses.) The Bay area certainly doesn’t shut down at 9:00.

San Diego has a booming biotech industry and UCSD is supposed to be the largest of the UC schools soon, if it isn’t already.

6

I was an undergrad at Berkeley (physics major). It was good, but I think it would have been a much better grad school for me than undergrad. It’s not a great college town, as college towns go. (You either have to live somewhere expensive and scary or somewhere really really expensive and not scary.) So, your main motivation for leaving Davis is social life (which is a valid reason to transfer, IMO), I wouldn’t go to Berkeley.

Academically, Berkeley is very good. Any program that overlaps with the pre-med classes is going to be very tough, and highly competitive. (I had friends in organic chem and pre-med. Crazy.) Physics was a much nicer program – by third year, everyone helps each other out.

In general, if you’re going to get a higher degree, undergrad doesn’t matter that much. Just make sure you do well enough to get into a good grad school. Get to know your professors, so they’ll write good letters for you. Try to get some research experience.

Maud’Dib, where are you thinking of going? Have you applied already?

7

thanks for the responses.

I’m trying to weigh the benifet ratios here. Currently at UCD I don’t feel fully intellectually challenged. Not to say it’s not a bad education. I seem to be in the B-B+ range with a minimal effort on my part, A’s if I actually tried. Because of that Berkeley doesn’t really seem all that intimidating to me(I’m not really considering private schools because i couldn’t possibly afford it. The ONLY reason I can attend college is because I get a nearly free ride. go fafsa!). Besides as I said before, I am just as qualified or more so then some of my friends that got into and attend Berkeley.

I got a couple of reasons more for choosing Davis. Nearly 1/2 of the undergrads here get internships(they’re everywhere) before we get our degrees.

Davis is expanding. ALOT. We’re the biggest UC campus and we got room to build and we’re doing just that. Better yet most of the new buildings are related to biology specifically genetics =) Davis is also heading many new programs along with berkeley and livermore labs. Davis will go up in prestige. I have very little doubt of that.

but all that aside. the deciding factor in my transfering or not is my Undergraduate degree. I am not sure how my life is going to pan out. I would like to goto grad school, but I don’t know how I could acomplish that fiscally. Does anyone know how much fafsa aid I can get? My parent’s couldn’t possibly help me in that area. they make about 20,000 a year combined. Would I have to work in the industry before I can get my company to sponser me for grad work? If so, would my undergrad degree matter alot then?

Also I seem to notice that other then san diego and like one in irvine ALL the biotech/genetics companies are in the bay area/northern california.

The way I see it, I have 4 choices.

Goto Berkeley which I might like, but competition annoys the hell out of me. I don’t really believe in grades, but I generally excel no matter where I am or what I do. I’m afraid that if I goto berkeley my grades will drop simply because I learn, but don’t do the busywork. (Heck when I wrote my college admissions essay I even a line that went something to the effect of " I never bothered to do some of the more meanial tasks that were asked of high school because I simply did not believe they’d be useful me learning.")

Goto UCLA. Get a good education. Not as competitive as Berkeley. I’ll be in my home environment and comfortable. But I don’t really know if the training i’d get there would be on par as say Davis or Berkeley for the biological sciences anyway. Also i feel the internship possibilities to be much less.

Goto UCSD, I hear the bioengineering is booming down there. I’m sure theres a night life there, but I’m not big on the party scene. If I were allowed i’d probably be sitting in a bar with a bunch of friends just talking. I realize I could do that at davis too, but theres gotta be variety y’know? I also didn’t really seem to like the SD atmosphere when I visited, but I visted SDSU.

Stay at Davis.

I’ve thought about this a bit and got plenty more thinking to do. but I suppose my question to you guys is how much do you think my undergrad degree will matter if I don’t goto grad school immediately.

of course any kind of comment will be appreciated. it’s always nice to have different points of view.

8

bump cause i’m interested in your thoughts.

9

Don’t worry about paying for grad school – in the sciences, you will always be supported, either as a teaching assistant or a research assistant. Your tuition is almost always waived as part of your acceptance package. You can also get subsidized loans (interest free until you graduate), if you need more money than a typical grad student salary provides.

Good research schools need graduate students – they do all the work.

10

Thanks, thats good to know. But does anyone know how competative each Uc’s Undergrad degree in biology are? backup in case I don’t goto grad school after all.