Hopkins vs Columbia vs UCSF

[tonytonychopper56]

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I am very blessed to be in this position, but I am so undecided on which school is the best option for me. I am likely leaning some kind of surgical sub/specialty (ENT, Urology, Ortho, Ophtho), but I am also very open to exploring and letting my clinical rotations decide for me. I also am undecided about whether or not I would like to pursue an MD-MBA in the future (definitely not a deal breaker, but would be nice). I want to pursue a career serving underserved populations, particularly Latino populations, and perhaps go into academic medicine as well with a research focus on medical devices and technology. I'm from WA, but long term, I would like to be in CA as I do have family there as well.

Hopkins (Free)
Pros

• Full COA scholarship
• One of the biggest, if not the biggest, name in medicine
• Cost of living not too bad compared to SF and NYC
• Residency programs, especially surgical, are top tier if I decided to stay
• If I wanted to go to Cali, their match list has a ton of UCSF and others on it
• MD-MBA program
• Research galore and plenty of funding and opportunities
• P/F Clinical (for now)
• Top tier biomedical engineering program with lots of opportunity to get involved

Cons

• Don't know anybody in Baltimore and would be far way from any sort of family
• Student body is not as diverse as the other two at ALL
• Patient population is not as diverse as the other two (although there is a significant Black population)
• MBA is definitely lower tier compared to Columbia
• Couldn't go to admitted students weekend, but my friend (very similar to me) who went said the vibes were not her favorite
• Probably lowest on my list of the three but not sure if I'm wild for thinking that

Columbia (Free)
Pros

• Full COA Scholarship
• New York City is incredible from the two (2) times I've visited, and I have a ton of friends who moved here
• Lots of people from my undergrad in various years throughout the medical school
• Patient population is very very Latino (Mainly Dominican) and diverse beyond that as well
• Student body is middle of the road in diversity between the three
• MD-MBA is one of the best in the country with a dedicated MBA track for healthcare innovation
• Still has good programs for med tech, although not as big as Hopkins
• Clinical year includes exposure to surgical subspecialties

Cons

• Far away from home/family with more expensive flights
• Tiered clinical years, current students say it is very difficult (although they do come out of it very well trained)
• Entirely new environment that I may or may not actually end up enjoying
• Faculty is not as diverse, especially Latino faculty
• Worried about the admin's response to Palestine protests and willingness to work with the Trump admin
• Match list in Cali definitely worries me, unsure if its more preference to stay on East coast or if it would be appreciably more difficult to get back, alongside a bit lower ranked residency programs in surgical subspecialties (although HSS very close if end up choosing ortho)
• Latino student body not as big (although I did enjoy BALSO and could see myself finding community there)

UCSF (90k total, ~22.5k per year)
Pros

• Sets me up for residency and attending in Cali the best
• Residency programs are very very good with ortho maybe the outlier
• Incredibly diverse student body
• Patient population is diverse, but I'd argue Columbia probably has them beat here
• Faculty is incredibly diverse and I think I could easily find an URM attending in any of my specialties of interest
• P/F clinical, student body seems to be very chill and has the west coast vibe
• Easy access to silicon valley as well as programs with Stanford and Berkeley
• Big focus on health equity and serving underserved populations
• In regards to the last two points, their joint programs with medical devices are focused on health equity, which would be perfect for my career long-term
• Closer/cheaper flights back to WA and I have family within driving distance as well as down in LA

Cons

• Tried to negotiate with financial aid and they said their hands are tied. Overall 90k for all 4 years
• Familiar with San Francisco, not sure if I would be cheating myself out of experiencing something new
• Not as excited to live in San Fran as I would be NYC (but definitely higher than Baltimore)
• No home programs for engineering or medical devices, would have to go off campus to get that
• No MD-MBA program at the school, so I'd either have to figure it out on my own or give up on that aspect
• Worried about funding (research, opportunities, etc.) compared to the other two since it is public and I'm already seeing that reflected in aid as well as the convos I've had with current students

Summary: Overall, I think I would probably be leaning UCSF if finances were all equal due to the emphasis on health equity as well as location, but I'm also very attracted to Columbia and being in NYC with such a diverse patient population at no cost as well as the option to pursue the MD-MBA. I'm pretty torn right now and appreciate any insight or advice!

 

[firesign08]

From what you've written, it seems like you would be happiest at Columbia! You mentioned wanting to serve Latino populations, and NYC would be the perfect place to do so and make a lot of impact. You already have friends who live there, so it's great that you'll have a support system in place. I don't think UCSF is worth 90k of loans, and I am sure you could break back into the West Coast for residency if you seek advice on how past Columbia students have done so.

 

[deleted1141024]

I would go to Hopkins in your situation. Full COA is big. I like the P/F setup of the clerkships because I could only imagine how stressful my life would be rn in clerkships if I had to stress about if I was doing enough to get my attendings to like me + having to honor the shelf exams. In P/F I feel like I can just be who I authentically am and I don’t have to worry about the randomness of subjective evaluations

 

[newkungfukenny]

sounds like you really don't want to be at Hopkins, so I'd argue that should fall out of the list (I went to SLW at Hopkins, PM me if you'd wanna hear my thoughts)

From what it sounds like, you'd be happiest at UCSF if not for the cost (very logical) --- but I'd argue 90k is a steal for UCSF. It isn't the "smartest choice" when two other schools are essentially paying you to come, but I'm not sure the money is worth it if you'd hate Baltimore/Hopkins vibes and have considerable qualms with Columbia, its grading, and its admin. Also, Washington Heights is far from downtown and its not that you can't enjoy NYC, but it's definitely a different experience from what students who hope to be in the city expect.

Is there any path to a Stanford MBA through UCSF? To my knowledge the other two programs are also 5-years, so would you be losing time if you went for a Stanford MBA? Or I imagine it might cost money that the other two don't?

 

[deleted1141024]

From my reading of it UCSF would be 90 K plus the cost of an MBA which I imagine is not cheap. Can be upwards of 200 K. It would not be wise to do that if the other schools are giving you the money to an MBA on top of Full COA. Plus here at UCSF there is no internal path to get into any MBA programs. You’ll have to apply externally, which means more competition + another application whereas it’s probably easier access at the other schools. Correct me if I’m wrong

 

[tonytonychopper56]

From my reading of it UCSF would be 90 K plus the cost of an MBA which I imagine is not cheap. Can be upwards of 200 K. It would not be wise to do that if the other schools are giving you the money to an MBA on top of Full COA. Plus here at UCSF there is no internal path to get into any MBA programs. You’ll have to apply externally, which means more competition + another application whereas it’s probably easier access at the other schools. Correct me if I’m wrong

I'd probably end up not pursuing the MBA if I went to UCSF. Neither Columbia nor Hopkins would cover the cost of the MBA, so I'd have to take out loans to cover that. If I remember correctly from the people I talked to about it, the financial aid is not great and ends up being around 50-60k in loans for the MBA. So TLDR, UCSF 90k all in but no MBA vs Columbia/Hopkins MD-MBA for 50-60k vs Columbia/Hopkins MD for free

 

[alphaketoglutarate_lover]

I'd probably end up not pursuing the MBA if I went to UCSF. Neither Columbia nor Hopkins would cover the cost of the MBA, so I'd have to take out loans to cover that. If I remember correctly from the people I talked to about it, the financial aid is not great and ends up being around 50-60k in loans for the MBA. So TLDR, UCSF 90k all in but no MBA vs Columbia/Hopkins MD-MBA for 50-60k vs Columbia/Hopkins MD for free

In that case, 90k for all four years is not bad for UCSF if that is truly where your heart is. It also means spending less on flights compared to New York. You also can get free healthcare and food stamps through the state as a student at UCSF which saves a lot of money. However, if it is not a major difference between how much you like UCSF and Columbia, then obviously go Columbia. You just have to ask yourself if being closer to family and being a part of a more diverse class with more diverse faculty mentors is worth the price difference.

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

This is really tough.

My first instinct is Columbia - the business school is top notch and the patient population is perfect for you. And you can't beat free.

But I think UCSF is worth it and is the right choice for you. You don't need an MBA to do medical tech/business and the proximity to SV is probably actually worth more than the MBA at Columbia (so, assuming you pay $60k in loans for it at Columbia (plus living expenses in nyc so maybe $75k minimum) and lose a year of attending salary (~250k+) in opportunity cost, MD-MBA at Columbia ends up costing 325-90 = 235k more than UCSF). If you still want to do it, you can try to go to a residency program that will pay or partially pay for your MBA or do your eMBA as an attending.

As mentioned above ^ you'll save on cross country flights and match effortlessly to CA. You would have to do aways in California if you want a good chance of matching back, so you'd save on that too. Final vote = UCSF. Congratulations on great options!

 

[newkungfukenny]

This is really tough.

My first instinct is Columbia - the business school is top notch and the patient population is perfect for you. And you can't beat free.

But I think UCSF is worth it and is the right choice for you. You don't need an MBA to do medical tech/business and the proximity to SV is probably actually worth more than the MBA at Columbia (so, assuming you pay $60k in loans for it at Columbia (plus living expenses in nyc so maybe $75k minimum) and lose a year of attending salary (~250k+) in opportunity cost, MD-MBA at Columbia ends up costing 325-90 = 235k more than UCSF). If you still want to do it, you can try to go to a residency program that will pay or partially pay for your MBA or do your eMBA as an attending.

As mentioned above ^ you'll save on cross country flights and match effortlessly to CA. You would have to do aways in California if you want a good chance of matching back, so you'd save on that too. Final vote = UCSF. Congratulations on great options!

bro does not miss 😭💯 this is such good perspective

 

[Iron Man23]

UCSF. Hopkins seems to be out of the running based on your cons ( although great school). UCSF could be worth the money and you seem like you want to stay in Cali.