state school=no chance??

[c27d]

I am currently a first year in a state school in California. I was reading some other forums stating that people who attend state schools have a harder chance of getting accepted into med school. I was thinking about transferring to a UC but I have to complete 60 units by the spring semester before I transfer. So I will most likely transfer in fall of 2016. But what I really want to know is if I am a disadvantage for attending a state school.

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[naijapride]

If by state you mean community college yes but if by state you mean a four year university but it's not your flagship school then no. I think that thought may be from the fact that it's harder to get to a UC than a state school so they start out with students who traditionally scored better so they mostly continue the trend and better scores= better chances of getting into medical schools. California is too big and too desirable to be more favorable to a particular school ;they can get the cream of the crop without trying so if you're scoring well it won't hurt you and if you aren't doing transferring to a UC won't help until you start doing better. NOTE: if a state schools is a community college(two year mostly with some four year degrees sprinkle in) transfer because it's not considered the same caliber as a four year university and that stands no matter where in the country you go

 

[deleted480308]

your grades matter far more than your school

 

[hellanutella]

I'm assuming you're referring to a Cal State school, correct? If you're attending a California Community College, then yes you will need to transfer. If you're at a CSU, I would say transferring is a personal choice. You won't kill your medical school chances either way.

Re Cal States: There's huge variability across the CSU system, in regards to size, resources, and "perceived prestige." While CSUs are cheaper than UC schools, keep in mind that none have affiliated medical centers and most don't have huge pre-med pipelines (hence, less resources for premed students). I ended up having to seek out clinical opportunities from neighbouring UC schools, even though I was enrolled at a CSU. It turned out to be a bit of a pain, because I was blocked from participating in some really awesome programs they offered due to the fact that I wasn't a student there. I would say that you have to be a far more proactive student at a CSU vs. a UC, because most CSU schools won't have as many well-established research/clinical programs. In fact, 90% of my application entries were non-CSU affiliated, since I had to search elsewhere to find the activities I wanted.

I'm not URM, but I attended a CSU whose student body was over 50% URM. What my school lacked in your typical pre-med resources, they made up for in awesome minority support programs. Our minority research support office had connections with a number of prestigious summer research programs and would set up a handful of URM students at Harvard/Baylor/UCLA/etc each summer. I bet this is very CSU-dependent, however.

Regarding the whole "perceived prestige" business, I couldn't say how much attending at low-tier CSU hurt me. Some med schools love to recruit from prestigious institutions, while others may be more forgiving. I've heard that some UC med schools will stick their nose up at CSU students, but I had a pretty good success rate with UC med schools. The one thing I had to deal with was constantly being questioned by interviewers as to why I went to a CSU vs. a UC school. I can say that getting a high MCAT was instrumental in my success, as it "validated" the high GPA I got from my CSU. My prehealth counsellor insinuated that a not-well-known state school + low MCAT could be the kiss of death.

tl;dr: really, I would advise you to chose the school (within your financial range) that you feel you would be the happiest at. Whether you attend a podunk CSU or the top UC, you're going to want perform to your highest degree. Do well in your classes, get a good MCAT, and engage in activities you love. When all is said and done, the school is secondary. Good luck!

 

[c27d]

Yes I am attending a Cal state university school! Thank you for the comments. I really appreciate it!

 

[Janus_Kinase]

I'm assuming you're referring to a Cal State school, correct? If you're attending a California Community College, then yes you will need to transfer. If you're at a CSU, I would say transferring is a personal choice. You won't kill your medical school chances either way.

Re Cal States: There's huge variability across the CSU system, in regards to size, resources, and "perceived prestige." While CSUs are cheaper than UC schools, keep in mind that none have affiliated medical centers and most don't have huge pre-med pipelines (hence, less resources for premed students). I ended up having to seek out clinical opportunities from neighbouring UC schools, even though I was enrolled at a CSU. It turned out to be a bit of a pain, because I was blocked from participating in some really awesome programs they offered due to the fact that I wasn't a student there. I would say that you have to be a far more proactive student at a CSU vs. a UC, because most CSU schools won't have as many well-established research/clinical programs. In fact, 90% of my application entries were non-CSU affiliated, since I had to search elsewhere to find the activities I wanted.

I'm not URM, but I attended a CSU whose student body was over 50% URM. What my school lacked in your typical pre-med resources, they made up for in awesome minority support programs. Our minority research support office had connections with a number of prestigious summer research programs and would set up a handful of URM students at Harvard/Baylor/UCLA/etc each summer. I bet this is very CSU-dependent, however.

Regarding the whole "perceived prestige" business, I couldn't say how much attending at low-tier CSU hurt me. Some med schools love to recruit from prestigious institutions, while others may be more forgiving. I've heard that some UC med schools will stick their nose up at CSU students, but I had a pretty good success rate with UC med schools. The one thing I had to deal with was constantly being questioned by interviewers as to why I went to a CSU vs. a UC school. I can say that getting a high MCAT was instrumental in my success, as it "validated" the high GPA I got from my CSU. My prehealth counsellor insinuated that a not-well-known state school + low MCAT could be the kiss of death.

tl;dr: really, I would advise you to chose the school (within your financial range) that you feel you would be the happiest at. Whether you attend a podunk CSU or the top UC, you're going to want perform to your highest degree. Do well in your classes, get a good MCAT, and engage in activities you love. When all is said and done, the school is secondary. Good luck!

I 100% agree with that. I just graduated from a cal state and really had to be proactive about getting involved with pre-med activities. The pre-health advisor was a faculty member who didn't seem too knowledgeable in this field. Transferring to UC would be a personal choice but I advise against it because, honestly, I've made some GREAT experiences and met amazing people at my campus and wouldn't change it for anything. It is not about the school, it is what you make of it.

You are a first year, so just concentrate on grades and begin to look into getting involved. While I do believe I have average GPA and MCAT, I am hoping that my application as a whole will get me some love from some UCs and across the states. If I am at a disadvantage I guess I will let you know next application cycle Here's to hope and best of luck to you, OP!