Baylor vs Duke vs UCSF

[applicant2785]

The TLDR here is that I received a full scholarship to Baylor, and I think I would be crazy to turn that down. However, Duke and UCSF are dream schools and it feels impossible to say no to them. I hope to match into a competitive specialty (most likely ophthalmology).

Baylor:
Pros:
- $100k scholarship
- close to family / SO
- wonderful program with an insane medical center and thus ample access to research, mentorship, etc
- P/F pre-clinical
- 14 month pre-clinical
- really enjoyed my interview day and vibes of everyone I interacted with were 10/10
- seems like the school really supports you and wants you to succeed (ease you in the first semester, allow you to take exams twice, etc)
- lower cost of living

Cons:
- not P/F clinicals
- large class size (186)
- potential to be placed in Temple instead of Houston (if this happened, I think I would go to Duke/UCSF)
- no desire to live in Houston

Duke:
Pros:
- P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- entire year dedicated to research (would alleviate the stress of needing to do research during other years in order to match into competitive specialty)
- I love Durham and NC
- I went to Duke and am very comfortable with the campus, hospital system, have connections there, etc
- all of the med students / faculty I have worked with from Duke are lovely
- really incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #4)
- prestige
- smaller class size (110)
- lower cost of living

Cons:
- extremely expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- Durham is not as big or diverse as Houston / SF, and I am not sure how that affects what we see during clinicals
- far from family / SO

UCSF:
Pros:
- completely P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- clear emphasis on serving the underserved and SF's community, which is important to me
- preclinicals is 18 months
- incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #7)
- prestige
- SF would be a cool place to live
- 12 - 20 weeks dedicated to research project
- access to insane research and big emphasis on patient care

Cons:
- expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- high cost of living
- I am quite intimidated by the thought of living in SF
- far from family / SO
- bigger class (167)

I know it seems crazy to even be considering going somewhere else when I have a full scholarship to Baylor, but Duke and UCSF are both completely P/F and would make matching into a competitive specialty at a renowned institution easier. These two things are really important to me as well, so I am torn. Please help a girl out

EDIT: learned that Baylor is now P/F for all four years as well, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I am slightly concerned that they do not have the same level of prestige as other schools who do this (Duke and UCSF being 2 of those), which could be a problem, but maybe I am wrong about that

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[burneracc]

One thing I would like to add if I am remembering right, I believe Baylor is P/F all 4 years as well.

As far as the cost, like you said its impossible to put a price on your own well-being. Given the minor-moderate difference in prestige between Baylor and UCSF/ Duke, matching from either of them may be easier, meaning your life in med school could be easier. Living somewhere you dont want to live would also obviously be exhausting.

Another consideration is where you want to practice in the future, as many residency programs tend to have preference within their regions (obviously not all though, and at schools like UCSF and Duke you have a good chance of matching pretty much anywhere).

Im also an applicant this year, so take this with a grain of salt and defer to the advice of the real experts. However, in my perspective, the additional cost would be worth it based on your pros and cons, especially considering that you want to go into a more competitive/ higher paying field.

 

[applicant2785]

One thing I would like to add if I am remembering right, I believe Baylor is P/F all 4 years as well.

As far as the cost, like you said its impossible to put a price on your own well-being. Given the minor-moderate difference in prestige between Baylor and UCSF/ Duke, matching from either of them may be easier, meaning your life in med school could be easier. Living somewhere you dont want to live would also obviously be exhausting.

Another consideration is where you want to practice in the future, as many residency programs tend to have preference within their regions (obviously not all though, and at schools like UCSF and Duke you have a good chance of matching pretty much anywhere).

Im also an applicant this year, so take this with a grain of salt and defer to the advice of the real experts. However, in my perspective, the additional cost would be worth it based on your pros and cons, especially considering that you want to go into a more competitive/ higher paying field.

Thank you for your feedback! If I understand correctly, Baylor uses the honors/high pass/ pass/ marginal pass / fail system for clinicals, which essentially means it is graded

 

[applicant2785]

Thank you for your feedback! If I understand correctly, Baylor uses the honors/high pass/ pass/ marginal pass / fail system for clinicals, which essentially means it is graded

Never mind I just asked someone and they did just switch to pass/fail for clinicals as well - thank you so much for letting me know!

 

[Bonehead11]

Could you potentially try and negotiate using your full-ride as leverage? BCM has a pretty good name, so maybe other schools would like to retain you from another highly ranked program?

Would you be able to find out about the campus placement prior to when you need to commit to a school?

 

[wysdoc]

Could you potentially try and negotiate using your full-ride as leverage? BCM has a pretty good name, so maybe other schools would like to retain you from another highly ranked program?

Would you be able to find out about the campus placement prior to when you need to commit to a school?

Campus assignments at Baylor are made after you accept the offer.
However, an applicant also holding some OOS acceptances could know their assignment before the AMCAS April 30 deadline, and so could factor that into their choice

 

[applicant2785]

Could you potentially try and negotiate using your full-ride as leverage? BCM has a pretty good name, so maybe other schools would like to retain you from another highly ranked program?

Would you be able to find out about the campus placement prior to when you need to commit to a school?

Yes, I will try to do this even though I am not totally sure how to go about it. Does anyone have any advice on how to negotiate tuition costs / scholarships?

and yes - I submitted my campus preference form and will know my BCM placement on March 15

 

[MercifulCamper]

Yes, I will try to do this even though I am not totally sure how to go about it. Does anyone have any advice on how to negotiate tuition costs / scholarships?

and yes - I submitted my campus preference form and will know my BCM placement on March 15

UCSF is gonna be tough to negotiate with. I tried with a full scholarship from UTSW last year and they didn't really budge. They did give me some money but it was before I even reached out to them about UTSW. UCSF notoriously does not give the best aid but it also has a cheaper tuition than most places. However, the cost of living here is quite high. I don't know about Duke. I did not apply there. Some schools are more flexible than others - usually the more flexible ones are the private schools not the state schools.

Just send both schools the award letter (so they know officially you actually did get a scholarship) and say hey if you can match free tuition I would love to come to your school. Don't send it if there is zero chance you are going to go there out of respect for other students because they may allocate you aid that could have gone to another person that actually will go.

Reach out if you have questions about UCSF as I made a similar decision as you and ended up leaving the money on the table at Baylor and UTSW.

 

[applicant2785]

UCSF is gonna be tough to negotiate with. I tried with a full scholarship from UTSW last year and they didn't really budge. They did give me some money but it was before I even reached out to them about UTSW. UCSF notoriously does not give the best aid but it also has a cheaper tuition than most places. However, the cost of living here is quite high. I don't know about Duke. I did not apply there. Some schools are more flexible than others - usually the more flexible ones are the private schools not the state schools.

Just send both schools the award letter (so they know officially you actually did get a scholarship) and say hey if you can match free tuition I would love to come to your school. Don't send it if there is zero chance you are going to go there out of respect for other students because they may allocate you aid that could have gone to another person that actually will go.

Reach out if you have questions about UCSF as I made a similar decision as you and ended up leaving the money on the table at Baylor and UTSW.

Thank you this is extremely helpful

 

[ByThe+C]

UCSF and easily match Duke for residency.

Edit: IIRC, Duke has H/HP/P/F for 4th year rotations.

 

[deleted1065184]

You can match any specialty from Baylor. If you don't match, it won't be because you went to Baylor instead of UCSF or Duke lol. You will regret passing up all that money. Now that you know Baylor is pass/fail for clerkships, there's truly no reason to consider anywhere else. You know the right answer. Good luck.

 

[Kracin]

Went to Baylor for med school. Now I’m in San Francisco for residency. Loved my time at baylor, Houston is relatively affordable — especially compared to SF. Proximity to family is important.

With scholarship considerations, i would go baylor

 

[drstrangelove22]

UCSF certainly has the best reputation of the 3, but the full scholarship is hard to argue with. I would try to envision yourself living in each city/region, talk with family, and go with your gut.

 

[cn9hbl]

Baylor. A T20 on a full scholarship with PF preclinicals AND clinicals is impossible to beat. Not to mention BCM has a top 10 ophthal program year in and year out. What’s not to love?!

 

[MercifulCamper]

Baylor. A T20 on a full scholarship with PF preclinicals AND clinicals is impossible to beat. Not to mention BCM has a top 10 ophthal program year in and year out. What’s not to love?!

Yeah the only thing holding Baylor back is the possibility of being placed in Temple, Texas for all of med school instead of Houston, which according to OP's pros/cons is very undesirable. OP will have a much clearer picture after they get their campus placement in mid March.

 

[kath00]

Wait I thought Duke was P/F all 4 years? So 4th year is not? Looking at similar choices and this would be a big bummer.

 

[Angler]

Wait I thought Duke was P/F all 4 years? So 4th year is not? Looking at similar choices and this would be a big bummer.

ERAS should be completed very early in M4 year, so even if not P/F, this would be only a little bummer.