<p>regarding chances of getting into a med school, my question is:</p>
<p>would it be better to go a more "normal" undergrad school like a UC Davis and get good grades & be more comfortable,</p>
<p>or would it be better to go to the best school u can get into, but not necessarily stand out or get good grades?</p>
<p>according to lots of people on this board, the first.</p>
<p>Go to the one where you will enjoy the most; it's hard to get good grades if you're miserable, and you would be doing a disservice to yourself if you didn't go to a school where you would be challenged.</p>
<p>PR: I don't think anybody's ever suggested that. What we've suggested is that you need to look for an environment where you can thrive. This isn't synonymous with running away from challenges.</p>
<p>If you're a good student and meant to stand out, you will get good grades and stand out, regardless of the school you go to. Your study habits and uniqueness should follow you anywhere you go.</p>
<p>^words of truth. I would go to where you feel most comfortable (in the school's general environment). Don't just base it off "difficulty" because if you're good, you'll pretty much be good anywhere (ESPECIALLY applies to the top 5 UC's: Cal, LA, SD, D, I)</p>
<p>even though Davis is a middle-tier UC, is it still well-respected and does it send a lot of ppl to med school? i would like to go to SD, but if i don't, then is Davis still pretty good for undergrad/pre-med?</p>
<p>^yes davis is an excellent school and is not given enough credit (id rather go to davis than SD)</p>
<p>that's relieving, b/c i know it's applied to a lot as a safety school, and i was wondering if med school adcoms look down at Davis
Davis has a lot of research oppourtunities right? and it's not quite as competitive as other pre-med schools?</p>
<p>Pre-med schools? That's definitely a phrase I've never heard before. There are obviously certain schools with good pre-med programs, but literally thousands of schools have a pre-med track and many of those are not competitive.</p>
<p>Sadly, it's a phrase we hear here all the time.</p>
<p>My husband graduated from Davis and went to a very good med school. Davis is well-respected in the sciences.</p>
<p>i heard from a lot of ppl that getting into a CA med school is harder than normal, is that true?</p>
<p>^lol Most definitely</p>
<p>even for CA residents?</p>
<p>Most definitely</p>
<p>Yes - med schools don't favor in state residents.</p>
<p>Well UC's favor in-state residents but the acceptance rates are still low (7% instate vs. 1-3% out of state).</p>
<p>Actually, I'd say the majority of med schools, public or private, favor in-state residents. Most even state so explicitly, though the degree of preference (texas and the UC's generally being the most skewed) varies widely</p>
<p>Yeah, the majority of STATE medical schools pay a HUGE amount of attention to state residency. There are exceptions for sure, especially as you go farther east, but many states in the West and Midwest have medical schools that are >75% instate residents.</p>
<p>Here's the data: <a href="http://aamc.org/data/facts/2006/2006school.htm%5B/url%5D">http://aamc.org/data/facts/2006/2006school.htm</a></p>
<p>The issue with the CA schools is that there are so many CA residents applying that you lose the in-state advantage that many other people have. </p>
<p>For example: The University of Kansas had 1685 applicants - 23.9% were in-state, meaning roughly 400 instate students applied. However 85.7 % of their 175 member entering class was in-state - meaning 149 students were instate, and some 1200 OOS candidates were fighting for 26 spots.</p>
<p>Meanwhile UC Davis had 4313 applicants - 79% were CA residents - nearly 3400. And even though 95.7% of their matriculants were CA residents - they only have a class of 93 students...so 89 students were CA residents.</p>
<p>Do the math and you find out that being OOS to KU has about the same acceptance rate as being instate to UCDavis. And it's not just UC Davis that is like this.</p>