Hey everyone,
First of all thanks to all the knowledgeable/experienced people dispensing wisdom! It's a huge service. Here are my top 3 with perceived pros and cons. I'm looking for anyone to correct or offer an alternate viewpoint. Hoping to specialize, not sure in what, but want to keep doors open. Want to be in a fun city with supportive co residents and approachable faculty.
1. UCLA: Pros - Beautiful new main hospital, rotations at diverse area hospitals with lots of different kinds of exposure, 4 + 1 schedule, residents seemed fun and outgoing overall.
Cons - LA has its good parts, but overall I got kind of a sprawling/dirty feeling....its expensive to live anywhere nice.
2. UWashington: Pros - Cool PD, beautiful city, strong training at different hospitals, residents seemed nice and laid back overall
Cons - traditional schedule (one intern was on 3rd month in a row of call), giant residency class size, Seattle can be very overcast.
UCSD: Pros - San Diego, interesting pathology so close to the border.
Cons - Got the feeling the residents there were mostly talking about having fun in San Diego rather than the strengths of the program, but maybe that's cause San Diego is so fun? Talked a lot about how hard they worked, but maybe that's just par for the course? Traditional continuity Clinic.
Anyway those are my impressions and rank list, any comments appreciated! (For example, how big of a deal is 4+1? Is Seattle objectively better than LA
? ETC.)