Agree. Going to a UC wont give her priority, nor get her into a UC med school. It’s almost the opposite.
California graduates too many “premed” students in who are often denied admission to the few med schools available in the state. She shouldn’t pick the school because she is assuming that she’ll gain admission to a med school in California.
My daughter however was admitted to UW but was lucky to be admitted to a UC program which ran about $300K for 4 years. Assume the same graduate costs for med or dental school.
FWIW: You don’t have to learn to “surf” to go to school in California. It’s not a “thing” most Californians can do but the option is there. We have millions of California residents and I couldn’t imagine every able resident being able to surf the few, limited, surf breaks in the state.
Additionally, most of our UC’s are NOT near the water. The State is not a long, sandy, warm beach. The water temperatures are cold and a lot of the state’s coastal areas are inaccessible for surfing given the rough, rocky shores.
(Personally, I’ve never been “impressed” with the breaks and surf in Santa Barbara for beginners).