Ucla Vs Ucsf Vs Stanford Vs Washington

[SoCalRULES!!!!!]

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What's the best med school on the west coast.

 

[Revolution #9]

No bias in this poll...

 

[tacrum43]

I guess OHSU and the other UCs are not even worth considering then?

 

[UCLAstudent]

No bias in this poll...

None, whatsoever.

 

[Ambs]

I guess OHSU and the other UCs are not even worth considering then?

No kidding!

 

[Shaz]

How is UCSF any better than UCLA? UCLA is the superior medical center and far bigger and far better. How did UCSF get this rep? Parnassus is puny.

I think arnold would say "it's full of girle men."

 

[exmike]

How is UCSF any better than UCLA? UCLA is the superior medical center and far bigger and far better. How did UCSF get this rep? Parnassus is puny.

PLUS LA is 10 times the city and ten times the urban powerhouse of SF.

🙄

and i'm from LA

 

[striped sweater]

I think arnold would say "it's full of girle men."

i visited ucla today. oh my gosh, the med school/med center/health sciences campus is stinkin' amazing! soooo many new things and mega research centers and the rr hospital on the verge of opening. i think anyone who starts there now will be in on the very near unveiling of many awesome new areas. i also was impressed with the ON CAMPUS graduate housing within walking distance of everything. yes, LA has its crowding and traffic, but man oh man... it looks like the university has made great strides in making the area accesible and convenient for its students. and the surrounding area is beautiful, busy, alive. westwood is the quintessential college town. and the cookie place... diddy riese. ahhhhh (that is worth a few votes, right there!)

 

[Qemmalee]

No bias in this poll...

You guys are just terribly adorable!! I just had to say that, and I'm not joking whatsoever. It's alright to be proud of your school, but no poo-pooing on my alma mater- I 😍 UCSD.

 

[Haybrant]

You guys are just terribly adorable!! I just had to say that, and I'm not joking whatsoever. It's alright to be proud of your school, but no poo-pooing on my alma mater- I 😍 UCSD.

wow, youre like the first person off sdn i kinda wanna meet

 

[Tra La La]

How is UCSF any better than UCLA? UCLA is the superior medical center and far bigger and far better. How did UCSF get this rep? Parnassus is puny.

This is a good question. The UCSF campus is so small...I mean, where are all their research facilities? At UCLA, it's apparent...their campus is tight. UCLA is huge and awesome, but its research and primary care programs consistently rank below UCSF's. I really don't understand how this is the case.

😕

 

[Tra La La]

So, if you had to choose: UCSF or UCLA?

 

[doc05]

So, if you had to choose: UCSF or UCLA?

UCSF is stronger reputation-wise. SF is also a better city.

 

[sunUCB]

if i had to choose, i'd pick UCSF - and not completely because of the reputation. much of the decision would be because i've lived around both places for a long time, and i like SF as a city better than LA.

So, if you had to choose: UCSF or UCLA?

 

[Haybrant]

This is a good question. The UCSF campus is so small...I mean, where are all their research facilities? At UCLA, it's apparent...their campus is tight. UCLA is huge and awesome, but its research and primary care programs consistently rank below UCSF's. I really don't understand how this is the case.

😕

perhaps you havent seen/heard of the mt. zion campus or the mission bay campus; that is where the research facilities are and where the leaders in their respective fields are. I personally dont like how it is spread out b.c it takes 15 min to mt zion and ~20 min to missions bay. Cohesiveness is something i was looking for in a med school; research-wise its more important than it seems. At mt. zion we know almost nobody researching at parnas or mission bay which sucks b.c we want to move to a more developmental approach to our work but we cant(well we can, but it would take more effort than my colleagues are wiling). Schools are catching on to this and it's well exemplified at stanford where their new clarke cntr houses diff research disciplines next to each other. UCSF was the pioneer in this but they are obviously limited by geographical issues.

 

[Tra La La]

perhaps you havent seen/heard of the mt. zion campus or the mission bay campus; that is where the research facilities are and where the leaders in their respective fields are. I personally dont like how it is spread out b.c it takes 15 min to mt zion and ~20 min to missions bay. Cohesiveness is something i was looking for in a med school; research-wise its more important than it seems. At mt. zion we know almost nobody researching at parnas or mission bay which sucks b.c we want to move to a more developmental approach to our work but we cant(well we can, but it would take more effort than my colleagues are wiling). Schools are catching on to this and it's well exemplified at stanford where their new clarke cntr houses diff research disciplines next to each other. UCSF was the pioneer in this but they are obviously limited by geographical issues.

Hmm...I know that the Mission Bay campus is supposed to bring many research elements together, but historically, how did UCSF overcome its geographical barriers?

I know that at Stanford (and UCLA), basically all the medical school research buildings are within 5-10 min walk of each other, which is really convenient. I worked in the Cardiovascular Research Building at Stanford and I often needed some imaging equipment which was in the Clark Building, a mere 5 minute walk. The convenience was awesome.

 

[Tra La La]

Why hasn't Stanford gotten a higher number of votes? 😕

 

[Haybrant]

Why hasn't Stanford gotten a higher number of votes? 😕

well, ucsf is the only school in the nation to be top 10 in primary care and research; that's pretty darn impressive; to be honest stanf has a better overall reputation (i.e if you poll the masses; ask a layman, or educated for that matter, on the east coast if they have heard of ucsf) but ucsf has a better rep among the medical community as it ought to; i work there and im in awe every day by the university; it's just an awesome powerhouse. Reference my post in the us news 2006 rankings for discussion on quality vs. quantity in research tho.

 

[Resurrected I]

Let's be honest here. UCSF weather cannot be equated with California weather.
California weather (at least for out-of-stater): sunny, clear, and fairly warm
UCSF: foggy, dreary/cloudy, and cold.....

And let's not forget the safety issue.....walking around after evening around UCSF is NOT safe....

Finally, most of the ppl I know outside of medicine hadn't even heard of UCSF until my friends applied.....it just does not carry the "name weight" like Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and obviously Harvard.....

Plus, their financial aid is pretty terrible......

 

[Tra La La]

Let's be honest here. UCSF weather cannot be equated with California weather.
California weather (at least for out-of-stater): sunny, clear, and fairly warm
UCSF: foggy, dreary/cloudy, and cold.....

And let's not forget the safety issue.....walking around after evening around UCSF is NOT safe....

Finally, most of the ppl I know outside of medicine hadn't even heard of UCSF until my friends applied.....it just does not carry the "name weight" like Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and obviously Harvard.....

Plus, their financial aid is pretty terrible......

You bring up some good points, and I agree with you a little. Yes, UCSF weather can be dreary, but sunshine in the Bay Area can be found a few miles away. It's not like the fog is there 24/7/365.

And a lot of major medical center complexes are unsafe at night. This is not unique to UCSF.

Also, it is true that UCSF does not have the name recognition of Ivy league schools, but among residency selection committess, isn't UCSF evaluated pretty highly? In fact, I have heard the UCSF is viewed as highly (if not higher) than the schools you listed. Just b/c a few people havn't heard of UCSF doesn't make it a poor institution.

In fact, many people don't have the slightest idea of what Cal Tech is, or what Swathmore is. But hey, these are both top notch schools--two of the very best, no?

Financial aid...I heard somewhere that the average debt of a UCSF alum is around 55k. That's the lowest I've heard.

 

[Haybrant]

Let's be honest here. UCSF weather cannot be equated with California weather.
California weather (at least for out-of-stater): sunny, clear, and fairly warm
UCSF: foggy, dreary/cloudy, and cold.....

And let's not forget the safety issue.....walking around after evening around UCSF is NOT safe....

Finally, most of the ppl I know outside of medicine hadn't even heard of UCSF until my friends applied.....it just does not carry the "name weight" like Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and obviously Harvard.....

Plus, their financial aid is pretty terrible......

yes, the name recognition is not the same which is why you have to ask yourself what you see yourself doing in the future. If you plan on being involved in patient care, which an overwhelming majority of physicians are, then ucsf is prob your best bet (only school top 10 in research and primary care!). But a degree from the other schools with greater name recognition open up other doors b.c of the marketability of the degree.
the weather issue is dumb; why even consider east coast schools if weather is such an important issue; besides its a good 75F outside right now!

 

[jjmack]

I'm from NY and I'd take SF weather over LA and SD any day of the week. I never knew there was a safety issue around UCSF. And the name issue is just stupid. Two exaples. If you just pool the general public princeton has the 8th best medical school in the US. A professor at columbia told me this. Also most general people don't know Wash U is a good med school, but it as well as UCSF has helped shape modern medicine.

Let's be honest here. UCSF weather cannot be equated with California weather.
California weather (at least for out-of-stater): sunny, clear, and fairly warm
UCSF: foggy, dreary/cloudy, and cold.....

And let's not forget the safety issue.....walking around after evening around UCSF is NOT safe....

Finally, most of the ppl I know outside of medicine hadn't even heard of UCSF until my friends applied.....it just does not carry the "name weight" like Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and obviously Harvard.....

Plus, their financial aid is pretty terrible......

 

[alec689]

In fact, many people don't have the slightest idea of what Cal Tech is, or what Swathmore is. But hey, these are both top notch schools--two of the very best, no?

Swarthmore rocks (as an un-biased alum). Seriously, it doesn't have the name recognition that the Ivies have, but when you go to graduate/professional school interviews, Swarthmore carries a ton of weight. As an unamed dean of admissions at a certain Ivy league medical school said, "At Swarthmore, an A is really an A."

 

[Mitro]

well, ucsf is the only school in the nation to be top 10 in primary care and research

Actually there are two schools that fit this criteria. The University of Washington is the other one.

 

[oasis786]

I attend UCSF so I have to preface all of this with...I'm biased. 😀

But maybe I can elaborate on a few things...

One of the draws of UCSF for faculty and students is the environment of [relative] humility. Some of the greatest researchers and physicians work and teach here, but you wouldn't know it. Many would argue this has been one of UCSF's downfalls - were it not the case, it may command a stronger reputation among laypeople or Ivy-worshippers, as Stanford does. Many top schools have world leaders in their fields, but the fact remains that UCSF attracts very humble but amazing people (faculty and students). For whatever reason, the folks that come here are brilliant, but would prefer not be in the spotlight for that, or have accomplished tremendous feats in their careers but don't want to be rewarded with a corner office and departmental powers. You could say this about any school, but from my observations on the interview trail this seemed to be most true here.

Addressing the recent expansion of UCSF to Mission Bay, the rate of growth is absolutely explosive, especially given the California economy. No other biomedical sciences campus is expanding at this rate, and the recruitment of top-notch faculty has been fast and furious, despite the fact that UCSF cannot offer monetary or other perks that some other schools can afford. This will also be one of the leading, if not THE leading, stem cell units in the country. I too was blown away by UCLA's amazing biomedical expansion over the last few years, only to realize that what is going on at Mission Bay exceeds that, not necessarily in the beauty of the buildings or technological advances, but in the quality of faculty that are being drawn to the campus, the infrastructure for fostering collegiality despite the split campus, etc. You'll be hearing a lot about UCSF and Mission Bay in the near future.

That being said, there are some weaknesses here. Currently, the split campus does render some tasks difficult - e.g. if you like doing some research between your med school classes (haha), it had better be at Parnassus. It's difficult to collaborate like Haybrant mentioned, if for example your clinically focused lab at Parnassus or Zion wants to do some hardcore NMR work with someone at Mission Bay. And bioengineering is a weak area, even with Mission Bay - there aren't clear plans that I've seen yet that indicate how the BioE folks from Berkeley will factor into this, or if UCSF will develop its own BioE core (in contrast to Stanford, which has committed to the interface between engineering and medicine with Bio-X). So for now, Mission Bay will become a molecular and quantitative biology powerhouse, with clinical (new cancer hospital) and engineering components coming later.

Hope this helps...

EDIT: oh, and I haven't heard of any major safety issues walking around campus. The neighborhood is much safer than Berkeley, for instance. There have been a few thefts from labs, but that's sort of a different issue. I feel much safer late at night here than I did at Berkeley. If you wander into sketchy areas of SF at night, then yes, sure, that's dangerous, but UCSF is located in one of the least sketchy neighborhoods of SF.

 

[DrRads101]

SF as a city better than LA.

If you'd even call LA a city. More like 19 suburbs in search of one. 😉

I think most people on this board would choose San Fran over LA in a heartbeat. It is way more urban, dense, and walkable. It is way more of everything people think of when they think of "cities."

 

[burlypie]

Let's be honest here. UCSF weather cannot be equated with California weather.
California weather (at least for out-of-stater): sunny, clear, and fairly warm
UCSF: foggy, dreary/cloudy, and cold.....

And let's not forget the safety issue.....walking around after evening around UCSF is NOT safe....

I agree with you about the weather -- but even SF has its days, and the view from any of the buildings at Parnassus are enough to make up for anything else.

Who are you kidding about safety??? I lived a few blocks away from UCSF for 5 years and NEVER felt unsafe -- even walking around ar 4am. Sure, you should always be alert but I'd say that the Inner Sunset/Cole Valley area of SF (where UCSF sits) is one of the safest in the already-safe city.

 

[Tra La La]

I agree with you about the weather -- but even SF has its days, and the view from any of the buildings at Parnassus are enough to make up for anything else.

This is true. 😎

 

[scott858]

UCI will be THE preeminent stem cell center in california, if not the world. Just b/c UCSF has a great reputation in many areas doesn't mean it's amazing in every field. UCI has and will continue to dominate, period.

 

[Haybrant]

UCI will be THE preeminent stem cell center in california, if not the world. Just b/c UCSF has a great reputation in many areas doesn't mean it's amazing in every field. UCI has and will continue to dominate, period.

seriously? i didnt know they were strong in stem cell research. My understanding was that stanford is the stem cell powerhouse (at least cancer/stem cell) b.c of the prominence of many profs in the field. perhaps i confused who has more adult vs. embryonic stem cell research ongoing. Do you have any links to some stem cell focused labs at uci; id like to read up on the work going on there.

oh, and just curious, why the confidence that uci will continue to dominate period?

 

[Tra La La]

oh, and just curious, why the confidence that uci will continue to dominate period?

I was wondering the same thing.

No one was talking **** about Irvine...I don't know why that guy's so defensive. Jeez.

 

[Tra La La]

My understanding was that stanford is the stem cell powerhouse (at least cancer/stem cell) b.c of the prominence of many profs in the field.

I definitely agree.

 

[dr.z]

Ucla!

 

[every1blowz]

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