<p>I don’t know that you’d see any great difference in med school admissions if you compared people who were accepted to Hopkins, WUSTL, or similar schools and who went to those schools vs. people who were accepted to those schools and who instead went to Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, or Pepperdine.</p>
<p>I could make a strong argument that for a top student (and if you were admitted to Johns Hopkins, you’re definitely a top student) the possibilities for research and work with faculty members is probably more easily achievable at UCR or one of these other schools than it is at Hopkins with a huge cohort of equally talented kids.</p>
<p>I think your chances of pulling a 3.8 or higher average in the pre-med courses is a lot higher at UCR.</p>
<p>I think your opportunities for outside volunteer work in medically-related areas is outstanding at Riverside.</p>
<p>Riverside doesn’t have the cachet of JHU, but it will provide a perfectly reasonable place for a solid pre-med education. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t you rather save the money for med school anyway?</p>