Michigan vs UCSD

[nontoxicpremed1]

Posting again as circumstances have changed a bit. Interested in psychiatry and global health and eventually want to match in California. Cost is roughly the same with UCSD being only slightly cheaper (~20k) all things considered.


UCSD

Pros
+ location (closer to family/friends; love the outdoors)
+ weather
+ border health opportunities
+ diverse + Spanish-speaking patient populations
+ excellent reputation in neuro/brain research
+ biotech startups + lots of research in San Diego area
+ great vibe from current students
+ might help me match in California
+ no AOA

Cons
- not as prestigious/highly ranked as Michigan (true for psych?)
- 2 year P/F preclinical (potentially less time to build residency app?)
- perhaps riskier if I decide to do something not brain-related


Michigan

Pros
+ more prestigious name/highly ranked across specialties (helpful if my interests change)
+ great research reputation
+ 1 year P/F preclinical (sounds very intense, but probably a pro)
+ dual degree opportunities (MPH is maybe, but not definitely, of interest)

Cons
- weather
- location (far from family/friends/urban areas)
- harsh clinical grading
- AOA
- patient populations not as diverse
- intense/stressed out vibe from current students
- match list is mostly midwest/east coast

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[deleted1074206]

It seems like you are leaning UCSD so I would go there! marginal prestige difference, and if you want to match in California UCSD will set you up very well

 

[mangowolf]

i vote UCSD also

 

[millipump]

I'd say Michigan - it doesn't close any doors. In fact, I'd say it opens them for you in case you want to pursue your MPH, other specialties, etc. You will have plenty of opportunities to get into a CA residency coming from UMich. The only reason a large majority of the match list is in the midwest/east coast is that the population of students are mostly from there.

 

[Apple Jacks]

If you want to end up back in California, I’d go to UCSD. Better weather, support system, and no AOA. They’re both great programs (Michigan is still better) but you should be fine in terms of matching into your desired specialty from either.

 

[hellosnd]

No idea what Michigan is like. I go to a school in socal and hear some second-hand accounts that the program is pretty toxic. Take with a HUGE grain of salt.

 

[Apple Jacks]

No idea what Michigan is like. I go to a school in socal and hear some second-hand accounts that the program is pretty toxic. Take with a HUGE grain of salt.

Never heard that about Michigan

 

[mangowolf]

No idea what Michigan is like. I go to a school in socal and hear some second-hand accounts that the program is pretty toxic. Take with a HUGE grain of salt.

are you talking about ucsd? at my interview day i did get really bad vibes from the current med students (gunner attitudes, explicitly stated they chose to attend UCSD solely for its T20 ranking, etc.) but, i don't know if that would be enough to overpower the geographic ties/benefits of being closer to home. there are gunners at every single T20 school

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

are you talking about ucsd? at my interview day i did get really bad vibes from the current med students (gunner attitudes, explicitly stated they chose to attend UCSD solely for its T20 ranking, etc.) but, i don't know if that would be enough to overpower the geographic ties/benefits of being closer to home. there are gunners at every single T20 school

UCSD has a lot of people who didn’t make it at a higher ranked t20 and hence they tend to pick UCSD for its ranking and have this gunner attitude.

 

[inoffensivepersona]

are you talking about ucsd? at my interview day i did get really bad vibes from the current med students (gunner attitudes, explicitly stated they chose to attend UCSD solely for its T20 ranking, etc.) but, i don't know if that would be enough to overpower the geographic ties/benefits of being closer to home. there are gunners at every single T20 school

+1. The UCSD MMI interviewers and the student panelists were very unlikeable. San Diego is quite nice but they really turned me off of that school.

 

[hellosnd]

Sorry, I was talking about UCSD.

I dont know anything about michigan

 

[inoffensivepersona]

Not to mention Kevin Jubbal, the ultimate insufferable gunner, went to UCSD.

 

[deleted1065184]

UCSD has a lot of people who didn’t make it at a higher ranked t20 and hence they tend to pick UCSD for its ranking and have this gunner attitude.

How would you even know this? Lol

 

[deleted1065184]

UCSD is such a clear choice here. You wanna match in California and your pros/cons are much more in favor of UCSD. Tbh your cons for UCSD aren't even cons. Like just take a second and really look at your pros and cons list for both schools lol.

Imo the fact that the voting is even close says a lot about the culture of SDN and obsession with USNWR rankings. UCSD is a fantastic school that will get you where you want to go. If you go there for med school and aren't able to match, I can promise you it wasn't because it is a couple places behind Michigan in USNWR rankings lol.