What are the best colleges in California for a future pre-med student?

Answer 1

Any University of California school will be a great start for pre-med. Just remember: these schools do not offer pre-med as a major, and that's a good thing. You do NOT have to be a pre-med, bio or even science major to get into med school. Med schools like well-rounded students who excel in a variety of fields (especially humanities).

UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD all have very high matriculation rates for students applying for med school. But really, any UC school is a good choice, especially considering that they're cheaper than U$C or Stanfurd. Save your money to pay for med school (the application process alone can cost THOUSANDS of dollars)

Linkin touched on a good point: Frou Frou schools like Stanfurd and Harvard are notorous for GRADE INFLATION, giving A's willy-nilly to students to sate their sense of entitlement. A little hard work and competition builds character. Pick a UC school. Your soul will thank you for it :)

Answer 2

Just follow the ranking guide at US News and see each CA school's rankings.

Yes, you'll notice the UCs are all ranked really high nationally.

However, Stanford is still the best. This is despite the strong feelings of the Cal alum above me. :) The main reason Stanford is easily the best is that, like schools such as Harvard, it's really hard to get in, but once in, it's easier to get high grades versus a top public school like Berkeley, where it's slightly easier to get in, but much harder to get good grades. Even in competitive classes such as science classes (altho the difference is more dramatic in a humanities course).

Answer 3

The obvious answers are Stanford, then UC Berkeley, CalTech, UCLA, the Claremonts (esp. Harvey Mudd).