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If you're interested in PC I'd heavily suggest you go to UCSD. Cornell has a lot of its grads specialize/sub-specialize, whereas UCSD is an incredibly strong institution with a dual focus on highly achieving BUT also, as a state school, to have physicians treat the community.

Coupled w/the fact that UCSD will be cheaper for you I'd say go there. Feel free to ask me any question(s) as I (as of this morning) have no conflict of interest w/either institution.
 
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What would be the difference in cost for you be? Since you are interested in PC, it would be nice to have a lower debt load which I am assuming UCSD would be the case for that.

I had a friend who was from Cali and got into UCLA and Cornell a few cycles back and he ultimately chose Cornell. I don't think he looked back once after making the decision(although it was tough at the time), and ultimately matched into a competitive specialty at a prestigious program. He seems to only say positive things about the Cornell program (match well, great area in NY, supportive environment). He's been happy with his decision, but also I have heard that a great deal of their class tends to specialize/sub-specialize
 
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This whole "primary care school" designation is pretty mysterious to me. Despite Cornell not having a reputation for primary care in this online community, my experience is that it has a busy primary care practice staffed with excellent clinicians. Moreover, the department of medicine has a strong corps of clinicians and researchers dedicated to clinical research in primary care and preventative medicine. The school has rotation sites in multiple underserved areas of the city, and besides that a large proportion of the patient population coming through the primary care practice is low-income/socially vulnerable.

If you want to focus on primary care then it's on you to prioritize primary care during your time at medical school. Whatever the rest of the student body is doing is not so important.
 
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GnothiSeauton said:
This whole "primary care school" designation is pretty mysterious to me. Despite Cornell not having a reputation for primary care in this online community, my experience is that it has a busy primary care practice staffed with excellent clinicians. Moreover, the department of medicine has a strong corps of clinicians and researchers dedicated to clinical research in primary care and preventative medicine. The school has rotation sites in multiple underserved areas of the city, and besides that a large proportion of the patient population coming through the primary care practice is low-income/socially vulnerable.

If you want to focus on primary care then it's on you to prioritize primary care during your time at medical school. Whatever the rest of the student body is doing is not so important.
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Yes, while all the points you bring up are absolutely true, I do think there is something to be said when a large portion of your classmates/class (more than other schools) tend to pursue certain areas of study. It may be a function of the students there or the type of curriculum/culture the Cornell admin and faculty breed, but nonetheless that's the environment OP wants to know about when choosing schools. Almost every school in the entire nation can set you up for success in PC and have robust PC affiliate programs, but OP may be looking for a particular environment or "better fit" school.

I really do think that this comes down to if you're willing to pay a higher price tag for a bump in perceived prestige or are just looking for a change of pace/new scene for med school. Also, if you happen to change your mind in terms of specialty choice or are ever interested in academic medicine, I think that may be an added benefit to choosing Cornell. Neither school will hold you back from your goals in any way, congrats on the amazing opportunity my friend

Best of luck on your decision OP! And if you can, keep us posted 😉
 
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GnothiSeauton said:
This whole "primary care school" designation is pretty mysterious to me. Despite Cornell not having a reputation for primary care in this online community, my experience is that it has a busy primary care practice staffed with excellent clinicians. Moreover, the department of medicine has a strong corps of clinicians and researchers dedicated to clinical research in primary care and preventative medicine. The school has rotation sites in multiple underserved areas of the city, and besides that a large proportion of the patient population coming through the primary care practice is low-income/socially vulnerable.

If you want to focus on primary care then it's on you to prioritize primary care during your time at medical school. Whatever the rest of the student body is doing is not so important.
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I agree to a degree with you, but there's something to be said for the fact that UCSD at least has a Department of Family Medicine and Public Health whereas Cornell does not have a Family Medicine dept...and from having spoken with many students they do tend to agree that PC is not a focus of the school.

Cornell is an excellent institution *but* it is of my opinion that UCSD may have have more to offer in the primary care sector. And that's not a slight at Cornell at all, as UCSD is a fantastic institution as well.
 
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I think the real decision is do you want to be in San Diego or NYC.

I would mostly agree at that UCSD has more of a primary care emphasis as it is a state school and part of its mandated mission (and funding) is to provide primary care physicians for the state of California.

I would definitely say that if for residency you want to stay on the west coast UCSD will have an advantage and if you want to be in the NE/NYC then Cornell will have the advantage.
 
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