Northwestern vs. UCSD vs. Cornell

[BeingTime]

Hi everyone,

I've been lucky enough to be accepted at these three amazing institutions. I really don't know how to go about choosing where to go. I have family in the Chicagoland area, no family in NY or San Diego. I've lived away from family for almost 8 years now and though it would be nice to "go back home" I would also love to live somewhere new. I will be moving with my SO. I loved San Diego as a city and the weather is amazing, but I also dream of living in NY one day. I'm not a California resident. I am a little sick of the cold weather, but I also think that I would get bored if I didn't have any seasons like Chicago or New York do. As far as financial aid goes, I haven't received scholarships to any of these schools (and I'm not expecting to) so the cost of living would be about the same at each, I'm guessing (since Cornell subsidizes housing).

I'm looking to be involved in research (I'm leaning towards pursuing a career in academic medicine) and in helping the under-served (I'm a native Spanish speaker). Those two things are huge for me. Here are some pros and cons I see at each school.

Northwestern
Pros:

• Living by the magnificent mile would be completely amazing
• PBL (I think I like the idea of it, but it's hard to tell since I haven't really participated in a session)
• Possible masters in medical humanities (I studied philosophy and literature as an undergrad, and would love to keep contributing to the field of medical humanities)
• New research building in a year and a half (tallest biomedical research building in the world, apparently). It seems like the school is jumping up in research rankings.
• Family close by.

Cons:

• Unlike Cornell, housing is not subsidized and things can get pricey in downtown Chicago, especially if I'm trying to move with my SO.
  
• Bigger class size than UCSD and Cornell (Northwestern's is 160 or so)
• Heard students didn't like the lottery format of assigning some of the longitudinal clinical experiences.
• Would probably have to get rid of my car, and I kind of like having one.
• Winters are terrible in Chicago.

UCSD
Pros:

• San Diego is an amazing city with great weather. I would be able to keep my car (I like my car). I would probably have to sell my car if I went to Cornell or Northwestern.
• Student body seemed really chill and friendly
• They have one of the best free clinics in the nation. I would love to get involved with it.
• According to MSAR, they have more research funding than Northwestern and Cornell, so I'm guessing research would be good here. I'm having a hard time remembering specific research opportunities available though.
• My SO likes this location best but also loves NY or Chicago. They're willing to move where I feel I belong and where I can find the best career opportunities.

Cons:

• Less recognizable name than Northwestern and Cornell, maybe???
• I'm out of state, so I would have to pay full tuition (which is still less-expensive than Northwestern/Cornell, however)
• I am not 100% sure that I want to match in California. I kind of want to keep my options open for the match since I really have no clue where I want to live in 4 years and UCSD's class matches mostly in California
• Facilities maybe not as nice as Northwestern/Cornell? I don't know, it's kind of hard to tell from interview day.
• I don't know if going to a state school vs a private school has more red tape involved at certain levels....
• Little to no focus on medical humanities.
• No family close by

Cornell
Pros:

• Possibly the most recognizable name in academic medicine out of the three (but again, I'm not sure about this). It also seems like they provide a lot of mentoring.
• Living in NYC and experiencing living in one of the most diverse cities in the world.
• Research opportunities with Rockefeller or Sloan
• Smaller student body (I like that), and I think we all get iPads lol.
• Medical humanities seems like a big focus here (much like in Northwestern)

Cons:

• Would probably live in a tiny apartment with my SO (the ones subsidized by Cornell) since I don't want to pay for the outrageous rent prices in Manhattan (but maybe commuting is an option)
• Weather is a little nicer than Chicago, but it's not San Diego weather.
• New York City life might be too overwhelming and hard to get used to.
• No family close by

I am planning to attend UCSD's second look, but unfortunately Northwestern and Cornell second look events fall on the same date this year. I want to get your opinions. There are probably a lot of things I have left out from the cons and pros and would really appreciate it if someone pointed them out. I feel like this is the hardest decision I will ever make in my life lol. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

**EDIT** Thanks for all of your responses and votes. It's great to see some other perspectives. As an update, I was actually accepted to the UCSD PRIME program, which means I would get to do a one-year masters of my choice (most people leave UCSD to do it at places like UCSF, USC, Harvard). It's one more year of school, but I think it would be a sweet experience.

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[slippydubloons]

wow, all i have to say is this is crazy bc I'm in an incredibly similar situation w/all these schools as well and having family in the midwest...I think, from my perspective, UCSD ~ Cornell >> Northwestern. New York is a much better city to live in than Chicago and it's pretty easy to get used to (coming from someone who was terrified about getting adjusted to Manhattan). the UES where Cornell is located is a more interesting area by far than Streeterville, the curriculum is better at Cornell (in my opinion), the opportunities with rockefeller, sloan, AND HSS are amazing.

as for UCSD, the city and weather are incredible and the name is definitely well-known in the medical field as well as Cornell I'd say. furthermore, i miss having my car and i'm not sure about you but i'm loving the idea of coasting down the pacific coast highway in it to chillax every once in a while...everyone at UCSD seemed SUPER happy and the least-stressed by far of any of the interviews. i think the matching to Cali thing is mainly bc the vast majority of the students at UCSD are from california and so they want to match there, which makes a ton of sense; I fully believe UCSD has enough clout to get you anywhere you want if you work hard. plus, the clinical experiences are dope (especially all the specialty clinics!! that's unreal!)

i wouldn't really recommend NW over either of these two schools, it's a fine institution but I don't think I'd go there either UCSD or Cornell

Congrats on these amazing options

 

[BeingTime]

wow, all i have to say is this is crazy bc I'm in an incredibly similar situation w/all these schools as well and having family in the midwest...I think, from my perspective, UCSD ~ Cornell >> Northwestern. New York is a much better city to live in than Chicago and it's pretty easy to get used to (coming from someone who was terrified about getting adjusted to Manhattan). the UES where Cornell is located is a more interesting area by far than Streeterville, the curriculum is better at Cornell (in my opinion), the opportunities with rockefeller, sloan, AND HSS are amazing.

as for UCSD, the city and weather are incredible and the name is definitely well-known in the medical field as well as Cornell I'd say. furthermore, i miss having my car and i'm not sure about you but i'm loving the idea of coasting down the pacific coast highway in it to chillax every once in a while...everyone at UCSD seemed SUPER happy and the least-stressed by far of any of the interviews. i think the matching to Cali thing is mainly bc the vast majority of the students at UCSD are from california and so they want to match there, which makes a ton of sense; I fully believe UCSD has enough clout to get you anywhere you want if you work hard. plus, the clinical experiences are dope (especially all the specialty clinics!! that's unreal!)

i wouldn't really recommend NW over either of these two schools, it's a fine institution but I don't think I'd go there either UCSD or Cornell

Congrats on these amazing options

Hey thanks for the feedback! I like your point of view. It seems like there are many more opportunities at Cornell/UCSD in terms of both lifestyle and academics. I'm still kind of scared of Manhattan, but it's good to hear it's not too bad to get used to.

 

[slippydubloons]

Hey thanks for the feedback! I like your point of view. It seems like there are many more opportunities at Cornell/UCSD in terms of both lifestyle and academics. I'm still kind of scared of Manhattan, but it's good to hear it's not too bad to get used to.

Sure thing! And yeah I think for you it'll likely come down to whether you want to live in beautiful La Jolla for 4 years or on the having-access-to-everything UES. one thing to note though is that you CAN re-classify as a california resident and get in-state tuition at UCSD for years 2-4, so you'll be saving major money there too...also not sure about whether or not your SO would be too excited about living with you in one of those rooms in Olin haha, unless they have other housing for couples at Cornell that you could get into!

 

[Uqbar]

(Deleted duplicate post)

 

[slippydubloons]

Excellent way to put it. That's my dilemma lol. I think there's housing on 77th street for couples (like 1600 a month) that's a little more comfortable than Olin. UCSD's housing seems kind of difficult too though. The Facebook group of accepted students mentioned something regarding waitlists for housing...but I think I we would live more comfortably in La Jolla. Apartments are tiny in manhattan.




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I'm pretty sure almost everyone gets off the UCSD housing waitlist, and the apts there are far more reasonably sized (and cheaper) than any of the manhattan school offerings

plus the COL of literally everywhere is cheaper than manhattan lol

 

[Señor S]

I'd narrow it down to Northwestern vs. Cornell and pick whichever one you like more as you'll have pretty similar opportunities out of both.

 

[happypenguin28]

I'm biased since I'm probably going to NU (hi let's be classmates!) and don't know much about Cornell or UCSD, but I did live in Chicago for four years so I wanted to provide some perspective on your cons related to the city itself.

If Cornell's subsidized couple housing is $1600/month, you can EASILY find housing for less than that in Streeterville. I was looking at one bedroom apartment rents and they're around $1500ish - and Streeterville is one of the nicest areas in Chicago, so these are brand new high rise apartments with security, gyms usually, floor to ceiling windows, all the appliances, etc. You'd save even more if you were willing to commute - most people I know in Chicago easily pay around $600-$800 a month for their own room if they live with roommates (I have looked that much into one bedrooms in other neighborhoods personally so this is from when I was living there with roommates). If you look at cost of living calculators, Chicago is just above median for the entire country - that's amazing for a huge diverse city. That also extends to groceries, cost to eat out, etc which all adds up - it's actually possible to get dinner for under $10 in Chicago that's not fast food and that is definitely NOT the case in SF (where I live now) and NYC from what I hear. Annnd for what it's worth, talking to friends who moved to NYC, all of them say "I like it... but it's not Chicago"

Also, I think Chicago is one of the more manageable cities to have a car in - I definitely know a lot of people who had cars there and driving/traffic really isn't THAT bad (based on my experience taking Ubers in Chicago vs NYC - I feel like in NYC you NEED to take the subway to move even vaguely efficiently). It's also nice to have a car to get around to some parts of Chicago - the city has 77 distinct neighborhoods and it's definitely worth getting out of the Streeterville area to visit the south side, Pilsen, Devon, Argyle, etc.

Finally, yeah the winters are bad I'm not going to lie - I'm scared move back after living in CA for the last few years. But it builds character? Haha (I will say I absolutely missed seasons when I moved to CA - it was also really hard for me to like notice time passing without seasons? Totally throws you off.)

 

[slippydubloons]

I'd narrow it down to Northwestern vs. Cornell and pick whichever one you like more as you'll have pretty similar opportunities out of both.

I think it would be helpful for both the poster (and myself) to hear why you would discount UCSD so easily for Northwestern!

 

[slippydubloons]

I'm biased since I'm probably going to NU (hi let's be classmates!) and don't know much about Cornell or UCSD, but I did live in Chicago for four years so I wanted to provide some perspective on your cons related to the city itself.

If Cornell's subsidized couple housing is $1600/month, you can EASILY find housing for less than that in Streeterville. I was looking at one bedroom apartment rents and they're around $1500ish - and Streeterville is one of the nicest areas in Chicago, so these are brand new high rise apartments with security, gyms usually, floor to ceiling windows, all the appliances, etc. You'd save even more if you were willing to commute - most people I know in Chicago easily pay around $600-$800 a month for their own room if they live with roommates (I have looked that much into one bedrooms in other neighborhoods personally so this is from when I was living there with roommates). If you look at cost of living calculators, Chicago is just above median for the entire country - that's amazing for a huge diverse city. That also extends to groceries, cost to eat out, etc which all adds up - it's actually possible to get dinner for under $10 in Chicago that's not fast food and that is definitely NOT the case in SF (where I live now) and NYC from what I hear. Annnd for what it's worth, talking to friends who moved to NYC, all of them say "I like it... but it's not Chicago"

Also, I think Chicago is one of the more manageable cities to have a car in - I definitely know a lot of people who had cars there and driving/traffic really isn't THAT bad (based on my experience taking Ubers in Chicago vs NYC - I feel like in NYC you NEED to take the subway to move even vaguely efficiently). It's also nice to have a car to get around to some parts of Chicago - the city has 77 distinct neighborhoods and it's definitely worth getting out of the Streeterville area to visit the south side, Pilsen, Devon, Argyle, etc.

Finally, yeah the winters are bad I'm not going to lie - I'm scared move back after living in CA for the last few years. But it builds character? Haha (I will say I absolutely missed seasons when I moved to CA - it was also really hard for me to like notice time passing without seasons? Totally throws you off.)

I'm going to try and respond point-by-point as someone very familiar with the Chicagoland area:

Agreed that you can get a 1 Br in streeterville around that price, and that you can get cheaper housing further from the school. On the flip side, housing at Cornell is literally down the block from the med school/NYP, and if you're going to make the argument about commuting, you can get to very similar price points (if not cheaper) by going a few subway stops north into harlem or east into queens. Wouldn't be too long of a commute and you could live in very cool, ethnic areas. Plus I'm pretty sure you can get couples housing at UCSD too and maybe even at the brand new Mesa Nueva complex they're building for much less than $1500-$1600.

Cost of living - Chicago is definitely reasonable, agreed. Foodstuffs/general groceries run generally $0.50/$1.00 more per item than in chicago (or la jolla) *but* there are trader joes locations not too far that are heavenly and get quality groceries/any edible thing you need for very VERY reasonable prices. Not sure about the UCSD grocery situation but i think there are also a few good grocery stores a few minutes away by car.

Speaking of cars: Agreed, Chicago is definitely, definitely a city to have a car. I'd argue that you'd need a car, especially with a SO, because the city is more spread out/stores and general marts are nowhere nearly as compact and close together as NYC. Plus the subway system is not as good, with stops fewer and far between, especially with some in unsavory locations that you'd definitely want to drive to and not take public transport to. if you're going to chicago, i'd HIGHLY recommend having a car. UCSD you pretty much need a car, esp. to get around to some clinical sites. I will say at Cornell having a car is a terrible idea, parking in manhattan is a ****ing nightmare and ludicrously expensive. Long-term parking -> forget about it!

Seasons-> Agreed that Chicago has beautiful season. Manhattan is with Chicago on that, especially being so close to central park seeing the seasons pass there would be truly a beautiful experience at Cornell. While UCSD doesn't necessarily have brutal winters, I'd say that's something i (and the OP) would certainly be willing to give up for beautiful summers and slightly cooler falls/winters/springs

In all, all 3 are amazing choices. You can't really go wrong with any of them. I'm happy to discuss this more if anybody wants to ask questions are point out potential flaws in what I said haha

 

[happypenguin28]

I'm going to try and respond point-by-point as someone very familiar with the Chicagoland area:

Agreed that you can get a 1 Br in streeterville around that price, and that you can get cheaper housing further from the school. On the flip side, housing at Cornell is literally down the block from the med school/NYP, and if you're going to make the argument about commuting, you can get to very similar price points (if not cheaper) by going a few subway stops north into harlem or east into queens. Wouldn't be too long of a commute and you could live in very cool, ethnic areas. Plus I'm pretty sure you can get couples housing at UCSD too and maybe even at the brand new Mesa Nueva complex they're building for much less than $1500-$1600.

Cost of living - Chicago is definitely reasonable, agreed. Foodstuffs/general groceries run generally $0.50/$1.00 more per item than in chicago (or la jolla) *but* there are trader joes locations not too far that are heavenly and get quality groceries/any edible thing you need for very VERY reasonable prices. Not sure about the UCSD grocery situation but i think there are also a few good grocery stores a few minutes away by car.

Speaking of cars: Agreed, Chicago is definitely, definitely a city to have a car. I'd argue that you'd need a car, especially with a SO, because the city is more spread out/stores and general marts are nowhere nearly as compact and close together as NYC. Plus the subway system is not as good, with stops fewer and far between, especially with some in unsavory locations that you'd definitely want to drive to and not take public transport to. if you're going to chicago, i'd HIGHLY recommend having a car. UCSD you pretty much need a car, esp. to get around to some clinical sites. I will say at Cornell having a car is a terrible idea, parking in manhattan is a ****ing nightmare and ludicrously expensive. Long-term parking -> forget about it!

Seasons-> Agreed that Chicago has beautiful season. Manhattan is with Chicago on that, especially being so close to central park seeing the seasons pass there would be truly a beautiful experience at Cornell. While UCSD doesn't necessarily have brutal winters, I'd say that's something i (and the OP) would certainly be willing to give up for beautiful summers and slightly cooler falls/winters/springs

In all, all 3 are amazing choices. You can't really go wrong with any of them. I'm happy to discuss this more if anybody wants to ask questions are point out potential flaws in what I said haha

Not disagreeing with anything you're saying here! All three are definitely amazing schools and you and OP are lucky to have the choice! I just have an intense nostalgia-fueled love for Chicago and I grew up in Boston so it's hard to break the habit of hating on NYC

Though on the car thing - you can definitely survive Chicago without a car too, especially in Streeterville. I personally didn't have a car and I lived on the south side (much fewer transit options, "unsafe," etc) and was 100% fine. Also uber pool/lyft line is crazy cheap in Chicago when you need it - like cheaper than public transit in many cases. Basically, you can totally choose whether or not you want a car there.

 

[BeingTime]

Thanks everyone for your responses. There are many many pros to every school and only a few cons to each of them, I think. I updated my original post, but I also found out I was accepted to UCSD PRIME, which means I would get to do a one-year masters. Could be kind of cool... I'm going to try to make it to as many second looks as possible. I'm in love with all of these schools lol.

 

[Señor S]

I think it would be helpful for both the poster (and myself) to hear why you would discount UCSD so easily for Northwestern!

Reputation. UCSD is a very good school but imo it's in another tier from Northwestern (although I know this isn't what the US News rankings say)

 

[slippydubloons]

Reputation. UCSD is a very good school but imo it's in another tier from Northwestern (although I know this isn't what the US News rankings say)

I respectfully disagree. In the medical field I wouldn't say NW is a tier above UCSD at all. In most other realms (business/journalism/undergrad), however, I would agree


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