<p>I got accepted into csu fullerton and Im planning on majoring in biochemistry
Afterwards, I would like to go to medschool
I hear that Med schools look down on CSU´s and give priority to UC
is this true?</p>
<p>There are a lot of crazy rumors out there regarding the UC and Cal State systems. Most of those opinions center on the Cal States being “inferior” to the UC’s. I’ve taught at both UCLA and Cal State Fullerton and I will not say that the schools are equal, but Cal State Fullerton is a great school and I enjoyed my stay there. Bottom line the Cal States are more application and practical in teaching methodology. The UC’s are more scholarship and research driven. Cal States prepare you for a career and give you more lab time. The UC’s prepare you for more school (masters degrees, etc.) after graduation and are more theory and research in emphasis. For business and STEM degrees, I feel that the Cal States prepare you very well. In fact, some majors, such as business, are not widely offered by the UC’s at the undergrad level. I do not think you have anything to worry about. Get a practical biochemistry education and focus on lab time and getting a great GPA. Then you should have no issues getting into Med School. The UC Med programs might be a little snooty, but you should do just fine if your GPA and entrance exams are up to par.</p>
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<p>The UC Med schools definitely do “look down” on Cal States. And that is primarily due to the fact that three of the UC Med schools are in the top 15 in the nation, so they can be choosy when admitting a class.</p>
<p>But the answer is to earn a really high gpa+mcat score.</p>
<p>Let’s make it more personal. My son turned down 5 offers from the UC system for a Cal State school. Among the schools he turned down were UCLA and UCSD both nationally ranked programs with acceptance rates in the single digits. My kid is studying engineering and we did not like the teaching methodology, TA based instruction, and hierarchy among the professors. But that is just us. My son wanted to be a working engineer and prepared for a job immediately after graduation. So, he accepted the offer from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo which offered a true hands on education with no TA’s and all professor led classes. He loves it. As you know, Cal Poly is a Cal State – so, we committed our kid’s future to the Cal State system even with excellent offers from the top UC’s.</p>
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<p>Ok, lets. But first, recognize that Engineering is not close to premed. And second, recognize that Engineers don’t fare very well in the med school sweepstakes.</p>
<p>Regardless, the question that the OP would want to know is approximately how many unhooked Cal State/Poly students are accepted into a UC med school every year. </p>
<p>UCSF med, for example, is approximately 33% of Cal and Stanford students. Every so often, a Cal State SF student is accepted to UCSF; yet, Cal State SF is in the backyard.</p>
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<p>Exactly. And that is by design. The California Master Plan dictates that the Cal States will offer the vocational majors, such as business, while the UC’s are expected be more theoretical (TA’s and all). And that is also important for UC med school applications because professional schools also tend to discount vocational majors, such as business, and the vocational-oriented schools that offer them. </p>
<p>Academics are prestige hounds; they can’t help it – it’s in their DNA.</p>
<p>If you earn top grades at CSU Fullerton, you should be able to find a slot in Med School somewhere, but perhaps not in California. Neighbors of mine have sons who attended Cal Poly SLO and Chico State, and both got into Med School in Wisconsin. It helps to do volunteer work at a medical clinic or local medical center (such as Fullerton’s St. Jude) to show that you have a keen interest in the subject.</p>
<p>thank you all for your answers
I´m still waiting on acceptance letters from UC
so Im not entirely sure where Ill end up going…Ill most likely end up going tu CSU Fullerton though and well…it´s also cheaper
Ill focus on getting a high GPA and doing volunteer work to earn a spot on a med school, Im sure I will!
Once again, thank you all for your answers</p>