Pitt vs UCLA vs UVA

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Which would you choose?

  • UCLA

    Votes: 46 46.0%
  • UPitt

    Votes: 42 42.0%
  • UVA

    Votes: 12 12.0%

  • Total voters
    100
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thevilla23

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I've been trying to gather objective data and feel out my personal impressions on these schools from their Second Looks, but the whole process has made what was once an easier choice much harder (I WAS leaning heavily to UCLA, but Pitt's second look was pretty damn impressive). Rather than just list info on the schools, here's a bit about what I'm looking for.


-Campus culture matters to me a LOT. I want to be around people that are down to Earth, friendly, and chill (to use a word that was really overused at Second Looks) and faculty that will really work with the students (rather than just the space-cadet professors from undergrad). I got a bit of a Southern boy impression at UVA, and I'm not like that at all, but that could be unfairly based on a few people.

-The ability to pick-and-choose projects based on my interests. I want to join clubs, try new things, and do not want to be sitting in class all day. All schools are systems based, have podcasts, and are P/F, though...

-I want to be very prepared to handle all aspects of my residency (procedures, talking to patients, etc) but am very undecided as to what my speciality is going to be

-Cost of living is a factor but not a dealbreaker. I'd rather be able to enjoy myself when the time comes and pay for it later (not that I need to spend money to have fun)

-In terms of location, I'm from the Northeast, but I can get used to most things. I have always loved the idea of LA. I wonder, though, if the things people gripe about (traffic, "fake" materialistic people, smog) will really affect me as a med student. I want to go somewhere that has the best day-to-day experience for the students, not which is the coolest for some in the general city, because that won't be my experience.

Does anyone have any personal insight on which schools may or may not be a fit? Thanks in advance!!

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I dont have any experience with uva or ucla, but I thought pitt was a great school with a great personal touch to it. It seemed like they were very open to student creativity and self exploration, so I think you would like it there. Anyway I voted for pitt.

In the end, those are 3 very good schools where you will get an excellent education. My advice would be to choose the one where it is easiest for you to picture yourself attending and enjoying. Most of the time the time that will end up being the right choice :D
 
Do you see yourself living in a city or in a small town? That should play a major role in your decision. How much will each cost for you?
 
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Hey! I think you answered my post in the UCLA thread, thanks for helping out again haha. I could honestly see either. I'm used to smaller towns but I really want to live in a city at some point. I got no aid from UVA, the standard $10k from UCLA (still waiting on any full ride situation), and I haven't yet heard from Pitt.
 
Hey! I think you answered my post in the UCLA thread, thanks for helping out again haha. I could honestly see either. I'm used to smaller towns but I really want to live in a city at some point. I got no aid from UVA, the standard $10k from UCLA (still waiting on any full ride situation), and I haven't yet heard from Pitt.

Yeah that makes it kinda difficult then. I have to say that I am pretty biased towards UCLA since I will be there next year, so just keep that in mind when reading what I write.

I am also from the Northeast and am kinda scared about the move to LA, to be honest, but I just get so excited when I think about living my life there as opposed to in the midwest/northeast! For me, it really came down to a gut feeling + some personal reasons why I am picking UCLA over other schools. TBH, the problems that you list when thinking about UCLA (traffic, "fake" materialistic people, smog) were kind of worrying to me as well, but you will have other quality of life issues at Pitt or UVA-- especially with Pitt winters. You also mention that you are not really feeling the culture at UVA, which I also completely understand. Every place has pros and cons in terms of location, you just have to decide what you are willing to put up with. For me, escaping winter and being in a new city are huge pluses.

Good luck!
 
Pitt winters aren't terrible. It's normal northeast weather. Granted annual days of sun in Pittsburgh are some of the lowest in the country, but if you are used to the northeast its not an issue.

Honestly your decision seems tough. Both Pitt and UCLA are amazing with lots of opportunities and a decent amount of pros. I think the two of them are better than UVA in terms of location and what not.

Do you want to end up living on the east coast or west coast? Flip a coin? :shrug:
 
Thanks lostintranscrip, it's good to hear the viewpoint of another OOS person!

Also, I feel like I've honestly dreamed of living on the West Coast for so long that I worry it's become over-romanticized. I've spent two summers there and visited a lot though, and I really like it. So maybe it's time for a change of scenery.
 
Thanks lostintranscrip, it's good to hear the viewpoint of another OOS person!

Also, I feel like I've honestly dreamed of living on the West Coast for so long that I worry it's become over-romanticized. I've spent two summers there and visited a lot though, and I really like it. So maybe it's time for a change of scenery.

Honestly it sounds like UCLA may be the best choice for you then if you like the idea of living on the west coast. It seems like UCLA meets all of your requirements and even with the cost of living greater than Pitt, unless I am mistaken, you can get instate tuition at UCLA after your first year. While not a huge money saver, it will make a difference.

Yes traffic in LA(and all of SoCal) is horrible. It may drive you crazy but you learn to cope, and there are trade offs like the weather. You never have to drive in snow. Smog and materialistic people are a non issue though and if you want laid back, down to earth and chill it is hard to beat California.
 
Honestly it sounds like UCLA may be the best choice for you then if you like the idea of living on the west coast. It seems like UCLA meets all of your requirements and even with the cost of living greater than Pitt, unless I am mistaken, you can get instate tuition at UCLA after your first year. While not a huge money saver, it will make a difference.

Yes traffic in LA(and all of SoCal) is horrible. It may drive you crazy but you learn to cope, and there are trade offs like the weather. You never have to drive in snow. Smog and materialistic people are a non issue though and if you want laid back, down to earth and chill it is hard to beat California.

Yeah, I guess I just didn't want to place too much stock in things I wouldn't be able to actually enjoy since my whole world would be the school. Basically, I'd rather the people AT the school be friendly and laid back than the people in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, there wasn't a huge amount of people at UCLA's Second Look. I did like the people there, though, and everyone I've met in the LA area thus far.
 
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Hi there! I grew up in Northern California and moved down to LA for undergrad. I don't know about the other schools but I can put in my two cents about living in the UCLA area.

Yes the traffic can be downright awful, especially when you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Oftentimes, traffic will dictate your plans; you will schedule plans (location/time) to avoid driving in rush hour. I only occasionally find myself in that classic LA roadjam because I always check the freeway conditions before leaving the house. Google maps/ Sig Alert will become your best friend for traffic updates. You will probably be walking/biking to campus most of time so I don't think you will have to experience much of that traffic. Just remember to be observant/careful as a pedestrian because drivers can be super aggressive.

Another thing to note is that I rarely encountered the "fake, materialistic" LA population as a student. I found students to be extremely down-to-earth and friendly. The Westwood neighborhood is very much a college town, so you really are shielded from snobby populations.You might encounter it once you enter Beverly Hills/Hollywood, but you will not be spending much time in those areas anyway.

Like Tots said, smog is a nonissue. Cost of living is definitely higher than other areas, but you will get used to it. Also, the weather is gorgeous. It is Spring/Summer temperatures all year long.
 
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I don't know anything about UCLA or UVA, so I'll just plug Pitt some more (as if 2nd look wasn't enough) :D See bolded responses.

I've been trying to gather objective data and feel out my personal impressions on these schools from their Second Looks, but the whole process has made what was once an easier choice much harder (I WAS leaning heavily to UCLA, but Pitt's second look was pretty damn impressive). Rather than just list info on the schools, here's a bit about what I'm looking for.


-Campus culture matters to me a LOT. I want to be around people that are down to Earth, friendly, and chill (to use a word that was really overused at Second Looks) and faculty that will really work with the students (rather than just the space-cadet professors from undergrad). I got a bit of a Southern boy impression at UVA, and I'm not like that at all, but that could be unfairly based on a few people.

Pittsburgh is often considered to have more of a midwest feel than east coast, which I guess is that down-to-earth, neighborly feel. Campus culture here is awesome, because we are on the same campus as the undergrads, dental students, pharm students, various grad students, law students, etc. You have access to all the perks of being a Pitt student, you can join undergrad clubs you're interested in, and you can even take up to 6 credits a year of undergrad classes (including phys ed classes). We are constantly asked for feedback on classes and individual professors. 4 students from each class sit on the curriculum committee, and they are constantly relaying feedback from the student body to the faculty and administration. Change happens constantly (i.e. something that is complained about in biochem in 2011 is changed for biochem in 2012). Each course has a blog where students can ask questions and the course directors can respond. I have continuously felt that the administration values and respects our feedback and opinions as students.

-The ability to pick-and-choose projects based on my interests. I want to join clubs, try new things, and do not want to be sitting in class all day. All schools are systems based, have podcasts, and are P/F, though...

Whatever you want to do, there is either a club/interest group already established, or you can very easily find the support necessary to create that group. I think my classmates have started at least 5 groups since the start of MS1, and some upperclassmen have started new groups this year as well. There's also the areas of concentration and several interesting mini-electives you can take. Podcasting allows you to set your own schedule and fit in all the things you want to do.

-I want to be very prepared to handle all aspects of my residency (procedures, talking to patients, etc) but am very undecided as to what my speciality is going to be

You start learning how to talk to patients pretty much from Day 1 with medical interviewing (history taking) with standardized patients. You then move on to learning the physical exam and conducting exams on standardized patients, and in January of MS1 you start going into hospitals and clinics and either shadowing or doing H&Ps on patients. There is weekly patient interaction and you get to cover a rather wide variety of specialties and sub-specialties throughout the first two years, so even before clinical years, there's exposure. It is very easy to shadow doctors in your spare time. Many interest groups also have workshops where you can learn simple procedures (just to name a few this year...IV placement/phlebotomy, suturing, airway management, IUD placement, delivery, many others).

-Cost of living is a factor but not a dealbreaker. I'd rather be able to enjoy myself when the time comes and pay for it later (not that I need to spend money to have fun)

COA in Pittsburgh is probably more than at UVA but less than UCLA. Pittsburgh is very affordable for a city.

-In terms of location, I'm from the Northeast, but I can get used to most things. I have always loved the idea of LA. I wonder, though, if the things people gripe about (traffic, "fake" materialistic people, smog) will really affect me as a med student. I want to go somewhere that has the best day-to-day experience for the students, not which is the coolest for some in the general city, because that won't be my experience.

There are a lot of things to see and do in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area! It might not be as exciting as LA, but reality is that you're going to be in med school and your super fun adventures will mainly be limited to post-exam weekends anyway. This is my 5th year in Pittsburgh and I'm still discovering things to do.

Does anyone have any personal insight on which schools may or may not be a fit? Thanks in advance!!
 
I don't know anything about UCLA or UVA, so I'll just plug Pitt some more (as if 2nd look wasn't enough) :D See bolded responses.

Thanks for the advice Ismet! That was really helpful. Second Look was really awesome (I may have met you there) but I also had a good experience at UCLA, so I think I need to do some soul-searching. You guys did a really great job of showing us a good time at Pitt, though. Thanks again.
 
Thanks for the advice Ismet! That was really helpful. Second Look was really awesome (I may have met you there) but I also had a good experience at UCLA, so I think I need to do some soul-searching. You guys did a really great job of showing us a good time at Pitt, though. Thanks again.

Glad you enjoyed your time at Pitt. :D
Figure out where you feel the best "fit" - no one can make that decision for you. You really can't go wrong with Pitt or UCLA, as they are both great schools.
 
so you are truly experiencing a good problem: you can't go wrong with either school.

At this point, if i were you, a couple things come to mind. First, do you have a significant other? And does he/she prefer to be on a certain coast?

Second, do you have a preference towards where you will want to match for residency? Both programs are respectable at a national scale, but Pitt's bias will be towards the east, and UCLA will be to the west.

Third, I can't say how much LA stacks up to Pitt, but I am certain that if you're interested in surgery, ENT, ortho, EM, CCM, this is the place to be.

But as mentioned above, its really going to be what you want for the next four years.

Good luck!
 
so you are truly experiencing a good problem: you can't go wrong with either school.

At this point, if i were you, a couple things come to mind. First, do you have a significant other? And does he/she prefer to be on a certain coast?

Second, do you have a preference towards where you will want to match for residency? Both programs are respectable at a national scale, but Pitt's bias will be towards the east, and UCLA will be to the west.

Third, I can't say how much LA stacks up to Pitt, but I am certain that if you're interested in surgery, ENT, ortho, EM, CCM, this is the place to be.

But as mentioned above, its really going to be what you want for the next four years.

Good luck!

You're definitely right, this is what I'd call a good problem. I think my general impression from Second Looks is that either could be a right choice, so I just need to find what little things will make the difference.

So, my girlfriend lives in LA and is about to start a job in SF. But, she may be moving around with that job, though, so I can't really factor that in too much. We're solid on the LDR-ing.

I don't really have a bias yet of what I want to do or where I want to be. I wanted to live in California for some period of my life, and my thought was that med school is non-committal; I can leave after 4 years if I don't like it. I imagine coming back to the East at some point unless I really can't make myself leave. I wish I had a better idea of what I wanted so I could factor in which schools were good at which specialities.

Also, you guys probably had the best Second Look Weekend, so the choice gets harder.
 
So, it sounds like you've basically eliminated UVA already, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway.

The undergrad here is definitely 'southern boy'. The medical school, though, is made up of a lot of people from Northern Virginia, as well as multiple out of state people, most of them from northern states. So, the medical school does not have that southern boy feel, at least I don't think (I went to a southern high school and hated it, but I love UVA). I very, very rarely interact with the undergrads, so it's entirely possible to get away from that culture.

You will certainly be prepared for whatever specialty you want to go into here. We have a lot of people going into primary care, but a ton going into surgical subspecialties. Plus, we end third year in February, which means you have March through August to figure out what you're going to do with your life after medical school, and the time to rotate through different departments you weren't previously exposed to.

COA is fairly high for OOS students, but I don't know what it is at Pitt or UCLA to compare. I imagine it'd be cheaper than both, but I also know it's more expensive to live in Charlottesville than it is to live in Denver metro, so it's hard to get a real good comparison.

If you (or anyone else) has questions about UVA, feel free to send me a message.
 
So, it sounds like you've basically eliminated UVA already, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway.

The undergrad here is definitely 'southern boy'. The medical school, though, is made up of a lot of people from Northern Virginia, as well as multiple out of state people, most of them from northern states. So, the medical school does not have that southern boy feel, at least I don't think (I went to a southern high school and hated it, but I love UVA). I very, very rarely interact with the undergrads, so it's entirely possible to get away from that culture.

You will certainly be prepared for whatever specialty you want to go into here. We have a lot of people going into primary care, but a ton going into surgical subspecialties. Plus, we end third year in February, which means you have March through August to figure out what you're going to do with your life after medical school, and the time to rotate through different departments you weren't previously exposed to.

COA is fairly high for OOS students, but I don't know what it is at Pitt or UCLA to compare. I imagine it'd be cheaper than both, but I also know it's more expensive to live in Charlottesville than it is to live in Denver metro, so it's hard to get a real good comparison.

If you (or anyone else) has questions about UVA, feel free to send me a message.

I definitely don't want to give the impression that I've eliminated UVA. I absolutely haven't; I just wanted to get a better sense of each school and a lot of people have been comparing Pitt and UCLA. I'm talking to some current students from UVA now and I appreciate the response; I'll let you know if I have any questions in the future.
 
If you are interested in doing residency in one of those locations I'd go to whichever satisfies that criteria.

If that doesn't apply, I'd choose UCLA. Westwood is one of the most desirable places to live in the world. More fun things to do and places to go than you could get through until you retire. Plenty of research to be done and good representation of all specialties (probably true of all 3). Beautiful facilities. UCLA brand and the connections that come with it, especially for small, competitive specialties. Training on par with any school in the country. MS1-2 curriculum is probably fairly different between the 3, but this is one of the least important factors IMO.
 
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