Alrighty. It appears that I’m widely undecided when it comes to what college I want to go to. I plan on going to a school in California though, but there’s just so many good schools and it’s been hard for me to decide which one I want to go to. My overall goal is to become a doctor and go to med school in California. From what I’ve seen, med schools don’t really care much about the prestige of your undergrad and care more about your GPA and MCAT score - so I need a school where I can get a good GPA (preferably a 4.0 but anything above a 3.8 is fine because that’s the average GPA at UCSF and a teeny bit higher than the average at UCLA’s med school. I’ve done a little research and here’s what I’ve come up with:
UCLA: If I go here I plan to major in Psychobiology because according to numerous people, that’s the easiest premed major out there, and I actually happen to genuinely be interested in psychology. I would major in Psychology, but I’m also interested in anatomy and physiology, some of which happens to tie into biology so I feel like Psychobiology would be a good fit for me. Also, I haven’t been for a campus visit yet, but UCLA’s campus looks beautiful from the virtual tours and Youtube videos I’ve watched. Also, I love the area around UCLA - how awesome would it be to say, “Oh, I’m just looking around Beverly Hills this weekend.”? The only problem is I’ve heard that UCLA has a LOT of premeds - to the point where people have to almost fight for internships at their nearby hospital! And people often end up getting internships they don’t even like! Also, I’ve heard that UCLA discriminates against their undergrads who apply to their med school, and their med school is one of my top choices so I don’t know if UCLA would be my best choice.
UC Berkeley: It doesn’t have a Psychobiology major, and I’ve heard that getting and maintaining a good GPA here is almost impossible. I’ve seen the stats of the people who get in, and I don’t know if I want to be an average sized fish, or maybe even a small fish floating around in a big pond if you know what I mean. It also has tons of GUNNER premeds, so same problems as UCLA except worse because I’d be in class with the said gunner premeds since there’s no psychobio major. If you guys have any info on the best course of action for a premed here, it would be much appreciated!
CSU Long Beach: I heard it’s easier to get a good gpa at a CSU than at a UC, and I don’t think this school has a lot of premeds, or at least as many as the ones at UC’s, so I feel like getting internships would be easier. The Long Beach area seems nice, but I’ve heard that even though med schools don’t really look at prestige, they discriminate against CSU’s which, again, I don’t need. I don’t know much about how good their premed courses are because I haven’t seen a lot of threads where CSU Long Beach is linked to premed lol. Any information is appreciated! Oh and it’s a little diverse and that kind of matters to me. I’m an African American female if that helps. I’m sure you noticed UCSD isn’t on this list - and it’s because I’ve seen SO many reports of racism there and how black students are unhappy and blah blah blah. Nothing but bad lol. That Compton Cookout just ruled it off my list. Even disregarding that - tons of gunner premeds, in a bland part of San Diego. Etc.
UCI: Tons of gunner premeds. Boring area. I heard getting a good internship here is hard because of the said gunner premeds who brag about how they got 95’s “without even studying”. On the other hand, it’s near Newport Beach and sometimes I appreciate the quiet. It’s not as traffic congested as LA so getting places wouldn’t be much of a hassle. It’s near some fun places in Orange County allegedly lol. But they also have a med school and I’ve heard med schools discriminate against their undergrad students. ALSO THEIR NEW DORMS ARE BEAUTIFUL! SO BEAUTIFUL I ALMOST WANNA CRY!
UCSB: I’ve heard there’s almost nothing to do in Santa Barbara, but I’ve also heard that this school is always having a bunch of parties in Isla Vista. Personally I’ve never been to a party before but eh, who knows what I’ll be like in college? Lol. Not as traffic congested as LA - that’s a plus. Relatively close to some pretty cool places. Pretty safe area. I’ve heard that it would be easier to get a good GPA here because there aren’t as many GUNNER premeds and it’s a “helping environment” amongst the students. I also heard they have a realllllyyyy good (and free) tutoring program that a lot of people go to and really helps students prepare for the MCAT so it’s easier for people to do well on the MCAT. Also, they have a Psychobio major 
They also don’t have all these race relations issues I’m hearing about so sounds pretty good so far… They don’t have a med school so I can’t get discriminated against I don’t think. Well unless UC med schools just discriminate against UC kids in general?
USC: It’s a private school so I thought it would give me a GPA boost - GPA inflation or whatever people call it, but apparently they don’t play that game and it’s crazy hard to get a good grade here. I’ve heard that it’s in a really bad and unsafe neighborhood of Los Angeles. Literally the BEST I’ve heard is, “well it’s a-okay until you pass so and so street” but I seriously don’t want to have to play that game.
So what schools do you guys think is the best for an aspiring doctor as myself?
but from your post, it seems that UCLA is your best bet. They have the major you want and the prestige you need to further your med school goals. UCLA also has an extremeley diverse student body where racism of any kind will not be tolerated. It’s in a great area and has so much to offer! Good Luck to you!
xD