How much harder is it to get into a med school in California?

[sshung]

Has anyone got accepted to any medical school in California? I heard it is a lot more difficult to get into one because everyone applies there. Do I have a chance with a GPA of 3.71?

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[Richardh]

Your GPA is important but so is your MCAT. And then there are other factors that must be taken into account (extracurriculars, research experience, volunteer experience, awards, etc.) Sometimes, living in CA will help, but this is no gurantee.

 

[bagelbird]

3.71 GPA is great. But it comes down to how well you can sell yourself in your secondaries and your interviews, just like with other schools.

Example:
Friend #1: 35 MCAT, 3.9 GPA, 2 publications, super cool but slightly shy --> waitlisted at UCLA, UCI, UCD, ended up going OOS
Friend #2: 29 MCAT, 3.5 GPA, no publications, loud and loves talking about himself --> UCI, UCD acceptances

 

[DoctaFuture]

3.71 is a great GPA.

Overall, it is harder to get into a Cali school for several reasons. California is very populated and have high applicant pools. Also, Cali has very good schools and great students so a lot of applicants are high caliber. When applying to Cali though just like any school, you want to have a good application overall - basically good stats, nice/unique ECs, good secondaries, interviews etc.
While getting into Cali is quite hard, it's not impossible. A 3.71 will definitely not hurt you when applying to Cali or any other school.

bagel, did your friend w/ the 29 have any crazy etcs or well written PS/secondaries?

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Yes, it is very difficult thanks to all you people who want to come here from out of state. Stay out, you OOS people. We don't want your kind around here!

 

[Potatoman1800]

Friend #2: 29 MCAT, 3.5 GPA, no publications, loud and loves talking about himself --> UCI, UCD acceptances

3.71 is a great GPA.


bagel, did your friend w/ the 29 have any crazy etcs or well written PS/secondaries?

Yeah, b/c having incredible ECs would be the main way a person like that would get into those schools with those stats.

CA sucks for applicants. Just way too many people wanting go get into the few medical schools (8 MD, 2 DO) we have here. Just be prepared to move out of state if you don't start hearing anything positive from CA during the middle/end of the app cycle.

 

[bagelbird]

bagel, did your friend w/ the 29 have any crazy etcs or well written PS/secondaries?

He lived in south africa when he was younger and was a nontrad (only in the working world for 1 year though before doing pre-med) but those are the only really unique things. I think he's just a good writer and he can really pump up his strengths in his writing. His personal statement was written in a conversational tone and he kept it fresh and snappy. Other than that, I really can't believe it either. *jealous*

 

[DoctaFuture]

He lived in south africa when he was younger and was a nontrad (only in the working world for 1 year though before doing pre-med) but those are the only really unique things. I think he's just a good writer and he can really pump up his strengths in his writing. His personal statement was written in a conversational tone and he kept it fresh and snappy. Other than that, I really can't believe it either. *jealous*

ha no need to be jealous, you got into some good schools based on your mdapps. yeah like I said if he wrote his primaries/secondaries well and knew how to interview w/out much of a great background, you can still get in!

 

[dragon529]

Cali schools have the option of cherry picking simply because they get so many "well-qualified" applicants. Compare to other applicants applying to their own state schools, cali applicants applying to our own state schools are definitely harder, but it's not impossible. Just make your application as well rounded as possible and apply broadly as always.