<p>Hi everyone!I am an international student that want to attend pre-med and later med in U.S.A.Im from turkey and want to say that my grades are not so high.My gpa is 2.8 throughout the highschool.It may seem like terrible but our system is much more different(difficult) than americans.But im not sure if the admission offices are considering the situations in turkey.I also study for S.A.T exam.The thing is: I want to go to pre-med school in Uc but i heard that they care more about gpa than S.A.T.So do i have any chances of being accepted ? I also work as volunteer in a charity that cures,gives education to kids who have blood cancer and unable to go to normal schools.</p>
<p>American universities are aware of the differences between the US educational system and other countries’. You certainly won’t be the first person from Turkey to apply. If your grades are strong by Turkish standards, it will be noted. And yes, SATs will be very important (as well as SATII tests.) </p>
<p>Are you aware that the UCs don’t give any financial aid to international students? Which means your education will cost over $50,000 per year… so you will spend over $200,000 – before you even begin medical school. And in order to get a student visa, you will have to prove that your family has that kind of money.</p>
<p>Yes im aware of the financial problems and we think we can handle it without much cuts from family budget.So it seems like my first priority is to get in a good pre-med.But i want to state that i wasnt aware that i will need my gpa because it doesnt play a crucial role in turkey.But when i decided to get in a university in u.s.a my grades increased dramatically.But i think it is not enough.So should i state that it wasnt so important in turkish system but when i decided to get in a university in usa my grades increased but is this situation may be seen aslaziness in admission office?(im in a hurry sory for mistakes)</p>
<p>It could be seen as laziness. 2.8 (at least on the American scale of 4) is very low, too low for the University of California. Their main campuses, Berkeley and UCLA usually require close to a 4.0. However, if you do well on all your SATs, write a compelling essay, and have good letters of recommendation, you might get into some of the lesser known campuses. The fact that you can pay the high non-resident tuition could help.</p>
<p>Is there a reason why you want to go to the UCs? It might be easier for you to get into some of the private schools in California. And if you do very well as an undergraduate you can still get into medical school without going to one of the UCs.</p>
<p>2.8 is pretty low but high schools as i said are pretty thouhg and im going to school that simply does anything to lesser your grades compared to other high schools.Anyway i want to go to Ucsf - Ucla - Ucb - it is important for me to admitted for ucs because they are pretty good and i know i ll work hard to get in a good med school,but i think getting in a good pre-med is the key factor for getting in a good med school.Also my first priority is to get in a good pre-med in california near los angeles</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re being realistic, Userbame. Your grades are low, and you will be competing against international students with near-perfect grades who also graduated from very difficult schools. That is simply the reality of trying to get into a school like Berkeley or UCLA. They attract the best, and they get to choose from the best. You can go ahead and apply to Berkeley or UCLA - but better have a back up plan, because the odds are against you. </p>
<p>It is NOT true that you have to go to a major UC to get into medical school. All that matters for medical school is very high grades in the sciences, good MCAT score, and some medically-related ECs as a distant third. Thousands of students get into med schools after completing their pre-med at smaller colleges and lesser-known universities. </p>
<p>If you’re absolutely set on going to a UC, you might consider doing your first two years at a community college, then transferring for your last two years. It is much easier to get into UCs as a transfer student. </p>
<p>Oh, and by the way, UC San Francisco is a medical school, so graduate-level only.</p>
<p>Thank you for informing me about these conditions.I dont think that i want to get in a community college since my family thinks it is risk.So i would try to do my best in sat and will come back to ask about which college to get in.Thank you for replies</p>
<p>Userbame, You will want to seriously consider the community college route with that gpa, especially if you are looking at the UCs for med school after finishing a bachelor’s degree. All the major community colleges in California have what are called 2+2 agreements or articulation agreements with the UC system that spell out admissions requirements if you achieve a certain gpa at the community college you can be admitted to the UC school for the final 2 years of your bachelor’s degree. Also keep in mind, that the pre-med programs that incoming freshmen typically are not specific academic majors, as students can study English or history as an undergrad and still be considered pre-med.</p>
<p>I think i might have a chance on going to a good schools (not uc anymore) if i perform good on my sats.But the thing is : Do i have a chance of
Transferrung to uc from a lesser known schools other than community colleges?
And also im afraid that schools like ucla wants 3.8 gpa from community college.The thing is im not sure how hard is the english courses in community colleges.So if they are hard as sat i wont be able to get 3.8 from english.Biology and other courses is easy to handle for me since i get good grades in maths,biology etc if i study.So if i have to go to community college it will be good if someone help me what they teach in english classes.</p>
<p>It’s hard to transfer to Berkeley or UCLA from schools other than community colleges. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about English at community college. All of them offer many levels so you will be able to improve your language skills. </p>
<p>Here are two very good community colleges from which you could transfer to, for example, UC Berkeley:</p>
<p>[Foothill</a> College is a 2-year community college providing a wide range of educational opportunities for all.](<a href=“http://www.foothill.edu/index.php]Foothill”>Foothill College | Home)</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to De Anza College](<a href=“http://www.deanza.edu/]Welcome”>http://www.deanza.edu/)</p>