Uc Davis Pre Med Acceptance Rate

UC Davis recommends you have a year in general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biology, and a course in biochemistry before sitting the exam. English and writing courses can also help especially for the CARS (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Section) of the exam.

How to Succeed as a UC Davis Premed

Everything you need to know about being a premed at UC Davis, including UC Davis premed requirements, extracurriculars, the best premed majors, and the UC Davis premed acceptance rate.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: UC Davis premed requirements

Part 3: UC Davis premed extracurriculars

Part 4: Getting into medical school as a UC Davis premed

Part 1: Introduction

As one of the top 100 institutions globally, UC Davis is recognized the world over as a school that provides top-quality education to students from a variety of backgrounds. Its impeccable reputation for research ranks it #46 internationally, and more importantly for premeds, it ranks #38 in the world for Biology and Biochemistry.

These impressive laurels are wrapped within a campus atmosphere that’s inviting and welcoming with the city of Davis, California described as the ultimate college town. It boasts 60 miles of bike trails through parks, a well-known farmer’s market, and with its location just a short trip away from all that northern California has to offer, national parks, the San Francisco Bay Area, and California wine country make it an ideal place to explore as well as study.

As a UC Davis premed, you’ll be in good company. The school had 481 applicants to medical school programs in the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, making it among the top colleges for premeds nationally. Add to that more than $1 billion in research funding received in fiscal year 2021-2022 and its attached UC Davis Medical Center and you’ll be swimming in opportunities to stand out on your journey to medical school.

However, while opportunity may be available, you’ll still need to take advantage of it when it comes knocking. UC Davis premeds need to know where to look and what to do in order to make the most of their time as undergraduates.

In this guide, we’ll take a thorough look at all the particulars of premed life at UC Davis and outline ways in which you can succeed so that your application to medical school stands out among the rest. We’ll discuss course planning, extracurriculars, volunteering, gaining those all-important shadowing hours, and how to keep your GPA up while still carving out time to study for the MCAT.

Part 2: UC Davis premed requirements

The road from your first day as a freshman to graduation and (hopefully) matriculation into medical school can be a long and winding one. With many options to consider, priorities to rank, and requirements to meet, it would serve you well to have a clearly defined plan outlining how to achieve your goals.

The Health Professions Advising Office at UC Davis provides an excellent starting point for creating a plan tailored to you. Here, you’ll find information on how to book an advising session, conferences and events, as well as the prerequisites you’ll need to take to get into medical school. They’ve even put together a handy chart detailing the prerequisites for many popular medical schools around the country.

To make things easier for you, we compiled the prerequisites you’ll need as they pertain to the majority of medical schools and which UC Davis courses satisfy those requirements in the table below. Keep in mind that UC Davis follows a quarter-term system rather than a semester system like many other colleges. This means that requirements that specify one year are equivalent to three quarters (fall, winter, and spring) at UC Davis.

UC Davis Premed Requirements
Medical school requirement	Required courses	Optional courses
Biology: One year with lab	3 quarter term courses = 1 year. Lab included BIS 002A BIS 002B BIS 002C Note: Listed as BIS 2ABC in course recommendations.	Note: See here for recommendations. Cell Biology: BIS 104 OR NPB 110A

Genetics: BIS 101

Immunology: MMI 188 OR NPB 134

Microbiology with Lab: MIC 102/103L

Human Physiology with Lab: NPB 101/NPB 101L OR NPB 110C/NPB 101L

Upon reviewing the table above, it’s clear that there are a variety of options for completing your med school prerequisites at UC Davis. Some of this will come down to what works for you regarding scheduling and your own interests. For example, while almost any English course will count toward the writing requirement, UWP 104F will give you extra practice with writing for the health professions. However, comparative literature may be more your speed and is also an option that fulfills the requirement.

Furthermore, there are a host of biology options you may want to consider to strengthen your application. Perhaps you have an idea about what kind of doctor you want to be, or at least what you think you might want to specialize in. For example, maybe a career as a rheumatologist or immunologist is calling to you and is something you’d like to explore. Taking an immunology course at UC Davis can help you do just that while simultaneously enhancing your candidate profile.

With all of the possibilities for constructing your course plan, it’s tricky to nail down what to take and when so that you can apply to medical school on your schedule. The last thing you want is to realize in your junior or senior year that you’ve got a prerequisite still dangling at the edges of your plan that, due to when it is offered, could throw your entire schedule out of whack.

Taking this into account, we’ve constructed a two-year course plan for UC Davis premeds in the table below to give you an idea of how you can organize the task of completing the required courses for medical school. Keep in mind that this table is constructed assuming that you plan to enter med school directly after graduation (i.e., without taking a gap year).

Sample UC Davis Two-Year Course Plan
Quarter	Courses
Freshman Fall	CHE 002A PHY 007A MAT 16
Freshman Winter	CHE 002B PHY 007B MAT 16
Freshman Spring	CHE 002C PHY 007C
Freshman Summer	UWP 007
Sophomore Fall	BIS 002A CHE 118A STA 13
Sophomore Winter	BIS 002B CHE 118B UWP 101
Sophomore Spring	BIS 002C CHE 118C
Sophomore Summer	UWP 104F Health

If you’d still like more options for designing a course plan, UC Davis provides a prerequisite course options chart that can be found here.

How to maintain a high GPA as a UC Davis premed

No matter where you complete your undergraduate degree, the journey through premed requirements to med school application is intense. You’ll be held to a higher standard than many of your classmates and will likely have to take more classes than a typical undergraduate to meet those requirements.

With extra classes, volunteering, and extracurriculars all taking a chunk out of your time, it becomes more difficult to keep your GPA up to the standard med school adcoms expect. Given that this is such a crucial part of your application, you’ll need to be diligent and persistent to stay ahead of the game.

Fortunately, as a UC Davis premed, you’ll have access to their Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers (AATC) which offer comprehensive support in a range of subjects from STEM to writing. You can schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions, join a workshop or a drop-in session, or take advantage of asynchronous resources. If you’re looking for general study help the Office of Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Services provides Success Coaching and Learning Strategies designed to help you adjust to college life and keep your grades up. These include a self-assessment tool, resources, appointments, and workshops.

What GPA do I need as a UC Davis premed?

Having a solid idea of what you should aim for can help tremendously so that you can course correct before it’s too late. At UC Davis, the prehealth office has created a helpful chart listing the average GPAs of various health professions. Remember, these are just averages, but we can see that to be competitive for an MD or DO program, you will need a 3.6 or 3.5 GPA, respectively.

Actionable advice for keeping your GPA up

Sometimes, the struggle to maintain a high GPA and the pressure you put on yourself to succeed can feel overwhelming. We find that premed students often want things broken down into manageable bites with clear achievable goals.

We also find that the longer it takes to achieve those goals, the murkier the path to success. Once you’ve transitioned to college, you’ll quickly discover that the goal of medical school acceptance is a much longer-term project than you may have attempted in your life up to this point.

We’ve helped countless students in your position and typically offer the following bits of sound advice to help you on your way.

Don’t overload yourself. If you want to graduate with the highest GPA possible, you need to plan well. That includes knowing yourself and how much you can handle. When you’re looking ahead to the next quarter or two and selecting your courses, be sure to take all of your commitments into account—your major, your premed requirements, and any extracurriculars or familial obligations—that can impact your ability to focus and get your highest grade possible.

Look ahead and prepare. Perhaps you love biology but aren’t as skilled in statistics. Before you take that statistics course, it can help to prepare by pre-studying. Reach out to the professor that teaches that course to get an idea of what will be taught and familiarize yourself with the material before the start of the term. This can also reduce the effort required to solidify this new knowledge since you’ve been exposed to it already.

Take classes during the summer months. As a UC Davis premed, there’s no doubt that your schedule will be full. Managing your classes and being disciplined enough to get all of your work done on time will be a challenging lesson to learn, but one you should feel proud of when you pull it off. One way to help balance this challenge is to consider taking some courses during the summer session. This way, you’ll spread out your commitments and give yourself room to breathe which will leave you with more space to focus on a class you may struggle with. As a result, you’ll be sure to get a higher grade.

What is the best UC Davis premed major?

Selecting a major as a UC Davis premed can seem like a daunting task, one that is sure to have far-reaching repercussions beyond your undergraduate years and potentially impact your chances of getting into med school. It can feel as though with so much on the line, you might be paralyzed by indecision. What if you spend your time in college focused on a subject that won’t help you stand out as an applicant, but you don’t find this out until you’re already putting together applications and it’s too late to change?

The bad news is the stress you may feel is very real, but the good news is your fears are misplaced. Students who have completed the prerequisites for medical school and kept their grades up submit successful applications every year, regardless of major.

In fact, statistics from the AAMC show that while 31,540 biological science majors applied to med schools in 2022, only 12,865 matriculated, whereas out of 1,775 humanities majors applicants, 897 matriculated. Given these numbers, it appears 50.54% of humanities majors were successful compared to 40.79% of biology majors.

On the surface, this might seem to confirm something you may have read, namely, that you’re more likely to get into med school by choosing an “easier” major such as English. This is not quite true; you’ll still need to perform exceptionally well in your premed classes so that you display a substantial aptitude for science. Furthermore, as an English major, your required classes are less likely to overlap with your prerequisites for med school, which could mean more work for you during undergrad.

What does all this mean and how should you choose? The best answer is to simply choose something for which you have a passion. If you enjoy what you’re studying, you’re much more likely to keep your grades up and be able to submit a superstar GPA along with your med school applications. With more than 100 majors to choose from at UC Davis, you’re sure to find something that fascinates and excites you.

When should you take the MCAT?

Deciding exactly when to take the MCAT is a vital part of your premed path. Your primary considerations should be when you feel you will be most properly prepared to tackle the test and achieve your highest score. However, each premed has their own individual circumstances and goals to keep in mind when determining the optimal time to take the MCAT.

Perhaps you’re set on going straight to medical school upon graduation or you’re thinking of taking a gap year. Maybe you just don’t think you’ll be able to get all of your classes in during the school year to feel fully ready when you know your summers will be full of extracurriculars. Whatever your situation, it’s worth sorting through your options so that you have an adequate plan in place and a goal in mind.

That said, we usually recommend students take the MCAT sometime during their junior year if they’re not planning to take a gap year. This schedule has the benefit of leaving enough time for a retake if desired and should give you the chance to take courses that will cover material on the test.

UC Davis recommends you have a year in general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biology, and a course in biochemistry before sitting the exam. English and writing courses can also help especially for the CARS (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Section) of the exam.

While other topics are covered on the exam, many students decide to self-study rather than take courses in sociology or psychology specifically for the MCAT. There is typically not as much material to learn for these sections as the other science-heavy sections. Remember, a good study plan is all about prioritization.

Adventures of a Pre-Med

Mission Statement: “To provide excellent learner-centered education to a diverse body of medical students and graduate students; cultivating in them the passion to improve lives and transform the health of the communities they will serve as physicians, scientists and health care leaders.”

Location: Sacramento, California

Programs: MD, MD/Ph.D, MD/Masters in public health or business administration

Acceptance Rate: 1.8%

Average GPA: 3.71

Average MCAT: 32 or 513 (88 th percentile)

Curriculum: Traditional, 4 year Block schedule (5 for rural or under-served interests) Details Here

Costs: Instate – $37,000+ living= Aprox. 62,000 per year x 4yrs = $250,500 for 4 years Details Here

Requirements: Minimum General Pre-Med requirements= Bio 1yr, chem 2 yrs (gen chem + Ochem), physics 1 yr They also require the MCAT (taken within the last 36 months) and three years (90 semester hours or 135 quarter hours)

Admissions Criteria: UCDavis has a holistic review. It not only looks as your scores but your personal experiences and qualities as well as your geographic location and other attributes. Here is a comprehensive list to keep in mind when you format our essays and interview answers.

Student Life: Research opportunities, Global Opportunities, and Service Learning Opportunities such as Student Run Clinics. Outside of medicine there are lots of extracurricular activities in Sacramento, Davis, Tahoe, ect. Plenty of places for fishing, hiking, shopping, movie going, and places to eat!

UCDMC Rankings by U.S. News and World Report: UC Davis Children’s Hospital ranked 29th in orthopedics and 20th in urology. UC Davis also ranked 17th in neonatology, 33rd in diabetes and endocrinology and 45th in neurology and neurosurgery. The Medical School in particular is top 20 for Primary Care and top 50 for Research.

UCDMC strategic plan with 8 Goals: This seems to be a good list of possibly things they’ll be looking for in future doctors make sure to take a look Here.

UC Davis Med School has posted an article giving advice to pre-meds that is good to take a look at even if you might not be considering Davis in particular! Click Here