<p>I'm a high school senior right now and my dream was to go to ucla or ucb but i was rejected from both. So now i am looking at these two options:</p>
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<li><p>going to a community college, joining the transfer alliance program- giving me a 90% chance of getting into ucla for college of letters and sciences. But i'm not sure how good of an idea this is as medical schools look at extracurriculars and i will need letter of recommendations. Will a cc make me look less competitive for med school? If i do this route i will do everything in my power to get a medical type internship, volunteer at hospitals etc..</p></li>
<li><p>I will go to uc davis and then try to transfer to ucb or ucla in two years if i absolutely cannot stand davis. This will cause the same problem with lor's but I will have two years of uc to put on my app instead of two years at cc. Im not sure if this is looked down on from medical school adcoms?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Please suggest which one is a better option. I am prepared to get the highest possible grades that i can at whichever option i choose. Also I heard that uc to uc transfer is very hard to do especially with berkeley?</p>
<p>You should go to UC Davis, earn your degree there and if you have a competitive GPA and strong MCAT scores apply to medical school. Medical schools do not really care where you go for your undergraduate degree and a degree from UCB or UCLA will not make up for a lower GPA and MCAT scores or give you an advantage over a graduate of UCD.</p>
<p>The problem with going to a CC is that medical schools tend to take a negative view of medical school prerequisite courses taken at community colleges but if you wait until you transfer to a UC to take them you are likely to have problems finishing your upper division courses and the lower division medical school prerequisites within the allotted time you will have to finish your degree at the UC. UC Berkeley in particular is very strict about cancelling the enrollment of transfer students after two years at UCB whether they have finished their degree or not.</p>
<p>It’s true that medical schools are skeptical about prerequisites at community colleges but if you do well in them, and do well on the mcat, what can they possibly count against you that would lead them to believe that you don’t know the material? Not to mention if you are a science major, you have to take medical school prerequisite at a community college to even transfer. Gpa and mcat score is much more important than prestige of your school I’ve seen many people get in top 20 medical schools after taking all their prerequisites at a cc. Honestly the only thing you would probably be missing out on by going to Davis, is more research opportunities at ucla and Berkeley but its not like Davis doesn’t have any. There are plenty of opportunities out there. </p>
<p>Also do research on medical schools as well. Some schools don’t accept cc courses for example stanford medical school does not accept cc courses. These are in the minority though. </p>
<p>If you’re really set on ucla or ucb you’re better off at a cc. It’s not as easy for students from other ucs to transfer there.</p>
<p>Try posting on the premed forum to get more advice on taking the premed classes at a CC…</p>
<p>you need to go to davis and stay there, and apply to med school. You have a much better chance of getting into a good med school by doing well in Davis than going to a cc and then MAYBE getting into ucb or ucla. Also UC to UC transfer is near impossible since transfers at UCs are made for cc students. UC Davis is a good school with a good med school and its easier to get into research programs at Davis, you may even get a research position in Berkeley.</p>