Keck vs. UCLA/Drew vs. UCSF

[lakers2020]

Keck
Pros

• Only school I got to attend the Second Look day and loved the vibe and fit
• Great Clinical training
• New campus and fresh experience while still being close to home

Cons

• My tuition cost would be around 50k per year
• USC has a lower prestige than the other 2

Charles R. Drew/UCLA
Pros

• Tuition cost would be around 38k per year
• 2 sets of faculty for help
• Discovery Curriculum seems intriguing
• Close to undergrad campus so I'll be able to participate in Basketball Intramurals

Cons

• Not too sure about Primary Care
• Prestige? (Not sure how residency programs look at CDU students as opposed to UCLA students or even Keck students)
• Unique mission, but I'm not sure if that's 100% me
• Came here for undergraduate and it would be nice to be somewhere new (not a big deal)

UCSF
Pros

• Highest Prestige
• New city for the first time in my life- a new experience
• Have a good friend that is already an MS1 that I could ask for advice as I go
• Tuition cost would be around 38k per year
• Also has a basketball gym I would love to play in

Cons

• Far from family and SO
• Don't know if I'm HUGE on research

Summary: Like orthopedic surgery, but mostly undecided so want to keep that option open to everything.
I think I prefer the bigger class sizes of Keck and UCSF so a higher chance I find my type of people, but a tight-knit small class at CDU sounds like it can be helpful

FYI, I am waitlisted at UCSF, but didn't want to make another thread if I got in. I would appreciate if you guys can rank the three just in case I am down to CDU vs. Keck only. Thank you!

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[mangowolf]

i would run to UCSF if you get off the waitlist. it's not too far from home (1 hr plane ride), and you don't have to be research heavy if you don't want to be at UCSF. plus, UCSF has the best grading of the three (P/F clin + preclin). in order of choice it would be UCSF > Drew/LA > Keck

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

UCSF, if you are lucky to get off the waitlist. otherwise, UCLA.

 

[lakers2020]

Would you guys say Charles Drew students are looked at the same as UCLA students? I want to give myself the best opportunities and options to match here in LA, and I’m not sure if there is a stigma around CDU students trying to specialize.

 

[brown_skin_girl]

CDU students are ~30 students, but they still share classes with the DGSOM students, so you get the best of both worlds in term of a small class experience and a larger class

 

[Mikiras]

Would you guys say Charles Drew students are looked at the same as UCLA students? I want to give myself the best opportunities and options to match here in LA, and I’m not sure if there is a stigma around CDU students trying to specialize.

Hey I'm only an admit to UCLA/Drew but from a friend who is an MS4 and on her way out, she says there was no stigma at all from being part of the Drew cohort. Drew students ARE UCLA students and she said the name got her far during her match interviews

 

[JoyFairy]

Congrats!!! I honestly can't really speak to USC, but it seems like you'd be happy there. As you said, if you're going for subspecialties, it might be helpful to have a bump in prestige, but obviously don't go somewhere you won't thrive. If you're unhappy and don't do well, you probably won't match well regardless of your school's reputation.

I'm an incoming UCLA/Drew student who is also very interested in two surgical subspecialties. In the short time since I've been admitted, I've already been connected with potential mentors and programs! I like the fact that being a Drew student doesn't mean you have to do primary care. Under-resourced communities need all types of medicine, and I feel like I've gotten a lot of encouragement to do whatever specialty I want.

I did consider UCSF, but the vibe of the class wasn't for me. That being said, it's an amazing school with a wealth of opportunities, the grading scheme is unbeatable, and the prestige can only help you with a competitive specialty. I think UCSF has a better ortho program, but I don't know how significant the difference is.

Since you want to venture away from UCLA and aren't sold on the UCLA/Drew mission, I'd vote for UCSF. Make sure the financial aid works out (keep in mind that SF is more expensive than LA, and you'll need to budget in plane trips home). If not, you can always head up north for residency 😊

Lastly, you'll need research to match competitive specialties, so go some place where there's a good chance you'll find fruitful research that you'll enjoy. I know both UCSF and UCLA have research in their curricula and lots of productive projects/PIs. UCLA has an affiliated university, so there are a lot of research options and places to collaborate. Maybe @mangowolf can speak to the different types of research at UCSF.

 

[mangowolf]

yeah, you don't have to worry if you haven't done much research or don't want to. they're very flexible about what "counts" as research for whatever is required in the curriculum (i.e. you dont have to do clinical or wet lab or quantitative research, it could be community-based projects, interviews, qualitative stuff, etc.) and there are lots of PIs/departments who do that sort of research. i'm also interested in the humanities and have been pleasantly surprised by the research in medical humanities, ethics etc. at UCSF despite the lack of an associated UG, so it's not all hard science stuff either. a lot of people interested in equity might do advocacy/community-based projects that aren't very research-y at all. so many profs at UCSF are honestly extremely supportive and the ones i've worked with have held my hand a LOT on projects (i.e. assuming absolutely 0 level of knowledge) which is nice too.

edit: if you want ortho surgery you basically need a ton of research lol so honestly go to the highest ranked school you can get...this will give you the best shot of matching ortho with the least number of pubs, if we're being honest. if you go to USC and want ortho you will need a lot more pubs to match the same residency if you were at UCSF.