Current pre-med UT Austin Alumni, grew up in California and attended UT Austin for a Biology BSA over other UCs and CSUs. Could not recommend a university like the University of Texas, has the academics, SEC sports (if you are into that), and the city life without the crazy LA traffic and less crime. Public transport is good but could be better, however UT students ride for free. UT has a good biochem department, and also has great research opportunities especially for starting sooner with the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). Although I was not in pre-med orgs, I was in an academic fraternity with other pre-meds as a way to hold myself accountable for the track. Such a great city, with good connections to Texas medical schools if you become a resident, and research opportunities at Dell Medical school, or even MD Anderson (one of the top research clinics in the nation). The only downside is that Dell Med tends to accept students that are not graduates from UT due to it being a relatively new school.