Hey SDN! Please help me out!
I know I'm incredibly fortunate to have a choice between 3 amazing schools, but I'm still having a hard time committing to a decision. What are your candid opinions? I'd love to hear from people who have attended/have friends at these schools.
A little about me first: I'm a Washington resident who went to undergrad in Socal. I hope to do residency and live in Seattle in the future. I'm interested in doing a significant amount of bench research in medical school and will likely pursue a specialty as a result. I hope to work at UW someday as a researching and teaching physician.
I attended Second Look for all three of the schools below; please let me know if any of the pros and cons I've listed are inaccurate!
UW - The Comfortable Option
Pros:
- Close to family and friends
- Networks formed during medical school would help me during the match
- Clinical rotations in rural underserved areas (I'll get more involved clinical training; apparently it's not uncommon for it to be just you and a doctor treating patients without residents)
- Seahawks. Sounders. Nature. Killer whales.
Cons:
- I don't think I want to do primary care
- Would need to take a scholarly fifth year to do research (I really want to publish something, I see it as the next milestone in calling myself a "scientist" )
- Curriculum seems dated, revisions integrating material and shortening basic sciences are only affecting the class entering in 2015 and beyond
- No clinical electives before residency applications/having to choose a specialty
- Still haven't heard back whether I'm placed at the Spokane or Seattle campus for the first year, and they may not tell me until after May 15th (I would MUCH rather be in Seattle)
Duke - The "What's better for your career plans?" Option
Pros:
- Duke's research year.
- Clinical rotations before Step 1 (I hear this makes concepts stick better, which helps Duke students on Step 1 too)
- Impressive match list, lots of people go into specialties at (from what I can tell) very good residency programs
- Elective rotations in second year to help you choose a specialty
- Rdubs
- Duke basketball (I hear they've attracted the number 1 and 4 high school prospects in the nation)
- Small class size (~100), and thus a close-knit group
- Lower cost of living (ie nicer housing for less money)
Cons:
- Durham (I'm Asian, and have lived my whole life on the west coast; wondering if there will be culture shock)
- Tuition. However, I'd like to first make my comparisons without tuition as part of the equation.
- Humidity
- Students do less well on Step 2
UCLA - The Dark Horse
Pros:
- Close to currently established networks (went to undergrad in Socal)
- High reputation on the west coast; may have an easier time matching to UW than from Duke
- Everyone who goes here seems to love it; haven't heard anything negative
- Curriculum seems better organized than UW's.
Cons:
- I don't know if I want to live in LA anymore. Traffic man. Also very dry.
I know I'm incredibly fortunate to have a choice between 3 amazing schools, but I'm still having a hard time committing to a decision. What are your candid opinions? I'd love to hear from people who have attended/have friends at these schools.
A little about me first: I'm a Washington resident who went to undergrad in Socal. I hope to do residency and live in Seattle in the future. I'm interested in doing a significant amount of bench research in medical school and will likely pursue a specialty as a result. I hope to work at UW someday as a researching and teaching physician.
I attended Second Look for all three of the schools below; please let me know if any of the pros and cons I've listed are inaccurate!
UW - The Comfortable Option
Pros:
- Close to family and friends
- Networks formed during medical school would help me during the match
- Clinical rotations in rural underserved areas (I'll get more involved clinical training; apparently it's not uncommon for it to be just you and a doctor treating patients without residents)
- Seahawks. Sounders. Nature. Killer whales.
Cons:
- I don't think I want to do primary care
- Would need to take a scholarly fifth year to do research (I really want to publish something, I see it as the next milestone in calling myself a "scientist" )
- Curriculum seems dated, revisions integrating material and shortening basic sciences are only affecting the class entering in 2015 and beyond
- No clinical electives before residency applications/having to choose a specialty
- Still haven't heard back whether I'm placed at the Spokane or Seattle campus for the first year, and they may not tell me until after May 15th (I would MUCH rather be in Seattle)
Duke - The "What's better for your career plans?" Option
Pros:
- Duke's research year.
- Clinical rotations before Step 1 (I hear this makes concepts stick better, which helps Duke students on Step 1 too)
- Impressive match list, lots of people go into specialties at (from what I can tell) very good residency programs
- Elective rotations in second year to help you choose a specialty
- Rdubs
- Duke basketball (I hear they've attracted the number 1 and 4 high school prospects in the nation)
- Small class size (~100), and thus a close-knit group
- Lower cost of living (ie nicer housing for less money)
Cons:
- Durham (I'm Asian, and have lived my whole life on the west coast; wondering if there will be culture shock)
- Tuition. However, I'd like to first make my comparisons without tuition as part of the equation.
- Humidity
- Students do less well on Step 2
UCLA - The Dark Horse
Pros:
- Close to currently established networks (went to undergrad in Socal)
- High reputation on the west coast; may have an easier time matching to UW than from Duke
- Everyone who goes here seems to love it; haven't heard anything negative
- Curriculum seems better organized than UW's.
Cons:
- I don't know if I want to live in LA anymore. Traffic man. Also very dry.