CSU vs CC to UC

[ScalpelJockey]

I made some poor choices during my sophomore and junior years which resulted in a current cumulative GPA of 2.79. I take the ACT and SAT in October. My ultimate goal is to get into UCSF and I had a question on which path to take.

1) A community college for two years then transfer to a UC. From what I heard, this would probably be my best option. I have no problem attending a CC except the fact that I took to many summer school/online classes to just say goodbye to any chance of a four year college. Would you say this is my safest bet on getting into a medical school?

2) There are a few CSU's such as MB, San Francisco State, and Fresno that I'm currently considering. However it seems the consensus is that CSU's usually don't get into medical school. If I had an impressive GPA upon graduation, would my chances be better into getting to a medical school?

I feel totally overwhelmed so any help would be appreciated.

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[Richardh]

1) yes; i have friends who have transferred from cc to uc (like Cal and UCLA). the community colleges do help students prepare and tranfer their credits to university california schools i can't say that it is the safest bet in getting into medical school, but i can say that you will have more opportunities to improve yourself as an applicant (like having unique extra-curriculars: volunteering, researching) [for example at UCs, you will have more chances to do joint clinical research with the school of medicine (UCLA, UCI, etc)]

2) no; it is not true that csu students usually can't get into medical school. as long as the student has a strong academic gpa and high mcat score along with impressive extracurricular activities, the student is a viable and competitive applicant for medical school. so yes; if you have an impressive gpa, mcat score, and extra curricular, you're chances are high

i don't know if students can successfully transfer from csu to uc, but like i said before transferring from cc to uc is possible. its best to contact the cc that you plan on attending and see if the credits you take at the school there can be transferred to ucsf. in the end good luck on your act and sat! if you still can improve your gpa during your senior year, i think you should apply to UCs.

 

[fahimaz7]

lol. I totally thought this was Colorado College, CU, and Colorado State University.

 

[preDoGuy24]

lol. I totally thought this was Colorado College, CU, and Colorado State University.

Same here...GO RAMS !!!

 

[Richardh]

by the way scalpeljockey, i forgot to mention but i think ucsf is a graduate/professional/medical school. (so if it's my misunderstanding i apologize but you won't be able to directly transfer to ucsf to complete your undergraduate work). but as for medical school, you can aim for ucsf

 

[lord_jeebus]

I think the CC -> UC option is superior. If you're not able to make that transfer, UCSF med probably wasn't a realistic option to begin with.

 

[Winged Scapula]

It is untrue that grads of CSUs are unable to get into medical school (Fresno State grad here).

However, the proportion of California medical students from a UC far outweighs those from CSUs. That is more likely a function of the caliber of students who get into UCs rather than the teaching at CSUs. As noted above, a good gpa, MCAT scores will trump what school you attended (all else being equal).

Regardless there are no safe bets on getting into medical school, especially a California one and especially UCSF. CC ---> UC is reasonable as is CC ---> CSU and even CSU ---> medical school.

 

[the duck]

I'd vote for CC to UC. No matter what people around here say, the name on your degree does matter to some extent, and there is a big jump in the reputation between CSUs and UCs. UCs will also provide you with more research opportunities etc.

 

[ScalpelJockey]

by the way scalpeljockey, i forgot to mention but i think ucsf is a graduate/professional/medical school. (so if it's my misunderstanding i apologize but you won't be able to directly transfer to ucsf to complete your undergraduate work). but as for medical school, you can aim for ucsf

I did mean for graduate school. I meant should I go from a CSU -> UCSF or CC->UC->UCSF.

Right now I'm leaning towards a transfer to UCSD from a CC for their Human Biology major, however it is an impacted major. This means I have to get a killer GPA to even be considered for transfer right?

 

[Winged Scapula]

I did mean for graduate school. I meant should I go from a CSU -> UCSF or CC->UC->UCSF.

Right now I'm leaning towards a transfer to UCSD from a CC for their Human Biology major, however it is an impacted major. This means I have to get a killer GPA to even be considered for transfer right?

Don't pick a school based on major.

You can major in ANYTHING as long as you take the med school prereqs.