UC Irvine vs UC Davis 2015

[haliluia92]

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So I have been fortunate to get into two great medical schools, UCI and UCD and I am having a very difficult time choosing which one to go to. I went to undergrad at UCI and loved it and I am not sure if I should stay in my comfort zone and go to UCI or go to Davis for a change in scenery. From what I know they are both at the same caliber in terms of education and reputation but I would like to hear other opinions. What do you guys think?

 

[TheSummit]

School wise, like you said, they are around the same level. Have you been to Davis besides the interview? Location wise, Irvine>Davis by a landslide.

 

[haliluia92]

The school is actually in sacramento and i only went there for the interview.

 

[hellanutella]

Congrats on two stellar options! Disclaimer: I was not invited to interview at UCD, but I was accepted to UCI. Here's an abbreviated list of my personal considerations for UCI:

Pros: proximity to the beach, ultrasound curriculum (if that's your jam), within comfort zone, warmer weather than Sac. If you really buy into shiny Apple products or a digitized curriculum, you may be in love with their iMedEd Initiative.

Cons: H/P/F grading year 2 (I think UCD is straight P/F for the preclinical), separate hospital (booo commuting unless you want to move to Orange for 2 years), mandatory attendance (this was a biggie for me), higher COL than Sacramento. If you're into free clinic work, I don't think UCI's clinic can compare to UCD's massive student-run network.

Maybe see if you can reach out to any of the current students in the school-specific threads or via the admissions office? Good luck with your decision!

 

[haliluia92]

Congrats on two stellar options! Disclaimer: I was not invited to interview at UCD, but I was accepted to UCI. Here's an abbreviated list of my personal considerations for UCI:

Pros: proximity to the beach, ultrasound curriculum (if that's your jam), within comfort zone, warmer weather than Sac. If you really buy into shiny Apple products or a digitized curriculum, you may be in love with their iMedEd Initiative.

Cons: H/P/F grading year 2 (I think UCD is straight P/F for the preclinical), separate hospital (booo commuting unless you want to move to Orange for 2 years), mandatory attendance (this was a biggie for me), higher COL than Sacramento. If you're into free clinic work, I don't think UCI's clinic can compare to UCD's massive student-run network.

Maybe see if you can reach out to any of the current students in the school-specific threads or via the admissions office? Good luck with your decision!

Thank you so much for the post and for weighing out my pros and cons. At this point I am leaning more to UC Irvine but I think when the the financial aid packages come out I will be able to make a better decision. People complain about the rigor of UCI and the fact that its not a black system. They some tiems have 2 exams a week. And I am not too excited about mandatory attendance. I hear that UC Davis Med students are much happier and that they only have an exam once every few weeks. Idk which system is better and idk if I should even base my decision based on that. I have some time to decide I guess and I will go to the second look days and talk to med students from UC Davis

 

[j2dloso]

Thank you so much for the post and for weighing out my pros and cons. At this point I am leaning more to UC Irvine but I think when the the financial aid packages come out I will be able to make a better decision. People complain about the rigor of UCI and the fact that its not a black system. They some tiems have 2 exams a week. And I am not too excited about mandatory attendance. I hear that UC Davis Med students are much happier and that they only have an exam once every few weeks. Idk which system is better and idk if I should even base my decision based on that. I have some time to decide I guess and I will go to the second look days and talk to med students from UC Davis

Saw this post, and I was wondering which medical school you ended up choosing and why? Thanks!