Another damn "Vs" thread... your thoughts

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SeventhSon

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WashU vs. UCSD.

I am a cali resident. I THINK i want to do internal medicine, but i really want to do it at a UWashington-UCSF type place. I didn't mind St. Louis but it's damn hard to leave san diego. Don't have finanical aid info from UCSD yet.

I hate the curriculum at both.... too much class, but all the yale-type schools showed me no love, so this is what i'm left with.

I saw the 2005 matchlist for washU, does anyone have the 2006 one?

this is really stressing me out. I'm literally 50/50. any suggestions?
 
Intern here...go where you'll be the most comfortable personally for the next 4 years such that you'll be able to make the most out of your 4 years and it will make a difference in how you perform in med school. No doubt Wash U will not hurt you in any way in terms of returning to the west coast for residency, so if you are interested in trying out a new experience for 4 years go for it. but if you aren't up for it, and feel happy in southern california, ucsd is plugged into west coast programs and thus it will do you just fine.

also, internal medicine is not something where you neccessarily have to be at a particular place to get to know certain people in the field because it is so broad and not super competitive. you still should strive to do well though, and if you are in the top 50% of your class at either place than you'll perform extremely well come match time.

best,
worriedwell

SeventhSon said:
WashU vs. UCSD.

I am a cali resident. I THINK i want to do internal medicine, but i really want to do it at a UWashington-UCSF type place. I didn't mind St. Louis but it's damn hard to leave san diego. Don't have finanical aid info from UCSD yet.

I hate the curriculum at both.... too much class, but all the yale-type schools showed me no love, so this is what i'm left with.

I saw the 2005 matchlist for washU, does anyone have the 2006 one?

this is really stressing me out. I'm literally 50/50. any suggestions?
 
UCSD

You're a cali resident. State tuition!!!
It's best for your residency goals.
I guess San Diego > St. Louis (I was never in either city. What were your impressions?)
Within the top 20 or so med schools, prestige is all the same caliber.
 
SeventhSon said:
WashU vs. UCSD.

I am a cali resident. I THINK i want to do internal medicine, but i really want to do it at a UWashington-UCSF type place. I didn't mind St. Louis but it's damn hard to leave san diego. Don't have finanical aid info from UCSD yet.

I hate the curriculum at both.... too much class, but all the yale-type schools showed me no love, so this is what i'm left with.

I saw the 2005 matchlist for washU, does anyone have the 2006 one?

this is really stressing me out. I'm literally 50/50. any suggestions?


consider all factors and weigh them according to your preference

ask yourself what you are specifically looking for not only in a school

you have two great choices...but one school will stand out more than the other depending on with what you are truly trying to get involved and what you are trying to experience

good luck...you have 7 days
 
Go instate. It's not like your state school is bad or anything, it's up there, ok, maybe not "top 5 med school" WashU but UCSD is still very good and you won't be in so much debt. Besides, how can you give up Southern Cali weather?!

I think either school will get you into prestigeous residency so it really comes down to cost and weather (which UCSD would win hands down).
 
riceman04 said:
consider all factors and weigh them according to your preference

ask yourself what you are specifically looking for not only in a school

you have two great choices...but one school will stand out more than the other depending on with what you are truly trying to get involved and what you are trying to experience

good luck...you have 7 days

In terms of prestige, I would say Wash U 100%. From what I have heard from 4 of my friends who are now in their first and second year at UCSD, they are not happy. In fact, I called one of them earlier this afternoon and he was so depressed. Basically, he told me they have exams every Monday plus quizzes and what not.

If I were in your place, I would go to Wash U since if you later decide to go into a more competitive residency, you might get an upper hand (everything eles equal). But that's just my opinion.
 
7th,

Congratulations, you just got the award for least irritating vs. thread ever.

For what it's worth, usnews residency director scores for the two shake out as follows:
WashU: 4.4 (there are 5 schools with a higher score, and 2, including WashU, with a 4.4)
UCSD: 4.0 (there are 16 schools with a higher score, and 6, including UCSD, with a 4.0)


Oh, and yes, I know I'm supposed to be on SDN hiatus, but someone pmed me😛 and I caved.
 
I was born and raised in San Diego, i'm currently an undergrad at Wash U, and I interviewed at both schools this year, so i think i have a pretty good feel for both schools and cities 😎

Aside from financial aid and other personal considerations I think Wash U would be the better choice. First of all, St. Louis is really not a bad city to live, i enjoyed my time at undergrad and there are plenty of things to do despite being landlocked :laugh: San Diego is an amazing city, but since you've already been there for undergrad a change of pace can be nice. Next, Wash U Is IMHO a better school. I think there is a significant difference in reputation/prestige/matchlist/quality of students/resources between those schools, despite what others might think. The last, and i think most important, reason why i would chose Wash U over UCSD if i were in your shoes is student happiness. In both of my interviews at those schools i really tried to ask a lot of students about what they liked/disliked about their school (including students that weren't helping with admissions!). While some Wash U students thought the second year of med school was a lot tougher because they were graded, I felt they were overall much happier and had more free time. I know there are lots of rumors about UCSD being competitive and students being unhappy. I dont think it's true that they are "competitive", but the archaic traditional cirriculum, long lecture hours, weekly tests etc really seemed to make students more stressed, overworked and in some cases regretful of their decision to attend UCSD

PM me if you have any specific questions and good luck with your decision 👍
 
it SOUNDS like you love san diego and if you hate the curriculum at both places, you might as well stay in a location that you like more. plus, unless Wash U calculated your efc to be in the negative, SD's definitely going to be cheaper for you.

so it all boils down to staying in sunny socal and more money saved vs. the prestige of wash u when applying for residency (whatever that means).

it's quite a decision that you've got there, but i'm sure you'll make the best one for yourself. just think it over carefully during the next week and enjoy the last week of having time to choose, before you have to put on the ball and chain. 😉
 
i'd go SD. southern cali, cheaper tuition, and a great institution. you're gonna be with the top of the top either way, and it's not too difficult to land a good internal med spot at a good research institution. think about the moola.
-mota
 
SeventhSon said:
WashU vs. UCSD.

I am a cali resident. I THINK i want to do internal medicine, but i really want to do it at a UWashington-UCSF type place. I didn't mind St. Louis but it's damn hard to leave san diego. Don't have finanical aid info from UCSD yet.

I hate the curriculum at both.... too much class, but all the yale-type schools showed me no love, so this is what i'm left with.

I saw the 2005 matchlist for washU, does anyone have the 2006 one?

this is really stressing me out. I'm literally 50/50. any suggestions?


Someone posted the WashU 2006 Match List on the Wash U Class of 2010 thread in pre-allo as a link.

Also keep in mind when evaluating the Wash U match list that MD/PhD's will often get their first or second choices in residency (meaning many of the "best" residencies on their list will go to MD/PhDs) and they have ~30 in the class, which makes is a pretty sizable portion of the match list. Just something to consider.

You def. have one of the hardest decisions I've seen on here...I don't know much about UCSD, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I'd probably say SD because it's a fantastic instate option (and WashU is especially expensive...what's up w/just tuition being 42 grand next year??). Also remember that there is a regional bias in getting residencies, so if you want to match @ UCSF or UW, it's probably more likely to happen from UCSD than from Wash U. HOwever, that could be balanced out by Wash U's slightly better name within the world of academic medicine. They are both difficult places to say no to--congrats!
 
I just got back from St. Louis and I spent part of my day hangin out at WashU/BJC and all I have to say is... wow. That place is freaking amazing! I do not envy you for having to make this decision (and soon too).
 
personally i'd pick washu, but if you're 100% sure that you'll be doing IM (i'm sure no one is 100% sure about anything; besides we're not even in med school yet anyway...) you'd def. be better off at UCSD.
 
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