Rumor pool: UCSD

[yodi]

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Anyone hear/know about the rumored dissatisfaction
among UCSD students in regard to the curriculum?

I have. Many times.

Can someone shed some light on this from the rumors they've heard / experiences they had?

I even talked to a student from sunny southern cali who got into there but chose to go to dartmouth (which btw costs 3x's as much and is probably 3x's as cold during the 3x's as long winter season) on the basis that students at ucsd weren't as happy as the dartmouth students.

thanks

 

[Adcadet]

http://www.amsa.org/resource/cardev/medresults.cfm

Check that out.

 

[pwrpfgrl]

thanks Adcadet - the only problem is that for UCSD the number of respondents to their poll is 3. however, those three people seemed really happy with the school! 🙂

i've heard the rumors too - that ucsd is more competitive and really into memorization in the first years. don't know if it's true, but i would LOVE to go there anyway.

 

[medicine2006]

My best friend, and ex-girlfriend is a MS1 at UCSD right now and she seems to be having way more fun than I am at Howard. So it doesn't sound that stressful.

 

[dl2dp2]

yeah i've heard that UCSD is a lot of memorization. However they also boost the highest board scores in the country, so i guess that memorization pays off.

 

[Random Access]

Apparently a large number of folks there are unhappy and only went there because they didn't get into LA/SF (or so I've heard)... they sometimes give interviewees this impression too.

 

[arichard]

Hey guys, since I was in your position last year I'll try to address this issue. I am a 1st year here at UCSD, and I almost didn't apply because of those "rumors" of unhappy students. Pretty much from the time I arrived on campus and started talking to people, I realized that was not the case. People here are, by and large, very happy. It's San Diego for crying aloud...and as far as the curriculum, there is not much memorization, at least so far. My undergrad classes (at SFSU--not exactly Harvard) were tougher than these. Pass/Fail makes classes low stress. Things will get tougher, but hey it's med school so that sort of comes with the territory. Things were bad a few years ago, and I think that's how the rumors started, but the curriculum is more laid back now.

It is true that a lot of people here had hopes for UCLA and UCSF, but didn't get in. So, maybe because it's some people's second choice that accounts for some disatisfaction as well. My friends and I are happy-- that's all I can tell you!

Sorry for the rambling style, my English skills aren't up to par since I had an immuno exam this morning...
😎

A.

 

[labrynth79]

Hey guys,

Although it's only been the first two months of school, I have to say that UCSD is such an amazing place. Besides the incredible area and weather (although I do miss the Bay!), my classmates have all been really helpful, supportive, and fun! So, on the social end of things, there is always something to do and there are ways that you can really become involved with the school/area/community.

Okay, here's the scholastic stuff. Usually the first quarter is the least stressful for students. The first quarter is mainly designed to go over your basic sciences with extra info thrown in, so most parts are review. Thus, right now I might have a biased opinion of what the school is like. (Just trying to be honest and not skew your guys' judgment!) So far, the curriculum isn't bad and I think it is well taught overall. I like how they added a humanistic side to medicine with our doctor-patient relationship class and our patient interviews.

I agree with Arichard on the whole curriculum point. There have been a lot of changes in the curriculum within the past 3 years, thus improving the effectiveness of the training. The nice thing about the school is that they take opinions of what students say fairly seriously, and additions/deletions will be made each year, depending on student evaluations. If you want more details on what exactly those changes are, just let me know . . . 🙂

On the whole, I feel incredibly privileged to be here (my numbers alone are an explanation of that). I have found my classmates, the professors and staff to be supportive of my goals and want to help me attain them (i.e., salsa classes, converational Spanish improvement, research). Heck, I've even met a few 4th years that are trying to make my experience more enjoyable!

If you do interview here and are accepted, then congrats! I hear that people do chose SD because LA/SF rejected them, but I'm not sure how many people that applies to in my class. If you think about it, UCSD is still an amazing school in name alone, and students from here get wonderful residency matches. So, don't just take the school ranking into consideration - keep your mind on the big picture. Figure out where you will be most happy in your next four (or more!) years.

If you need more info, just let me know. I may be biased because I love it here a lot, though parts of me wish I was still living in the Bay Area. Five years of Berkeley can do that to you . 😉

and I also apologize for my rambling. a combination of sleep deprivation, immunology post-exam relief, and partying can do that to you!

 

[Nefertari]

Thanks for your input, arichard & labrynth79

Happy to hear that the curriculum has improved. Can you shed some light on the UCSD "Hold for interview" list that is growing quickly this year? Just the # of sdners w/ this status is significant--I imagine that their total "hold" list is unbelievably long by now.

Please check in to inform us newbies when you have time!

 

[pallhaco doce]

Hey either arichard & labrynth79, or anyone else qualified to answer this question: when you mention curriculum changes at UCSD, what are you referring to exactly? Reduction in lecture time, integration of curriculum, increase/decrease small groups, or something else? On average, how much actual time are you spending in lecture vs. small groups?

Thanks for the input. I've got an interview there next week so this is kind of a preemtive strike on my part!

PD

 

[arichard]

Nefertari--

I don't really know anything about the hold situation, sorry. I can speak from my own experience last year though and tell you that while I had all my application stuff in by the fall, I didn't get an interview at SD until mid February (and I got an interview at SF almost right away) and then somehow got accepted really quickly (maybe 2 or 3 weeks later...very fortunate). A friend of mine was one of the first to interview here and heard -nothing- from admissions until the spring. Basically my point is just that even if you haven't heard or are on hold, don't assume too much. Easier said than done, I know. Hope that helped at least a little bit...

pallhaco doce--

Congrats on the interview! Hope you have a great time. As far the curriculum, mostly I'm refering to cutting down the number of hours of lecture. I think they're sort of sensitive to this because when I interviewed last year they gave out a sheet that compared the classroom hours spent in lecture among the California medical schools, and SD fell somewhere in the middle.

Some of the changes I know about are cutting down the hours spent in lecture, changing the first quarter from H/P/F to just P/F (there is a movement to get the whole 1st two years to P/F but I don't think that will happen), and eliminating Saturday classes--that last one was a while back I believe. If there is one sure way to grow unhappy med students, it's got to be that! *shudder*

Because it's just basic sciences so far, there isn't a whole lot of small group stuff centered around those subjects. We do meet in groups for our doctor-patient relationship class, reading group (like journal club) and electives (Student Run Free Clinic, doctor preceptorships, etc.). We have about 3-4 hours of basic science lecture/day.

I hope that all made sense...Let me know if you need any info about getting around while you're here, where to stay, etc. Good luck on the interview and as you probably already know, this is a very mellow school (interview included) so don't stress!!

 

[grownwiser]

I was looking over a rumor list about UCSD on this website from 2001 and they had some really terrible things to say.
How much have things changed since then? Does the atmosphere really vary from year to year? So how come UCSD has this rep and not for example UCSF? any honest comments are appreciated.
my personal impression when I interviewed there was mixed...my student host and interviewers were the friendliest ever but one of the students in a first year class I sat in on was very stressed out. Is lack of cooperation an issue only for a few people there or what?

 

[cbpremed]

I interviewed there today and I can say that I had a mixed impression as well. I have friends that go there that love it. I also met some students that did not leave me with a good impression. They seemed VERY numbers oriented, and defensive about certain touchy issues regarding diversity at the school. I wanted to give it a fair shot, and my interviewers definitely helped my impression of the school and the academic support system there. They have an awesome tutorial system in place and good research opportunities and outreach opportunities. On the other hand, I still felt reluctant about the interactions between students, competitiveness, and diversity. Those are just my issues, I guess. In the end I came out with an confused feeling. Can someone shed light on some of these issues? Thanks.