UCSF or UW?

chip77 said:

Any thoughts? All feedback/suggestions/thoughts will be greatly appreciated, as I'm having a difficult time choosing between the two. Thanks!

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TracksuitsRock said:

Honestly I don't think you can go wrong (I know those are still very tough decisions to make). I would decide more based on location, support network, etc. where you might be happiest.

but go to UW so coco and I have a better chance of getting off this UCSF high priority... 🙂

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Iwy Em Hotep said:

Hi there,

I'm a 2nd year at UW, so maybe I can give you some insight on the inner workings at UW to help your decision.

Cost:
Rent in Seattle will probably run you $500-$1000. It's not quite as expensive as SF, but it's close. Tuition varies depending on whether you're a CA or WWAMI resident.
Curriculum:
UW is quarter-based, P/F 1st year, H/P/F 2nd year, and H/HP/P/F 3rd and 4th year. The first year is discipline based (e.g. anatomy, biochemistry), while the second year is organ-system based (e.g. cardiovascular, hematology).

The clinical years at UW are done throughout the WWAMI region, so it's possible to do surgery in Alaska and then family medicine in SE Wyoming.

Primary care is pushed hard at UW, so if this is what you want, you'll really feel at home here. On the other hand, specialty fields need not feel left out, since the UW is very highly ranked in fields such as general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and otolaryngology.

Location:
To clarify a misconception, it doesn't rain that hard or that often in Seattle. It *is* often cloudy and overcast. Seattle is well-situationed for day trips to the rain forest, up to Canada, or to go skiing.

People:
We're an internationally diverse, outdoorsy fun bunch. While things are stressful at times, I'd have to say that I don't see any overt gunner behaviors from students or malignant behaviors from faculty. Things are quite laid back and congenial. This is a big plus - you're not walking into "Heart Failure" or "The House of God" here.

One thing that I did on the interview trail was to ask medical students the 3 things that they didn't like about their school to get a balanced opinion. So here you go, from my vantage point as an M2:

1) Facilities. We technically don't have a medical school. We have a wing of an old building that we share with the nursing and PA students. What is officially ours consists of a not-so-great lounge and some mailboxes.

2) Tradition. Unlike most schools (it seems), we don't have a note-taking servicce or taped lectures. You're expected to come to lecture, since the material often won't be found in the syllabus or the textbooks.

3) Boards. One fact kept relatively secret is that while the UW has an impressive match list, we are about average in terms of USMLE scores (though our passing rate is ~98%). The curriculum is designed to prepare you for the wards, and not necessarily the USMLE. There are four weeks between the end of Spring and the start of clerkships to prepare for the boards and take any option vacation time.

Hope that helps!

Click to expand...

Iwy Em Hotep said:

Hi there,

I'm a 2nd year at UW, so maybe I can give you some insight on the inner workings at UW to help your decision.

Cost:
Rent in Seattle will probably run you $500-$1000. It's not quite as expensive as SF, but it's close. Tuition varies depending on whether you're a CA or WWAMI resident.
Curriculum:
UW is quarter-based, P/F 1st year, H/P/F 2nd year, and H/HP/P/F 3rd and 4th year. The first year is discipline based (e.g. anatomy, biochemistry), while the second year is organ-system based (e.g. cardiovascular, hematology).

The clinical years at UW are done throughout the WWAMI region, so it's possible to do surgery in Alaska and then family medicine in SE Wyoming.

Primary care is pushed hard at UW, so if this is what you want, you'll really feel at home here. On the other hand, specialty fields need not feel left out, since the UW is very highly ranked in fields such as general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and otolaryngology.

Location:
To clarify a misconception, it doesn't rain that hard or that often in Seattle. It *is* often cloudy and overcast. Seattle is well-situationed for day trips to the rain forest, up to Canada, or to go skiing.

People:
We're an internationally diverse, outdoorsy fun bunch. While things are stressful at times, I'd have to say that I don't see any overt gunner behaviors from students or malignant behaviors from faculty. Things are quite laid back and congenial. This is a big plus - you're not walking into "Heart Failure" or "The House of God" here.

One thing that I did on the interview trail was to ask medical students the 3 things that they didn't like about their school to get a balanced opinion. So here you go, from my vantage point as an M2:

1) Facilities. We technically don't have a medical school. We have a wing of an old building that we share with the nursing and PA students. What is officially ours consists of a not-so-great lounge and some mailboxes.

2) Tradition. Unlike most schools (it seems), we don't have a note-taking servicce or taped lectures. You're expected to come to lecture, since the material often won't be found in the syllabus or the textbooks.

3) Boards. One fact kept relatively secret is that while the UW has an impressive match list, we are about average in terms of USMLE scores (though our passing rate is ~98%). The curriculum is designed to prepare you for the wards, and not necessarily the USMLE. There are four weeks between the end of Spring and the start of clerkships to prepare for the boards and take any option vacation time.

Hope that helps!

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Bluntman said:

Since the schools are very equivalent in just about every regard, the decision would totally come down to location for me. Where do you want to spend the next 4 years of your life? Do you have fam in Washington? SF? Like the weather of Cali better? Like the more outdoors stuff to do at UW? Like the lower cost around UW?

But yea for me it gets to be TOTALLY about location when I'm trying to think about schools that are equally great.

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MNsocsci said:

I interviewed at both of these schools but am still waiting to hear back from them. For me, I got a better feeling from UCSF. A student at UW told me that once the WAMI students come to Seattle second year, all the students stay somewhat separated into their friendship circles based on where they were the first year. I want a school that is more cohesive than that. Also, I tend to prefer the straight pass/fail at UCSF versus the honors at UW second year.

Both schools are in amazing cities that would be so much fun to live in. To me the schools' locations are equally cool. I envy your tough choice and hope that I have to make the same decision soon!

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chip77 said:

AWESOME! Thanks so much for your input, as this helps me out alot.

Because I am a california/oos resident, will I also be required to do my clinical rotations throughout the WWAMI region? One person told me yes, and one person told me no (because of being oos). Could you clarify?

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jt200 said:

im in the same situation and im pretty convinced that you can go wrong. i grew up in seattle (real close to UWSOM) and have a sis and soon to be bro in law that are at the UW- they love it. I think im headed down to cali, however, because i want a change of pace and have always dreamed of living in sf for a bit. figure i wont be able to do it later on because its wicked expensive and prolly want to end up back here in seatown for family reasons. there's gonna be decent parity between the schools as far as placing you for your residencies in almost everything that I looked at. ucsf is a bit more expensive all things being equal but again that depends on your residency.

if i might interject one thing, however, it is that I genuinly got a better feel from the students at UCSF when i visited. coulda been the nice weather, but they seemed more like me, more cohesive as a group (WWAMI program sorta cuts up the class), and better looking (ok, I made that last one up). and did anyone else feel like the uw interview process was pretty brutal?

i also like trolly cars and the idea of a bigger city with WAY better mass transit. and id rather disect a cadaver with that awesome view in sf than in whatever dungeon the uw med school puts you. just to be a devils advocate, however, im pretty pissed that UCSF doesn't have a legit sports program to their name. Do we end up rooting for Cal or are we sol? and damn mike jensen for fouling uconn with seconds left.

anybody in the seattle area whos headed to ucsf (or thinks they might)? you guys headed down for the second look weekend?

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