<p>Are you currently in a Ca high school? You can certainly check out some private schools, but don’t eliminate the UCs. UCs have plenty of programs for low income kids, and there are a lot of plusses to being closer to home… </p>
<p>Bates, Colby, Richmond, St. Olaf, Trinity (CT), Macalester are all great schools, but let’s get real. You will be facing substantial travel costs, and you are not going to find a lot of kids like you. That’s why Waverley is suggesting them. Maybe that 's not an issue for you, but only you can evaluate that.</p>
<p>UC Riverside has a brand new medical school which is committed to improving health care in SoCal. UC Irvine already has a great medical school. While going there as an undergrad is no guarantee of getting into the Medical Schools, an enterprising kid could do a lot worse.</p>
<p>Keep your options open. Maybe you’d love to spend four years in Maine or Minnesota, but there are plenty of other affordable CA options to get to your goals.</p>