UCLA vs UCSF

[wammabamma]

Ok OP, seriously, its very very simple. The research, prestige, clinical opportunities, blah blah blah are pretty much the same. Where do you want to live for the next 4 years. San Francisco or Los Angeles? BAM, done.

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[hra87]

I don't really see how this is much of a question.

SF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LA.

 

[pntgrd]

I don't really see how this is much of a question.

SF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LA.

Not really. I've lived in both places and I much prefer LA for the weather, food quality and diversity, location of the school, beaches, (relatively) more reasonable housing, and nearby skiing.

 

[UCLAAAA]

Check out the top residency programs....
UCSF definitely beats UCLA

http://www.residentphysician.com/

 

[wammabamma]

Check out the top residency programs....
UCSF definitely beats UCLA

http://www.residentphysician.com/

Is it right to base rankings completely and solely on NIH funding? Harvard is ranked #26 .

 

[pntgrd]

Check out the top residency programs....
UCSF definitely beats UCLA

http://www.residentphysician.com/

That is based on NIH funding. I don't see what that has to do with the program. UCLA beat SF in many categories, such as Neurology (my desired field).

Residency streghnth is better correlated with US News Hospital Dept rankings. UCLA beat SF overall (#3 v. #7).

 

[dc5484]

Not really. I've lived in both places and I much prefer LA for the weather, food quality and diversity, location of the school, beaches, (relatively) more reasonable housing, and nearby skiing.

If nearby skiing is a factor, SF has much better ski options - Lake Tahoe has a huge selection of awesome resorts and is a 3-4 hour drive away, the only better places to ski in the US than LT are Utah and Colorado. The nearest decent ski place near LA is Mammoth, which is a good 5-6 hour drive away. The closer resorts to LA such as Big Bear are a joke.

 

[pntgrd]

If nearby skiing is a factor, SF has much better ski options - Lake Tahoe has a huge selection of awesome resorts and is a 3-4 hour drive away, the only better places to ski in the US than LT are Utah and Colorado. The nearest decent ski place near LA is Mammoth, which is a good 5-6 hour drive away. The closer resorts to LA such as Big Bear are a joke.

LT is better than the places near LA, but the places near LA are a lot more convenient and really not that bad. During my time in the bay area, I was barely able to go more than once during the winter. During my LA times, I could go every weekend or a free weekday, as the resorts were about 1.5 hours away, as opposed to over 4.5 hours away for Tahoe.

 

[wammabamma]

If nearby skiing is a factor, SF has much better ski options - Lake Tahoe has a huge selection of awesome resorts and is a 3-4 hour drive away, the only better places to ski in the US than LT are Utah and Colorado. The nearest decent ski place near LA is Mammoth, which is a good 5-6 hour drive away. The closer resorts to LA such as Big Bear are a joke.

u guys still ski? i thought all the cool kids snowboard now.

 

[sylar86]

both schools are great. can't go wrong with either one. but caliber wise, I got a pretty clear vibe when i visited ucla that their students were kinda slow with respect to those at ucsf.

 

[wammabamma]

both schools are great. can't go wrong with either one. but caliber wise, I got a pretty clear vibe when i visited ucla that their students were kinda slow with respect to those at ucsf.

lol wowwwww. i vote you for ignorant tool of the day .

 

[krispykremes101]

this thread is filled with ucla people just being defensive about their choice of school...

 

[LadyDoc2]

Since I am making the same decision, I talked to students at both.

The UCLA 4th year I spoke with loved her school and her classmates. Honestly, its a great program and I really enjoyed second look there.

I spoke with a UCSF 3rd year last week and asked her tons of questions:

In a nutshell, she said her class is awesome; everyone is really smart and they are having a great time together. She said she loved the pre-clinical curriculum and it prepared her well for the boards (she seemed to have done well). She also said the clinical training is top-notch. She has a wide range of rotations all over San Francisco and is getting great training. She also said ti is very easy to contact UCSF docs/researchers to get involved in anything from shadowing to research.

So, when I was at UCLA i heard a bunch of people saying that the UCSF students are not happy blah blah...(and i later noticed that these people didnt get into UCSF, but whatever), i have found this to be totally false. the people i have talked to love the school, the city and the people in their class.

honestly, i really like both schools and in the end its a personal decision. where do you want to go to med school? where will you do better? I am waiting till 2nd look to make the final call, but it looks like i might be headed to San Fran...good luck with your decision

 

[MsJLewis]

I'm also deciding between UCLA/UCSF and some east coast schools. I contacted my student interviewer at UCSF who is a 4th year that recently matched. Below is what she had to say about the school. The common theme I've found is that you should just go where you feel comfortable.

"For me, I just went with my gut. UCSF felt like the right place when I came for my interview, and I met a lot of students that seemed like the type of medical student that I wanted to be. So, my biggest advice would be to go with what feels right. If that is not UCSF (don't tell the admissions office I said this) then you are NOT a fool for going elsewhere. The most important thing is to go where you think you will be the happiest.
All of that being said, I can address some of the specific issues.
Financial aid here is NOT great... Our fees have been increasing every year (with no real end in sight). I would imagine, however that the package will be similar to UCLA. If it comes down to this (which I hope it doesn't) I would give the financial aid office a call.
UCSF DID give me an edge when it came to residency application. I didn't really think about that when I was applying to medical school, but in retrospect, I do think that it was a great advantage.
The clinical training here is great, but I can't really compare to other schools since this is all that I know."

 

[pntgrd]

MSJlewis, I agree with your interview. I ended up picking UCLA over UCSF for several reasons, but mainly is that I just felt better and more comfortable at UCLA. I think this was due to the weather, Westwood, undergrad campus, and common year 1 and two housing. But if I felt more comfortable at SF, I probably would have gone there.