California has 16 accredited medical schools: 13 MD programs and 3 DO programs. Six are public UC schools and ten are private. The most competitive are Stanford, UCSF, and UCLA, and California residents have much better odds at UC schools than out-of-state applicants.
There are 16 medical schools in California, 13 of which allopathic.
What You'll Learn
California’s MD and DO Schools
How California’s medical schools break down into allopathic and osteopathic programs, and why only the UC schools are public while the rest are private.
The Best Medical Schools in California
Why UCSF, Stanford, UC San Diego, and UCLA stand out, and how U.S. News rankings compare the state’s top programs in research and primary care.
Acceptance Rates and Your Odds
Why California is one of the hardest states to get into medical school, why the UC schools rarely admit out-of-state applicants, and which schools give applicants the best odds.
Medical Schools by Region
Where each school is located, from the many programs in Southern California and Los Angeles to the Bay Area and Sacramento schools and the Central Valley’s only medical school.
Finding Your Best-Fit Schools
How each school’s mission, curriculum, culture, and resources differ, from research powerhouses to schools focused on primary care, underserved communities, and whole-person care.
Strategies to Get In
How to build a data-driven school list, demonstrate fit with each school’s mission, prepare for each interview format, and plan your time around secondary essays.
Introduction to medical schools in California
How many medical schools are in California?
List of medical schools in California: 2026 rankings & admissions statistics
What are the best medical schools in California?
California medical school acceptance rates
Medical schools in California by region
California medical school profiles
California medical school admissions strategies
Frequently asked questions about medical schools in California
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Introduction to medical schools in California
Getting into a medical school in California is a very common goal among premed students given the state’s high-ranking programs, reduced in-state tuition at public institutions, idyllic weather, cultural diversity, and so on. Unfortunately, California med school admissions are also incredibly difficult due to schools’ competitive stats, the large state population, and the massive number of applications each program receives.
In this guide, our goal is to demystify what it takes to get into California medical schools. We’ll provide statistics, rankings, and other relevant information about each school so you can make informed, data-driven decisions about where to apply. Plus, we’ll go over admissions strategies to help you improve your odds of gaining an acceptance.
Learn everything you need to know to get into medical school.
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How many medical schools are in California?
California has 16 accredited medical schools: 13 allopathic (MD) and 3 osteopathic (DO). Six are public UC schools and ten are private.
Allopathic medical schools in California (MD)
Osteopathic medical schools in California (DO)
California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Public medical schools in California
Private medical schools in California
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List of medical schools in California: 2026 rankings & admissions statistics
Your first step is to learn about your competition when applying to California med schools. We dug up the most pertinent information about each school to help you understand the admissions landscape, whether you’re a California resident or out-of-state applicant.
While compiling this information, we observed the following trends:
Tuition and fees to attend California medical schools are comparable to schools outside of California.
While out-of-state students must pay more than in-state students at public California (i.e., UC) med schools, tuition and fees for out-of-state UC students are still lower than all California private schools’ tuition and fees.
California residents enjoy higher interview rates at most schools.
(Note: We strongly advise you to sign up for MSAR for the most up-to-date and comprehensive data on individual MD programs and to sign up for Choose DO for DO program data.)
(Note: U.S. News and World Report moved to a tier-based ranking system in fall 2024, in part due to a number of schools declining to participate. Schools who declined to share sufficient data with US News are now unranked, which is reflected in the table below with ‘UR.' Schools that did participate are given ‘tier’ rankings by U.S. News. We’ve reported rankings from both the prior and current cycles to more accurately reflect where medical schools in California stand.)
| California Medical Schools | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCSF School of Medicine* | Tier 1 (Primary Care) |
$68,204 OOS |
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| Stanford University School of Medicine | |||||||||
| UC San Diego School of Medicine* | Tier 1 (Primary Care) |
$66,545.17 OOS |
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| UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine* | Tier 2 (Primary Care) |
$66,960 OOS |
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| USC Keck School of Medicine | |||||||||
| UC Davis School of Medicine* | Tier 1 (Primary Care) |
$62,214 OOS |
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| UC Irvine School of Medicine* | Tier 3 (Primary Care) |
$65,362.18 OOS |
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| UC Riverside School of Medicine* | Tier 3 (Primary Care) |
$62,010.36 OOS |
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| Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine | Tier 2 (Primary Care) |
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| Western University of Health Sciences - College of Osteopathic Medicine | Tier 1 (Primary Care) |
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| California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine | |||||||||
| California Northstate University College of Medicine | |||||||||
| California University of Science and Medicine | |||||||||
| Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science | |||||||||
| Kaiser Permanente Tyson School of Medicine | |||||||||
| Loma Linda University School of Medicine |
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What are the best medical schools in California?
The best medical schools in California are UCSF, Stanford, UC San Diego, and UCLA. UCSF, UC San Diego, and UCLA earned Tier 1 research rankings from U.S. News in 2026, and Stanford ranked #5 nationally before declining to participate. Based on the most recent data, California’s top schools rank:
UCSF School of Medicine: Tier 1 research and Tier 1 primary care
Stanford University School of Medicine: Unranked
UC San Diego School of Medicine: Tier 1 research and Tier 1 primary care
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine: Tier 1 research and Tier 2 primary care
USC Keck School of Medicine: Unranked
UC Davis School of Medicine: Tier 2 research and Tier 1 primary care
UC Irvine School of Medicine: Tier 2 research and Tier 3 primary care
UC Riverside School of Medicine: Tier 3 research and Tier 3 primary care
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California medical school acceptance rates
Many California medical schools accept fewer than 4% of applicants. Acceptance rates range from about 2-3.5% at most UC schools to 21% at Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Which California medical schools have the highest acceptance rates?
Among schools that report acceptance rates, Western University of Health Sciences (21%) and Touro University (13.6%) give applicants the best odds.
What are the easiest medical schools to get into in California?
No California medical school is easy to get into. However, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (3.54 GPA, 504 MCAT), California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (3.57 GPA, 505.3 MCAT), and Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine (3.58 GPA, 507 MCAT) have the lowest stats of accepted students.
Why is it so hard to get into medical school in California?
California residents enjoy higher interview rates at most schools, and the UC schools rarely admit out-of-state applicants. Combined with schools’ competitive stats, the large state population, and the massive number of applications each program receives, that makes California one of the hardest states to get into medical school.
Do a quick search online and you’ll come across horror stories from students on premed forums like:
(Note: “Zero IS interviews” refers to 0 in-state interview invitations.)
This might leave you wondering how anyone manages to get into one of California’s 16 medical schools. Fortunately, there are systematic approaches to gaining these coveted seats, as many of our students have demonstrated over the years:
Stanford Medical School Acceptance
UCSF Medical School of acceptance
Schedule a complimentary consultation to learn how our trusted advisors can help you get into medical school.
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Medical schools in California by region
Medical schools in Southern California
Southern California has 10 medical schools, including three in Los Angeles (UCLA, USC, and Charles R. Drew):
Medical schools in Northern California
Medical schools in Central California
California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine is currently the only medical school in Central California.
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California medical school profiles
Now that you’re familiar with the admissions statistics of every medical school in California, we’ll provide further information on each institution to help you learn even more about them. After all, medical schools vary in ways besides how challenging they are to get into. When deciding where to apply to medical school, you’ll want to take many factors into account—location, curriculum, culture, resources, and competitiveness all play a role in determining which schools will be the best fits for you.
California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Not only is California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine one of just three osteopathic medical schools in California, it’s also brand new—the inaugural class matriculated in 2020. CHSU-COM is also the only med school located in California’s Central Valley, so one of its stated goals is to train physicians who will stick around and work in this medically underserved region. The inaugural class of 2024 achieved a 100% residency match rate, with a significant portion (34%) securing placements within the Central Valley.
A cornerstone of CHSU-COM’s curriculum is team-based learning, which emphasizes students collaborating together to evaluate information rather than receiving it through lectures. The curriculum also includes unique courses such as Medical Spanish and culinary medicine, which not only prepare students for clinical practice but also encourage them to consider broader social determinants of health in their future careers.
California Northstate University College of Medicine
California Northstate University College of Medicine, located in the Sacramento area, is another relatively new California medical school with a focus on educating doctors who will help address a regional shortage of primary care physicians.
It should be pointed out that CNU-COM has faced some criticism for a couple of things: it started as a for-profit institution and under this model, students weren’t able to secure federal loans. However, it has since transitioned to a non-profit structure to qualify for funding to build a teaching hospital. Most importantly, even after graduating its first class of students in 2019, it hadn’t yet moved from provisional to full LCME accreditation. Furthermore, in early 2022, the LCME placed CNU-COM on probation. For these reasons, some believe there is risk associated with attending CNU.
The college's curriculum is structured around Clinical Presentations (CPs), which focus on common symptoms or conditions that patients present with, such as sore throats or headaches. This patient-centered approach helps students develop practical clinical reasoning skills from early in their education
So, should you consider applying to CNU-COM? If you’re dead set on earning an MD in California, and the lack of access to federal loans isn’t a concern for you, you might add CNU-COM to your list. However, other med schools may present surer bets in terms of proven quality and career opportunities.
California University of Science and Medicine
California University of Science and Medicine is another fairly new California med school founded in part by Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, a well-established teaching hospital near San Bernardino. CUSM emphasizes a participatory curriculum that incorporates clinical sciences beginning in the first year, and it describes itself as a “socially accountable medical school”—one of the tenets of its mission is to address the health concerns and wellbeing of its local community. As such, it also focuses its admissions process on admitting students from California’s Inland Empire.
CUSM received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in February 2018 and has since been working toward full accreditation status. This process reflects the institution's commitment to meeting educational standards. That said, graduates of CUSM have achieved a 100% match rate for both classes that have graduated so far.
The campus includes modern facilities completed in 2020, featuring two large lecture halls, multiple clinical skills rooms, and laboratories designed to enhance student learning and practical experience.
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a historically Black institution with a focus on social justice and health equity for underserved populations. The MD program was previously only offered as a joint program with UCLA, but now it stands on its own. The last Drew/UCLA cohort entered in the fall of 2023.
One of Drew’s aims is to develop medical leaders who will focus on advancing healthcare for disadvantaged areas. Accepting just 60 students each year, CDU is a smaller, tight-knit program. CDU’s specialized focus on underserved populations includes rotating at community hospitals and clinics in underprivileged parts of Los Angeles. CDU’s curriculum integrates social justice principles, preparing students to advocate for health equity and address social determinants of health throughout their careers. The university aims to produce graduates who are not only skilled clinicians but also champions for systemic change.
Kaiser Permanente Tyson School of Medicine
The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine is yet another relative newcomer to the California medical school landscape, having matriculated its first class in 2020. Yet, the Kaiser Permanente name was already well known in the region for its health insurance, vast system of hospitals, and residency programs, which date back to 1946. Kaiser has vowed to waive tuition for its first six classes (through the entering class of 2025), which has helped establish it as a desirable—and competitive—med school option. Though Kaiser doesn’t give preference to students interested in any particular specialty, free tuition may especially appeal to those hoping to enter primary care or other lower-paid specialties. At roughly 50 students accepted each year, its entering class size is among the smallest of any of the California med schools.
The curriculum at KPSOM emphasizes community engagement and health equity, preparing students to address the specific health needs of underserved populations. It incorporates a patient-centered approach to learning, integrating clinical experiences with basic sciences from the beginning of the program. Students participate in clinical rotations at various Kaiser Permanente facilities, and they’ll also have access to research initiatives that align with KPSOM’s interests in community health and social justice.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Kaiser Permanente Medical School)
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Loma Linda University School of Medicine is a Seventh-day Adventist medical school in the Inland Empire whose mission is to “continue the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ to make man whole.” Part of this mission includes an emphasis on service and a holistic approach to patient care.
Loma Linda emphasizes a whole-person care philosophy, which integrates physical, mental, and spiritual health into its medical education. The curriculum is structured into two phases: the first two years focus on basic medical sciences, while the last two years emphasize clinical training across various specialties. Students engage in hands-on learning through rotations at several affiliated hospitals, including Loma Linda University Medical Center and Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center.
Sometimes, prospective students wonder how Loma Linda’s Christian values impact its medical curriculum—as an LCME-accredited medical school, you can rest assured that a Loma Linda medical education won’t have gaps or deviations based on religion. That said, students are required to attend chapel, take religion courses, and adhere to a fairly strict code of conduct. For these reasons, cultural fit will be important in determining if Loma Linda is the right school for you.
Stanford University School of Medicine
Consistently one of the best-ranked medical schools in California and the nation, Stanford is nearly unbeatable in terms of prestige and resources. As a premier research university, Stanford prepares its med students to be both excellent providers of patient care and innovative leaders and researchers. That’s evident in its Discovery Curriculum, which allows students the flexibility to pursue their education via different pathways and to focus on scholarship.
The faculty at Stanford SOM includes numerous distinguished scholars and researchers, with seven current Nobel Prize winners among them. The school also boasts a vast alumni network that includes influential leaders in medicine and healthcare and is among the top institutions for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
As such, in order to be a strong candidate for Stanford, interests in both medical care and research are critical. Stanford’s admissions process is incredibly competitive, even for exceptional applicants.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Stanford Medical School)
Touro University of California College of Osteopathic Medicine
Touro University California is an osteopathic medical school in the Bay Area. Though religion is not an especially visible part of Touro’s curriculum or culture, it’s a med school under Jewish auspices whose values include service, social justice, and intellectual pursuit. The university promotes a culture of service through initiatives like the Student-Run Free Clinic and the Mobile Diabetes Education Center, where students provide care to local communities.
Touro’s curriculum emphasizes primary care and includes a Global Health Program that sends students around the world for a month to gain hands-on experience in foreign countries. Touro has achieved a 100% match rate since 2017, and is known for fostering a friendly, tight-knit community. Its desirable location makes it one of the more competitive DO schools in the country.
UC Davis School of Medicine
UC Davis’s School of Medicine boasts a strong research reputation and an even stronger reputation in primary care—it routinely ranks among the top med schools in the nation for primary care (it currently ranks as a Tier 1 for primary care). In addition, UC Davis emphasizes caring for the underserved and includes multiple pathways for students interested in urban, valley, or rural medicine. Approximately 54% of graduates enter primary care residencies, demonstrating a strong alignment with the school's mission to improve health equity.
It also operates a number of student-run clinics that provide free healthcare services to uninsured and under-resourced populations in Sacramento. These clinics offer students hands-on experience while making significant contributions to community health.
UC Davis’s highly competitive admissions process admits very few out-of-state students and heavily favors applicants from Northern and Central California, especially those from rural areas or who plan to practice primary care in a rural area.
UC Irvine School of Medicine
UC Irvine’s School of Medicine is guided by the mission statement, “Powered by discovery, innovation, and inclusive excellence, UCI School of Medicine will advance individual and population health.” As you might then expect, UCI is known as a strong research institution and is particularly acclaimed for its research in cancer and neuroscience. The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Irvine is designated as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-recognized center.
The curriculum at the UC Irvine School of Medicine is designed to be flexible and interdisciplinary, allowing students to explore various fields of medicine while focusing on critical areas such as primary care and public health. Students benefit from early clinical exposure through hands-on experiences in diverse healthcare environments.
In addition, they offer the iMedEd initiative which integrates technology into the med school curriculum in forward-thinking ways. UCI also emphasizes community outreach and aims to reach underprivileged populations in Southern California. Admission into UCI is quite competitive.
(Related reading: How to Succeed as a UC Irvine Premed)
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
As UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine routinely ranks among the best medical schools in California and the nation, it excels in preparing its students for both clinical practice and research. In addition, UCLA emphasizes lifelong learning, a “firm commitment to the humanistic, ethical, legal and cultural aspects of medicine,” and community engagement, as exemplified by their multiple programs that prepare students to practice in underserved communities. The school has a robust community engagement initiative, aiming to address health disparities in underserved populations throughout Southern California. Students can also take advantage of various global health opportunities, such as international rotations and projects focused on addressing health disparities worldwide.
The curriculum at UCLA SOM is divided into three phases: Human Biology and Disease, Core Clinical Clerkship, and 4th Year Colleges. This structure allows for a comprehensive education that integrates foundational sciences with clinical practice early in training
Given its many strengths, UCLA is one of the most difficult med schools to get into in the country.
(Related reading: How to Get Into UCLA Medical School)
UC Riverside School of Medicine
UC Riverside is a medical school with a clear mission: to educate a diverse workforce of physicians and to develop research and healthcare delivery programs to improve the health of medically underserved Californians, especially residents of the Inland Empire. UCR’s curriculum emphasizes ambulatory primary care, and students begin seeing patients under mentor supervision beginning in their first year. The Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE) program replaces traditional preceptorships with a longitudinal experience that spans three years, allowing students to participate in patient care consistently throughout their training.
Furthermore, UCR School of Medicine collaborates with various healthcare organizations and hospitals in the Inland Empire, providing students with diverse clinical rotation opportunities and exposure to different healthcare settings.
Given UCR’s regional focus, it is very difficult for out-of-state applicants to get in; candidates from the Inland Empire who are committed to practicing there have the best chances of admission.
UC San Diego School of Medicine
UCSD’s School of Medicine is often associated with the word “innovation”—they were the first to integrate science into the medical school curriculum, and they’ve pioneered multiple lifesaving surgeries.
The C.O.A.S.T. (Caring, Originality, Advocacy, Sharing, and Thriving) curriculum emphasizes personalized education and interdisciplinary collaboration. Students at UCSD begin interacting with patients during their very first week of medical school. They also have access to state-of-the-art facilities, like the Simulation Training Center (STC) that provide realistic training environments for students to practice clinical skills before doing more in-depth work with actual patients.
On top of this, the university is known as an all-around powerhouse in scientific research. UCSD has a reputation for rigor and its grads tend to produce an impressive residency match list each year. These are some of the reasons why UCSD is consistently highly ranked and challenging to get into.
(Related reading: How to Get Into UCSD Medical School)
UCSF School of Medicine
Like Stanford, UCSF is consistently considered one of the best, most prestigious medical schools in both California and the United States. Its highly decorated faculty, excellent clinical reputation, and the diverse patient population it serves all combine to ensure its Tier 1 ranking is secure.
UCSF is renowned for its research contributions, particularly in fields such as cancer, neuroscience, and infectious diseases.
In addition to these strengths, UCSF also emphasizes public service and community health. These focuses are combined in UCSF’s Bridges Curriculum, which aims to meet the challenges of 21st-century health care. You’ll need to be an outstanding applicant to be competitive in UCSF’s difficult admissions process.
(Related reading: How to Get Into UCSF Medical School)
USC Keck School of Medicine
USC’s Keck School of Medicine has a reputation for both robust research and unmatched clinical training. USC students are able to gain a wide range of hands-on experience at a variety of public and private hospitals, including Los Angeles General Medical Center, one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country. As such, USC students get the opportunity to work with a highly diverse patient population, including underserved communities.
The USC Keck School of Medicine is known for its strong emphasis on research, particularly in areas such as cancer, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine. The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of the original comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, contributing significantly to cancer research and treatment advancements.
Because the first two years of USC’s curriculum are pass/fail, thus eliminating competition between students, the school is also known for its friendly atmosphere and good work-life balance. For all of these reasons, admission into USC is very competitive.
(Related reading: How to Get Into USC Keck School of Medicine)
Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Western University of Health Sciences is an osteopathic medical school with campuses in Southern California and Oregon. Established to address a shortage of primary care physicians in the western U.S, its mission is “to produce, in a humanistic tradition, health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that will enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities.”
One distinctive feature of Western is its Interprofessional Education curriculum, in which DO students explore case studies alongside students in other healthcare professional programs. Students at Western Univerisity of Health Sciences begin clinical rotations early in their education, gaining hands-on experience in diverse healthcare settings. The curriculum integrates biological, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences, preparing students for residency training and future clinical practice.
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California medical school admissions strategies
In this section, we’ll cover four strategies—beyond achieving high stats and completing all the right extracurriculars for medical school—to help maximize your odds of getting in.
Strategy 1: Take a data-driven approach to decide which California medical schools to apply to
Although med schools in California are often lumped together as uniformly difficult to get into, as seen above, there is significant variability with regard to admissions statistics that you would be wise to incorporate when developing your medical school list.
We routinely observe how students add certain schools to their list “just because” or thinking that “it can’t hurt,” even though the data clearly show that their chances of getting in are slim to none.
For instance, UC Riverside receives over 1,000 applications from out-of-state applicants each year, despite the fact that none of them receive interviews or get admitted. Why waste your money and time when you could be spending your resources on better options?
In addition, be realistic about your admissions odds based on your GPA and MCAT score.
For example, Stanford admits students with an average GPA of 3.9 and an average MCAT score of 518. If you have a 3.6 GPA and below a 510 MCAT score, you’re highly unlikely to get in unless you’re exceptional in some other regard (e.g., you’re a first author on five publications to high-impact research journals).
While we’re proponents of including a few “reach” schools in your med school list, we don’t subscribe to the “it can’t hurt to apply” philosophy when it comes to applying to schools that are nearly impossible for you to get into.
Writing high-quality secondary essays takes a lot of time, so it’s best to prioritize schools that you have a better chance of getting into. Focusing on far, far reach schools at the expense of realistic ones detracts from your chances of getting admitted to the latter.
In other words, it can hurt to apply to unrealistic schools, in California or elsewhere.
(Suggested reading: Picking Your State of Residency for Medical School)
Strategy 2: Focus on each California medical school’s mission and demonstrate fit
As we noted in the school profiles above, each California medical school—like any other med school—has specific areas that it excels in and about which it’s proud.
For instance, the home page of UC Irvine’s website boasts research grants, research discoveries, and information on upcoming grand rounds. On the other hand, Loma Linda’s website’s home page largely highlights their commitment to service, to the community, and to promote Christian values.
It’s not that Loma Linda’s faculty are not interested in conducting research (they are) or that UC Irvine does not care about service or the community (it does), but rather that the type of students they aim to recruit differ.
Therefore, when completing secondary applications for each school, make sure to demonstrate fit with their stated and presented mission.
The same advice applies during medical school interviews in California or elsewhere. While MMI interviews leave less room for explicit statements about your commitment to a certain community within California, etc., you can still demonstrate how your values align with each school’s mission through the answers you provide.
Strategy 3: Consider Interview Day
Proper preparation is the name of the game with med school admissions in California and elsewhere. This is especially true once you’ve reached the final hurdle to acceptance—interview day.
If you’ve received an interview invitation, the adcoms that have reviewed your application like what they see on paper and they want to see if that matches up to how you are in person.
To effectively manage your interview, you’ll need to know what you’re likely to encounter. Will your interview be in-person or virtual? Will it follow the traditional format or an MMI format? Will you have opportunities to speak with current students and/or faculty?
Make sure you find out as much information as possible before the big day. This will not only help you leave a better impression with your interviewers, it will go a long way to reducing your stress and anxiety!
If your school follows a traditional interview format, you’ll likely be asked questions such as “Why us?” or “Why do you want to attend our school?” and “What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?” Thinking through your responses to these questions will help you appear confident and knowledgeable to your interviewer. However, be careful not to memorize your answers, otherwise you run the risk of sounding robotic.
In contrast, if your school employs the MMI format, your strategy will be entirely different. This type of interview will have you cycling through various ‘stations’ with distinct interviewers asking you situational judgement questions to test your critical thinking skills. You’ll usually have two minutes to consider your response, and then seven minutes of discussion.
Whichever type of interview you’ll participate in, it’s important to plan for all eventualities. This way, you’ll have the best chance of being memorable to adcoms.
Strategy 4: Structure your time around your secondary essays
As mentioned in above, writing high-quality essays takes effort. With each California medical school requiring a different number of secondary essays of different lengths, managing your time while you apply is vital to your success.
For example, UCLA has 5 total prompts of 800 characters each, while UC San Francisco has 3 prompts of 350 – 500 words. With these varying requirements, writing essays for one school may take much more time than others—and that’s before considering what the prompts are even asking!
To help you with your planning, we’ve created a table with the most current numbers of prompts for every medical school in California. You can find a list of every prompt for every medical school in the US and Canada here.
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Frequently asked questions about medical schools in California
What is the best medical school in California?
UCSF is the highest-ranked medical school in California under the current U.S. News system, with Tier 1 rankings for both research and primary care. Stanford ranked #5 nationally before declining to participate, and UC San Diego also holds Tier 1 research and primary care rankings.
What is the easiest medical school to get into in California?
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has the lowest average stats in the state (3.54 GPA, 504 MCAT). California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (3.57 GPA, 505.3 MCAT) and Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine (3.58 GPA, 507 MCAT) also have relatively low average stats among accepted students.
Do California medical schools accept out-of-state students?
Yes, but the UC schools strongly favor California residents. Private schools like Stanford, USC, and Kaiser Permanente are more open to nonresidents and charge the same tuition regardless of residency.
What GPA and MCAT do you need for California medical schools?
Average GPAs at California medical schools range from 3.54 to 3.96, and average MCAT scores range from 504 to 520. For the most competitive schools (Stanford, UCSF, UC Irvine, and USC), plan on a GPA near 3.85 or higher and an MCAT of 516 or higher.
Final thoughts
California’s many residents eager for in-state tuition to its prestigious public universities, plus the state’s widespread popularity with in-state and out-of-state applicants alike, make getting into California medical schools a challenge. Even if you’re an excellent student, you’ll still have to contend with unusually high amounts of competition and low acceptance rates.
That said, getting into medical school in California is possible. If you’re able to achieve high academic stats and ensure that your background, experiences, and essays align with the type of students each school you apply to is looking for, you can boost your odds of earning your MD in the Golden State.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
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