Colleges With Pre-Med Programs in Northern California

University of California, Berkeley

• The University of California, Berkeley offers many resources for undergraduates wanting a pre-med course of study. Its reputation as a preeminent university alone will help any student applying to medical school. The Department of Bioengineering has developed a four-year pre-med concentration with course options and advice for preparing for medical school. The department recommends that students take all science prerequisites at Berkeley instead of at a community college. If students have placed out of any science prerequisites because they have earned AP credit, the department recommends they take more advanced science courses. University students govern Berkeley's pre-med chapter of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), which has supported medical student activism for half a century and coordinates short and long-term volunteering projects for Berkeley students. Berkeley's self-declared pre-med students also edit and publish "The Premed Perspective," a newsletter that reports on related campus events and explores pre-med student issues.

  University of California, Berkeley
  Office of Undergraduate Admissions
  110 Sproul Hall #5800
  Berkeley, CA 94720
  510-642-1846
  berkeley.edu

University of California, Davis

• The University of California, Davis has its own School of Medicine that hosts an annual medical education symposium, gathering admissions representatives, doctors, and current medical students for pre-med undergraduates to ask about scholarships and career preparation. The medical school offers outreach programs to Davis undergrads, as well, and advises students that high grades and a high MCAT score alone will not guarantee admittance to medical school. Because people want compassionate physicians they can relate to as well as ones well-versed in medicine, Davis offers opportunities for undergrads to get involved with community projects and urges coursework in arts and culture as well as membership in its pre-med chapter of the AMSA which meets three times a quarter.

  University of California, Davis
  Undergraduate Admissions
  One Shields Ave.
  Davis, CA 95616
  530-752-2971
  admissions.ucdavis.edu

University of California, San Francisco

• The University of California, San Francisco is a graduate-level medical school that offers a comprehensive post baccalaureate program for pre-med undergraduates who completed the required undergraduate coursework but have not been admitted into the medical schools they applied to or feel they need more preparation before applying to medical schools. The year-long program includes a summer component that includes intensive MCAT instruction with structure practice tests and workshops on critical thinking, time management and test taking techniques. During the academic year, students take seminars on health care issues in which they must earn a minimum 3.5 GPA and take part in mock interviews and medical school application preparation for evaluation and feedback.

  University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
  Admissions Office
  521 Parnassus Ave., Room C-200
  San Francisco, CA 94143
  415-476-4044
  ucsf.edu