Case (with money) vs UCLA vs UVA

[CCLCMer]

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3. But...but...it's so fun to watch a former bodybuilder-turned-actor, a porn star and the founder of Hustler battle it out for the state's highest office!

You've totally got me there. I gracefully cede this point to you.

4. Personally, I don't know of anyone who has gone under the knife. Maybe the people you are referring to are Barbie and Ken dolls? (Hehe)

Way to burst my stereotyping bubble. 🙁

5. Haven't you heard of the California secession movement? Get on that!! There have been hilarious things I've read on the Internet. It's where I learned that 1 in 7 people in the US live in CA and if CA were its own country, it would have the 7th largest economy in the world.

So wait....are people actually trying to prevent CA from seceding, and if so, why? 😕

On an interesting note, did you know there is a guy who paints the Golden Gate Bridge from one end to the other, then immediately goes back and starts again because it takes 6+ months each time?

I've heard the White House is like that too. Hey, it's not easy keeping that place all white!

(I'm making this very hard for the OP to leave CA, aren't I?

ClarKent has already said multiple times that he's not from CA, so no, you won't make it hard for him to leave somewhere that he isn't.

Hey, I mentioned I was OOS for both UVA and UCLA.

I'm from CT

I mean, I don't know how some dirty East coaster could have gotten into a West coast school either, but somehow he slipped through the cracks.

And I wonder if I'll change my mind once I live in another state for a couple years. Cleveland, don't disappoint me!)

Stranger things have happened. 😉

 

[IHeartSleep]

So wait....are people actually trying to prevent CA from seceding, and if so, why? 😕

🙁 Stupid US government. I bet it's because they want to have a nice even number of stars on the flag. Bring on Puerto Rico, geez. 😛 Next time you want a high-end laptop, want to watch the latest and greatest movie or cringe/delight at hearing "hella," be sure to thank California!

I hope none of the Case/CCLCM people don't think of me as "that California kid" come July. I swear I'm not like this in real life.

ClarKent has already said multiple times that he's not from CA, so no, you won't make it hard for him to leave somewhere that he isn't.

Hard to remember from all of these Case vs. X School threads. There's my excuse.

And to get back to the original topic, I think OP should go to Case. It's a great school, people know about it (the doctors here in CA have heard of Case, and I imagine East Coast doctors have heard of UCLA) and you can't beat the cost. UCLA is great, Westwood is awesome and Santa Monica beach is a quick bus ride down, but living in grad housing over in Weyburn will cost you a pretty penny ($1000+/mo) and as an OOS student, you probably don't want to be $200k in debt.

 

[Myuu]

🙁 Stupid US government. I bet it's because they want to have a nice even number of stars on the flag. Bring on Puerto Rico, geez. 😛 Next time you want a high-end laptop, want to watch the latest and greatest movie or cringe/delight at hearing "hella," be sure to thank California!

I hope none of the Case/CCLCM people don't think of me as "that California kid" come July. I swear I'm not like this in real life.



Hard to remember from all of these Case vs. X School threads. There's my excuse.

And to get back to the original topic, I think OP should go to Case. It's a great school, people know about it (the doctors here in CA have heard of Case, and I imagine East Coast doctors have heard of UCLA) and you can't beat the cost. UCLA is great, Westwood is awesome and Santa Monica beach is a quick bus ride down, but living in grad housing over in Weyburn will cost you a pretty penny ($1000+/mo) and as an OOS student, you probably don't want to be $200k in debt.

That California kid? You do know that the Cali contingent is the largest regional subpopulation in the class of 2013, right?

 

[justinbaily]

This thread went off in a weird direction.

 

[vc7777]

IHeart,

We've got you covered in the Midwest. As the Michigander on the thread, I offer you the Mackinac (pronounced Mack-In-Awe) Bridge: It is a perfectly lovely and impressive suspension bridge within driving distance of Case. "The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge with two towers between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere".

Mackinac Length (between anchors): 8,614 feet
Golden Gate Length (between anchors): 4,200 feet

UCLA to Golden Gate: 344 miles, 6.5 hrs away and one toll road.
Case to Mackinac Bridge: 445 miles, 7.1 hrs away and one toll road.

UCLA wins slightly on commute, Case wins on bridge size.
So if you are concerned about suspension-bridge-suicide-convenience factor I think UCLA and Case are a wash.

 

[Myuu]

...

 

[IHeartSleep]

That California kid? You do know that the Cali contingent is the largest regional subpopulation in the class of 2013, right?

But I probably act like the biggest fan-person of California on here.

and lol @ vc7777. I look forward to being your classmate.

 

[CCLCMer]

This thread went off in a weird direction.

This thread went off in an awesome direction. It's the most entertaining Case versus X thread in the whole forum.

So, ClarKent, what did you decide? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[vc7777]

Yes Clark!

You are now obligated to inform us of your (and your gf's) decision(s)!

 

[ClarKent]

I want to be the first to welcome you to the Dark Side.

Seriously, ClarKent, you should come to Case. It's a lot cheaper, it's P/F, it's closer to your family, and your girlfriend can come with you. What more could you want? 😀

The dark side...you mean join Lex Luther....nevvvveerrr...okay maybe.

Well assuming no other merit aid, AND your GF got the same merit aid at Case? Did I read that correctly?

I think it is a double no-brainer. ClarKent needs to stay behind, give up his superpowers (UCLA) and marry (go to the same school as) Lois Lane - a la Superman II - the 1980 movie...$200k is a heck of a lot of money to turn down regardless what school you two would end up at.

I don't know why Fluffy and I can't have a beer with you after the white-coat ceremony in July...both of you!
EDIT: ...and Meat and CCLCMer...and Myuu...can't have a drink of choice with you two in July...

Haha yeah she got the same scholarship. I think its pretty much case closed if you know what I mean.

 

[vc7777]

The dark side...you mean join Lex Luther....nevvvveerrr...okay maybe.



Haha yeah she got the same scholarship. I think its pretty much case closed if you know what I mean.

👍😍

 

[Myuu]

See you in July.😉

 

[exeunt]

i'm from ca, and i love ca, but i actually didn't want to stay here for med school (ended up doing so just bc it's how it worked out), definitely trying to go back east for residency/internship 🙂 ca is great, but there are so many other great places too.. why limit yourself?

 

[vc7777]

i'm from ca, and i love ca, but i actually didn't want to stay here for med school (ended up doing so just bc it's how it worked out), definitely trying to go back east for residency/internship 🙂 ca is great, but there are so many other great places too.. why limit yourself?

Cool! 👍 Good luck! See the world if you can!

 

[bamtuba]

OP, just to throw another idea at you, what did you think of each school's educational philosophy? Do they each really seem to follow what they tout as their "mission?"

I don't know much about these particular schools, but I know that just looking at how each of my schools taught the material, and more specifically what each did to tangibly help its students, helped narrow my decision down very quickly.

P/F is one quick way to do that, but there are other intagibles that can help you understand just how much the school administration will support you throughout your med school career. How visible were the deans of each? On what did they focus? Did you notice how the "lower level" staff were treated? Did they seem happy?

One of the quickest ways to know how people are treated in general by those in charge is to find out stuff like this. When I was teaching I found that there was (from my experience) a very high correlation between the happiness of the office staff and the way people were treated by those in charge. You may see happy students on interview day, or heck even on SDN, but are those students typical of the overall student population of the school or just those favored by what could be an otherwise uncaring administration? I doubt any of the schools you mentioned have any severe issues in this area, but there are differing levels of "student support" and they are really pretty easy to figure out if you know for what to look.

This may seem like completely random advice, but seriously, look back on each interview day with this type of thing in mind. It may help you to define the "vibe" each school gave you. You might be surprised at just how important something like this can be when you are away from your support system for the next four years and the going starts to get tough.

 

[IDoIt4Love]

my God people, Case is in Cleveland, it's not like it's out in the sticks or in the ghetto! calm down!

i don't think this is a hard decision at all. Case is an awesome school and will certainly not *keep* you from getting accepted into any residency you choose. plus, the location only matters so much...it's not like you're gonna have all this extra time on your hands to sight see and go clubbing. Case is basically saying "I'll pay you $100,000 to go to my top-tier school over a couple other top-tier schools." How do you say no to that? Plus, even with the location argument, Charlottesville's even smaller and less eventful than Cleveland, so hoping to be in a better place when you're at UVA is silly.

Med school's expensive enough. So long as you know you wouldn't *hate* being at Case, go there!

 

[vc7777]

Decision Day! I hope you made the right Choice Clark!

 

[justinbaily]

my God people, Case is in Cleveland, it's not like it's out in the sticks or in the ghetto! calm down!

i don't think this is a hard decision at all. Case is an awesome school and will certainly not *keep* you from getting accepted into any residency you choose. plus, the location only matters so much...it's not like you're gonna have all this extra time on your hands to sight see and go clubbing. Case is basically saying "I'll pay you $100,000 to go to my top-tier school over a couple other top-tier schools." How do you say no to that? Plus, even with the location argument, Charlottesville's even smaller and less eventful than Cleveland, so hoping to be in a better place when you're at UVA is silly.

Med school's expensive enough. So long as you know you wouldn't *hate* being at Case, go there!

I agree that, based on his scholarship, the OP should attend Case. I would like to point out, though, that people define "a better place" differently. I would personally prefer to be in Charlottesville during medical school than in Cleveland.

 

[flip26]

I agree that, based on his scholarship, the OP should attend Case. I would like to point out, though, that people define "a better place" differently. I would personally prefer to be in Charlottesville during medical school than in Cleveland.

No kidding.

Last night I went to a Brian Regan comedy show - sold out crowd in a 1000+ seat theater - laughed so hard I cried.

In recent years, I have seen U2, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John right here in C'ville - Lady Gaga is coming in September.

For such a small town, Charlottesville has more going on per capita than most large cities.

 

[ClarKent]

Decision Day! I hope you made the right Choice Clark!

Yup I have! 😎

 

[vc7777]

😀 See you in a couple of months, eh? 👍

 

[ApoK]

No kidding.

Last night I went to a Brian Regan comedy show - sold out crowd in a 1000+ seat theater - laughed so hard I cried.

In recent years, I have seen U2, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John right here in C'ville - Lady Gaga is coming in September.

For such a small town, Charlottesville has more going on per capita than most large cities.

Yeah... what a selling point... 😛

 

[Myuu]

Lady Gaga's coming to Cleveland, you know. Too bad the show sold out in 20 minutes.

God, do I hate Charlottesville.

 

[flip26]

Yeah... what a selling point... 😛

Obviously you missed the point...

 

[Myuu]

Lady Gaga's coming to Cleveland, you know. Too bad the show sold out in 20 minutes.

God, do I hate Charlottesville.

I totally take that back! (Not the hating Charlottesville bit.)

Just scored tickets to see Lady Gaga in The Cleve in July!!!😱😱

 

[drizzt3117]

Just for the record, ca isn't an incredible place to practice medicine. It has high associated costs and relatively low salaries relative to col.

I'd imagine the op has already decided something though so all this is gratitutious.

1. Yes, living in CA is expensive, but a) salaries are higher here on average, and b) it makes for vacations over to other states or other countries very nice. 😉

2. Eh, Illinois has a higher sales tax. At least when I do sales tax in my head, I can round down from 10% instead of up.

3. But...but...it's so fun to watch a former bodybuilder-turned-actor, a porn star and the founder of Hustler battle it out for the state's highest office!

4. Personally, I don't know of anyone who has gone under the knife. Maybe the people you are referring to are Barbie and Ken dolls? (Hehe)

5. Haven't you heard of the California secession movement? Get on that!! There have been hilarious things I've read on the Internet. It's where I learned that 1 in 7 people in the US live in CA and if CA were its own country, it would have the 7th largest economy in the world.

6. Eh, can't argue about the Golden Gate Bridge. I guess if you think about it, what is one famous structure in the U.S. that is suicide-able? I can't imagine it to be easy to jump off a dam or high tower because of the small area security needs to monitor. They've been making big changes to decrease suicides and I'm glad for all the suicide hotlines that are popping up. On an interesting note, did you know there is a guy who paints the Golden Gate Bridge from one end to the other, then immediately goes back and starts again because it takes 6+ months each time? He gets paid like $75k/year.

I would say NYC is probably the next best place, so I'm not totally 100% CA! Thank CA for your fresh veggies next time! 😀

(I'm making this very hard for the OP to leave CA, aren't I? And I wonder if I'll change my mind once I live in another state for a couple years. Cleveland, don't disappoint me!)

 

[Appless]

Just for the record, ca isn't an incredible place to practice medicine. It has high associated costs and relatively low salaries relative to col.

I'd imagine the op has already decided something though so all this is gratitutious.

exactly, im doing med school here only because it ended up being the cheapest i got into. For residency and beyond or at least when i become an attending im def going somewhere else where my salary would actually buy something.

 

[ClarKent]

Guys we have to start over because me and her got in WashU today!

 

[justinbaily]

Why are the two of you in sync? Are you actually married? Was one of you already in at WashU before today, but not the other?

Edit: Oh I see in another thread that you're engaged. Makes sense now.

 

[vc7777]

 

[vc7777]

Finaid package? Do you know the cost of attendance yet?

 

[ClarKent]

Why are the two of you in sync? Are you actually married? Was one of you already in at WashU before today, but not the other?

Edit: Oh I see in another thread that you're engaged. Makes sense now.

Yup yes we are, and we made sure to make that clear in our recent LOIs to WashU. But anyways, I'm back where I started from, do you think I need a new thread, or do you think I should just go by my gut?

 

[ClarKent]

Finaid package? Do you know the cost of attendance yet?

Nope nothing yet. Didn't hand in my financial aid forms yet, didn't actually think I, I mean we, were going to get in. But we don't typically qualify for need-based, but maybe we'll get some merit???? 🙄

 

[naijaboi]

Finaid package? Do you know the cost of attendance yet?

+1. You mentioned that you would be ineligible for need-based scholarships. Does WashU give merit based scholarships to people who came off the waitlist?

Gut check: Is WashU worth an extra 100K in debt? If you first answer is yes, then go with WashU. Good luck choosing.

 

[vc7777]

+1. You mentioned that you would be ineligible for need-based scholarships. Does WashU give merit based scholarships to people who came off the waitlist?

Gut check: Is WashU worth an extra 100K in debt? If you first answer is yes, then go with WashU. Good luck choosing.

Finer point on this, NB: They BOTH received $100k scholarships...so double that number AND double the difference in CoA between the two places....

 

[Appless]

Nope nothing yet. Didn't hand in my financial aid forms yet, didn't actually think I, I mean we, were going to get in. But we don't typically qualify for need-based, but maybe we'll get some merit???? 🙄

wow dude thats a lot of extra debt to go into just to go to washu but regardless good luck. If you both wrote LOIs i dont mean to sound like an idiot but i think at that point arent you somewhat obligated to go to washu? I dont mean legally or something but im assuming in the LOI you wrote it was your number 1? Anyways good luck 🙂. Id still go with the case money assuming you both would be happy there. If you would be happier in washu and dont mind the debt well as im sure you two will be happy.

 

[naijaboi]

Finer point on this, NB: They BOTH received $100k scholarships...so double that number AND double the difference in CoA between the two places....

$200K is steep. I would be tempted to turn down even HMS for that price difference. WashU is an excellent school no doubt, but I don't see it opening any doors which Case can't (with a lil' bit extra hard work).

OP: It sounds like it is between WashU and Case. I would call both schools tomorrow and ask them to give you more time so you can receive and review WashU's financial aid package. I have been told that most schools are receptive to these kind of requests.

 

[vc7777]

$200K is steep. I would be tempted to turn down even HMS for that price difference. WashU is an excellent school no doubt, but I don't see it opening any doors which Case can't (with a lil' bit extra hard work).

OP: It sounds like it is between WashU and Case. I would call both schools tomorrow and ask them to give you more time so you can receive and review WashU's financial aid package. I have been told that most schools are receptive to these kind of requests.

+1 on all accounts.

I am biased, of course. But this ALOT of money.

As far as the LOI, you probably didn't know about the scholarships at Case at the time, did you? I think it is only fair that you take the cost into account. I don't think WashU will have trouble finding someone else to pay full price when you decline!

 

[ClarKent]

wow dude thats a lot of extra debt to go into just to go to washu but regardless good luck. If you both wrote LOIs i dont mean to sound like an idiot but i think at that point arent you somewhat obligated to go to washu? I dont mean legally or something but im assuming in the LOI you wrote it was your number 1? Anyways good luck 🙂. Id still go with the case money assuming you both would be happy there. If you would be happier in washu and dont mind the debt well as im sure you two will be happy.

Haha the Lois were actually before we got the case scholarships.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Finer point on this, NB: They BOTH received $100k scholarships...so double that number AND double the difference in CoA between the two places....

I don't think it's fair to double it because both of them are going to be working to pay that debt off. Two people taking on 200K of debt is functionally identical to a single person taking on 100K.

$200K is steep. I would be tempted to turn down even HMS for that price difference. WashU is an excellent school no doubt, but I don't see it opening any doors which Case can't (with a lil' bit extra hard work).

OP: It sounds like it is between WashU and Case. I would call both schools tomorrow and ask them to give you more time so you can receive and review WashU's financial aid package. I have been told that most schools are receptive to these kind of requests.

I will admit that I would take 100K more of debt to go to Harvard over Case. But that's because people are snobs in academia. 🙁 You could probably achieve the same things at Case if you worked hard enough, but I would pay 100K for that advantage.

This is after all, a personal decision - it depends on whether they have ugrad debt, their likely specialty choice, whether they want to do academia or private practice, and how much they liked the schools anyway. You'll have to decide what the difference between Case and WashU is worth to the two of you.

By the way, WashU's curriculum is as different from Case's as you can get, so I would think about that a fair bit, too.

 

[vc7777]

I don't think it's fair to double it because both of them are going to be working to pay that debt off. Two people taking on 200K of debt is functionally identical to a single person taking on 100K.

True, they will both be working off the debt - provided they both continue to work. For the most part I agree. But they will be getting married.

ClarKent, let's put you on the spot: do you intend on having a family? At what point? If so, do you expect to both continue to work full-time? You might not even know at this point. In fact, I may have just freaked you out. 😉

I am NOT assuming this is true, but you should factor that potential reduction in your future earnings and the impact on the total debt you will collectively incur.

 

[flip26]

Guys we have to start over because me and her got in WashU today!

So did WashU give you any leeway RE the May 15 deadline?

The $200k seems like an awful lot of debt to take on for 2 schools that seem pretty similar in terms of opportunity, etc.

 

[veaselhaufen]

MS1@ UCLA

I didnt read most of the other stuff above, but I think you're passing up an incredible opportunity if you want to stay in CA and you don't come to UCLA. I was sitting on the fence about many of the same schools you are considering and I waited until May 15 to make a decision. Granted, I may not share the same values as you, but coming to CA for med school was one of the best decisions I've ever made. UCLA medical school is an absolutely fantastic experience. Also:

1.YOU WILL GET INSTATE TUITION AT UCLA AFTER THE FIRST YEAR. IT IS NNNNNNNOOOTTTT HARD.

2. Something ridiculous like 80% of UCLA grads stay in California

Westwood is incredible, Los Angeles has so much to offer and I would hardly be surprised if you changed your perspective from wanting to do residency at UCSF to wanting to do your residency at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. It's just an incredible place to be. If you want to have an incredible experience at an incredible school, in an incredible location come here. If u want robots, pick Wash U. jkjkjkjkjkjk🙄

 

[vc7777]

Bump,

Clark: What's the game plan?

 

[ClarKent]

Hi everyone, it was a tough choice but due to certain recent developments money became less of an issue. It was really tough letting go of Case; the admissions staff, professors and students were all so friendly and amazing. I would have likely picked Case over UVA and UCLA even without money because of the extremely friendly atmosphere there. If we had only applied to CCLM and gotten in, there would be no way I would be picking anything else. So we ended up picking Washu, rendering this whole poll useless 😳.

Veaselhaufen, I was a big fan of the location/curriculum of UCLA, but was unfortunately very turned off by the extremely slow and highly bureaucratic admissions selection process at UCLA and by the disorganization I saw on my interview day. I took this to be indicative of the school in general (perhaps wrongfully).

 

[vc7777]

🙁

Too bad, Clark! You seem like a pretty cool guy! Good luck at WashU!

Thanks for the update! Take Care!