UC Santa Cruz for pre-med?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

Hello!
I’m a current high school senior (just finished junior year), and am exploring different colleges for a pre-medicine track. I’m aware of the pre-medical requirements and what is needed in applying for medical school. I was wondering what your thoughts on UC Santa Cruz are as far as pursuing medicine goes. Is it good for medical school matriculation? Is it competitive (given not many students apply as pre-med and it’s one of the less competitive UC’s)? Is a 3.7-4.0 GPA attainable while maintaining a high quality of life? Are professors accessible? I already have guaranteed off-campus housing, should I forgo that to pursue pre-med somewhere else? I’ll include my stats for reference. Thanks in advance for your help!

Stats:

GPA: 3.83 unweighted, ~4.5 weighted
SAT: Did not/will not take due to COVID-19 (UC System dropped the requirement)
Class Rank: Top 4% of graduation class
Honors Classes: IB Full Diploma candidate, also took AP World and passed the exam
Extracurriculars: State-wide exec board for a club, school-wide exec board for three others. Internship at a local non-profit for environmental justice (first HS intern), intern at another local non-profit for ecological rehabilitation. Eagle scout candidate. Presidential service award recipient.

Let me know your thoughts :slight_smile:

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@Jamesbleds0e

Any of the UCs are fine for pre-med. The needed pre-reqs are offered and there is adequate pre-med advising.

Getting the necessary components for a strong med school application is a responsibility that belongs solely to the student. The “brand name” of the undergraduate attended by an applicant is given little weight during the medical school admission process. It’s your accomplishments during college that count.

However, I will note that as a CA applicants you are at a general disadvantage in the med school application process. CA produces way too many highly qualified applicants for the number of available med school seats in CA. More than 2/3rd of successful CA applicants end up attending a OOS med school. Plan to apply widely to OOS med schools when it comes time for you to apply.

Specific questions about professors and the competitiveness of particular classes might be better answered in the UCSC specific forum

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-cruz/