Make sure I'm not crazy (either way), Mayo Medical School Vs. UC San Diego

[Gut Shot]

So here's the low-down. I'm from CA. I eventually want to match back into CA.

UCSD then. Easy. Problem solved.

This really isn't that hard. You're basically proposing to exit paradise to chase a perceived big name so you can turn around and come back to paradise. How much sense does this make? Zero. Cero. Zilch. Nada. Zip. The big goose egg. El huevo grande.

It would be one thing if the choice were Mayo vs. San Diego Upstairs Medical School, but it's not. UCSD is a kickass institution, and it won't hurt you one iota to remain geographically attached CA.

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[Long Dong]

I have a friend who graduated last year from UCSD. The impression I got was very competitive classmates, many are cut throat esp on the wards, too many hours of lecture, classes on saturday (not sure if this is still true). This may be class dependent and might not apply for you. The loacation is sweet, but he didn't get to enjoy it much cuz he was to busy studying.

I don't know about your sister and her fiance, but my sister and her husband (practicing ped and gsurg) are very impressed by the mayo name. The school maybe ranked lower then ucsd, but what of the hospital. It is #2 in the nation. Ask most doctors if given a choice to be treated when they are sick I'm sure all well take mayo over ucsd. Look George Bush, kings and foreign dignitaries can go anywhere for medical treatment but guess where they come to, The Mayo clinic. You ever watch the news and see them quote "a new study by researchers at the mayo clinic found ..." you hear this all the time.

Look I was in a similar position on my rank list for residency but it was who to put first Mayo or Wash U (a higher ranked school, but not hospital). Guess who I choose to be first. Okay I'm biased, so I apologies if I offended any ucsd people but I'm just relaying what my friend would tell me about his school.

BTW I also go to one of those schools with a less lecture curriculum and I loved it in the first 2 years. I had so much free time. I went every thurs-sunday, life was good.

P.S. Grammar and spelling police to flame me please. I remember the pre-allo forum being big on this.

 

[lord_jeebus]

No class on saturdays

 

[Long Dong]

No class on saturdays

So does that mean everything else I've heard is true.

 

[weathertalk]

UCSD then. Easy. Problem solved.

This really isn't that hard. You're basically proposing to exit paradise to chase a perceived big name so you can turn around and come back to paradise. How much sense does this make? Zero. Cero. Zilch. Nada. Zip. The big goose egg. El huevo grande.

It would be one thing if the choice were Mayo vs. San Diego Upstairs Medical School, but it's not. UCSD is a kickass institution, and it won't hurt you one iota to remain geographically attached CA.

You're forgetting one important point --> $$$$.

All the UCs have crap financial aid. Mayo gives out tons of scholarships. Everyone in the class gets at least a 1/2 scholarship so the real tuition is 12k.
UCSDs sticker price is probably going to be around 25k in "fees" and you won't catch a break unless you have a pell grant. Also consider that UC administrations are pretty much the most apathetic and inefficient constructs on the plannet where Mayo offers the most individual attention of any med school.

So... it's not just matter of chasing a big name. It's chasing a big name that's 1/2 the price and offers a far more supportive learning environment.

 

[lord_jeebus]

All the UCs have crap financial aid. Mayo gives out tons of scholarships. Everyone in the class gets at least a 1/2 scholarship so the real tuition is 12k.
UCSDs sticker price is probably going to be around 25k in "fees" and you won't catch a break unless you have a pell grant.

Thank you for not knowing what you are talking about.

This might not be relevant to the OP but for the sake of people who might apply to UCSD in the future...

UCSD has a lot of need-based aid available, not just Pell grants (are there even Pell grants for med school?) If you're eligible for need-based need I think you get at least 8000/yr in grants, and up to something around 15K. This doesn't include low-interest loans and the standard Stafford loans. Average indebtedness is very low for a med school (#3 in the country or something like that). If you have significant need, do not hesitate to apply here.

 

[pyrois]

You're basically proposing to exit paradise to chase a perceived big name so you can turn around and come back to paradise. How much sense does this make? Zero. Cero. Zilch. Nada. Zip. The big goose egg. El huevo grande.

Oh, well it's not that I consider CA paradise, but that I consider it home. The reason why I want to come back to CA isn't because I think CA is the only place for me, but because it's "home" so to speak.

My parents are there, relatives, and my sister, and when I'm done, I want to be semi-close to them.

If they all moved to Arkansas, I'd try to match back into Arkansas, etc.

 

[Gut Shot]

Oh, well it's not that I consider CA paradise, but that I consider it home.

The issue isn't so much how you consider CA, but that quite a few other people do consider it paradise. Enough to make it a tight market for many things. Unless there is a significant cost difference (i.e. if Mayo is much cheaper) I would highly recommend staying put. In the end you're not really screwed either way.

 

[mimivirus]

hi, i hate to hijack this thread from you pyrois, but i found the comments on this thread really helpful --i love sdn that way =)

my quandary right now is mayo v. ucla-drew. like pyrois weather for me is not a big issue but money kind of is--so im happy to hear the cost of living arguments...

so here are my concerns/questions in hopefully a semi-coherent form:

i loved mayo during my visit: the students i met, my interviewers the facilities, the 'family feel.' i was accepted and offered the dean's scholarship (i would pay $4000/year for tuition all four years).

i was impressed by ucla for its access to interesting cases, being in a city my host described all the crazy and awesome clinical things she had been exposed to already--as a first year (i interviewed both at david geffen and at drew so i was able to see the school--but only very briefly as i had an interview during the tour), but the students i met seemed really awesome and the clutch factor is for me, the drew program. my driving reason to go into medicine at all is to work in underserved communities--i hope that it will be a big part of my future career and the drew program provides not only real contact, exposure, and relationships with an underserved community i think it also provides specific mentorship and opportunities for me to build my knowledge as a physician in this environment. right now my goal is to go into academic medicine with a focus on health disparity issues and hope to do my residency in an academic, urban hospital (does not have to be ca, though i am a ca resident now)

rochester mn v. los angeles ca is kind of a concern for me for the types of things the cities offer, but really my true concern is whether mayo, though it was wonderful and broke my heart during my visit, will be able to provide the resources and opportunities, and even expertise to work with the patient population that i hope to see in my future career as a physician.

i hope ive expressed my concerns clearly and i really hope ill get feedback from you guys as i definitely value sdners' insight!!

 

[mimivirus]

bump?

or else ill take this as a hint to suck it up and start my own thread

 

[Gut Shot]

i was accepted and offered the dean's scholarship (i would pay $4000/year for tuition all four years).

In contrast to the OP, I would advise you to go to Mayo. For starters, that's an awesome price tag for med school. With such an enviable debt load you'll have a much easier time making ends meet if you decide to practice by serving the underserved (typically not the most lucrative of careers).

Second, what you learn in med school is remarkably constant from one school to the next. There are differences, to be sure, but they are generally overwhelmed by the sameness of what you need to know to be an MD. Where you will really cut your teeth is residency, and coming from Mayo you'll likely have an excellent shot at any residency you want. That's not to say UCLA is small potatoes, but I wouldn't sweat missing out on a few introductory clinical experiences in LA. Mayo has some weird, weird, weird stuff, man. From all over the world.

 

[mimivirus]

thanks gut shot! i think those were VERY good points