Before applying, many UCLA pre meds face academic challenges with large classroom sizes and rigorous courses as well as intense competition for extracurricular activities. It is impossible to know how many students start as “pre med” at UCLA and later decide against applying, but the number is likely among the highest of all colleges, especially with UCLA’s large undergraduate student body size of 31,577 students.
With such intense competition, one might wonder why would anyone want to be pre med at UCLA? Is UCLA a good school for premed students? What these numbers don’t show is the strong academics at UCLA which will prepare you for the MCAT and medical school, as well as the plethora of extracurricular opportunities both inside and outside of medicine to help you grow as a prospective physician and individual. To address the confusion of navigating pre med coursework and activities at a large public school, we asked a former UCLA alumni and current UCSF medical student for UCLA pre med tips for incoming and current students.
- UCLA Pre Med Acceptance Rate
- UCLA Pre Med Requirements
- Tips From a UCLA Alum: Succeed as a UCLA Pre Med
- UCLA Pre Med Opportunities
UCLA Pre Med Statistics
In 2019, 1010 UCLA pre med students applied to medical school, representing the highest number of applicants from a single undergraduate institution.[1], [2]
Of all the UCLA premeds who applied, around half were ultimately accepted.
- Average accepted GPA of 3.7
- Average MCAT of 513.6.[3]
However, these numbers don’t tell the full story.
UCLA Pre Med Requirements
At UCLA, the majority of students will follow the life science course series for their medical school prerequisite courses. These include:
- CHEM 14A – General Chemistry
- CHEM 14B + CHEM 14BL – General Chemistry and General Chemistry Lab
- CHEM 14C + CHEM 14CL – Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Lab
- CHEM 14D – Organic Chemistry
- CHEM 153A – Biochemistry
- PHYSICS 5A – Physics
- PHYSICS 5B – Physics
- PHYSICS 5C – Physics
- LIFESCI 7A – Biology
- LIFESCI 7B – Biology
- LIFESCI 7C – Biology
In addition, students often need to take a year of Math (MATH 3A-C, LS30A-B) and English (any ENG class, writing II/W class). Most life science major course requirements with overlap with these prerequisites.
For a complete list of pre med requirements needed to be a successful medical school applicant, read: Premed Timeline – Planning for your Medical School Applications
Roadmap for UCLA Pre Meds: 5 Tips for Success
UCLA Pre Med Tip #1: Build effective study habits and techniques
To succeed academically and maintain a high GPA, you need to optimize your studying. Find spots on or off campus where you can be productive (e.g. dormitory lounge, study spaces on The Hill, libraries, Luskin hotel, Ronald Reagan) and establish a routine for your work. Treat studying for classes like a 9-5 job; devote time to study and pursue extracurriculars and take time off afterwards like you are working a full-time job.
In addition to excellent study habits, you should research evidence-based study techniques. For example, many medical students utilize Anki, a flashcard application that harnesses active recall (“quizzing” yourself) and spaced repetition (reviewing multiple times over a longer period to memorize information). Another great method of studying is practice problems and practice tests. Avoid passive, inefficient study methods like re-reading, highlighting, and underlining texts. Aim to establish understanding with one reading, encode that information with active recall/spaced repetition, and synthesize it by drawing connections between concepts.
UCLA Pre Med Tip #2: Be strategic about your major and course selection
Course and major difficulty is variable at UCLA. Therefore, be strategic in selecting your major. Most importantly, select a major that you enjoy! If you are not interested in what you’re studying, it will be difficult to be engaged in your classes and maintain a high GPA. Listed below are common life science majors (many premeds at UCLA major in life sciences) with notoriously difficult majors starred:
- Biology
- Cognitive Science
- Computational & Systems Biology
- Ecology, Behavior and Evolution
- Human Biology and Society*
- Integrative Biology and Physiology**
- Marine Biology
- Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics*
- Molecular, Cell Developmental Biology*
- Neuroscience**
- Psychobiology
- Psychology, B.A.
UCLA Pre Med Tip #3: Take the initiative and make use of multiple resources
As a student at a large public university, you often need to seek out academic resources and guidance on your own in order to succeed. This is necessitated by the large student body size and thus course sizes at UCLA. It is not uncommon to find yourself in classes where there are more students than seats, or office hours so well attended that you only have time to ask 1-2 questions before other students interject. This isn’t limited to academics. Enrolling in classes, securing university housing, and even making use of campus facilities (dining, recreation and fitness) all require taking the initiative and being one step ahead of the curve.
Mentally prepare for the reality of attending a large public university, and strive to take the initiative. This might mean forming study groups instead of struggling on your own, asking your professors questions after class/over email instead of in office hours, and finding workarounds to bureaucratic or institutional barriers. You won’t be spoon-fed anything at UCLA, but the traits you develop in taking the initiative will serve you well in medical school and beyond.
UCLA Pre Med Tip #4: Get involved with student organizations
Student organizations are huge at UCLA. Not only are these organizations great for gaining clinical and general life experience, but they are also an opportunity for you to make friends with other like-minded peers. One thing to note is that student organizations at UCLA often have semi-competitive recruitment processes due to a large number of undergraduate students and limited opportunities. Have your application read by multiple others and practice interviewing. Think of it as preparation for medical school applications!
UCLA Pre Med Tip #5: Take time off to have fun and enjoy college
The most important lesson you can learn before medical school is how to have fun and take a break from school. Join student organizations unrelated to your medical school application. Go out with your floor-mates and friends. Explore Westwood and LA with friends. When you think back to college as an alumni, you’ll remember the people you met and experiences you shared rather than what you learned in your pre-req courses. School is important, but don’t forget to enjoy college!
Getting Involved: Premed Opportunities at UCLA
In addition to strong academic metrics, successful medical school applicants require varied and substantive extracurricular activities that showcase their potential as a future physician. Thankfully, as an R1 research university with an affiliated medical school as well as a plethora of student run organizations, UCLA offers countless opportunities for motivated pre med students to get involved:
Clinical Volunteering
Clinical volunteering helps you understand medicine and gain exposure to the field. The clinical opportunities at UCLA are superb, with a host of robust student organizations and numerous opportunities for motivated students:
- Care Extenders Program
- Emergency Medicine Research Associates (EMRA)
- Student Stroke Force/Team
- SCOPE at UCLA
- ARC Medical Program
- Bruin Beans
- CTSI RAP
- PULSE UCLA
- APA Health CARE
- AMSA
- Sports Medicine Internship
- Fellowship for International Service and Health (FISH)
- Medical Experience through Service in Healthcare (MESH)
- Global Medical Brigades
When evaluating clinical volunteering opportunities, look for concrete responsibilities and unique experiences. Certain student organizations will be more worthwhile than others with respect to your pre-professional development. Do your research and be critical of commitments you choose to take on!
Shadowing
Many UCLA-affiliated hospitals and clinics enforce a no shadowing policy for non-medical students. This makes it difficult for UCLA pre meds to find shadowing opportunities. We recommend reaching out to physicians with whom you have a mutual connection (friend, family, colleague) or cold-emailing physicians to shadow. There are also student organizations connected with physicians that allow their members to shadow. For more information regarding shadowing opportunities, see our blog post.
Non-Clinical Volunteering
There are many volunteering activities unrelated to medicine at UCLA. As it is impossible to offer a comprehensive list, we have listed some popular ones below:
- Mobile Clinic Project
- Bruin Shelter
- Hunger Project
- Pediatric AIDS Coalition
- Circle K
- USAC Community Service Commision (CSC)
- UNICEF at UCLA
- Best Buddies
Teaching/Mentorship
- Learning Assistant (LA) Program
- Peer Learning Facilitator (PLF) Program
- CURE at UCLA
- InterAxon
- The Bruin Experiment
- Student Leader Advocates of Music (SLAM!)
- CityLab
Research
The easiest way to find research is to cold-email multiple faculty members in labs you are interested in working in. You should include your cv, transcript, and a personalized cover letter (i.e. body of your email) that addresses why you would be a good fit for that lab. This method is low-yield, but sure to be met with some success if you are persistent enough. Alternatively, you could contact professors you already have a connection with (taken a class with them, went to their office hours, know someone in their lab), or ask a mentor to refer you. For more information about finding research as a premed, see our blog post.
Employment/Gap Year
Studies pursue a variety of employment opportunities, both during and after undergrad. For example, premeds frequently scribe at nearby UCLA hospitals/clinics. Others become employed by their labs as lab managers or research assistants. One popular option is working for Residential Life, or the on-campus housing/dining services, as an RA or staff member. Another option is teaching the MCAT for nearby tutoring companies in Westwood like The Princeton Review and The Berkeley Review. Finally, some students choose to spend their gap years outside of the LA/Westwood area (e.g. TEACH for America, Fulbright/Rhodes fellowships.) These are all great opportunities to not only prepare for medical school, but to gain additional life experience before beginning the long training path toward becoming a physician.
Being premed at UCLA can be difficult, but extremely worthwhile. You will have access to opportunities and experiences you can find at few other undergraduate institutions and learn from leading scientists in their fields. If you follow this advice, you may be lucky to count yourself among the 500 or so UCLA applicants accepted to medical school come application time. Go Bruins!
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Blog post written by Kevin Li and Dr. Rachel Rizal