Help me out please. I am looking for an ‘easy’ school in CA for premed.
I have pretty good grade 3.98 unweight, 8 AP, all 5 except 1 4, no SAT
A wide range of extra curricular activities: community services in health area, paid internship in health clinic, 2 highly rated summer research program, a research paper pending publication. 2 sports, band, club, eagle scout.
I have someone in my family went to UC Davis and had a hard time with getting good grade for pre-dental. I would like to look for an easier school to make sure I will success.
Look at the required courses for medical school applicants. Many are tough courses. For example, I doubt you will find an “easy” version of organic chemistry at any college.
Apply to your instate public universities, and choose a major that you really enjoy…you can always take the required courses for medical school applicants as electives. If you are in a major you enjoy, the likelihood of you doing well is improved.
And choose a college where you think you will be happy. Happy students do better than unhappy ones.
I would also strongly suggest you choose a college with a variety of options in case you change your mind about a medical school application.
And lastly…if you DO get decide to apply to medical school, please keep in mind that there are no easier medical schools, no easier MCAT, no easier Step tests, no easier anything. All medical schools are challenging in terms of the quantity of information you need to master.
And there is no such thing as an “easy” surgical rotation. Want to be a psychiatrist? You still need a surgical rotation. Want to be a hematologist? You’ll be dealing with complex deliveries in your OB/GYN rotation. Etc. So your motivation to become a physician at some point needs to shift from “I don’t want to kill myself” to “I am going to work as hard as I possibly can to make this happen”.
Are you really serious about this? Is this a joke?
Please don’t go into Medicine. You don’t understand medicine. No one wants to see a physician who is underprepared and has avoidance of hard work.
Our daughter went to Davis and was accepted into UCSF for her med school program.
The coursework is ridiculously difficult for a reason: you’d better know your stuff or plan on being constantly sued.
In med school, you will constantly see blood, bile, and smell urine. Your lab coat can be coated with mucus or vomit, and you’ll be on your feet 19-24 hours a day. Sleep? Rarely.
Your meals consist of bad coffee and a KIND bar in your pocket.
You will be expected to memorize and know a lot of information immediately.
Can you deal with death?
My daughter went through part of her experience during Covid. Try seeing cruise ship passengers in the morning for their vitals, and then seeing those names recorded in body bags on refrigerated trucks.
Med school won’t happen if you expect to cruise through an undergrad school because you won’t get the scores you need on the MCAT to even be seriously considered. Oh and you need to have experience with low income medically indigent individuals. And you won’t receive a salary while you’re volunteering.
IMO, you all are being a bit harsh on the OP. I can’t count how many times on this forum that I’ve read the advice to: “Attend a school where you can graduate with a high GPA,” and “You don’t have to major in biology or microbiology, etc., you can major in anything, even music, if you plan to become a doctor!”
Are these not statements that imply that taking the easier route (in a difficult process) is OK?
In fact, last year, there was a thread with hundreds of posts from many CCers who were trying to guide a young woman through the easiest path to an MD.
Medicine is a long and difficult journey. If you are a good student, it really does not matter where you study for undergraduate. Med schools know if you are applying as a top student from a state school or a top quartile from an elite. Just know that you will not find an easy way to the finish line. You will work harder than you ever have and learn more about yourself than you thought you would.
There are easier majors but which - everyone’s skill set is different.
OP is really looking for a school with grade inflation I suppose - but it will take far more than a GPA to get into medical school.
We read about today at a school where the son didn’t do as well as hoped on a quiz but it’s ok - you can drop two. Grade inflation.
I believe but will let @Gumbymom share if true - that the UCs and maybe CSUs have a grade distribution profile? Perhaps that will help - or a U of Pacific…I know a few kids from when we lived in CA that are in dental/med school now who attended.
I think there is a difference between recommending a school where the student would be happy and would do well……versus a student who is asking for an “easy” school for premed.
The latter suggests a student who is trying to avoid hard work. Perhaps the OP will comment/clarify.
And I think I was clear. Study a major that you like.
And to the poster above who implied that being a music major is easier…it’s not. And the student would still need to take the required courses for medical school admissions…and that includes doozies like organic chemistry.
This student needs to choose a college they like, a major they like…And go from there. Medical school needs to be on the back burner for now.
If you use google, you can find grade distribution data for some of the California schools. Here is what I found for UC Davis: https://www.aggieexplorer.com/
I agree with all the poster’s assessments in regards what makes a school “easier” than others.
Happy students = Successful students so fit is definitely one consideration. Availability of classes, good pre-med advising services and a major the student is interested in pursuing can all contribute to make the college experience slightly easier.
Smaller private schools that offer more “hand holding” may be the better option. Some schools listed while doing a search included Occidental, Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Pomona College.
The bottom line is that every student needs the motivation to do well in all their classes and in different environments so it is more up to the student and their capabilities than the school they attend.
There is no “easy” when it comes to Medical school.
@WayOutWestMom could probably elaborate but data that she has posted states that “ 60% of “pre-med” students never make to the application round”.
I will not belabor the point that the coursework that you will need to pass and do well in will be difficult at any college that will prepare you adequately for medical school.
That said, however, if you are looking to improve your odds of doing well, I would take a close look at schools where your stats (GPA and test scores) are in the top 25% of incoming students. If this happens, then you are likely to be among the better-prepared students coming in, which means that professors are unlikely to assume more prior knowledge than you have, which means that, at least in the first intro classes, those classes might be a bit easier for you than they would be for a student that is not as prepared. And having a slightly easier time in the first classes may boost your confidence which will make you less likely to doubt yourself as you encounter more challenging courses in the progression.
Additionally, if you have AP scores high enough to earn credit for the classes at the college you attend, I would give very serious thought whether you should take the credit or whether you should take the class again. Most college classes will go significantly more in-depth than their AP equivalent, and if it’s in a subject (like biology) where you will continue to build on that base class, it’s important to have an excellent foundation.
But no matter where you go, you will be challenged. Look for a school that is affordable (if you are interested in medical school, it will be expensive, so you want to save as much money for that as you can) and that feels like a good fit.
Actually, it’s even higher than that. A recent study found that approx. 85% of freshmen pre-med students never even finish the pre-reqs, let alone apply to med school.
Not all of those who persist and finish the pre-reqs have a GPA that makes med school a possibility either. THEN, of those whose GPA is high enough AND who do well on the MCAT AND who apply appropriately AND have good LORs, strong EC, and well thought out and written personal statements…only 40% of those get accepted.
There is no easy route to med school.
Many people aspire to become physicians, but there are only 22,800 MD seats and 9,500 DO seats are available for new students every year.
My kid is a Santa Clara University graduate. I asked her about “hand holding”. She actually laughed at me. She says it’s a work hard, play hard school. But the courses are not any easier than what other medical school students take. Same required courses, and some are doozies.
I would not assume any hand holding just because a school is smaller. At just about every college (SCU included) tutorial services are offered for all students, professors have office hours, etc. Students need to take full advantage of these services. And especially if they find a course challenging.
Thank you for the reply. Probably “hand holding” is not the right wording.
Some students can thrive at large schools and some at small but it really comes down to the student utilizing the resources available to them wherever they attend.
Since the OP has not returned to answer what the mean about “easy” schools, we can only guess.