I am considering different universities for the long road to medical school. I would like to attend a Christian U, and so far it seems that California Baptist University is, by far, the most affordable for me. However, I have seen no statistics on aamc.org that have CBU in them (as far as applications go)...will going to CBU vice a school like UC Davis or Point Loma Nazarene U (based on what I can afford) end up hurting my chances in the long run?
Or should I just do it, do it well, and not worry about the political nature of choices like that?
As long as the school offers the required pre-med classes, and has a history of students getting into medical school, then you are probably okay going there. I would also try calling the school and asking if they have a pre-med advisor. If so, I think it would be a smart move to call that advisor and discuss with them your goals and ask how students typically do with getting into medical school. You'll also get a good feel for how that advisor will work with you once you are a student there.
In the end, the pre-med advisor probably won't do much with you, as the required courses will be set-up in a fairly standard way.
In general, a better name undergraduate school isn't necessarily going to give you an advantage at most medical schools. If you ultimately want to go to a very top tier medical school, then you may want to consider a higher caliber undergraduate program. If you are planning on going to a typical medical school, then where you do your udergraduate is far less of an issue compared to how well you did in school. I doubt (although I have never personally been on an admission's board) that medical school admission's boards put too much weight on the undergraduate school, compared to GPA and MCAT scores.
As always, this is just my opinion.
Thank you very kindly for your advice!