ucla vs arizona

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
M

metuvan

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
I know these sort of Vs are :beat: ...but I haven't seen any dealing with Arizona…so…

Basically, would it be worth the extra ~50k plus increased living $ to go to ucla over uofa? I'm not interested in academic med, but I am interested in some more competitive specialties. Both seem laid back (although ucla is p/f Vs. h/p/f), but would ucla have any opportunities worth this price increase?

As far as I can tell: go for the cheaper option since your own personal performance dictates your residency match, so I just wanted to have some confirmation that my intuition to pick uofa over ucla is sound. Thanks.
Members don't see this ad.
 
I'd say yes it is worth it to go to U of A. Arizona is a pretty well respected school and individual performance more than anything determines residency. The only good reasons I think to choose UCLA is if you want to go to Cali for residency and am eyeing esp competitive Cali-particular specialties like Plastic Surgery or Dermatology (being in Westwood, you'll probably have a lot of exposure to this). Plus the extra 50k that you won't have in debt will make your life A LOT nicer in internship, residency.
 
curious if you dont mind sharing but what kind of stats did you have to get into ucla? i would go to ucla but i am not expert!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
metuvan said:
I know these sort of Vs are :beat: ...but I haven't seen any dealing with Arizona…so…

Basically, would it be worth the extra ~50k plus increased living $ to go to ucla over uofa? I'm not interested in academic med, but I am interested in some more competitive specialties. Both seem laid back (although ucla is p/f Vs. h/p/f), but would ucla have any opportunities worth this price increase?

As far as I can tell: go for the cheaper option since your own personal performance dictates your residency match, so I just wanted to have some confirmation that my intuition to pick uofa over ucla is sound. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Will you have CA residency after one year at UCLA? And then does your tuition drop?
 
Go to Arizona. It's cheaper and is a good program. Residency match depends on how you perform in med school, not much on the med school itself.
 
I think if you look at the residency forums (or asks residents) a lot of them say go with the cheaper school. If UofA matches well (and i think they do) in a lot of the specialties you like, then its a no-brainer.
 
UCLA hands down. We aren't talking about a mid-tier school vs. an unranked school in this situation, which is why many of these responses surprise me. UCLA is in the top 10, or close to the top 10, year in and year out, while UA is unranked altogether. If this is a 50k difference over 4 years, I think this is a clear choice: UCLA.

If it's a 50k/year difference, then it's a different story.
 
yah this seems like an obvious choice. I've never heard any mention Arizona b4 as a good school(not saying that it isnt) but we ALLLL know that UCLA kicks ass big time. its in LA, its cheap, its like top 10 or at least 15, match list is amazing, students are young and attractive(thats just a personal preference), ~2 hours of lecture.....its LA!
 
That 50K will be much more than that because EVERYTHING in LA is more expensive than arizona. Regardless, AZ's program is great and reputable. Everywhere you go to medschool it is all about you and how much effort you put into it.

GO to AZ.
 
OCPreMed said:
That 50K will be much more than that because EVERYTHING in LA is more expensive than arizona. Regardless, AZ's program is great and reputable. Everywhere you go to medschool it is all about you and how much effort you put into it.

GO to AZ.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:
totally agree. that 50k being much more in real life is very true. besides, living in LA is so overrated, especially as a poor/busy med student :p
 
according to 2007 MSAR tuiton for both of these schools is:

UofA (for instate): $14,359 x 4= $57,436

UCLA (for OOS) : $32,281 x 4= $131,284

The difference in TUITION ALONE is $73,848!! Add 6.8% interest for 4 years or more and the price difference can be up to $80k or more! These numbers are literally TUITION ONLY. If you factor in tickets to travel between Arizona and CA and the higher cost of living in CA then the price difference is over 100k in favor of UofA.

If you are picking schools on prestige alone, then it might beworth the extra $100k to you, if not, UofA seems like a better choice for the money.

Good luck either way!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
people on SDN are overly concerned with the financial aspect of medical school that they can lose sight of other things:

the quality of life in West LA is amazing, you are close to the beach, the weather is nearly always perfect.

UCLA's students were some of the most unstressed students I saw anywhere. the curriculum is set up so that you will stay focused on learning, but the focus is not on grades or rank (its p/f). UCLA has alot of respect in the medical community if that means anything to you.

Unless you have a compelling reason not to take on a larger amount of debt (previous debt, a family to take care of, etc), then goto UCLA.
 
I've heard stories about arizona's new curriculum. I hear its absolutely terrible and the quality of education is going down the toilet.
 
I would definitely choose UCLA.
 
yah u might regret going to UoA esp if u wanna be a competitive applicant for competitive residencies. I believe that the ranking of the school is important. i am sure that it opens more doors going to ucla vs. UofA. i'm so bitter i didnt get into LA. but if u are given the chance...take it!!!!!
 
shadoctor said:
I think if you look at the residency forums (or asks residents) a lot of them say go with the cheaper school. If UofA matches well (and i think they do) in a lot of the specialties you like, then its a no-brainer.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

residents and resident directors would be the ones to give you the true answers to your questions. and i agree with this poster that they would advise you to go with the cheaper school.
besides, you would have a much better chance to be a star at UofA, which is much better than an being average student at ucla in the eyes of the residency directors. your high board scores will let them know how smart/capable you are regardless of where you are, and if your dean's letter reflects that you are a star at the school, you can go anywhere.

trust your gut feeling, and you'll be more than fine :D
 
If we are talking about~50k more then UCLA all the way (go bruins).

But if any school gives you a full ride, go to the school with the full ride. If you are good, you'll be good anywhere regardless of where you go to med school.
 
cetaphil said:
besides, you would have a much better chance to be a star at UofA, which is much better than an being average student at ucla in the eyes of the residency directors.
Click to expand...

You can't be an "average" student at UCLA --- it's pass/fail. Residency directors won't see how you've performed in classes. :thumbup:
 
randomapplicant said:
UCLA hands down. We aren't talking about a mid-tier school vs. an unranked school in this situation, which is why many of these responses surprise me. UCLA is in the top 10, or close to the top 10, year in and year out, while UA is unranked altogether. If this is a 50k difference over 4 years, I think this is a clear choice: UCLA.

If it's a 50k/year difference, then it's a different story.
Click to expand...

i don't have a strong opinion either way, but let's get the facts straight here. ucla has never been a top 10 school
 
HreComesTheSun said:
i don't have a strong opinion either way, but let's get the facts straight here. ucla has never been a top 10 school
Click to expand...

yes. let's get the facts straight. UCLA was ranked in the top 10 in 2000 and 2001.
 
UCLA was in the top 10 in 2001. And I think in 2000 as well.
 
oops, my bad, they were #10 over 15 years ago
 
oops, my bad again, i can't count
 
haha, sorry guys, just ignore my posts in this thread all together :D
 
Thanks for all the responses, there has been some really great advise.

When I wrote my original post, I was running low on time before a plane flight and decided to simplify my situation. I'm actually on the unranked (better of 2) waiting list for ucla...I’m not trying to be pretentious and imply I’m going to get in off the waiting list; the problem is that I wrote a letter of intent to ucla thinking I had made my final decision. However, I started thinking about that extra debt and was then leaning toward uofa (in which case, as I understand the process, I would have to reject ucla before they accept me)

Therefore, I wrote the post as if I had already been accepted to both since I would have to decide before ucla accepted me. Again, I wasn’t trying to be misleading. I thought it would be the best way to focus on the actual two schools and not the nuances of my situation. I also thought that there would be some other individual with a state school vs letter of intent waiting list situation that could benefit from this thread.

So, I’m currently holding my uofa acceptance and deciding if I should preemptively reject ucla…and still on the fence…
 
Don't do the preemptive thing. I know of some of my classmates who got in off the wait list during oreintation so just hang tight, cuz ya never know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

P
  • Poll
UCLA vs UMich
Replies
4
Views
444
Rachapkis
Rachapkis
G
UMich vs Vanderbilt vs UCLA
Replies
7
Views
825
chrshug
C
S
UWSOM vs UCLA
Replies
2
Views
647
thefirerisen
thefirerisen
M
UCLA vs. UTSW vs. Utah
Replies
5
Views
1K
cranberrylimeade
cranberrylimeade
L
Tulane vs UCLA (WL)
Replies
1
Views
453
thefirerisen
thefirerisen
Top