Northwestern vs UC Irvine

[seagerco1]

Hi all, please do not quote! I am trying to decide between my top two choices as of now (on WL for other schools) and needed some input. For context and summary, I am interested in competitive specialities as of now and am trying to figure out if Northwestern would give me a leg up in the match that would be worth the extra ~120k.

Northwestern
Pros:

• T20 school which could be helpful for match with Step 1 being P/F?
• Chicago would a new fun experience and a fresh start. Always wanted to experience a city and get out of my home state.
• True P/F pre-clinical curriculum
• Strong research focus with required research project
• Best vibes on interview day

Cons:

• Cost (haven't received financial aid package yet but guesstimating it to be ~120k more than UCI)
• Away from support system

UC Irvine
Pros:

• Close to support system
• Cost
• Already have connections with research mentors here
• Weather

Cons:

• Grew up in the area and kinda looking to get out
• Less "prestigious"
• Graded H/P/F curriculum in the 2nd year

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[chilly_md]

Go to UCI. Save your money, stay away from the bitter cold, and be happy near your support system and mentors.

People often ask about how to stay in California or match back to California. While Northwestern is a top school, UCI is still a good school and I wouldn’t pass up on it if Northwestern doesn’t provide a good sized scholarship.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

Just curious, why did you say not to quote?

 

[seagerco1]

Just curious, why did you say not to quote?

May delete this post in the future to keep a minimal digital footprint for privacy concerns.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

May delete this post in the future to keep a minimal digital footprint for privacy concerns.

Got it. That being said I’d say go where you’ll be happiest. If Irvine wasn’t also a solid school that should be fully capable of matching u back into cali for residency, I’d say don’t turn down the elite school that is NW. However, I think Irvine is just good enough that you can go there without it being a short sighted move careerwise.

Vice versa, I think you can totally justify 125k extra for NW. If it were like 50k more I’d say NW without a question, but it seems either choice will have enough logic behind it to render it a reasonable decision. So, go where you feel you really want to.

 

[DZ2106]

I think ultimately you can match to a competitive specialty from Irvine, it'll just be harder, or you might have to compromise on the location/prestige of the residency.

I think if you know for a fact that you're going into a competitive field, I'd say NW is worth it because of all the doors that open up from going to a school like that with that kind of alumnus network. But this is coming from someone who isn't particularly tied to his place of origin, so I don't know how much that means to you

 

[sophop]

Sorry if this turns out a little long. Also got into both, but UCI didn't make it into my final consideration set, even though it would have been quite a bit cheaper, and I grew up in SoCal. However, it's a great school, the dean seems really nice, and it seems that a lot of the doctors I had/knew growing up either did residency or fellowship there. Your pros/cons line up pretty well with mine (although the whole prestige thing is debatable - as you can see on lots of threads over the years). One of my big additional concerns about UCI was its proximity to its hospital (or lack, thereof). Most of the Feinberg students I know lived in Streeterville at least during their first two years and being within walking distance to the school and all the hospitals (which are all right next to each other) was huge. Also, it's just a cool (well, very cold actually) place to live. And yes, the positive vibe was also very real both during interviews and 2nd look (which, for us was in person - sorry.....). On the other hand, the money thing is also very real - thankfully NW did cough up some help, and they provided some great counseling regarding finances both in the near and long term.