Hopkins vs UCSF vs UCLA

[8saurusrex]

Hey fellow SDNers,
I have been an active member of this community but I made this throwaway account because I am having a lot of difficulty with making my final decision. I am from CA, and would love to stay butI received a huge scholarship to hopkins and it would be tough for me to turn it down. Lastly, I could not be more grateful of my cycle and even though this is a great problem to have, it is still adding a ton of stress lately. Please no trolls.Here is the breakdown:

UCLA
+alma mater
+close proximity to friends, family, and long term significant other
+ I love LA
+I want to eventually practice in Southern Ca
+Sports!
-Slightly less prestigious
---Most expensive of my options. (140-170k of debt)

Hopkins
+Loved Second look and the people i met
+ Best hospital and awesome facilities
+ Scholarship would make my total debt after 4 years at 70k ( by far the cheapest)
+Prestigious school and scholarship
-Far from SO, friends and family
-----Baltimore
-----Weather

UCSF
+Loved Second look
+ Close enough for family and SO to visit more regularly
+Well known in CA and highly ranked
+SF looks like a great place to live
-Expensive city/ rent
Total debt here will be about 110K

My heart wants UCLA but my mind is telling me to go to hopkins. UCSF seems to be a nice middle ground. with medium debt and still extremely well regarded. At this point I'm so stressed out and desperate any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

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[solitarius]

- Is the SO a female or male? What does the SO want/think?

 

[8saurusrex]

SO is a female. SHe has been extremely understanding and wants the best for me but of course she wants me to stay at UCLA when it comes down to it. Its just a lot of money for me to play the romantic and stay near her and my family.

 

[solitarius]

I commented on some other thread where I thought $150K is manageable. In your case, it (the difference) would be between $70K - $100K. Is being around your SO and family for four years worth $70 K?

It sounds like you really want to go to UCLA, and that foregoing Hopkins wouldn't linger heavily in your mind. So you should go to UCLA. The Reagan Hospital at UCLA is probably the best one on the West Coast. I'm of the opinion that the hospital really matters more for residency than for third-year rotations. Not every hospital is going to be equally great in all the rotations, and we're just there to observe and study for shelfs rather than do anything really meaningful.

I don't think you can lose either way really. If you chose Hopkins, you'll be back in CA for residency with just $70K in debt.

 

[alpinism]

Honestly this a completely a personal question as it as comes down to how much you value your relationships (SO/friends/family) vs career opportunities (academics/research/healthcare policy).

All 3 are great schools but obviously Hopkins and UCSF will be cheaper plus have more opportunities.

Also, you won't get any reasonable advice without knowing your future career goals/aspirations and if you plan on marrying/starting a family in the near future.

 

[nemo123]

I think I know who you are , but anyways, isn't SF still pretty far from where you're from right now (6 hour drive)?

Go where you think you will be happy. Your debt is manageable at all 3 schools even if Hopkins is extremely cheap. Did you also attend Hopkins' second look by any chance?

 

[1Sail0r]

Have you tried reaching out to UCLA and telling them about a scholarship from Hopkins? I assume they'd love to steal you away from there and might have some funds they could direct your way.

 

[8saurusrex]

Nemo, I think you know exactly who I am too. And yea I went to all the second looks and enjoyed them all.

 

[8saurusrex]

Have you tried reaching out to UCLA and telling them about a scholarship from Hopkins? I assume they'd love to steal you away from there and might have some funds they could direct your way.

I've tried trust me. I think I'll send one more email lol

 

[8saurusrex]

Honestly this a completely a personal question as it as comes down to how much you value your relationships (SO/friends/family) vs career opportunities (academics/research/healthcare policy).

All 3 are great schools but obviously Hopkins and UCSF will be cheaper plus have more opportunities.

Also, you won't get any reasonable advice without knowing your future career goals/aspirations and if you plan on marrying/starting a family in the near future.

I completely understand man. I can definitely marry this girl. Im not sure about academic medicine yet but I definitely think I will specialize.

 

[Entadus]

How does your S.O. feel about moving with you to San Fran?

 

[8saurusrex]

How does your S.O. feel about moving with you to San Fran?

SO is younger and needs to finish up her degree before she can move anywhere. She has a year left and I guess SF sounds feasible compared to Baltimore.

 

[smurfsnowman123]

I think that if I were in your shoes, I would go to UCLA because that is where my support network is, it really isn't THAT much more expensive than the other options (I would pay that extra $ to be near my SO, friends, and family!), and even though it is slightly less prestigious, UCLA is still a really great school and will not close any doors for you. I think the happiness you would feel from being surrounded by your SO and family and being able to hang out with friends to destress every once in a while is well worth the relatively miniscule amount of money you would save. Just my thoughts. Good luck making your decision!

 

[nemo123]

Honestly this a completely a personal question as it as comes down to how much you value your relationships (SO/friends/family) vs career opportunities (academics/research/healthcare policy).

All 3 are great schools but obviously Hopkins and UCSF will be cheaper plus have more opportunities.

Also, you won't get any reasonable advice without knowing your future career goals/aspirations and if you plan on marrying/starting a family in the near future.

I wouldn't say that UCLA has any less opportunities than the other 2. UCLA is also a very academically oriented research institution. Like smurfsnowman123 said, your debt is manageable at all three schools even if Hopkins is much cheaper. At which school did you have the best gut feeling?

 

[Hipocrates]

Remember as between UCLA and UCSF relative to cost, UCLA gives everyone $10K the first year and guaranteed good, cheap student housing the first 2 years.

 

[MedWonk]

Go with the compromise. UCSF.

 

[mmmcdowe]

If you have already started planning a proposal and shopping for rings, go with UCSF. Otherwise, Hopkins vs UCSF. If being close to your family is really important, UCSF. If you liked Hopkins the most, go there and be happy with your new family/support network.

 

[1Sail0r]

Sent you a PM.