UCD vs UCSD??

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No, UC Davis does have some advantages over Sd, especially in primary care, grading, and competitiveness. SD is a research powerhouse, and Davis is not, so if you care a lot about research, SD is much better. But besides that, I wouldn't say SD is much better, especially if you'd prefer to be in Davis's location.

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Caliapplicant said:

hey all, im new to the forum but have been reading it for a while...i was wondering if any applicants/current medical students could compare the pros/cons of these two schools? ive done research on the two but would be interested to hear what others have to say.

in a nut shell....i loved UCSD and UCD a lot am accepeted to both. UCSD is more prestigious but UCD is closer to friends and family. SD is more beautiful than Sacramento, but Sac has a lower cost of living. Davis seemed very laid back, UCSD, according to rumors, is supposed to be ultra-competitive? Davis has a more integrated curriculum whereas SDs is very old school....although they do have that clinica.

its a hard choice. is there anything anyone knows about these two schools that are big pluses or minuses i should know? red flags etc???


thanks!!

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If you are interested in academic medicine as a career, then UCSD would be more reasonable. If you are oriented towards private practice especially in primary care, then UCD may be a better option.

i would tend to agree with the above. The "prestige" over where you went to med school will be relatively small compared to what your board scores are (at least when talking about what residency you place in). If I were you, I'd pick based on which place you feel you would be happiest. If it was my choice, I'd pick Davis, but that's because I'd rather have a more cooperative environment, and Davis' numerous student run clinics interest me.


Although, La Jolla is pretty sweet.

sylar86 said:

this thread shouldn't even exist. UCSD without any question. Beats davis in all categories. you're comparing #15 with a school almost not ranked...

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Yeah, if you're big into rankings, go with UCSD. They beat Davis hands down.

That said, rankings don't mean much. Davis has a killer match list. As does UCSD. You won't be limited in where you go with either. UCSD kills us on research. Big money. No doubts there.

But if you're interested in clinical medicine, I'd put us higher than UCSD. We have a lot more patient involvement earlier. Our student-run clinics give us our own patients to care for from year one every weekend. Our Step 1 scores are great but we blow away on the Step 2.

Culturally, the two schools couldn't be more different. Davis is known for being an incredibly cooperative school. Gunners are a very rare breed here and not admired. Everyone works hard, but we work to help each other succeed. We're a pure pass/fail school with no rankings for the first two years. It's a very laid back medical school.

Again, it should be an easy choice, as the two schools are very, very different. If you're a SoCal type, go UCSD. If you're very very research focused, it's hard to beat UCSD. If you're looking to go into clinical medicine and want a more chill NorCal atmosphere with lots of patient involvement, it's hard to beat UCD.

notdeadyet said:

Yeah, if you're big into rankings, go with UCSD. They beat Davis hands down.

That said, rankings don't mean much. Davis has a killer match list. As does UCSD. You won't be limited in where you go with either. UCSD kills us on research. Big money. No doubts there.

But if you're interested in clinical medicine, I'd put us higher than UCSD. We have a lot more patient involvement earlier. Our student-run clinics give us our own patients to care for from year one every weekend. Our Step 1 scores are great but we blow away on the Step 2.

Culturally, the two schools couldn't be more different. Davis is known for being an incredibly cooperative school. Gunners are a very rare breed here and not admired. Everyone works hard, but we work to help each other succeed. We're a pure pass/fail school with no rankings for the first two years. It's a very laid back medical school.

Again, it should be an easy choice, as the two schools are very, very different. If you're a SoCal type, go UCSD. If you're very very research focused, it's hard to beat UCSD. If you're looking to go into clinical medicine and want a more chill NorCal atmosphere with lots of patient involvement, it's hard to beat UCD.

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I'd pick UCD in a heartbeat. I'm a Nor Cal girl, I hate gunners, and I want to practice clinical medicine. It's as simple as that. Rankings don't impress me, it's a measure of how many rich/dead alumni a school has.

I think notdeadyet's assessment is correct, this shouldn't be a hard choice.

Caliapplicant said:

you're right. it should be an easy choice. it will be easy once i really figure out what kind of education/environment i want---which im really undecided on. i guess i will start with that and work from there.


thanks for the advice, everyone!

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personally, i was extremely impressed with Davis when i was there. however, i went to ucsd for undergrad, and la jolla is a pretty nice place to live. competition is supposedly pretty fierce at ucsd and not at davis. but, like everyone else is saying, reputation wise, it is hard to beat ucsd. this probably is only important if you are heavy into research or wanting to pursue academic medicine. i think you are in a pretty good position...you cant really go wrong.

as for living expenses in la jolla, paying 700+ for a room in a 2 or 3 bedroom place is pretty typical. i am currently paying 525 to share a room in a nice condo. i am pretty sure you could get your own room in a nice place in sac for that.

Our match list kinda sucks compared to UCSD's. But that's probably because of the whacky students we have who don't want to go into derm or rads.

notdeadyet said:

Yeah, if you're big into rankings, go with UCSD. They beat Davis hands down.

That said, rankings don't mean much. Davis has a killer match list. As does UCSD. You won't be limited in where you go with either. UCSD kills us on research. Big money. No doubts there.

But if you're interested in clinical medicine, I'd put us higher than UCSD. We have a lot more patient involvement earlier. Our student-run clinics give us our own patients to care for from year one every weekend. Our Step 1 scores are great but we blow away on the Step 2.

Culturally, the two schools couldn't be more different. Davis is known for being an incredibly cooperative school. Gunners are a very rare breed here and not admired. Everyone works hard, but we work to help each other succeed. We're a pure pass/fail school with no rankings for the first two years. It's a very laid back medical school.

Again, it should be an easy choice, as the two schools are very, very different. If you're a SoCal type, go UCSD. If you're very very research focused, it's hard to beat UCSD. If you're looking to go into clinical medicine and want a more chill NorCal atmosphere with lots of patient involvement, it's hard to beat UCD.

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DEF. UC Davis. I loved it when I visited!

Caliapplicant said:

you're right. it should be an easy choice. it will be easy once i really figure out what kind of education/environment i want---which im really undecided on. i guess i will start with that and work from there.

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Either way, Caliapplicant, you're in a lovely position of choosing between two quality schools in your home state. Congratulations....

ChristianJames1 said:

personally, i was extremely impressed with Davis when i was there. however, i went to ucsd for undergrad, and la jolla is a pretty nice place to live. competition is supposedly pretty fierce at ucsd and not at davis. but, like everyone else is saying, reputation wise, it is hard to beat ucsd.

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People who love NorCal wouldn't be too crazy about the La Jolla scene and folks who really love SoCal wouldn't think much of Sacramento. the OP actually is in a pretty good place because although UCD and UCSD are great schools, they really couldn't be too much different.

ChristianJames1 said:

as for living expenses in la jolla, paying 700+ for a room in a 2 or 3 bedroom place is pretty typical. i am currently paying 525 to share a room in a nice condo. i am pretty sure you could get your own room in a nice place in sac for that.

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I live (with my wife) in a really nice neighborhood with lots of trees and fall colors. We have a garage, a car port, and a big back yard with a vegetable garde, lemon tree and cherry tree. It's a two bed room place in a low crime area that's only an 8 minute walk from campus. We pay $1,100/month.

I have lots of friends that live in one bedroom apartments by themselves that pay around $600/month.

But keep in mind that you can't exactly smell the sea air from here...

Pinkertinkle said:

Our match list kinda sucks compared to UCSD's. But that's probably because of the whacky students we have who don't want to go into derm or rads.

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Did you see this year's match list that was posted? It looks pretty good to me. Two radiology, one rad-onc and six in orthopedic surgery (four in california). Nobody in derm.

Our match list actually looks really solid this year, though we definitely have a big number going into primary care. This is more indicative of the type of applicant we attract, as can be seen by the programs people are getting into.

But I'm sure it's no match for UCSD for the big name competitive fields. I've heard theirs is amazing.

Ranking is bull**** within a few tiers, but I really won't consider Davis and SD in the same category.
You're in your early 20s, take this chance to explore a new part of the country. Living by the beach is pretty sweet, I'm sure you'll learn to like it.

I don't get why people say UCSD isn't a good choice for primary care.

Every year we have a bazillion people (many of whom would be competitive for any specialty) go into Family Med. It is the second most popular choice after Internal Medicine.

Our student-run free clinics run five days a week and all students have the opportunity to work in them pretty much as much as they want.

We also have a primary care rotation that is integrated into the whole of third year, so that you can work with a single preceptor to develop your skills in this area as you go from incompetent 3rd year noob to seasoned 4th year.

I've been at UCSD for 4 years, I'm still trying to find the infamous "fierce competition." Sure, we have some bad apples, but it hasn't affected me yet.

However, if you really like Sacramento (I've been there and I can see the appeal), and you plan to make a career out of staying there, it wouldn't be an incorrect choice.

littlealex said:

Living by the beach is pretty sweet, I'm sure you'll learn to like it.

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I think you're going to be in for a rude awakening as to how little time you'll have to enjoy the beach, especially studying at a school like UCSD. Most UCSD students I've met have about about a deep a tan as your average midwesterner in the fall.

In med school, you need one good bar, taqueria, coffee shop, bookstore, and movie theatre. Anything more than that is wasted on med students because you just don't have the time to get bored of any one of them.

notdeadyet said:

Did you see this year's match list that was posted? It looks pretty good to me. Two radiology, one rad-onc and six in orthopedic surgery (four in california). Nobody in derm.

Our match list actually looks really solid this year, though we definitely have a big number going into primary care. This is more indicative of the type of applicant we attract, as can be seen by the programs people are getting into.

But I'm sure it's no match for UCSD for the big name competitive fields. I've heard theirs is amazing.

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Ours is more impressive now that I personally made them put ophtho on it. But still not as good as UCSD's.

lord_jeebus said:

I don't get why people say UCSD isn't a good choice for primary care.

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Agreed. Folks don't seem to realize that UCSD actually produces more primary care folks than UCD does.

lord_jeebus said:

Our student-run free clinics run five days a week and all students have the opportunity to work in them pretty much as much as they want.

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I'm obviously partial to Davis' student-run clinic system, but I'd give UCSD big props for theirs. Theirs is similar to the one at UC Davis. The only reason it's not better known is because of the school's research reputation getting the press.

Lord J: When did you guys turn five days a week? I thought you had Baker/Downtown/Pac Beach open on Tues/Mon/Wed (respectively) aside from the specialty stuff. Did you open new primary care clinics?

lord_jeebus said:

However, if you really like Sacramento (I've been there and I can see the appeal),

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Sacramento is okay. It's better than most people expect, but it's not on its way to becoming a jewel in the California crown any time soon.

lord_jeebus said:

and you plan to make a career out of staying there, it wouldn't be an incorrect choice.

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Oh, I woudn't come to Davis with the intent of staying in Sac. Most folks don't. The nice thing about our location is that it's a great cross section of California. We get lots of great rural stuff (migrant farm worker issues, environmental, etc.) and lots of great urban stuff (gangs, GSWs, etc.). Since we're the only Level 1 trauma center inland from San Francisco all the way up to the Oregon border, serving 31 counties, we get a great diversity.

UCD isnt really any more regional than UCSD is, though UCSD will definitely carry more cache nationally.

notdeadyet said:

I think you're going to be in for a rude awakening as to how little time you'll have to enjoy the beach, especially studying at a school like UCSD. Most UCSD students I've met have about about a deep a tan as your average midwesterner in the fall.

In med school, you need one good bar, taqueria, coffee shop, bookstore, and movie theatre. Anything more than that is wasted on med students because you just don't have the time to get bored of any one of them.

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I went to UCSD for undergrad, and between school and work barely had any time to do anything. But even if you don't have time to enjoy it, he's right in that it's still nice to live right next to the beach. I mean, if I was lucky enough to have that choice, I'd pick UCSD on that fact alone. Mostly because I don't see a big difference between graduating from either, career-wise. Living in La Jolla is 1000000x better than living in California's nutSac. There's no contest.

SketchLazy said:

But even if you don't have time to enjoy it, he's right in that it's still nice to live right next to the beach.

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I grew up close to the beach in Huntington, so hear you. There's definitely something nice being near an ocean breeze.

SketchLazy said:

I mean, if I was lucky enough to have that choice, I'd pick UCSD on that fact alone.

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To each their own. You'll see a lot more of the library than the beach. Geography wouldn't factor into my decision as much as the school. It's just a matter of where you'll be spending most of your time. And it ain't gonna be the beach.

SketchLazy said:

Living in La Jolla is 1000000x better than living in California's nutSac. There's no contest.

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That's back to the NorCal/SoCal thing. And god bless it. I've spent about half my life in each and see the merits of both. But it's definitely a personal preference. You couldn't pay me to live south of Santa Cruz at this stage. But there are plenty of folks who you couldn't pay to live north of.

And if you think Sac is bad, you haven't seen much of California. This place is a jewel compared to most places you'll see within 20 miles of the five between LA and Redding. Brrr...

notdeadyet said:

When did you guys turn five days a week? I thought you had Baker/Downtown/Pac Beach open on Tues/Mon/Wed (respectively) aside from the specialty stuff. Did you open new primary care clinics?

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Baker and Downtown have "follow-up" clinics on Thursday and Friday mornings respectively. Despite the name they're pretty busy, especially the Friday one.

Now that I think about it, I don't see MS1s or 2s there, so it might be an upper-level student thing only. It overlaps with their coursework so they might not be welcome. I didn't do Free Clinic back then so I don't know how it works.

Caliapplicant said:

hey all, im new to the forum but have been reading it for a while...i was wondering if any applicants/current medical students could compare the pros/cons of these two schools? ive done research on the two but would be interested to hear what others have to say.

in a nut shell....i loved UCSD and UCD a lot am accepeted to both. UCSD is more prestigious but UCD is closer to friends and family. SD is more beautiful than Sacramento, but Sac has a lower cost of living. Davis seemed very laid back, UCSD, according to rumors, is supposed to be ultra-competitive? Davis has a more integrated curriculum whereas SDs is very old school....although they do have that clinica.

its a hard choice. is there anything anyone knows about these two schools that are big pluses or minuses i should know? red flags etc???


thanks!!

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I don't know too much about these schools specifically, but I just wanted to say don't let prestige be the deciding factor unless all else is equal. You won't do as well at a school where you're unhappy (not that you necessarily would be at either).

Congrats on these two awesome acceptances, btw.

notdeadyet said:

I grew up close to the beach in Huntington, so hear you. There's definitely something nice being near an ocean breeze.

To each their own. You'll see a lot more of the library than the beach. Geography wouldn't factor into my decision as much as the school. It's just a matter of where you'll be spending most of your time. And it ain't gonna be the beach.

That's back to the NorCal/SoCal thing. And god bless it. I've spent about half my life in each and see the merits of both. But it's definitely a personal preference. You couldn't pay me to live south of Santa Cruz at this stage. But there are plenty of folks who you couldn't pay to live north of.

And if you think Sac is bad, you haven't seen much of California. This place is a jewel compared to most places you'll see within 20 miles of the five between LA and Redding. Brrr...

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Yeah, you're right. Sac isn't that bad compared to some other places like say, the entire IE. It's a diverse big city so that's nice. I've lived in the bay area for about 3 years, and I agree that Northern CA has its qualities. It's definitely more integrated and active. That's something you wouldn't find in Southern CA outside of LA or SD. I live in Orange County now, and it's not nearly as integrated, and I think most people here don't care much about social issues (or any issues for that matter). But out of the five UC medical schools, you have to admit that Davis is probably in one of the least desirable locals. After all that, I'm not saying that location should be a deciding factor in anyone else's decision besides mine. I just don't see a big difference between any of the UCs in terms of quality of teaching and opportunities. I'm not going into a competitive specialty or academic medicine, so again, that's just me.

Caliapplicant said:

i guess a good question would be: can UCD hurt my career (matching into a good residency) in any way

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Not from what I've seen. Our match list is solid. We have lots of placements in the top residencies around. Are there some amazing residencies that only take folks from Harvard and Johns Hopkins? I don't know. If so, UCD wouldn't cut it. But I haven't heard anyone complaining about lack of opportunities.

95% of your residency options will be determined by your USMLE scores, rotation evals and SLORs. School ranking is not as important, from what I've seen and heard, as lots of premeds seem to think.

Caliapplicant said:

and can UCSD enhance it in anyway---just by the sheer difference in their rankings?

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I don't think "sheer difference" in rankings amounts to much at all.

But (big, important but) some of the factors that account for the difference in ratings might. The primary factor for USN&WR rankings is NIH funding. UCSD has much more than UCD.

This means little to me, because I'm not going into any research intensive field. But if you're going into something like rad-onc, where research experience is very important, I would think that having the opportunity to work on some cutting edge projects for a few years with big names in their fields could make all the difference in the world.

Does this help you with your rad-onc residency search if you don't take advantage of those opportuniites? No. Residency directors are aware that you don't learn via osmosis.

No doors will be kicked open because you'd be going to a top 20 school as opposed to a top 50. But there may be opportunities to be had at a top 20 school that you could take advantage of that would set you over the top for extremely competitive residency placements that could help.

Caliapplicant said:

but my guess is that if im going primary care then UCD is my best bet. but if i want specialties traditionaly more competitive then UCSD would help?

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No.

You can get a great education for primary care at UCSD. They have a great match for a lot of great primary care placements nationwide and in California.

You can also get a great education for competitve residencies at UCD. We have graduates going into some of the most competitive residencies there are. There's a lot of student interest in primary care at UCD, but no one is limited to this and those who are interested in surgical fields and whatnot match into some of the best in the country.

UCD and UCSD are both great medical schools. Neither will determine whether or not you can enter primary care or a specialty.

But one advantage you will find at UCSD will be more research opportunities which can be critical for certain specialties. UCD has lots of research opportunities as well, but we do not have the volume that UCSD does.

Another advantage that UCSD has is it's ranking itself. This will mean precious little to your patients (tell a patient in California you're a Wash U grad and you'll get blank stares. Say Notre Dame and watch their eyes light up), but it can matter if you're going into a field where prestige is important, like some academic medicine positions, especially outside of California, where UCSD's name is better known.

I wanna see the med students from UCD and UCSD go at it!

SketchLazy said:

But out of the five UC medical schools, you have to admit that Davis is probably in one of the least desirable locals.

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It depends on your personal preference. I grew up in Orange County and you couldn't pay me to live down there again. Some parts are okay, but I'd sooner crawl across broken glass than live in Irvine. It's a great environment for some people, but I can't stand the place. Great med school, but I don't like the orange county politics or attitude or the lack of a there there.

I'm just not big on SoCal or big cities in general, so Sacramento is a nice comprimise. I've lived in SF for 14 years, so I'd say that's the best UC med school location, but I'd rank Sacramento second.

But again, it's all personal opinion. About half the state could not stomach northern california, so they stay to their half o fthe state. It all balances out in the end.

TheRealMD said:

I wanna see the med students from UCD and UCSD go at it!

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You ain't gonna get it from me. I have too much respect for UCSD.

And the problem is that most California applicants that apply to one also apply to the other. And the smart applicants learn as much as they can about each school so that they can write compelling secondaries.

So by the time you're done with the process you usually learn a lot about the other and walk away with a bit of respect.

We'll be happy to go after some east coast schools, if you'd like...

notdeadyet said:

You ain't gonna get it from me. I have too much respect for UCSD.

And the problem is that most California applicants that apply to one also apply to the other. And the smart applicants learn as much as they can about each school so that they can write compelling secondaries.

So by the time you're done with the process you usually learn a lot about the other and walk away with a bit of respect.

We'll be happy to go after some east coast schools, if you'd like...

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Bring on those East Coast schools!!

TheRealMD said:

Bring on those East Coast schools!!

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Well, you called my bluff. I applied to so many schools I can't throw too many stones...

notdeadyet said:

Well, you called my bluff. I applied to so many schools I can't throw too many stones...

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I am disappointed.

notdeadyet said:

I think you're going to be in for a rude awakening as to how little time you'll have to enjoy the beach, especially studying at a school like UCSD. Most UCSD students I've met have about about a deep a tan as your average midwesterner in the fall.

In med school, you need one good bar, taqueria, coffee shop, bookstore, and movie theatre. Anything more than that is wasted on med students because you just don't have the time to get bored of any one of them.

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But your one coffee shop can be a nice shop by the beach with the Californian sun and breezes instead of the lovely smell of Sacramento cows.

littlealex said:

But your one coffee shop can be a nice shop by the beach with the Californian sun and breezes instead of the lovely smell of Sacramento cows.

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But, gosh, without the smell of cow$hit, how would my horse know to find the way home at night?

There's a Starbucks about 2 blocks from the ocean on Prospect down there. If you're a "SoCal Rules!" kind of guy and like the La Jolla demographic, it's really tough to beat.

But let me know how much you end up hanging out there. I find that my days with time to spend kicking back in coffee shops is pretty much gone, but that may just be me.

UCSD all the way......that school has always been near the top of my list. of course its a personal choice for you. (n=1)

Caliapplicant said:

UCD and UCSD are two wonderful schools. im def going to the 2nd look weekends there and ill try and figure-out/outline vaguely what my goals are for medical school. hopefully then i can figure which school can best serve those goals.

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I think once you figure out what you're looking for in a school, the choice will be made a lot easier. The schools have a lot in common, but they're really quite different at the end of the day. They have very different curriculums, different evaluation systems, very different student bodies, very different focuses, and are in very different parts of the state. Once you have a good handle on what you're looking for, the choice shouldn't be hard.

Caliapplicant said:

Does anyone know how to best take advantage of a 2nd look weekend?

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Personally, the main value of a second look weekend is to get to know your potential classmates a little better. The rest is your typical sales pitch.

But I wouldn't undervalue the importance of your classmates. These are people you'll be working beside for the next four years in some very challenging conditions.

You learn as much in a good med school from your class mates and their experiences as you do from faculty. If the med school has a cooperative learning environment, you're working hard so that everyone does well.

You'e going to see a lot more of your classmates over the next four years than you will your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse. Second look is the first chance to see what your actual medical school environment, the human environment, is really going to be like. Get to know folks and see if these are the people you want to learn to be doctors with.

Also, although much of second look is marketing, keep a sharp eye out to see what the administration values. If you hear about nothing but research, worry about how the administration views the importance of clinical medicine. If you hear about nothing but student-run clinics, worry about your opportunities to do research.

And ask hard questions. No one will take your acceptance away for poking at what you feel are the school's weak spots.

Best of luck...

notdeadyet said:

You learn as much in a good med school from your class mates and their experiences as you do from faculty.

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I don't know if I agree.

I think I taught myself more than half of what I know about medicine. I certainly learned more from interns and residents than I did from my classmates or the faculty.

lord_jeebus said:

I think I taught myself more than half of what I know about medicine. I certainly learned more from interns and residents than I did from my classmates or the faculty.

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I definitely agree. I'm a self learner as well.

I just mean that I learnt as much from classmates as I did from faculty. So I wouldn't weight much the faculty:student ratio or the number of big names on faculty (again, unless it's looking for a red hot PI).

I'm not including residents and interns in this equation. That's a whole 'nother ballgame. The personality and teaching ability of your interns and residents is huge, but probably a little hard for a premed to guage from the outside looking in.

Seriously, classmates mostly drag you down.

lord_jeebus said:

I don't know if I agree.

I think I taught myself more than half of what I know about medicine. I certainly learned more from interns and residents than I did from my classmates or the faculty.

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Caliapplicant said:

thanks for the advice, peops.


now for some much needed pondering.....

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Hey, and again, Caliapplicant, you're been accepted to two great schools. You'll get a great education either way. Best of luck with your decision...

notdeadyet said:

I think you're going to be in for a rude awakening as to how little time you'll have to enjoy the beach, especially studying at a school like UCSD. Most UCSD students I've met have about about a deep a tan as your average midwesterner in the fall.

In med school, you need one good bar, taqueria, coffee shop, bookstore, and movie theatre. Anything more than that is wasted on med students because you just don't have the time to get bored of any one of them.

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This is BS...I went to med school at UCSD, honored every class, matched in a competitive field and spent >4days per week surfing or playing soccer. Picking a school is a personal choice, not to be based only on rankings, but if you like the beach go to SD.

I also went to UCSD for med school. What is with the persistent rumors about it as a gunner factory??? I heard all of those stories way back when I was applying there, was scared to death, went anyways, and am very happy with my decision. I haven't been on sdn for years, I take one peak today, and nothing has changed - rumors are still running rampant. Those originated a long time ago, and everything has changed, especially in the past few years. The new administration is very student friendly. There is no cut-throat competition. You will come out very well prepared. If free clinic is your thing, you can get very involved in it (btw, it IS 5 days a week, but Thurs and Fri a.m. are just with MSIVs and attendings). Research opportunities abound, but you don't have to get involved. You can have an inner tube waterpolo intramural team, as has been done frequently. Plus San Diego is BEAUTIFUL.

I also had the option to go to UCD, which would have been a fine choice too.

80ruby said:

I went to med school at UCSD, honored every class, matched in a competitive field and spent >4days per week surfing or playing soccer.

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Boy, you're a lot smarter than me then. I find free time is much more at a premium.

mystic_b said:

What is with the persistent rumors about it as a gunner factory???

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Part of the problem might be UCSD folks talking about how it's not a gunner factory. I don't think anyone's pulling up that stereotype here.

I mentioned Davis being particularly anti-gunner. It's known as being a particularly laid back med school. My apologies to anyone out there if that looked as if I was calling UCSD pro-gunner. UCSD is a top ranked school, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they attract a particularly high proportion of gunners.

Both schools good. All is well...

Actually, notdeadyet, I did notice "ultra-competitive" and similar adjectives being used to describe UCSD students, especially in the earlier posts in this thread, so that is what I reacted to. I didn't just bring it up out of the blue. Thanks for your response though.

I definitely had time to explore the city my first 2 pre-clinical years. Though we can earn honors in the first 2 years, except in the first quarter, they are rare and quite hard to earn (at least for most of us normal folk), so I was content to just learn as much as I could, and didn't sweat it. A few of my friends did earn them, seemingly effortlessly. More props to them.

Honestly, I just interviewed at UCD, but live in the San Diego area, so I head up to the UCSD Biomed library frequently when I have work to get done...there is a HUGE difference in atmosphere...everyone at UCSD seems high strung...and it seems like people at UCD are much more relaxed and take the time to say hi to passing strangers. Listen to your gut and you should know the right answer...where you match depends a lot on your board scores. It's UCD for me in a heartbeat!