UCD vs. Drexel

[chicanapremed]

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Hi everyone, I greatly appreciate any insight you have to offer! Choosing between West and East Coast!

UCD
Pros

• I'm a CA resident (central), so closer to home/family/support system.
• UC system - my mentor says this will increase my chances of matching into a CA-residency program in the future
• Considerably cheaper tuition
• Has an affiliated hospital
• Smaller class

Cons

• Not a new place? I've never lived outside of CA and feel like I may be missing out on a chance to experience East Coast? Do I even know if I want to settle in CA in the future?
• Slightly higher cost of living
• Will need a car (my current car is on her last legs)
• Unsure how important this is, but while talking to students on interview day, they seemed like they did not care for/use the Davis-provided lectures and instead heavily relied on third-party resources to learn and study. The couple of students who spoke stated they would skip most lectures. I realize this isn't a novel experience and that Davis still preps their students extremely well, but it scares me to think that I'll have to prioritize third-party resources?

***I have still need to visit the campus and Sacramento in general.

Drexel
Pros

• East Coast! When I visited for a week, I fell in love with it! Something new.
• I really loved the "vibe" of the school, for lack of a better word. When talking to a couple students, they explained how they feel their in-house resources and instruction were useful and felt well-prepped for STEP exams. They described not relying heavily on third-party resources until later in the program.
• Slightly lower cost of living
• Postpones the need for a new car (will need it in 3rd year, but public transport is enough for the first two years)

Cons

• Far away from home
• More expensive tuition
• Larger class (260)
• No affiliated hospital
• What if I end up missing CA?? What if I decide I DO want to settle in CA??

Also, can anyone comment on prestige of each school and whether this plays a factor at all? If I'm interested in some competitive specialties (obviously not set on anything, but considering surgery or derm?), will either of these schools help or harm me in any way?
In regards to the use of in-house lectures... how important is this?? Does this have to do more with my style of learning?
Lastly, I'm not particularly tied to CA. I might be blind to it because I've lived here my entire life (central and SoCal), but I'm not even sure that staying here matters to me all that much.

I also want to acknowledge that I've only talked to 7-10 students from each school, so my knowledge may not be entirely correct/skewed?

Thank you in advance I truly appreciate your insight!

 

[jvquarterback]

Davis. Cheaper and a better school. This one’s really easy. You can get a residency in the east if you want.

 

[Entadus]

Did you visit Drexel during the winter? lol
Also, have you been to the east coast during the summer? the humidity will be a shock
Factor in the price of plane tickets every time you want to visit home... Plus you can't eat vibes. Less debt wins over "vibes" nearly every time.

Is being close to family important? You can be 100% you will hit a very rough patch with homesickness (probably during winter) if you pick Drexel. Will you survive it and come out stronger? probably. But med school is hard enough anyway. I only moved away because I had no option in CA

I think it's a no-brainer to go with UC Davis, you will have options in the Central Valley or the Bay Area depending on which way you want to go for residency and beyond