The Best Premed Schools in California (2024)
/Learn how California’s top colleges prepare their students for medical school plus unique aspects of each school, and admissions strategies to help you get in
The best premed schools in California offer students pre-health advising support and a wide variety of opportunities to gain research and clinical experience
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Part 1: Introduction
If your child dreams of eventually attending medical school, choosing which colleges to apply to first can be particularly stressful.
In addition to searching for a school that’s a great fit with regard to academics and extracurricular activities, your future premed will already be planning for their professional future and looking to see which schools offer the best support and resources along the way. You might also be considering how much to save or spend on an undergraduate institution while putting aside enough for the expensive process of applying to medical school later on, not to mention the cost of medical school tuition.
Moreover, with medical school admissions becoming increasingly competitive, your child may feel pressure to choose an undergraduate institution that will give them the best chances of a med school acceptance down the line. If your child has their heart set on attending college in California, it can be challenging to determine which of the state’s hundreds of four-year colleges will deliver the best premed education for your child.
The goals of this guide are to give you a sense of which schools your premed child should consider and to offer some strategies for getting your child into their dream program—whether that’s in California or somewhere else.
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Part 2: What are the best premed schools in California?
While compiling this list, we took several factors into account:
Overall U.S. News and World Report ranking: Despite well-documented issues with these rankings, high-ranked schools continue to be viewed as elite by medical school admissions committees, thereby increasing your child’s odds of getting into a great program.
Availability of medical career advising, faculty support, and peer community: Because there is plenty of misinformation online and elsewhere about what it takes to get into medical school, having access to supportive faculty, advisors, and peers can help reduce some of the associated stress.
Availability of research opportunities, fellowships, and medical career experience: Your child will have to accumulate significant hours shadowing physicians, providing patient care, performing community service and volunteering, and conducting research. Some colleges offer a wealth of such opportunities, while others offer fewer.
Medical school acceptance rates: After years of hard work, your child will be disappointed if they don’t get into med school. This factor accounts for school prestige and institutional support.
Number of medical school applicants: Students at certain colleges and universities apply to medical school in much larger numbers than students at other schools. While overall student body size certainly plays a role in determining these numbers—a large research university will likely have many more applicants than a small liberal arts college—high numbers of applicants also point to a well-established premed program.
High-level takeaways:
All the schools listed below provide students with career advising and have one or more designated pre-health or premed advisors. Some schools may also employ staff who coordinate premed experiences such as shadowing and research.
That said, large UC schools like Berkeley and UCLA, while prestigious, have more students to support and thus may not be the best fit for students seeking individualized attention. Smaller, private institutions like Pomona, Caltech, and Pepperdine boast higher faculty-to-student ratios for advising, not to mention in the classroom.
Many California colleges and universities, such as Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley, have close associations with major medical centers and highly ranked medical schools. This is especially true of schools in the Bay Area and in or near Los Angeles. These affiliations provide excellent opportunities for premed students to gain clinical experience, an important medical school requirement.
All the colleges below provide students with opportunities to get involved with faculty research. Some schools, like UC San Diego, Pomona, and Caltech, also offer competitive summer research programs. However, keep in mind that there will be higher levels of competition for lab spots at big universities with tens of thousands of undergraduates, such as the UC schools and USC.
The best premed colleges in California
Below are our picks for the best premed colleges in California.
When reviewing the data, keep the following in mind:
Of 52,577 applicants to MD-granting medical schools during the 2023-2024 cycle, 22,981 of these applicants matriculated. This means that at least 44% of applicants were accepted into at least one MD-granting medical school.
“Number of medical school applicants” refers to the number of students and alums who applied to medical school during the 2023-2024 cycle. “Medical school acceptance rate,” below, refers to the acceptance rate of students from each of the undergraduate institutions into at least one MD-granting medical school (for these rates we cite the most recent available data).
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 3 (tie)
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 4%
Number of medical school applicants: 162
Medical school acceptance rate: Not given
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Stanford and How to Succeed as a Stanford Premed)
University of California–Berkeley*
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 15 (tie)
Location: Berkeley, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 11%
Number of medical school applicants: 702
Medical school acceptance rate: ranged from 44–65% between 2019 and 2023
(Suggested reading: How to Get into UC Berkeley and How to Succeed as a UC Berkeley Premed)
University of California–Los Angeles*
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 15 (tie)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 9%
Number of medical school applicants: 1,199
Medical school acceptance rate: 51.3% in 2019
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into UCLA and How to Succeed as a UCLA Premed)
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 76 (tie)
Location: Malibu, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 49%
Number of medical school applicants: below 50
Medical school acceptance rate: 70–80%
University of Southern California
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 28 (tie)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 12%
Number of medical school applicants: 348
Medical school acceptance rate: Not given, but above national the averages
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into USC)
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 7 (tie)
Location: Pasadena, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 3%
Number of medical school applicants: below 50
Medical school acceptance rates: Not given; however, most students score above the 90th percentile on the MCAT
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Caltech)
US News and World Report Rank (National Liberal Arts Colleges): 4 (tie)
Location: Claremont, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 7%
Number of medical school applicants: below 50
Medical school acceptance rate: 85%
(Note: If your child is interested in Pomona, other liberal arts colleges in California that they may want to consider include Harvey Mudd, Scripps, and Occidental.)
University of California–Santa Barbara*
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 35 (tie)
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 26%
Number of medical school applicants: 260
Medical school acceptance rate: 42.7% in 2022
University of California–San Diego*
U.S. News and World Report Rank (National Universities): 28 (tie)
Location: San Diego, CA
Undergraduate acceptance rate: 24%
Number of medical school applicants: 646
Medical school acceptance rate: 39% in 2022-2023
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into UCSD and How to Succeed as a UCSD Premed)
Note: * Denotes public universities.
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Part 3: What makes each school unique?
When deciding which school to apply to, it can help your child to narrow down their choices by looking at what makes each school unique. Location, access to research or shadowing opportunities, student organizations, and interesting extracurriculars all play a part in the experience your child will have as well as what kind of medical school application they will be able to put together.
To get a more holistic view of each university, we’ll look at just a few aspects of the schools we’ve mentioned.
Stanford
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research The Stanford Immersion in Medicine Series (SIMS) offers students access to one-of-a-kind shadowing opportunities. This program is open to students starting in their sophomore year who are in good academic standing.
Volunteering while at Stanford comes with an array of options to suit any student’s taste. If your child is artistically inclined, Healing Strokes is a nearby charity providing art therapy for stroke patients. If the science of the brain fascinates them, the Family Caregiver Alliance will have them working with patients suffering from neurological issues.
Societies and Organizations While joining a society looks good on a medical school application, joining a student organization that showcases your child’s interests outside of medicine is good, too. Stanford has many student organizations for almost any interest, such as Anime in the Arts and Engineering Students for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Location Stanford students are surrounded by inspiration and culture with a number artistic destinations nearby. The Rodin Sculpture Garden and the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden are easy to get to as well as the Anderson Collection and the Hannah Honeycomb House—an example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s brilliant architecture.
UC Berkeley
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research No fewer than 35 Nobel prize winners are Berkeley alumni, bolstering its research credentials. UC Berkeley’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships (OURS) provides students with excellent access to experiential learning opportunities. A few of these opportunities include the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships. If your child is keen to follow a research path, such as enrolling in an MD/PhD program, UC Berkeley is a fantastic choice.
Societies and Organizations UC Berkeley has a vast amount of student organizations, some at the cutting edge of medicine. The AI in Medicine Club aims to link advancements in computing and data science with advancements in the biological sciences.
Students can even explore an exciting new hobby, such as skydiving, by joining the Air Bears Skydiving Club.
Location Living in Berkeley will give your child the chance to try out a number of unique activities without traveling too far. Grizzly Peak is an amazing spot for views of the Bay area, and Berkeley Marina provides access to water sports.
UCLA
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research UCLA offers an array of programs to help premed students in their efforts to gain medicine-related experience from Summer Programs for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) to Pre-Medical Undergraduate Learning through Shadowing Experience (PULSE). The Pre-Medical Enrichment Program (PREP) also offers support for students who come have faced economic, social or educationally disadvantages.
Societies and Organizations UCLA’s societies and student organizations offer many options for cultural and scientific enrichment. The Cicadas Chinese Calligraphy Club, for example, is a great way for students to broaden their horizons while learning a new artistic skill, while Bruin Assistance for All (BAFA) gives students a chance to showcase their humanity by helping the homeless in LA.
Location UCLA’s location in the heart of Los Angeles, with accessibility to countless natural and cultural attractions, certainly has its advantages. Students can take in a show at the Geffen Playhouse, find inspiration at the Hammer Museum, or relieve stress with a trip to Venice Beach.
Pepperdine
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research Assisting disabled adults, teaching English or working as an EMT are all possible volunteer paths at Pepperdine. Pepperdine also has a cross-disciplinary/interdisciplinary undergraduate research program that allows students to collaborate in research across various fields of study.
Societies and Organizations Pepperdine’s wide range of campus groups will allow you child many opportunities to tick off the “well-rounded” aspect on their medical school applications. From the Chemistry Club to the Global Justice Society, there are many ways for your child to build a strong extracurricular resume at Pepperdine.
Location Malibu’s relaxed vibe offers something for everyone, from the beach to the mountains. If your child enjoys hiking, there are plenty of places to explore.
USC
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research USC is particularly good for students who want to be engaged in research, as it offers a variety of avenues to get involved. SOAR is a program for academic research while SURF is a summer research program. USC also offes a pre-health shadowing program, that will make it easier for your child to attain the shadowing hours necessary to apply to medical school.
Societies and Organizations EngageSC is the one-stop shop for exploring student organizations and activities on campus. From student government to groups at the Center for Undergraduate Research at the Viterbi School of Engineering (CURVE), there are many options for padding out an extracurricular section on a med school application.
Location Los Angeles has great weather and an endless array of cultural activities. Students can visit the Getty Center for artistic inspiration or the Griffith Observatory to explore the universe.
Caltech
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research Caltech is famous for its research and there is no shortage of programs for undergraduates. Caltech also has a summer research program. And if your child is thinking of becoming an engineering major, they host an exciting summer research program with mentors from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Societies and Organizations There are scores of clubs for students to join at Caltech. Some notable ones include Neurodiversity @ Caltech and Caltech Effective Altruism.
Location Stimulating activities abound in Pasadena and around Caltech. The Natural History Museum of LA County, the La Brea Tar Pits, and a variety of art museums are all worth a visit.
Pomona
Shadowing/Volunteering and/or Research Pomona doesn’t list much in the way of shadowing on its website, but there are a number of hospitals in the area with shadowing programs for premeds. The Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, for example, has a volunteer program for college students. Since it’s a liberal arts school, you might assume that Pomona primarily focuses their research on the humanities. This is not the case, however, as Pomona students have the opportunity to conduct significant scientific research. This is evidenced by two recent summer research projects in molecular biology and neuroscience.
Societies and Organizations Like most schools, there are loads of interesting student organizations at Pomona. They also have organizations that are directly related to premed students, such as Pomona Prehealth Liaisons.
Location While the city of Claremont is close to Los Angeles, it also boasts many of its own attractions. The California Botanic Garden offers students a chance to immerse themselves in the beautiful plant life of the state and the Bridges Hall of Music provides (usually) free concerts from artists spanning range of styles.
UC Santa Barbara
Shadowing/Volunteering and Research At UC Santa Barbara, students can engage in clinical and volunteering activities while a premed. Student Scribes is a non-profit organization that helps undergraduates scribe for physicians in the Santa Barbara area. The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation also accepts volunteers who are interested in helping with financial, educational and emotional assistance to families that have a child with cancer.
For UCSB students that are interested in getting a head start, the Summer Scholars Program at Ventura County Medical Center is an 8-week program for prospective students that involves working with faculty to produce a clinical research project.
Societies and Organizations UC Santa Barbara has premed specific student organizations such as AMSA and the Pre-Medical Society.
Location Around campus, students can find many cultural activities to enliven their time at UCSB. The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara is nearby, as well as the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
UC San Diego
Shadowing/Volunteering and Research UC San Diego is known for its research and, as such, has a huge undergraduate research portal. With a faculty mentor program, EMPOWER for engineering students and STARTneuro for those interested in neuroscience, the chances to do something fascinating are endless.
There are also a number of hospitals and clinics in San Diego that are willing to take on volunteers for shadowing. Here is a list of provided by USCD.
Societies and Organizations UCSD also has a variety of student organizations that may be of interest to premeds, such as the American Mock World Health Organization and Engineering World Health.
Location It’s important to occasionally take time away from your studies to relax and let your mind wander. Around San Diego your child will be surrounded by stunning natural beauty and can visit places such as the magnificent Balboa Park.
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Part 4: Premed college admissions strategies
In this section, we’ll focus on a few strategies for increasing your child’s chances of admission. These strategies, of course, hold true for premeds applying to college anywhere, not just in California.
Strategy 1: Demonstrate an interest in and aptitude for math and science, in and out of the classroom
As a premed student, one of your child’s primary focuses will be on math and science courses. Though it’s not required, many premed students choose a science major. Even if your child doesn’t major in the sciences, they’ll likely be doing research or volunteer work to prepare for a medical career. To get ready for science-heavy learning in college, it’s a good idea to demonstrate ability in the sciences in high school. Your child should take science AP classes offered by their school and participate in extracurricular activities like science Olympiad, robotics teams, competing in the Intel science fair, or pursuing other clubs, teams or competitions at school.
(Suggested reading: Extracurricular Activities for College Admissions: The Ultimate Guide)
Strategy 2: Seek out volunteer and research opportunities
Conducting research, shadowing a physician, or volunteering at a hospital look impressive on an application. These activities demonstrate a serious interest in the medical profession. They can also help your child get a sense of what interests them and what they might want to pursue in college. This can help focus your child’s essays, and also help them get specific about which research opportunities at which institutions might appeal to them. Many colleges and universities offer summer programs for high school students, such as the Medical Youth Science Program at Stanford, or the prestigious Research Science Program at MIT.
Strategy 3: Demonstrate fit by mentioning specific opportunities
Your child should explain why they would be a good fit for each particular school in their “Why us?” college essay. This will mean mentioning specific premed opportunities that the college or university offers. For instance, maybe Stanford appeals to them because they’ve grown up in the shadow of the Bay Area’s innovation centers and hope to join life on the inside. Or maybe Pepperdine’s Summer Research Program in Biology appeals to them because they’ve been wanting to dig deeper into genetics ever since learning about The Human Genome Project in high school.
Your child should also think about ways they’d contribute to the college community as a whole, beyond premed requirements. What are some of your child’s other interests, talents, or extracurricular activities? How will they take advantage of not only the school’s premed opportunities, but also its liberal arts offerings?
For instance, if your child is interested in attending the University of Southern California, maybe they’re excited about the possibility of double-majoring in cinematic arts and biology. Perhaps they are planning to spend the summer interning in a medical television show’s writer’s room. Or perhaps they’d like to pursue global public health alongside their own scientific research and Berkeley’s Integrative Science study abroad program seems like the perfect way to do this.
Target the school’s mission statement
Another fantastic way to demonstrate fit is by reading through the particular school’s mission statement and working aspects of it into your personal statement and/or supplemental essays. UC San Diego’s mission statement, for example, says that they are “transforming California and a diverse global society by educating, by generating and disseminating knowledge and creative works, and by engaging in public service.”
How do your child’s interests, activities and experiences relate to this mission statement? Have they done any volunteering that would fit within the category of ‘public service?’ Have they created anything inspirational or won an award that could show a link to these values?
(Suggested reading: How to Write Great UC Essays (Examples Included))
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Strategy 4: Develop and demonstrate work ethic and study skills
The premed track involves long hours of studying and a lot of multitasking. In their application, it’s a good idea for your child to highlight their dedication to the things they do inside and outside of the classroom. They should show commitment to projects and activities, even if they aren’t necessarily science-related.
Perhaps your child stays late at school rehearsing for plays, spends hours researching debate briefs, or passes weekends laying out the school paper. Maybe they went above and beyond the requirements for a history class presentation the same week they organized their campaign for class president. These things are all worth mentioning. They require discipline and follow-through, displaying the drive necessary to meet the demands of a premed education.
Final thoughts
California is full of great undergraduate institutions—public, private, small, and large—that can prepare your child for a career in medicine. As with all college admissions, a competitive application depends on demonstrating fit, preparation, and interest. College admissions committees appreciate sincerity when it comes time to making decisions. So, it will be a good idea to dive deeper into these resources to find the school that is the best fit for your child.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.
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Appendix: Frequently asked questions
If my child is a California resident, should they be applying to medical schools in California?
Given the state’s high-ranking programs, reduced in-state tuition at public institutions, and warm climate, California is an attractive destination for many medical school applicants. However, with the high volume of applications and large in-state population, admission to California medical schools (both MD and DO programs) is highly competitive. When your child is ready to apply to medical school, they should apply to a mix of California and non-California schools to maximize their admissions odds.
Are some schools more likely to “weed out” prospective premed students than others?
Some schools (like those in the UC system) grade their science classes on a curve. Others (like Pepperdine) don’t. Moreover, schools vary with regard to class sizes, which may impact the level of attention and support your child receives.
While the highest-achieving students at each school will enjoy the greatest odds of getting into med school, it’s important to consider how competitive each school is. Keep in mind that a 3.8 GPA, for example, at a higher-ranked school will look more impressive than the same GPA at a lower-ranked school.
For instance, it’s well known that Caltech is one of the toughest schools in the country, grading-wise. For some premeds, this can present challenges when applying to med school. On the flip side, an excellent GPA from Caltech will be viewed very favorably by medical school admissions committees.
Are these the only schools my child should apply to? What about California schools not on this list?
Not at all. Our intention in creating this list is simply to provide our thoughts on which schools offer the strongest premed programs according to the criteria we outlined earlier, not to dictate where your child should apply. The latter should be determined by a wide variety of factors, including your child’s GPA, ACT or SAT score, extracurricular record, academic interests, and preferred school size and location, not to mention your family’s financial situation. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of other great colleges and universities in California, including highly ranked ones such as UC Irvine and UC Davis, from which your child can find medical school admissions success.
Speaking of rankings, it should be said that, of the many factors that go into medical school admissions, the reputation of your child's undergraduate institution is of relatively lesser importance. What is crucial, however, are their GPA and MCAT scores. Additionally, both extracurriculars and letters of recommendation trump college prestige.
Thus, while attending a school with robust premed resources is certainly to your child’s benefit, the best premed school for any student is one where they will thrive academically and stand out in their extracurriculars.
