MD medical schools in California
California has 13 allopathic MD programs in NextGen MedPrep's US school directory. Compare each one's MCAT and GPA figures, in-state preference rating, and interview format below, then see how residency is treated.
Studying medicine in California
About California: Pop. ~39.0M; Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Sacramento each host world-class academic medical centers.
In-state preference: Private schools such as Stanford, USC Keck and Loma Linda carry no formal residency preference. The University of California schools differ from one another: UCLA states that applicants are reviewed without consideration of state of residence, our school profiles record a moderate preference for California residents at UCSF, UC San Diego, UC Davis and UC Irvine, and a strong one at UC Riverside. Many California programs still enroll mostly Californians, so check each school's recorded in-state share.
Major health systems in California
- Kaiser Permanente
- Dignity Health
- Sutter Health
- UCSF Health
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- UCLA Health
- Keck Medicine of USC
MD programs in California
13 MD programs in California for 2027 entry. Click any program for its full how-to-get-in guide.
- MCAT
- 518
- median
- GPA
- 3.94
- median
- MCAT
- 517
- unconfirmed
- GPA
- 3.88
- unconfirmed
- MCAT
- 519
- unconfirmed
- GPA
- 3.85
- unconfirmed
- MCAT
- 514
- mean
- GPA
- 3.83
- mean
- MCAT
- 517
- unconfirmed
- GPA
- 3.82
- unconfirmed
- MCAT
- 515
- mean
- GPA
- 3.84
- mean
- MCAT
- 510
- mean
- GPA
- 3.65
- unconfirmed
- MCAT
- 508
- unconfirmed
- GPA
- 3.57
- unconfirmed
- MCAT
- 515
- median
- GPA
- 3.86
- median
- MCAT
- 510
- mean
- GPA
- 3.85
- mean
- MCAT
- 511
- mean
- GPA
- 3.71
- mean
- MCAT
- 516
- median
- GPA
- 3.87
- median
- MCAT
- 508
- mean
- GPA
- 3.70
- unconfirmed
MCAT and GPA figures are labeled median or mean when the school's own published class profile confirms them, and “unconfirmed” when it has not yet been checked — the school's page cites the source. In-state preference tags are NextGen MedPrep's rating, not school policy, unless marked “published policy”.
Curriculum guides: Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine MD program · CNU College of Medicine MD program · CUSM School of Medicine MD program · David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA MD program · Kaiser Permanente Tyson School of Medicine MD program · Keck School of Medicine of USC MD program · Loma Linda University School of Medicine MD program · Stanford University School of Medicine MD program · UC Davis School of Medicine MD program · UC Irvine School of Medicine MD program · UC Riverside School of Medicine MD program · UC San Diego School of Medicine MD program · UCSF School of Medicine MD program
Residents vs out-of-state applicants in California
Of the 13 MD programs in California in our catalog, 1 is rated as giving strong preference to California residents and 4 are rated moderate. The table shows admissions figures only where they were confirmed on the school's own published pages (10 of 13); the rest are left blank rather than estimated, and any unconfirmed figure on a card above is labeled as such.
| Program | In-state preference | In-state share of class | MCAT | GPA | Class size | Data check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford University School of Medicine | None recorded | — | 518 | 3.94 | — | Checked against the school's own page, September 14, 2026 |
| UCSF School of Medicine | Moderate | 71% | — | — | 180 | Checked against the school's own page, September 14, 2026 |
| David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA | None recorded | — | — | — | — | Checked against the school's own page, August 14, 2026 |
| UC San Diego School of Medicine | Moderate | 74% | 514 (mean) | 3.83 (mean) | 140 | Checked against the school's own page, September 14, 2026 |
| Keck School of Medicine of USC | None recorded | — | — | — | — | Not yet checked against the school's own page |
| CNU College of Medicine | None recorded | 92% | 515 (mean) | 3.84 (mean) | 118 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| CUSM School of Medicine | None recorded | — | 510 (mean) | — | 130 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine | None recorded | — | — | — | — | Checked against the school's own page, August 15, 2026 |
| Kaiser Permanente Tyson School of Medicine | None recorded | 64% | 515 | 3.86 | 50 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| Loma Linda University School of Medicine | None recorded | — | 510 (mean) | 3.85 (mean) | — | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| UC Davis School of Medicine | Moderate | — | 511 (mean) | 3.71 (mean) | 139 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| UC Irvine School of Medicine | Moderate | 91% | 516 | 3.87 | 125 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
| UC Riverside School of Medicine | Strong | — | 508 (mean) | — | 94 | Checked against the school's own page, September 13, 2026 |
The in-state preference column is NextGen MedPrep's rating from each school's matriculation pattern and admissions guidance, not a school policy, except where a row says “published policy”. A dash means the school has not published that figure in a form we could confirm. Sources for every confirmed figure are linked on the program's profile.
Nearby: other West states with MD programs
States in the same US Census region (West), with the number of MD programs in each.
More on California
Frequently asked questions
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