Does which undergraduate school you attend, affect what medical school you go to and job offers?

State Forums
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I have recently graduated from community college this recent spring semester. I am a biology major that plans on going to medical school and eventually becoming a dermatologist. I have been accepted into CSULB and waitlisted for UCI and UCLA. In fear of not knowing if I will be accepted into UCI or UCLA, I accepted CSULB’s offer for admission. Now, I am not quite sure that if I do get accepted into UCI or UCLA that I should cancel my CSULB admission and attend a UC.

I want to know if going to a UC over CSU will increase my chances for getting into medical school or if it will affect the jobs available to me in the future. Basically, how much does the undergraduate school you attend affect you overall?

Also, do I have a better chance of having a higher GPA at CSULB compared to a UC school? I looked at what requirements I need to graduate CSULB with a bachelors in biology and the total was 12 classes.

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Also, how good of a school is CSULB for biology?

Thank you!!

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What weight, if ANY, a med school gives to where an applicant went to school is unknown. As a med school hopeful, what will increase your chances of getting into med school will be to submit a competitive application in all respects (eg GPAs (cumulative/science), MCAT, ECs, etc). In addition, as approx. 60% of those that apply do not get into any med school anywhere, applying broadly when time comes, including OOS, may help. As to which college to attend, consider where you think you’ll fit in the best because if you’re happy at the school you attend, you’re more likely to do well.

You may want to consider what you plan to do with your bio degree should you change your career plans. There can be a lot of premed hopefuls that didn’t get in at any med school looking for work. Good luck.

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a little but, not in the way you might think it would. Its less the reputation of the school than the opportunities at and near the school for research, internships, leadership and other typically out of classroom activities. LB is a big campus in a major metro area - most students commute from their family home, I think the competition for ECs is a lot lighter than someplace like SLO or Chico, relatively small towns with lots of students living on/near campus.