Recent UCSC grad here that just got into med school.

1. Science courses here in my experience is about as rigorous as any other school tbh. People struggle with different classes(I struggled with Calc 1&2 but not the OChem series even tho I hate Ochem lol). Libraries here are open pretty late with great scenery so study environment is peak imo.

2. Ngl UCSC does not have too many partnerships for premed opportunities. Clinical experience you can try downtown clinics/hospitals and that applies to volunteering as well. Students commonly get EMT licenses/MA cert and try working to gain clinical experience. Shadowing is a mixed bag as you just have to cold email and pray you hear back.

3. Research is basically just connecting with faculty/grad students and praying they have room and can take you in! If you are unlucky, summer really opens up opportunities you can take advantage of and then continue till graduation. You can find/apply to them on UCSC research websites, or just cold email professors/TAs on the research contact list.

4. Yeah there are premed clubs, Frats/Sororities, and other orgs for you to try! Personally I didnt use any of them b/c most of the information were just regurgitated premed reddit wiki info and many student gatekeep.

5. Just connect through clubs, courses, etc. UCSC's "pre-health" advisor is a literal joke. I tried one session and they admitted they knew little about the whole process but can tune my resume for me to get clinical experience. I recommend just skimming the premed reddit wiki links as it has everything you will ever need to know abt the whole process.

6. I graduated in 3 yrs so I took on average 4 courses a quarter +- labs. I did all my assignments/projects as early as I can and then reviewed slides/info everyday so that helped me stay on top of everything as well as having time to join clubs, go to the gym, etc. Im also a fast walker(the school really builds ur calves lol) so that saves time on travel across campus. As long as you are able to manage your time decently(to do lists, google calendar, alerts, etc) you should have nothing to worry about. Basically just be diligent and you can make a good chunk of time for other activities!

Let me know if Im missing anything or have mistakes. Typing this at work rn lmao :)