[deleted]

[1996-]

Edit: Thank you! I’ve decided.

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[meronebib]

Looking at the thread title only I would say definitely UCLA. However, reading your points, it seems that you have many more reasons to stay at NJMS. You want to be near your family. It’s cheaper. You’re looking at primary care. And you want to be on the east coast. UCLA would be a unique experience for you, but for your future goals, I don’t think going there will provide much benefit over NJMS. This is, of course, assuming your goals don’t change while you’re in medical school (which is very possible).

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

Prestige shouldn't matter for FM or IM unless you're trying to do IM and then subspecialize. Otherwise, I'm sure you would have no issue matching somewhere on the east coast going either route but it seems like NJMS would be the better fit overall and you would be saving money.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Since your plan is to stay in NJ and do primary care , no point of spending extra money to go to UCLA. Most match regionally so better to go NJMS and establish regional connections.

 

[crimson-cat]

If you're at all interested in policy or academic work, I would push for LA. You may also get to medical school and discover you're still passionate about underserved populations and health systems, but primary care is not for you, which is extremely common in my experience. Prestige does matter for IM residencies, and the top IM residencies tend to also be the ones with the funding to allow their students to do innovative community work and/or obtain second degrees (MPP,MPH,MBA, etc..), and this experiene would help when you come back to NJ as a healthcare leader. Training across county hospitals in the area and seeing highly specialized cases at UCLA would also be a pretty fantastic opportunity.

That all being said, I think the biggest factor you should take into account is family. It'll definitely be hard missing moments in your siblings life, and it could be difficult being so far away from your support. On the flip side, it could be nice to not be expected to be around home all the time as a busy med student. Also, remember that whatever you choose you are setting an example for the young siblings. You'll have to decide if you think it's more important to be there in person now (as opposed to via skype), or to demonstrate that it's okay to leave the nest in pursuit of your dreams.

 

[1996-]

If you're at all interested in policy or academic work, I would push for LA. You may also get to medical school and discover you're still passionate about underserved populations and health systems, but primary care is not for you, which is extremely common in my experience. Prestige does matter for IM residencies, and the top IM residencies tend to also be the ones with the funding to allow their students to do innovative community work and/or obtain second degrees (MPP,MPH,MBA, etc..), and this experiene would help when you come back to NJ as a healthcare leader. Training across county hospitals in the area and seeing highly specialized cases at UCLA would also be a pretty fantastic opportunity.

That all being said, I think the biggest factor you should take into account is family. It'll definitely be hard missing moments in your siblings life, and it could be difficult being so far away from your support. On the flip side, it could be nice to not be expected to be around home all the time as a busy med student. Also, remember that whatever you choose you are setting an example for the young siblings. You'll have to decide if you think it's more important to be there in person now (as opposed to via skype), or to demonstrate that it's okay to leave the nest in pursuit of your dreams.

This is an exceptionally thoughtful response. Just wanted to say thank you for your thoughts.

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

This is an exceptionally thoughtful response. Just wanted to say thank you for your thoughts.

I agree with that poster. If you want to have all doors open to do some type of policy work or even a subspecialty then the extra money and the inconvenience of moving to the west coast could be worth it.

If you do decide to go to CDU, I highly recommend living within a reasonable distance of the campus in Westwood for the first two years and then moving closer to the teaching hospital during your third and fourth year rotations if at all possible because the traffic in LA is horrible and this will ease your anxiety about driving. My only experience of the northeast is when I visited Boston. While I was there, I noticed they have a very robust public transportation system so most people don't even drive. Well that simply doesn't exist in LA. Everything is so spread out and a car is essential for getting around. So yes, learn how to drive. And parallel park lol.

Now on the the plus side, the weather is vastly superior imo.

 

[1996-]

I agree with that poster. If you want to have all doors open to do some type of policy work or even a subspecialty then the extra money and the inconvenience of moving to the west coast could be worth it.

If you do decide to go to CDU, I highly recommend living within a reasonable distance of the campus in Westwood for the first two years and then moving closer to the teaching hospital during your third and fourth year rotations if at all possible because the traffic in LA is horrible and this will ease your anxiety about driving. My only experience of the northeast is when I visited Boston. While I was there, I noticed they have a very robust public transportation system so most people don't even drive. Well that simply doesn't exist in LA. Everything is so spread out and a car is essential for getting around. So yes, learn how to drive. And parallel park lol.

awesome advice! i do know how to drive, but it still feels like a game of frogger to me. practice makes perfect tho

Now on the the plus side, the weather is vastly superior imo.

no doubt no doubt!

chose CDU/UCLA, thanks everyone!