Help Deciding Path to Medical School

[ShadowHuskey]

Before I start I'd like to thank you for supplementing your time to help me out.

I have a dilemma. I am deciding whether to attend University of California Irvine or a state school California State Northridge.

If am to attend CSUN (Cal State) I will save a substantial amount of money on tuition and living expenses and I will be able to continue my volunteering at two distinguished hospitals in which I have built an ample amount of relationships with doctors and nurses whom are willing to give me recommendation letters and allow me to shadow them. Additionally I feel that I will have more opportunities to do other EC because LA is fully of potential options for research and what not.

However my dilemma is that CSUN is a State University and I am planning to apply to top Medical Schools and I have heard that they somewhat see state schools as inferior to other Universities.

Essentially my is question should I attend a higher end school or a state school considering its benefits for me.

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[2012Aggie]

Im not familiar with California schools, so take it for what its worth. I suggest you go to the cheaper option, get great grades, and rock the mcat.

 

[akszp4]

Im not familiar with California schools, so take it for what its worth. I suggest you go to the cheaper option, get great grades, and rock the mcat.

I would recommend the same thing... you have a lot of pro's for the school near you. If there are no other pros for the other school other then it being more prestigious then I would forgo it as a choice.

 

[UnclePhil]

UCI is also a state school...

If you do well at either school and do well on the MCAT then you will be a strong applicant regardless of the school that you go to. But going to a better known school is definitely not going to hurt you in that regard. The school DOES matter, despite the prevailing thought on SDN sometimes. You just have to decide if it's a big enough deal to you, to offset the pros of going to CSUN.

 

[kduck]

UCI is also a state school...

 

[PennMedMan]

While there do seem to be a lot of reasons to go to the closer school, I think the name of your school definitely does matter to the top med schools. Honestly, the extra money wont matter at all when youre a doctor. I recommend UCI.

 

[DocGodfather]

UCI is by far a better school, and it 4-5 time more expensive. That said, if you feel like you can get A's at UCI, I'd go there because adcoms will look at the school you went to and put some weight on whether to give you an interview.

 

[aSagacious]

Moving to hSDN.

 

[NYCMS2]

Save the money, make great grades, and kill the MCAT. Whether you end up applying to, much less attending, medical school, you will be grateful that you didn't sink yourself any deeper into debt than you did...

Good luck.

 

[ShadowHuskey]

I've read all your posts but I'm still really troubled about where to go because there are mixed perspectives each with very good reasons. I'd like to add that if I do go to a CSU class sizes are usually much smaller and the students are not as "bright" as opposed to UC's which would make it easier for me to stand out. But then again I'm sure Medical Schools take that into account when reviewing your application. Any insight?

 

[Conflagration]

You have to take into account what your preferences are. If you benefit from smaller class sizes, then go to a CSU.

It's all a matter of where you think is best to get the grades necessary to get into medical school. Name doesn't matter if you won't be able to make the same grades. That, and saving money never hurt anyone.

I've heard that adcoms like to see continuous volunteering because that shows commitment.

Personally, I think a CSU would be better, for the reasons stated above: cheaper, smaller class sizes, and the ability to have years of continuous volunteering.

 

[Slowpoke]

So far, below is the "pros" for each school according to your preferences:

CSUN:
Established volunteering gig
Smaller class sizes
cheaper tuition

UCI:
Reputation

I think the clear winner is CSUN for you. However, let me add that research opportunities at CSUN, although may exist, may not be comparable to UCI. There are a variety of opportunities to gain clinical exposure in the areas around Irvine, so I don't think this is a big issue. It will come down to whether or not you value having small class sizes (because UCI does have large classes, especially for the intro science classes) and whether or not you're willing to pay the extra $.

I personally did 2 years of community college then transferred to UCI. I got a taste of both being in a small classroom vs. large lecture. Let me tell you, in one scenerio professors know you by name - in the other the professors often don't even recognize you on campus.

Did it matter in the end? Not as much as you would think, of the 5 letters of recommendation that I compiled, only one was from a professor at the community college.

There are so many variables and personal preference that go into a decision of picking an institution to call home, the best that any one of us can do is add some extra perspectives to consider. Good luck with your choice and understand that at the very core of everything, the institution plays very little part in all of this - as long as you work hard and get involved in things you are passionate about. Opportunities may be different at both institutions, but if you keep your eyes peeled you will find things to keep you busy. I am sure of it.

 

[ShadowHuskey]

bump

Looking for any new insight. Thanks in advance!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

CSU all the way. And to the reputation people, UCI isn't UCLA or Berkeley, not that going to either of those will provide you much an advantage.