UCI Vs. Mayo Arizona

[OrangeMed]

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I am conflicted between UC Irvine and Mayo Arizona.

UC Irvine

Pros

• California!!!
• Great Ultrasound program accompanied with international trips.
• Laid back environment.
• Feels like home because I went to a California UG.
• Diversity of students and patient population.
• Well established program.
• Competitive scholarship.

Cons

• Relatively less prestigious.
• Irvine doesn't have many things to do.
• Big class size.
• Personalized attention might be lacking.

Mayo Arizona

Pros

• Mayo!!!
• Highly regarded/prestigious.
• Higher chances of getting into a Mayo residency.
• Opportunity to work with leaders in the field.
• Personalized attention because of the small class size.
• 1-2 weeks "selective" where we can explore different fields.
• Focus on student wellness.
• Competitive scholarship.
• Will be able to rotate at Mn and Fl sites.

Cons

• Its in Arizona!!! Too hot!
• New campus which makes its harder to judge its success in the first year.
• A little too small of a class size without any upperclassmen available on campus.
• I want to ultimately work in California, so going out-of-state may lower my chances of matching in a CA residency compared to if I was already in CA.

They are both great institutions, but I would appreciate the SDN community's input.

 

[Hau5MD]

Mayo! Though take my opinion with a rather large grain of salt as I'm a huge Mayo fan (both the school and the condiment)

Financial costs being equal, I would definitely pick Mayo for the smaller class size, selectives and prestige. I wouldn't worry too much about the success of the first year as Mayo has loads of funding and they have been running a medical school before. I also wouldn't be too concerned about matching back into CA as I heard (correct me if I'm wrong), CA schools tend to have a higher match rate to CA as people who attended the school wanted to stay in CA to begin with. If Mayo AZ's academics are close to the original (which it should be), I highly doubt the education will hold you back. Though I do agree with your concern about the lack of upper classmen.

Unless UCI is much cheaper, I'd definitely select Mayo for the perks. Also I've heard of people doing international trips and ultrasound courses for selectives (at MN), if thats a dealbreaker. Additionally, I also heard that the AZ site does have a bit more diversity in patient population vs MN (though probably not as much as UCI)

 

[Gurby]

Mayo Arizona

Pros

• 1-2 weeks "selective" where we can explore different fields.

If I'm not mistaken, it's actually 25 weeks out of the first 2 years dedicated to "choose your own adventure (and we'll pay for it)" time. Pretty awesome.

 

[OrangeMed]

If I'm not mistaken, it's actually 25 weeks out of the first 2 years dedicated to "choose your own adventure (and we'll pay for it)" time. Pretty awesome.

That's true. But they have a cap of how much money and what kind of adventures they'll pay for lol.

BTW, weren't you accepted here? Are you attending this school then?

 

[Pr1d3D0c]

Based on a conflict of interest (I am on the WL at Mayo), I unfortunately cannot comment. However, let us know where you ultimately commit!

 

[thenucleusaccumbens]

If I'm not mistaken, it's actually 25 weeks out of the first 2 years dedicated to "choose your own adventure (and we'll pay for it)" time. Pretty awesome.

29 weeks! 🙂

 

[thenucleusaccumbens]

Mayo, but I'm biased because I'm a student here and absolutely love it. Also, don't worry about matching back to CA. It won't be an issue if that's where you decide you want to go for residency. A bunch of people from each class match to the top CA programs every year