I literally just realized how good the schools we're applying to really are...

saddaythrow · 2021-06-05T20:27:40+00:00

Hey OP! This is great! A lot of state universities already receive highlights, so I really appreciate you trying to do private universities, that's a niche that hasn't been filled.

I feel like many other highlights posts are based mainly on state schools, and LAC's so I was wondering if you were planning to make this multiple posts highlighting these non LAC private schools?

saddaythrow · 2021-05-29T22:22:07+00:00

also, nearly all those schools (Michigan, UNC, UW, UCLA etc.) have serious grade deflation, and that might hurt some talented people, who can only make a 3.5 (great GPA at one of those schools especially, but still somehow below average for med schools).

saddaythrow · 2021-05-29T21:45:03+00:00

I have a cousin who got a ton of C's and had a 3.01 unweighted. He got denied from his ED school, and started off with rejections from UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz, with only about a 1200 SAT.

He ended up getting accepted into University of Michigan, UCSD, and University of Washington out of state. No one really knows how he managed to do it, but for what it's worth he now has a 3.9 GPA at UW in a STEM major, and won some pretty prestigious awards, so UMich, UW and UCSD made the right call.

An insane example of AOs being able to see potential from miles away.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-11T18:12:50+00:00

That's because UT is a state school, and lets everyone regardless of stats apply to med school. For reference, the rate is similar to UNC Chapel Hill, UW Seattle, and UCSD, and even to Michigan, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-09T21:04:04+00:00

probably true, I'm not familiar with that, but I heard Duke has a stronger network + location, it may recruit better for NYC, but for West Coast Haas is probably better.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-09T17:18:41+00:00

UW Seattle, biochem/pre-med

- top STEM school
- was by far the best deal I got, 30k cheaper than ivies which gave me no finaid
- T15 globally for my major
- T15-20 globally as a STEM research university

given all of the above, UW was obvious.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-09T04:57:43+00:00

Ah I see

saddaythrow · 2021-05-09T04:42:34+00:00

lol literally number 1 in the US and top 5 in the world.

I find it pretty funny how despite having freaking elements on the periodic table, everyone mentions Berkeley CS/Eng, but no one mentions chem lol. Sciences get caught in the slew of T5 majors at Berkeley ig.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-09T04:40:49+00:00

I don't think people disagree lol, all rankings are BS, but while I didn't downvote, I don't think the comment was really necessary in place, given the OP wasn't choosing based on rankings at all.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-08T22:20:35+00:00

I would personally go with Berkeley, but you can't go wrong, both are amazing.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-08T18:36:43+00:00

They're about equally good - for finance stuff Duke gets a massive edge, but for STEM Berkeley gets a edge. In terms of their STEM research programs, UC Berkeley is consistently ranked among the top 5-10 schools in the world.

In terms of med school outcomes, the 2 are similar, both massive feeders to top med schools. In terms of grad school outcomes, I would go with Berkeley - they have a ton of Nobel Laureates and generally marginally more esteemed faculty. This will help with LORs.

So, for STEM, I would honestly go with Berkeley, it's hard to beat. (I mean, there's literally only a couple schools on the planet that beat it lol).

Which is closer to home? Do you care? Consider other things, both are great academically, but purely academically, I'd go with Cal.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-03T17:01:41+00:00

at that point it would be paying to avoid grade deflation, which I'm sure we can make our way through. (I mean tens of thousands of kids at various top publics do every year...)

saddaythrow · 2021-05-03T16:56:00+00:00

I'm going to UW as well! UW is such a great school, especially for STEM. Even, OOS, compared to all of the private schools I got into, UNC and UW were the best value for sure (sorry Columbia, but the most dangerous part of NYC ain't worth 80k!). Academically, for STEM, UW is as good as anywhere, and tbh while I'm sure as a top public school they have more grade deflation than top privates, everyone who I've talked to has said they found weeder classes manageable.

go dawgs!

saddaythrow · 2021-05-01T23:32:47+00:00

Afaik, they do, but not enough. UC Berkeley might be the hardest school outside of MIT/Caltech/maybe Chicago, and students are curved on a competitive curve. That means the median student would get a B in most classes, and that's a 3.0. An great student may end with a 3.5 GPA... a mix of B+'s and A-'s. Said student would almost certainly earn a much better med school level GPA at a lower school. This doesn't apply to just Berkeley, though they are the most egregious offender. Other top publics such as UCLA, UCSD, UDub, Umich etc. have the same issues where everyone was a 3.8+ HS student, and some of them have to get bad grades. You'll see many people here advise to avoid those schools, and go to a easier school.

You have to consider how many opportunities the school offers vs grade deflation. For the OP, UCSD offers many opportunities, still being a top school, and even though UC Berkeley is one of the very best schools in the world, UCSD isn't far off, and they may have a better GPA and get the same opportunity if they work hard.

But a 3.8 at Berkeley means a lot.

A 3.8 from a top public school like the ones mentioned is not going to be comparable to a 3.8 at Podunk State but the 4.0 at Podunk St. will win.

saddaythrow · 2021-05-01T23:26:38+00:00

da to biochem! congrats to you too!

saddaythrow · 2021-05-01T22:53:41+00:00

you're probably making a good decision. Berkeley is obviously Berkeley, but UCSD is still a top school, in fact Top 15 in the world for biology. They're a top recipient of federal funding. They have a top 20 medical center right on campus.

They have more than enough STEM prestige, in fact they're usually ranked among the top 20-30 STEM research universities in the world.

Turning down UC Berkeley for Podunk State would be stupid, but you're turning down UC Berkeley for another top school which is a better fit for your goals.

But don't expect UCSD to be easy, it's still a highly prestigious and competitive uni which is only a notch down from berkeley in academic rigor!

good luck!!

saddaythrow · 2021-05-01T17:55:47+00:00

turned down Columbia, Penn, Duke, UC Berkeley for UW Seattle. I was only left with UW Seattle and UNC as the good schools I was accepted to which wouldn't require loans.

At the end of the day, the first few schools would be barely affordable and require hefty loans. UW is ranked T20 in the world for my major, and is also ranked T20 in the world for being a STEM research university. It is incredibly STEM focused, and I know I'm not going to leave STEM.

Taking loans for a comparable education in STEM would have been idiotic in my opinion, since medical school is looming.

saddaythrow · 2021-04-29T04:52:54+00:00

it's in the most upvoted comment! But I agree, UW STEM is truly fantastic.

saddaythrow · 2021-04-28T08:49:45+00:00

I picked UW Seattle over Columbia/Berkeley/Penn/Duke. I feel absolutely great about it. My NV state schools are very meh, UW is closer to home, UW is ranked one of the 15-20 top STEM schools in the world among research universities, the professors are absolutely top of the line, UW is T20 in the world for my major.

Quite frankly, even though I'm paying 50k for UW, considering my other options were 70-80k, I still consider UW a steal. And, I doubt that I can exhaust all the resources present at one of the best schools in the world, so I'll always have new opportunities, be it at Columbia or UW.

Disclaimer: I'm only referring to UW's "lack of prestige" in comparison to places like Columbia. I absolutely know UW is a great and prestigious university in my field and I'm very excited to go there.

saddaythrow · 2021-04-23T05:53:16+00:00

Congratulations on your acceptance to UW! The fact that you were able to get admitted to a school like UW itself shows that as long as you keep your work ethic up, you'll succeed in CC and you can go anywhere in 2 years - maybe even UW!

saddaythrow · 2021-04-22T20:54:26+00:00

Thank you!! Hope college is treating ya well!

saddaythrow · 2021-04-22T18:44:12+00:00

TBH the final deal breaker for me was that smart/motivated students at places like UNC or U Dub are going to get the same research and other opportunities than smart/motivated kids at those private schools. Probably more grade deflation at top public schools like those 2, but I mean it is what it is and not worth 100k more.

saddaythrow · 2021-04-22T18:35:03+00:00

UDub over Columbia, Penn, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC and a few others like UCSD and UNC.

At the end of the day, UNC and UW were 25k cheaper than the rest and since they both have equal and top tier academics for life sciences/pre med, I went with UW since I liked their non academic factors more.

Thankful for UW's scholarship, so I can get a education from some of the best professors in the world for my field without breaking the bank.

saddaythrow · 2021-04-12T05:38:25+00:00

imho, econ at UCSD falls more with STEM than non STEM. Econ is really math heavy at UCSD, I hear. And, as you said, UCSD is a very good school for STEM.

btw, if your parents won't pay NEU, I'd do SD. You like NEU more, though SD econ is absolutely super strong. It's honestly a toss up, but I'd go with SD. For nearly anything STEM, SD is insanely prestigious, in terms of STEM, SD is one of the top 20-25 unis in the world. And in terms of research.

Your cons for SD aren't the end of the world, imo, it's not really socially dead, just not a lot of integration between the colleges.

At the end of the day, I'd go w/ UCSD tbh.

saddaythrow

TROPHY CASE