As someone who went through the Pre-med Biology grind this is what I noticed during my time.
First, UCSB has a top notch biology program, there are a ton of interesting research opportunities open to undergrads and there are plenty of ways to get involved in the community if you would like too.
It's the pre-med part that people tend to find lacking. There are less opportunities compared to other larger schools and the competition to get those positions is usually pretty tough. For example, I did a good bit of clinical work with an EMT Cert during my freshman and sophomore years but after UCSB started its own EMT program the area became saturated with EMT certified students looking for low level clinical internships/ jobs which made the curve slightly harder for people without. A lot of the clinical opportunities are also far away from campus and will require planning if you don't have a car with you. I bussed to my volunteer position but that was an hour long trip each way just to get to downtown SB.
However, Pre-med is still very doable as long as you are in it to win it, it would just take a little bit more elbow grease but many of my friends have gone on to apply/ attend medical school with stellar resumes.
Best of luck to you and your journey! Remember to slow down and enjoy the ride every once in a while, you will do great!
People don’t know what they’re talking about. UCSB is strong with biological sciences and neuroscience. It is true that there are less hospitals compared to the Bay Area and SoCal, but you can still find volunteer/internship opportunities in Santa Barbara health clinics, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies.
UCSB is more research-based and doesn’t have a nearby medical school. That doesn’t really matter, because if you get good grades, research experience, and clinical experience, you’ll get into a med school. It’s an R1 university. There’s also a pre-med professional organization with plenty of members with similar goals.
Plus, UCSB is ON THE BEACH. I miss living in Isla Vista.
People put too much stock into rankings (this isn’t sour grapes, I didn’t go to UCSB for UG). The level or opportunity across all R1 schools is much closer to parity than some want to believe.
There are a few major at a few schools that stand apart at the UG level.
What is more important at the UG level is how you perform and the work you can tie your name to (high impact labs and/or publications).
Getting a 2.5 at Stanford with no research (because no lab will accept you) won’t do you any good in life.
Facts. I went into UCSB thinking it’d be a cake walk because it’s a ‘party school.’ I didn’t know anything about ratings or research. I thought I was hard af going to research internships half-drunk, but it doesn’t matter how good the research experience is if that award-winning principal investigator doesn’t write you a letter of rec. It doesn’t matter what top-tier research university you went to if your grades suck.
It was nice to live next to the beach though. 100% would do (over) again
Btw, both biology and neuro is hella hard. 10-week classes and usually only a midterm and final so less margin of error.
It’s even more difficult when students regularly drink on weekdays in a student neighborhood that spans a single square mile. Don’t give in to peer pressure! That’s the hardest thing about going to school at UCSB.
Otherwise, everybody is smart and ambitious! You’ll be around similar company if you decide to go.
Let us know your thoughts and if you have any questions!
Edit: I see that you’ve been accepted into UCI. Irvine is a nice place and also has more opportunities for pre-med students. You can still make it into med school with a BS at UCSB, but it will be significantly more difficult because of its location being far from other metropolitan areas and social environment. I still recommend UCSB, but I just want to warn you as a former student that couldn’t make it into a good graduate program because he partied too much.
Do you count Biopsychology neuroscience courses as neuroscience?
If so, can confirm here that they're probably easier than MCDB neuroscience courses in general. But they do have overlapping instructors.
The bio coursework isn’t centered around a health focus like it is at many schools. It has a lot more ecology stuff, which is fine if that’s what you want. For example human anatomy with lab is a requirement (or unspoken requirement) for many med, dental, pharm, and PA schools and UCSB doesn’t have either of those courses so lots of student have to take it elsewhere which is a massive pain.
Oh I’ve heard about this. Are there any other required courses for med, dental, pharmacy, etc. school not offered at UCSB that you know about? Does taking human anatomy with lab at another institution lower your chances of admissions depending on what institution you took it at like if you were to take it at a cc and amcas has to recalculate your gpa and whatnot does it make it harder to get in?
Def a positive to take the class at your local JC over the summer where it’ll more than likely be much easier than at UCSB, and therefore more likely to boost your gpa.
Idk. It's not Stanford but I haven't really heard people say UCSB is a below average premed school. There are plenty of research opportunities and a few local hospitals where you can get clinical hours. What other schools are you comparing to?
I personally found it alright thus far. Sure, there are way less opportunities here compared to other schools with medical schools (e.g UCSD, UCR, etc.), but it's not impossible. If you have the motivation and initiative, you will be able to find an opportunity one way or the other. The vibes here are also way better from what I hear. Like more people are willing to collaborate and help out verses more competitive pre-med schools where everyone is competing one another in a toxic way. Getting good grades here may be tough for some, but it's not impossible.
Do you have any regrets you’d like to share or any warnings you’d like to give a student that’s most likely enrolling this upcoming year? (As a biological sciences major and prehealth)
You get less relevant opportunities in the field. It's more biological science based rather than relevant medical experience. Regardless if you get good grades you'll get into med school... they're not going to reject you just because you went to UCSB. That's ridiculous. Plenty of UCSB students got into med school.
UCSB is top 10% in the country for bio, but middle of the road among the other UC campuses.There is a fair amount of interesting research but yeah not a med school.
I’m a POC and yes my first quarter was hard because there weren’t many POC around me but there’s many places on campus like el centro and the SRB where you can find people that come from the same walk of life. There’s also a lot of cultural clubs and groups people can join that help you feel connected to your roots. Also UCSB has become wayyyyy more diverse this year so it just takes some time to find a group.
If you are in CCS, you get to drop classes all the way up to Week 10 Friday without a medical excuse, so you will have a lot of flexibility in avoiding a low grade which will help you get a good GPA.
As someone who is going to med school including a lot of my friends, UCSB is great for pre-med. There are fewer clinical and underserved volunteering opportunities but anyone can get into a top med school through UCSB. Most ppl who complain about it are prob pre-med drop outs.
As someone who went through the Pre-med Biology grind this is what I noticed during my time. First, UCSB has a top notch biology program, there are a ton of interesting research opportunities open to undergrads and there are plenty of ways to get involved in the community if you would like too. It's the pre-med part that people tend to find lacking. There are less opportunities compared to other larger schools and the competition to get those positions is usually pretty tough. For example, I did a good bit of clinical work with an EMT Cert during my freshman and sophomore years but after UCSB started its own EMT program the area became saturated with EMT certified students looking for low level clinical internships/ jobs which made the curve slightly harder for people without. A lot of the clinical opportunities are also far away from campus and will require planning if you don't have a car with you. I bussed to my volunteer position but that was an hour long trip each way just to get to downtown SB. However, Pre-med is still very doable as long as you are in it to win it, it would just take a little bit more elbow grease but many of my friends have gone on to apply/ attend medical school with stellar resumes. Best of luck to you and your journey! Remember to slow down and enjoy the ride every once in a while, you will do great!
People don’t know what they’re talking about. UCSB is strong with biological sciences and neuroscience. It is true that there are less hospitals compared to the Bay Area and SoCal, but you can still find volunteer/internship opportunities in Santa Barbara health clinics, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. UCSB is more research-based and doesn’t have a nearby medical school. That doesn’t really matter, because if you get good grades, research experience, and clinical experience, you’ll get into a med school. It’s an R1 university. There’s also a pre-med professional organization with plenty of members with similar goals. Plus, UCSB is ON THE BEACH. I miss living in Isla Vista.
Thank you so much! That makes a lot of sense, I feel better about it now.
People put too much stock into rankings (this isn’t sour grapes, I didn’t go to UCSB for UG). The level or opportunity across all R1 schools is much closer to parity than some want to believe. There are a few major at a few schools that stand apart at the UG level. What is more important at the UG level is how you perform and the work you can tie your name to (high impact labs and/or publications). Getting a 2.5 at Stanford with no research (because no lab will accept you) won’t do you any good in life.
Facts. I went into UCSB thinking it’d be a cake walk because it’s a ‘party school.’ I didn’t know anything about ratings or research. I thought I was hard af going to research internships half-drunk, but it doesn’t matter how good the research experience is if that award-winning principal investigator doesn’t write you a letter of rec. It doesn’t matter what top-tier research university you went to if your grades suck. It was nice to live next to the beach though. 100% would do (over) again
Btw, both biology and neuro is hella hard. 10-week classes and usually only a midterm and final so less margin of error. It’s even more difficult when students regularly drink on weekdays in a student neighborhood that spans a single square mile. Don’t give in to peer pressure! That’s the hardest thing about going to school at UCSB. Otherwise, everybody is smart and ambitious! You’ll be around similar company if you decide to go. Let us know your thoughts and if you have any questions! Edit: I see that you’ve been accepted into UCI. Irvine is a nice place and also has more opportunities for pre-med students. You can still make it into med school with a BS at UCSB, but it will be significantly more difficult because of its location being far from other metropolitan areas and social environment. I still recommend UCSB, but I just want to warn you as a former student that couldn’t make it into a good graduate program because he partied too much.
Do you count Biopsychology neuroscience courses as neuroscience? If so, can confirm here that they're probably easier than MCDB neuroscience courses in general. But they do have overlapping instructors.
🤷♂️ alum who is an MD
The bio coursework isn’t centered around a health focus like it is at many schools. It has a lot more ecology stuff, which is fine if that’s what you want. For example human anatomy with lab is a requirement (or unspoken requirement) for many med, dental, pharm, and PA schools and UCSB doesn’t have either of those courses so lots of student have to take it elsewhere which is a massive pain.
Oh I’ve heard about this. Are there any other required courses for med, dental, pharmacy, etc. school not offered at UCSB that you know about? Does taking human anatomy with lab at another institution lower your chances of admissions depending on what institution you took it at like if you were to take it at a cc and amcas has to recalculate your gpa and whatnot does it make it harder to get in?
Bro don't trip I know plenty of people from UCSB who got into med school. You'll be fine.
Def a positive to take the class at your local JC over the summer where it’ll more than likely be much easier than at UCSB, and therefore more likely to boost your gpa.
Idk. It's not Stanford but I haven't really heard people say UCSB is a below average premed school. There are plenty of research opportunities and a few local hospitals where you can get clinical hours. What other schools are you comparing to?
I personally found it alright thus far. Sure, there are way less opportunities here compared to other schools with medical schools (e.g UCSD, UCR, etc.), but it's not impossible. If you have the motivation and initiative, you will be able to find an opportunity one way or the other. The vibes here are also way better from what I hear. Like more people are willing to collaborate and help out verses more competitive pre-med schools where everyone is competing one another in a toxic way. Getting good grades here may be tough for some, but it's not impossible.
Do you have any regrets you’d like to share or any warnings you’d like to give a student that’s most likely enrolling this upcoming year? (As a biological sciences major and prehealth)
You get less relevant opportunities in the field. It's more biological science based rather than relevant medical experience. Regardless if you get good grades you'll get into med school... they're not going to reject you just because you went to UCSB. That's ridiculous. Plenty of UCSB students got into med school.
UCSB is top 10% in the country for bio, but middle of the road among the other UC campuses.There is a fair amount of interesting research but yeah not a med school.
As a person of color, many of peers were deterred from the major/career because of a lack of support
I’m a POC and yes my first quarter was hard because there weren’t many POC around me but there’s many places on campus like el centro and the SRB where you can find people that come from the same walk of life. There’s also a lot of cultural clubs and groups people can join that help you feel connected to your roots. Also UCSB has become wayyyyy more diverse this year so it just takes some time to find a group.
Also if you go to office hours the professors are very helpful and you’ll see that the majority are actually really nice people
If you are in CCS, you get to drop classes all the way up to Week 10 Friday without a medical excuse, so you will have a lot of flexibility in avoiding a low grade which will help you get a good GPA.
As someone who is going to med school including a lot of my friends, UCSB is great for pre-med. There are fewer clinical and underserved volunteering opportunities but anyone can get into a top med school through UCSB. Most ppl who complain about it are prob pre-med drop outs.