UCLA or Cornell

[choker]

UCLA or Cornell. not for me, for a friend who has no access. the lucky bastard got into both and is deciding. here's the situation:

-ny resident (family just outside nyc_ will move to LA in a few years)
-lots of distant family in LA
-can declare california residency after first year_ ~20k less in tuition/year x 3 years - price of car and unsubsidized LA housing = around 50k difference.
-does not want to go into surgery or any particularly competitive field. most likely primary care- private practice
(oh- no financial aid grant from cornell btw)

okay guys, pick your poison.

comments are welcome

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[LizardKing]

I think this decision seriously comes down to what city your friend likes better.

I think both schools are pretty much equivalent in terms of academic strength and reputation...though I think Cornell's clinical experience might expose you to a slightly more diverse array of patients and diseases. I mean, doing rotations in Westwood is not the same as doing rotations in Brooklyn, Bronx, or Harlem.

But that aside, both cities have their pros and cons. I personally would go with UCLA only because I like LA better than NYC. Also, being a CA resident will help a little in getting a CA residency.

 

[WaitingImpatiently]

If I were a NY resident, I'd choose Cornell. Distant family doesn't mean a thing to me. If I were a CA resident, which I am, I'd go with UCLA. For many reasons, I really want to stay close to home. Family, friends, etc.

 

[choker]

bump

 

[barb]

If he doesn't mind living away from his family for a few years, UCLA seems like the best choice. It's a great school and I believe, much cheaper than Cornell.

 

[BlackPuma]

UCLA would a be nice change from new york,

great weather, great campus, completing a new hospital in 2 years,

great research, great reputation, blah blah blah

oh and the women and the beach...endless supply I tell u :wink:

damn fine legs...not like the pple of new york...they show the legs cuz they have no hair :wink:

 

[matthew0126]

funny, watcha! hah

choker -- tell him to go to cornell and open up a spot for me c'mon, that's the least you can do right? remember me? i opened up spots at cornell and columbia for ya guys!

more seriously, this is one post that i guess i'm more qualified to talk to, as i interviewed @ both

location -- really, both prime spots for their particular type of environments. guess it depends which you like
weather -- l.a. hands down
ranking -- equal, both a few spots outta the top10
cost -- l.a. cheaper -- but not much much cheaper, as you would find if you were comparing it to most other privates, as cornell gives a buttload of aid to poor students
curriculum -- cornell is progressive pbl central. ucla is a mix of traditional and progressive -- your pick
facilities -- ucla's were more impressive in my eyes, plus they got the new thing going on in 2 years (so your clinical rotations will be in a ultra-state-of-the-art hospital)
clinical training -- i'll have to disagree with lizardking. i think ucla would actually offer the better curriculum training. cornell is not columbia or nyu, you're limited to sloan-kettering in the city, which is upscale -- of course, you do get to see all types of stuff, but that's when they drive you over (very nice btw, free chauffers) to the bronx, brooklyn, etc. ucla has the best hospital on the west coast

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•UCLA would a be nice change from new york,

great weather, great campus, completing a new hospital in 2 years,

great research, great reputation, blah blah blah

oh and the women and the beach...endless supply I tell u :wink:

damn fine legs...not like the pple of new york...they show the legs cuz they have no hair :wink: •••••

 

[BlackPuma]

even though I voted for UCLA...

I have to be very honest...

LA is not a city, nor does it have the sophistication or the culture of new york...far from it, the only thing here are, clubs, bars and restaurants...if that is all ur looking for then it suits u fine

we have absolutely, NO kind of public transportation....and the damn bus is late every single freaking time...

traffic jams are awful to horrible...it's a nightmare trying to drive in this city......

I dont know about u guys, and the experience u have with UCLA med...I used to live in minnesota and MAYO was the BEST hospital on this earth...

UCLA's service for me personally the past 3 years has been horrendous...I go and take a blood or some kind of examination...and 2 months later I get the results of my lab report including my progesterone and estrogen levels!? what the hell..so I read the report..and apparently, Ms. Thelma Gutierrez lives in the same address as me, same phone number....Sigh

whatever...I dont know about cornell...but UCLA's hopsital is kind of sucky....definitely not anyting close to mayo for sure...

but then again..it is the "best" in the west...so I dont know what that says about the rest of the west coast...

of course the weather is fine...can't complain about it....tuition is awesoma and pple are generally happy..

my advice is, if u've been living in new york for the past four years...give urself a change and come to LA

if on the other hand, u've bene living in LA,give urself a change and go to new york

the change will do everyone some good :wink:

 

[matthew0126]

that's true -- but what you call sophistication, i call cramped living quarters living on the new york minute. they're not rude, but people move fast -- damn fast, and when they do, they aren't as pleasant. i much prefer the lazy pace of southern california -- lots of space to take a stroll on the beach promenade or something. with people that actually smile

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•even though I voted for UCLA...

I have to be very honest...

LA is not a city, nor does it have the sophistication or the culture of new york...far from it, the only thing here are, clubs, bars and restaurants...if that is all ur looking for then it suits u fine

we have absolutely, NO kind of public transportation....and the damn bus is late every single freaking time...

traffic jams are awful to horrible...it's a nightmare trying to drive in this city......

I dont know about u guys, and the experience u have with UCLA med...I used to live in minnesota and MAYO was the BEST hospital on this earth...

UCLA's service for me personally the past 3 years has been horrendous...I go and take a blood or some kind of examination...and 2 months later I get the results of my lab report including my progesterone and estrogen levels!? what the hell..so I read the report..and apparently, Ms. Thelma Gutierrez lives in the same address as me, same phone number....Sigh

whatever...I dont know about cornell...but UCLA's hopsital is kind of sucky....definitely not anyting close to mayo for sure...

but then again..it is the "best" in the west...so I dont know what that says about the rest of the west coast...

of course the weather is fine...can't complain about it....tuition is awesoma and pple are generally happy..

my advice is, if u've been living in new york for the past four years...give urself a change and come to LA

if on the other hand, u've bene living in LA,give urself a change and go to new york

the change will do everyone some good :wink: •••••

 

[Derby]

bump.

 

[BlackPuma]

I dont think new yorkers are any more rude than californians...

trying switching lanes on the 405,...or accidently "cutting" someone, when in reality didnt see that they were there...

I swear...u get an endless supply of middle fingers and cursewords....

and imagine being stuck in traffic for 2 hours and the guy keeps on honking his horn at u...even if u've rolled down ur windown and said "I swear I didnt see u"...

his reponse u Fu#$#$@#$ blind or something...

aaah, californian hospitality....

 

[CoffeeCat]

Yeah, really think about LA! It's smoggy, trafficy, and crowded and I groan everytime I have to drive through it. Just because there's 12 months of sun doesn't necessarily make it the best place to live. Many Californians do not like LA.

 

[StarGirl]

i agree w/ traffic and stuff in la I am a current undergrad at ucla...i love this school, but you're looking at incredibly high rent prices if you come here (sorry I got bored, I am actually going to dental school and just happened to see your post).
UCLA's a great school, it's beautiful, the campus is great, but living here isn't the best experience. Driving to a place that might take 10 mins can end up pass an hour.
Having a tiny studio near school will easily cost over 1K.
okie that's just my two cents...sorry to bother you MD people
good luck deciding.

 

[matthew0126]

that's true... LA people can be rude. sometimes i forget that socali isn't just orange county and san diego, which are the areas i spend my time at. people in o.c. and s.d. are ridiculously nice as i've seen from the 18 years of experience i spent there.

LA rudeness/meanness comes nowhere close to how much bay area people can be dinguses tho.

 

[Patiently Waiting]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by matthew0126:
LA rudeness/meanness comes nowhere close to how much bay area people can be dinguses tho.[/QB]••••What do ya mean the bay area folks are ass$%$%$?? Have you had a chance to meet people outside the school (assuming you're going to CAL)?

 

[Rumit]

Oh, come on guys. There are definitely rude people everywhere, and there are plenty of them in the Bay Area and down South. But, having said that, there is absolutely no comparison to the east coast. New York and Boston have the rudest people you'll ever find. You'd have to go to Paris to find worse

In any event the rudeness of the people in a given city should not be a determining factor for med school. I really think you have to look at the program. You're going to be spending most of your time in school, and it may be the most important four years of your life, educationally. Go with the program that makes you the most comfortable. You'll do fine in either LA or NY. One other thing to think about though is where you want to end up practicing. For instance, if you want to end up in Cali, then it's not going to hurt to come out now and start making connections.

Good luck, it's a nice decision to have to make.

Adam

 

[StarGirl]

i am from the bay area and i don't think i am rude... i am sorry for intruding into your pre med forum tho. I will go back to the predental and stay there so I won't feel insulted. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[matthew0126]

okay sorry -- sorry sorry sorry -- for offending you guys. there are nice bay area people.

but here's my litmus test. walk into your local walgreens, rite-aid, postoffice, or something like that, buy something, and get the reaction. i swear, all the time, it's some bitter nasty lady or something that glares at me and mumbles while i'm fishing for change -- while up here in the bay area. i can understand why they may be mad at life, working @ minimum wage, but still...

second litmus test -- try and ride a bus. all the time the bus driver cusses and gives the evil eye up here.

i don't get that down south. perhaps in l.a., but definitely not in places like anaheim, irvine, and san diego.

 

[matthew0126]

i'm also sorry about changing the topic of this thread.

as i said before, choker, your friend will do great and have a blast at either. he should go with his gut

 

[Patiently Waiting]

Matthew,

No worries. I definitely agree with Rumit in that there're rude folks everywhere, but I've also met soo many nice people and made friends out of them in the Bay Area, so I just wanted to defend a little bit, but I didn't really think you meant to speak ill on behalf of everyone (cuz that would include ME. )

 

[chef]

After my visit to UCLA and Beverly Hills, I was gungho about the city - so beautiful, clean, sunny and warm, safe, etc...

and all of that changed when I saw the movie "training day" a few days ago! How can the same city be so different????

Since then I've realized that UCLA area is by far the nicest area of LA, and things can get real sketchy in different neighborhoods.

Training day was a veyr good movie, btw.

(This post probably won't help your friend make a decision.. sorry I was rambling)

 

[LizardKing]

LA has more contrasts than even Training Day reveals. Those areas you mentioned--UCLA and Beverly Hills--are not very far from some of the worst areas in the country, Koreatown and Hollywood (I mean worst in terms of crime and poverty). You literally see the sudden changes over a couple of blocks. It's pretty strange how some areas are superbly maintained while others immediately next to it are run down.

Anyway, if you're looking for that UCLA-type environment around the city, you will be very, very disappointed. Personally, though, I don't care much for places like Westwood...too pricey, too isolated, too much traffic. And living in that area, you don't really get the LA experience.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by chef:
•After my visit to UCLA and Beverly Hills, I was gungho about the city - so beautiful, clean, sunny and warm, safe, etc...

and all of that changed when I saw the movie "training day" a few days ago! How can the same city be so different????

Since then I've realized that UCLA area is by far the nicest area of LA, and things can get real sketchy in different neighborhoods.

Training day was a veyr good movie, btw.

(This post probably won't help your friend make a decision.. sorry I was rambling)•••••