Is it unwise to go to a CSU instead of a UC for undergrad?
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Nope. UC has almost no prestige, even for UC medical schools. Unless you go to Harvard, stanford, Columbia and the like...your undergrad is meaningless
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The short answer is no, no one cares where you went except if you go to an Ivy or some other top 20 undergrad. Even then, you still have to do extremely well. Attending a great school doesn't excuse a poor gpa.
But if you look up the recent med school classes of the UCs, you'll find a large % of them attended a UC or top 20 undergrad. Not a whole lot of CSU students.
The UCs aren't the most prestigious schools but they are known to be pre-med factories for a reason. Unless you have some major factor like money, family etc pushing you to go to a CSU, it seems like a no-brainer to me to attend the UC
But if you look up the recent med school classes of the UCs, you'll find a large % of them attended a UC or top 20 undergrad. Not a whole lot of CSU students.
The UCs aren't the most prestigious schools but they are known to be pre-med factories for a reason. Unless you have some major factor like money, family etc pushing you to go to a CSU, it seems like a no-brainer to me to attend the UC
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Really? You do know UCLA is the #1 ranked public school in the country and the #19 overall? ? And Berkeley is right behind them. And UCSD is not terribly far behind them.
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The prestige matters in the sense that it could give you more research opportunities or things like that. GPA? It would give you 0.1 point on your GPA's worth of advantage, if you're lucky. 3.8 from CSU Podunkville > 3.5 from UCLA.
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Let me rephrase: Undergrad doesn’t matter for medical school applications save for Ivies and the like.
A poster above suggested that the UC medical schools are made up of more UC students than CSU students, which is valid to think that UC would matter more. I would argue, however it is not the school itself but rather the opportunity potentials at the school. For students who are very self driven and seek out opportunity, you will probably have more novel experiences at podunk than flagship universities (simply because there are fewer premeds to fill volunteer slots and fewer graduate students to do research). If you want a guided path of premed with everything presented to you (but most likely cookie cutter than true involvement) UC will be better.
The box checking/cookie cutter app is probably 80-90% of applications so it obviously works. You make your choice based on what you want, however on the basis of the name of the school it does not matter.
Thank you for all your advice.
My biggest concern was research opportunities, to be honest. I'm gonna call my potential CSU tomorrow and inquire. Also, this CSU I am looking to transfer to is special to me because it offers a fantastic program for my unusual major and is local. My potential UC doesn't ever have the major, sadly.
As for volunteering, I'm largely self-motivated and I've already found clinical and non-clinical underserved population volunteering that I am extremely passionate about. I found it independent of my school.
My biggest concern was research opportunities, to be honest. I'm gonna call my potential CSU tomorrow and inquire. Also, this CSU I am looking to transfer to is special to me because it offers a fantastic program for my unusual major and is local. My potential UC doesn't ever have the major, sadly.
As for volunteering, I'm largely self-motivated and I've already found clinical and non-clinical underserved population volunteering that I am extremely passionate about. I found it independent of my school.
My question is: is it because UC schools attract students and better applicants or is it the prestige of the name that is helping them more?
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The first. Better students go to schools they think have better names and thus better names go on to better schools and the cycle repeats. It is nothing inherent within the school itself.
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It's probably the first but UCs have more resources for those top students.
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I'm going against the grain here and saying yes (disclaimer: I graduated from a UC)
I'm not saying yes for the prestige of the school, but rather the resources available at these institutions. First, most of the UCs are associated with a medical school and a medical center. This is valuable in terms of the mentorship, shadowing, and volunteer experiences. Personally, it was a breeze for me to begin volunteering during my freshman year and find mentors that were more receptive to undergraduates. Second, the amount of research conducted at the UCs dwarves that of the CSUs. The sheer amount of research available at these universities makes it worth attending IMO.
Anecdotally, I will say that I did not meet a single person from a CSU at any of my interviews, but I met countless applicants from UCLA, UCSD, UCI, and UCD. I will say that the UCs are known to be big premed factories and it can sometimes feel like a trial by fire - especially in 300-500 student courses. But I found it very manageable.
I'm not saying yes for the prestige of the school, but rather the resources available at these institutions. First, most of the UCs are associated with a medical school and a medical center. This is valuable in terms of the mentorship, shadowing, and volunteer experiences. Personally, it was a breeze for me to begin volunteering during my freshman year and find mentors that were more receptive to undergraduates. Second, the amount of research conducted at the UCs dwarves that of the CSUs. The sheer amount of research available at these universities makes it worth attending IMO.
Anecdotally, I will say that I did not meet a single person from a CSU at any of my interviews, but I met countless applicants from UCLA, UCSD, UCI, and UCD. I will say that the UCs are known to be big premed factories and it can sometimes feel like a trial by fire - especially in 300-500 student courses. But I found it very manageable.
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No the issue is not grades/mcat. Forget that because if you have a decent IQ and work ethic you will do fine anywhere. What matters id the ECs. UCs have a vast amount of resources.
If I couldn't find the type of ECs at a CSU I need to be competitive, what would be the alternative solutions?
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Here is the thing. I am sure you could find clinical opportunities as a CSU student. I am sure you could find research in a CSU if you search, there are REU and good ol networking.
With UCs these things are just abundant. A lot of UCs are affiliated with hospitals so undergrads are not completely blocked off from the medical world.
I am sure you could get ECs that are just as good as UC you would just need to look for them more and the chances are not as frequent.
Look at it from a probabilistic point. UC students will probably be exposed to more chances to do things they care about vs a CSU student. CSU students will need to probably search for those things more often while for the UC student it is a matter of just choosing out of the myriad of opportunities offered.
I am not saying CSU students cant find these ECs it just requires more legwork to get.
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From what I've heard (and the data I've seen), many of the CSUs have a hard time graduating a respectable percentage of their students in 4 or even 6 years, let alone support success of premedical students. Unless there was a huge cost difference I'd be looking for the UC
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Another n=1 experience:
Graduated from a top UC
All my pre-reqs were completed post-bacc at a smaller newer CSU much later
My personal experience was:
1. Even the "big" classes as my CSU were smaller than those at my UC (75 vs 250 for basic Chem)..fewer gunners and so, if you're motivated, you can get more attention, help, and build a closer relationship with the professors.
2. I found it easier to get better grades at the CSU; I've debated this with myself a great deal - was it more focus (older/wiser), was it smaller classes, was it easier grading, was it less competition with top scorers - probably a little of each.
3. My CSU had plenty of research going on in Bio and Chem - fun stuff...again, fewer gunners so while it's not an endless supply, you might have a better chance of getting to know the PI and getting more opportunities
4. My CSU vs. UC had a different personality of student; many students at my UC were "settling" and had been on wait-lists to Ivies, had long term plans and followed them whereas many students at my CSU were somewhat new to the game and seemed to fall more into the "less informed pre-meds" category... which has pros and cons.
For my own kids, I'm honestly torn - I am "loyal" to my UC, loved my experience there and the sense of pride (goeth before the fall) I get from it, but I think the CSU gave me a really solid education and opportunities to flourish that weren't at the big UC. I was more anonymous at the UC - it took more effort to get to know professors.
TLDR: Ivies are only ones with name value recognition/connections; Education is what you make of it and CSU should offer comparable opportunities with less competition and $$
Graduated from a top UC
All my pre-reqs were completed post-bacc at a smaller newer CSU much later
My personal experience was:
1. Even the "big" classes as my CSU were smaller than those at my UC (75 vs 250 for basic Chem)..fewer gunners and so, if you're motivated, you can get more attention, help, and build a closer relationship with the professors.
2. I found it easier to get better grades at the CSU; I've debated this with myself a great deal - was it more focus (older/wiser), was it smaller classes, was it easier grading, was it less competition with top scorers - probably a little of each.
3. My CSU had plenty of research going on in Bio and Chem - fun stuff...again, fewer gunners so while it's not an endless supply, you might have a better chance of getting to know the PI and getting more opportunities
4. My CSU vs. UC had a different personality of student; many students at my UC were "settling" and had been on wait-lists to Ivies, had long term plans and followed them whereas many students at my CSU were somewhat new to the game and seemed to fall more into the "less informed pre-meds" category... which has pros and cons.
For my own kids, I'm honestly torn - I am "loyal" to my UC, loved my experience there and the sense of pride (goeth before the fall) I get from it, but I think the CSU gave me a really solid education and opportunities to flourish that weren't at the big UC. I was more anonymous at the UC - it took more effort to get to know professors.
TLDR: Ivies are only ones with name value recognition/connections; Education is what you make of it and CSU should offer comparable opportunities with less competition and $$
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