Accepted to UCSD (it’s my first choice), but want to go to Medical School where GPA is God. Maybe it’s better to attend somewhere else like Arizona for possibly ‘easier’ grading?
It is really up to you if you think another school might be better for your GPA. You also need to consider the availability of medically related EC’s and if the Pre-Med advising is up to par at the other schools. Also as a Pre-Med student, will the other schools offer you a good backup major in case Medical school is not possible? Not trying to dissuade you from attending UCSD, but you need to do what is best for you and remember a happy student is a successful student.
Just some information regarding California students and Medical school:
CA is one of the worst states for a pre-med to be a resident of. Large population; not enough med school seats.
CA produced over 6200 med school applicants in the last cycle. Only 16% of the those 6200+ matriculated at a CA med school (public or private). Another 25% matriculated at an OOS med school, but most CA applicants (59% or 3652) were not accepted into ANY med school.
Nationally, less than 40% of med school applicants are accepted into any medical school in any given year. The odds for MD/PhDs are even poorer–238 applied; 88 matriculated.
https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/321542/data/factstableb7.pdf
UCSD has many labs and hospitals in close proximity of the campus, which is good for resume building
The other thing to consider is the 10 week quarter system at UCSD. It goes by really fast especially when trying to master science concepts. My D’s friend that graduated UCSD with her did not get any med school acceptances in the US and is doing med school abroad.