ConfusedPremed3000
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- Apr 19, 2025
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First post and comment here on SDN so hope I did this right.
School X: UCLA DGSOM
Pros
School Y: UAB Heersink
Pros
Summary: My heart is without a doubt with UCLA but my objective mind and religious conscience is screaming UAB. As a low-ses individual with no assets and a religious obligation to not take out loans, I am just beyond jacked up at this point. First in family to finish high school, attend college, and first to enter medicine so hoping to do whats best for me professionally, personally, and religiously.
School X: UCLA DGSOM
Pros
- (+)(+)(+)(+) Current Students seem very happy with curriculum and opportunities + LA seems like the best place to enjoy my 20s and beyond + My future classmates are some of the best people I have ever met (so many individuals were willing to give me a ride to and from the airpot during admit and everyone was so wholesome; very very different from other places I visited)
- (+)(+)(+) True P/F to the fullest extent with no AOA or internal rank (concerns from current M1s about the school being a bit too stress-free and enjoyable)
- (+)(+)(+) 1.5 year preclinical (14 months actual pre-clinical with 2-3 months of dedicated time for prepping and taking Step 1)
- (+)(+)(+) More free time in 3rd year to prepare for residency applications (around 8 months of Discovery Year to do research)
- (+)(+) Only other med school, aside from Harvard, with 2 T20 hospital systems (UCLA Health + Cedars Sinai) + Med school highly rated for its anatomy training
- (+)(+) Quite strong home programs across the board (especially in competitive specialties like ENT, Derm, and others; not as strong pediatrics/primary care but absolutely not interested in those)
- (+)(+) Name can carry far, especially with P/F becoming the norm, within medicine and outside medicine (interested in medtech, global health, and health policy)
- (+)(+) Already made some great connections with faculty, current students (M1-M3), and future classmates (love these folks so much)
- (+)(+) Strong match list + interested in doing residency in West Coast
- (+) (+) Arguably the most diverse patient population in the country + school emphasizes service in its clinical opportunities
- (+) LA weather is surprisingly better for my health and other health-related issues
- (+) Away from Parents and family (they hinder my growth too much lol)
- Bonus: (+)(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)(+) LeBron and the Lakers + Shohei and the Dodgers + Bruins + UCLA Health affiliation with all the major LA sports teams
- (-)(-)(-)(-) 400k COA!!! (all the David Geffen Scholarship Funding has dried up and the school went from giving scholarships and aid to 94% of students to giving to 10 students or less. The students that received them also barely got much)
- (-)(-) Match list can be overly Cali-focused and could potentially be an issue if I change my mind and want to do residency in the East Coast
- (-) Potential concerns about UCLA’s prestige (ranking drop on various sources) but fortunately admin has done very well to address curriculum and support changes + issues are beyond overblown by some shady articles written by disgruntled faculty with unsubstantiated proof
- (-) Away from family + no relatives in CA so could be issues with support system (though haven’t really had a reliable or supportive support system since middle school)
- (-) LA gas prices + LA traffic
School Y: UAB Heersink
Pros
- (+)(+)(+)(+)(+) In-state tuition + received generous scholarship ⇒ Total COA for all 4 years will be around $100k-120k max
- (+)(+) Pretty reputable medical school (usually T30 on US news + admit) + T20-25 in NIH/research Funding
- (+)(+) Pretty cheap (less than $20k) to do a dual degree (interested in the 4 year MD/MPH or MD/MBA)
- (+)(+) P/F Pre-Clinical
- (+)(+) UAB Hospital system is quite large + has strong home residency programs for most, if not all, specialties
- (+)(+) Required research requirement + time after M1 for research
- (+)(+) Placed in a great clinical site for Third year + smaller cohort ⇒ historically better LORs + clinical opportunities + residency matches (this part might be marginal)
- (+)(+) Parents can drop off food every few weeks if needed + little traveling needed to visit home on holidays
- (+)(+) Pretty decent to good match list (thought 7 derm this year with one at Hopkins! Was surprising)
- (+) Younger sibling will most likey go to UAB undergrad in a couple years ⇒ can potentially save money for rent + be able to guide him
- (-)(-)(-) Tiered grading for Clinical Clerkships (H/HP/P/F)
- (-)(-)(-) Internal Rank + AOA before Match
- (-)(-) Markedly weaker Match lists + more difficult to do residency in West Coast and North east (most students seem to like to stay south)
- (-)(-) 2 year preclinical with both in-house and NBME exams + many required in-person attendance things/courses
- (-)(-) Lesser lay and medical prestige + reputation than UCLA (in medicine, business, public health, global health, and essentially everything)
- (-)(-) Alabama → who tf wants to live in or be associated with Alabama? (not serious but also serious lol)
- (-) Birmingham weather is significantly worse than LA (hot humid summers + very cold, sometimes snowy winters)
- (-) Student body seems more bot-ish with some gunners (based on interview day) and GC is not very active + Student body also is just less accomplished
- (-) Lack of diversity in student body + patient population
Summary: My heart is without a doubt with UCLA but my objective mind and religious conscience is screaming UAB. As a low-ses individual with no assets and a religious obligation to not take out loans, I am just beyond jacked up at this point. First in family to finish high school, attend college, and first to enter medicine so hoping to do whats best for me professionally, personally, and religiously.
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