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- Apr 4, 2016
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I'm incredibly fortunate to have been accepted at two CA schools and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions as the decision day approaches. I've listed my pros and cons list below for both schools. Thanks for your input!
UC Davis
+ Opportunities to pursue health policy, health policy internship opportunities at the State Capitol
+ Strong focus on primary care and 7 student run free clinics. I really want to be involved with student run free clinics and UCD has an awesome network of student run free clinics, all with very diverse patient populations
+ Hospital is across the street from the med school, which might make shadowing and research opportunities more accessible
+ Based on interview day/revisit weekend, the Deans and school leadership seem to really care about student input and be more hands on about student wellness
+ Students seemed more laid back and the class seemed more close knit to me during the interview day
+ True P/F pre-clinical curriculum (fosters collaborative environment) whereas UCI has H/P/F for the second year
+ Strong sense of community amongst classmates, similar community oriented students
- 6 weeks of time dedicated to Step 1 (UCI has 8)
- MS2 year starts in early July, so this conflicts with some of the MS1 research fellowships I thinking about applying for during the MS1 summer. MS1 summer is also shorter at UCD.
- From SoCal and would prefer OC to Sacramento.
- Prefer graduate housing/apartment environment at UC Irvine than living in separate houses at UCD
- Main gym is on the UCD undergrad campus (~20 mins away). Mini gym by UCD Hospital is ok, but would prefer main gym
UC Irvine
+ Have center dedicated to urban health disparities research, which I'm interested in (though UCD might also have urban health disparities research opportunities?)
+ iMed curriculum and opportunities to explore technology and medicine
+ Lots of electives and selectives (medical Spanish, medical narratives, social medicine, etc.)
+ Want to do residency in SoCal. Also more familiar with Vietnamese/Latino patient population in OC and would want to work with this patient population in the future (though UCD also has sizable Vietnamese/Latino patient population)
+ Family/support system is nearby (also went to college in SoCal) and would be a 20-30 min drive away
+ On campus graduate housing options, main gym is across the street from graduate housing
+ From SoCal, prefer Irvine/OC to Sacramento, could see myself enjoying lifestyle at UCI more
+ 8 weeks of time dedicated to Step 1
+ 8 weeks of MS1 summer, plenty of time to do research and have a mini break/vacation
- H/P/F grading for second year, first two years are internally ranked. This might foster a more competitive and stressful environment
- UC Irvine Med Center is 20 min drive away from med school
- Slightly more expensive because cost of living at UCI > UCD (~$10,000 difference over 4 years, so it's not a huge consideration in the context of $200,000 in cost of attendance)
UC Davis
+ Opportunities to pursue health policy, health policy internship opportunities at the State Capitol
+ Strong focus on primary care and 7 student run free clinics. I really want to be involved with student run free clinics and UCD has an awesome network of student run free clinics, all with very diverse patient populations
+ Hospital is across the street from the med school, which might make shadowing and research opportunities more accessible
+ Based on interview day/revisit weekend, the Deans and school leadership seem to really care about student input and be more hands on about student wellness
+ Students seemed more laid back and the class seemed more close knit to me during the interview day
+ True P/F pre-clinical curriculum (fosters collaborative environment) whereas UCI has H/P/F for the second year
+ Strong sense of community amongst classmates, similar community oriented students
- 6 weeks of time dedicated to Step 1 (UCI has 8)
- MS2 year starts in early July, so this conflicts with some of the MS1 research fellowships I thinking about applying for during the MS1 summer. MS1 summer is also shorter at UCD.
- From SoCal and would prefer OC to Sacramento.
- Prefer graduate housing/apartment environment at UC Irvine than living in separate houses at UCD
- Main gym is on the UCD undergrad campus (~20 mins away). Mini gym by UCD Hospital is ok, but would prefer main gym
UC Irvine
+ Have center dedicated to urban health disparities research, which I'm interested in (though UCD might also have urban health disparities research opportunities?)
+ iMed curriculum and opportunities to explore technology and medicine
+ Lots of electives and selectives (medical Spanish, medical narratives, social medicine, etc.)
+ Want to do residency in SoCal. Also more familiar with Vietnamese/Latino patient population in OC and would want to work with this patient population in the future (though UCD also has sizable Vietnamese/Latino patient population)
+ Family/support system is nearby (also went to college in SoCal) and would be a 20-30 min drive away
+ On campus graduate housing options, main gym is across the street from graduate housing
+ From SoCal, prefer Irvine/OC to Sacramento, could see myself enjoying lifestyle at UCI more
+ 8 weeks of time dedicated to Step 1
+ 8 weeks of MS1 summer, plenty of time to do research and have a mini break/vacation
- H/P/F grading for second year, first two years are internally ranked. This might foster a more competitive and stressful environment
- UC Irvine Med Center is 20 min drive away from med school
- Slightly more expensive because cost of living at UCI > UCD (~$10,000 difference over 4 years, so it's not a huge consideration in the context of $200,000 in cost of attendance)
