Here are my brief thoughts...
I loved the people at UCLA but I don't like how the residents are spread over 4 sites. I think there are great advantages to Cedars, but I'm not as convinced about the other sites. I also have mixed feelings about living and driving in LA. That being said, I would potentially still consider ranking this high because I got a great vibe from the residents and they really seem to really love the program! I'm not sure if it would make my top 3 though.
I did an away at Stanford and loved my time there. I was on a consult service there and the few residents I interacted with were awesome people. I also think the morning reports and noon conferences and high quality and some of the best I've seen this interview season. One thing I did notice when I rotated and on my interview day was that some of the residents gave off a little "snooty vibe". But other residents were amazing people I would love to work with. This will still be among my top 3...I'm torn as to whether it should be first or not. I'm also not sure how much I would enjoy living in Palo Alto, as I prefer bigger cities and Palo Alto seems like a sterile suburban bubble.
I just interviewed at UW and loved it. I think the residents have so much more autonomy and get very well-trained, more so than other large academic institutions. The WWAMI program is a huge plus and I am not considering going into gen peds. The weather is entirely manageable and Seattle is a beautiful place to live. The people were also very chill and down to earth. This will probably be my #1 or 2.
I would love to hear your guys' thoughts about these programs as well!
