Quick question:
I am going to start the Harvard HCP post bac in the fall, but I would eventually like to attend med school on the west coast. Assuming one does well in the post bac program (with undergrad GPA 3.6 and MCAT>36), are most med schools (west and east coasts) a possibility? Just wondering if there's a regional bias or anything like that?
Thanks.
Not a "regional bias" but an in-state bias. All public schools are
considerably more difficult to get into if you aren't a state resident (except Vermont), and there are considerably fewer private schools on the west coast. Harvard
HCP isn't well known but with strong numbers it doesn't matter. A 3.6/36 is below the average of accepted OOS students at the public schools - students accepted from OOS tend to either be in the MD/PhD programs or have insane credentials and instate ties.
I suggest you pick up an MSAR and get familiarized with med schools you'd want to attend, their costs, their locations, etc.
On the west coast, starting from the top:
U of Washington: the state school for WA, WY, AK, MT and ID. Very few OOS students accepted but it happens. (#2 to Harvard in NIH research funding, btw.) In Seattle.
U of Oregon: at least 2/3 instate (just OR). One of the most expensive public schools. In Portland.
UC system, Davis (near Sacramento), San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine (Orange county): incredibly competitive admissions, very few OOS get in, 20-40 instate candidates per seat.
Stanford: private school, even more competitive admissions, on a par w/Harvard. South of San Francisco.
USC: private school in urban Los Angeles, very competitive admissions
Loma Linda: private religious school east of Los Angeles (7th day adventist)
U of Hawaii: profound instate bias, so even the OOS students have strong instate ties. On Oahu in Honolulu.
For the sake of completion, the west coast DO schools are:
PNWU: 2 year old school in Yakima
Touro-CA: on the former site of a naval base east of SFO
Western: in Pomona, east of Los Angeles
Best of luck to you.
