UCLA vs UVA

[forevrundecided]

ARRGGHHHHGHGHG! I have been to both schools' revisit weekends and loved them both. I have changed my mind about where to attend at least 8 times in the past week. Does anyone have any good advice?

The cost difference between the two schools is negligable!

Here is how the pros/cons list look

UCLA:

+ Nice graduate student housing which may offer a chance to meet people outside of the crazies in the med school (myself included in the craziness).
+Closer to home (parents are aging and may be developing health problems)
+Want to stay on west side of the country after residency but I am not completely set on this
+Fantastic variety and quality of hospitals
+Very laid-back and students have a lot of free time
+ Huge underserved population. I love underserved medicine, the hispanic population, the urban craziness and poverty in LA.
+ Access to beach, mountains, etc.
+ It's really REALLY pretty here
+ I would probably be giving up snowboarding, but I could surf instead!
+Fantastic patient variety
+ More diversity!
+ classmates seemed cool
- Curriculum is less lecture based, more PBL based- I prefer more traditional and PBL seems like a waste of time
- Have to write up a paper every week for PBL
- I sometimes don't think of myself as a big city person- I like to KNOW the people around me. Westwood may be more insulated and intimate than I think

All in all, UCLA is impressive as ****! I loved it there. However, it seemed like people kept to themselves a bit more and it wasn't such an engaging social environment. This is what scares me. Is this a legitimate concern?

UVA

+I really felt comfortable here
+Love the college town feel (but maybe I'd get sick of it)
+Social scene seems more fun and my "style"
+Pre-clinical curriculum really suits me well
+Very good board scores(I think better than UCLA actually)
+ Extra time for clinical rotations
- No fabulous student housing
- No urban area to provide diversified patient population.
- Hospitals aren't nearly as esteemed as UCLA
- Might not be quite as laid back as UCLA??
- Weather isnt as nice as LA
-Far away from family and probably want to return to west coast later in my life

UCLA is more impressive and would offer better opportunities, hands down. However, UVA seemed more fun and comfortable for me. I really dunno what to do

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[drizzt3117]

I would go to UCLA with such a small difference in tuition. Don't consider board scores when looking at schools, especially ones of these caliber. They're mainly due to individual differnences.

 

[RoadRunner17]

Family's important, especially when you consider that they're aging and have health problems. Being all the way on the other side of the country might not be the best place to be. I too would vote UCLA if it were me, but this isn't about me, it's about you.

 

[aRnonymous]

If I were you I would choose UCLA

 

[funkymunkytoes]

Just curious, when did you get the scholarship from UVA? Have you got both school's financial aid packages already?

 

[shindotp]

Yes, these threads probably are really annoying and you're probably sick of seeing them. However, I don't think UVA has been sized up against anyone this season and I am fretting about which school to choose.

I am out of state for both schools, have been given a fairly modest amount of need based scholarship money at UCLA and a fairly large merit scholarship at the University of Virginia. I will be eligible for in-state tuition after the first year at UCLA which will put it's total cost in the ballpark of UVA. Let's estimate that going to UVA will be about 2-12k/ yr cheaper than UCLA when all is said and done (I'm still waiting to hear about need-based aid at UVA)

Here is how the pros/cons list is starting to look in my head

UCLA:
+Weather
+Beautiful graduate student housing. I view living in a housing complex with other graduate students as a really positive social aspect
+Closer to home (parents are aging and have health problems)
+Want to stay on west side of the country
+Fantastic variety and quality of hospitals
+Very laid-back and students have a lot of free time
+ It's ucla
+ Access to beach, mountains, etc.
+Fantastic patient variety- I love underserved populations, in particular the hispanic community (im a white boi though 🙂)
- Curriculum is less lecture based, more PBL based- I prefer more lecture and self study rather than small group stuff
- Don't think of myself as a big city person- This might be a completely illegitimate concern but I worry about not fitting in with LA people
- Don't like the superficial aspect of LA culture
- frightened of smog/traffic

UVA
+Looks like it may be a bit cheaper
+Really felt like a good fit to me
+Love the college town feel (but maybe I'd get sick of it)
+Social scene seems more fun and my "style"
+Pre-clinical curriculum really suits me well
+Very good board scores(I think better than UCLA actually)
+ Extra time for clinical rotations
- No fabulous student housing
- No urban area to provide diversified patient population.
- Hospitals aren't nearly as esteemed as UCLA
- Might not be quite as laid back as UCLA??
- Weather isnt as nice as LA
-Far away from family and probably want to return to west coast later in my life

Would I be crazy to choose UVA over UCLA? Am I putting too much emphasis on fit? What other factors do you guys think I should be taking into consideration?

"- Don't think of myself as a big city person- This might be a completely illegitimate concern but I worry about not fitting in with LA people
- Don't like the superficial aspect of LA culture
- frightened of smog/traffic"

LA's great! Never noticed smog, the traffic's not that terrible, not everyone's superficial.

 

[pntgrd]

"- Don't think of myself as a big city person- This might be a completely illegitimate concern but I worry about not fitting in with LA people
- Don't like the superficial aspect of LA culture
- frightened of smog/traffic"

LA's great! Never noticed smog, the traffic's not that terrible, not everyone's superficial.

I go to ucla med and think it is easily better than UVA, but LA does have bad traffic. Granted, you won't need to fight it that often if you live near the med school like most med students do, and everything in westwood is walkable. I agree about the smog and superficial part though. I don't notice any smog really and the people in LA are just like those from other big cities.

 

[AdmiralChz]

There is so much west coast bias on these forums (ever check to see the number of UCLA undergrad forums?).

I have to go with UVA on this - Cville has no shortage of diversified patients as its a major academic hospital. I have to disagree about the esteemed part of the hospital - UVA's just got some major award for teaching.

That being said, the two are VERY, VERY different in the type of person they attract. A much more laid back, social atmosphere dominates at UVA. It's also fairly conservative (by college standards.......) - not much diversity going on. Also when compared to the other Va schools, the class is pretty young (lots more non-trad folks in the other schools). As you already know, everyone is extremely social and interacts - not the place for your library bookwormish types.

No graduate housing but the places around the hospital are nice and cheap, and you can't beat the Corner and/or Downtown Mall as a social spot 🙂 For me, UCLA didn't even register on my radar of schools, especially when I compare it to UVA. Good luck!

 

[funkydrmonkey]

I would go to UVA... I loved it there when I interviewed... sadly I was waitlisted at both...🙁

 

[veaselhaufen]

a

 

[forevrundecided]

I go to ucla med and think it is easily better than UVA, but LA does have bad traffic. Granted, you won't need to fight it that often if you live near the med school like most med students do, and everything in westwood is walkable. I agree about the smog and superficial part though. I don't notice any smog really and the people in LA are just like those from other big cities.

Did you mean to say that you don't agree about the smog and the superficial part? Superficiality is actually a big worry for me. People who read celebrity magazines and who always talk about fashion make me want to vomit. It doesn't please me that the school is close to the whole Beverly Hills/Hollywood scene. I think I'd rather be in DC or NY where people seem to care more about things that matter (yes I know that I may be incorrect and/or over-generalizing.. sorry!).

I've been spending the past couple minutes wikipedia-ing westwood and nearby cities and it seems like EVERY SINGLE notable resident of each area is some kind of celebrity. I know this shouldn't irritate me, but it kind of does

Westwood sure is pretty though 🙂 And i still think I would really like the school. Tough decision

 

[forevrundecided]

There is so much west coast bias on these forums (ever check to see the number of UCLA undergrad forums?).

I have to go with UVA on this - Cville has no shortage of diversified patients as its a major academic hospital. I have to disagree about the esteemed part of the hospital - UVA's just got some major award for teaching.

That being said, the two are VERY, VERY different in the type of person they attract. A much more laid back, social atmosphere dominates at UVA. It's also fairly conservative (by college standards.......) - not much diversity going on. Also when compared to the other Va schools, the class is pretty young (lots more non-trad folks in the other schools). As you already know, everyone is extremely social and interacts - not the place for your library bookwormish types.

No graduate housing but the places around the hospital are nice and cheap, and you can't beat the Corner and/or Downtown Mall as a social spot 🙂 For me, UCLA didn't even register on my radar of schools, especially when I compare it to UVA. Good luck!

I don't think this is necessarily correct. The curriculum and soforth are suppost to be VERY laid back at UCLA. I think any current students will agree. I'm convinced that UCLA students have more free time and are generally less stressed out than at UVA. But does this come at a cost to board scores? I really don't know too much about the social environment at UCLA and this is probably the biggest piece of the puzzle that I"m missing. I had a fun time hanging out in Charlottesville, both during my interview and second look, but I don't really know what med students do on Fri/Sat night at UCLA? How closely knit is your class? How often do you guys do stuff together? How cliquish is the student body? I've only spent a very little amount of time on the UCLA campus. There are obviously endless amounts of things to do in los angeles, but I think this often tends to "scatter" the student body into groups who have specialized interests. UCLA is a BIG schools and it kind of feels like it. UVA is smaller and feels more tightly-knit. UVA"s class felt more like a family to me, and that impressed me greatly. I don't have enough info about UCLA to really give their class a solid description.

 

[pntgrd]

Did you mean to say that you don't agree about the smog and the superficial part? Superficiality is actually a big worry for me. People who read celebrity magazines and who always talk about fashion make me want to vomit. It doesn't please me that the school is close to the whole Beverly Hills/Hollywood scene. I think I'd rather be in DC or NY where people seem to care more about things that matter (yes I know that I may be incorrect and/or over-generalizing.. sorry!).

I've been spending the past couple minutes wikipedia-ing westwood and nearby cities and it seems like EVERY SINGLE notable resident of each area is some kind of celebrity. I know this shouldn't irritate me, but it kind of does

Westwood sure is pretty though 🙂 And i still think I would really like the school. Tough decision

I am saying that LA isn't as superficial or smoggy as people say.

You hear about the celebrities, but the LA area has over 10 million people. Furthermore, your med school class has people from all over LA, California, and the country. UCLA doesn't just recruit from Beverly Hills.

 

[bobdogsam43]

im also interested in what ucla's avg. board scores are........230s?

 

[Uegis]

No contest. UCLA hands down. Reputation of UCLA is much better, top 20 medical school, fantastic part of the country, Ronald Reagan Medical Center is just so freaking sweet and ranked as the 3rd best hospital in the country by US News (I know, not all that useful but still, people read it).

It really is not contest. The students there are VERY happy too. How can you not be living in Westwood?

 

[veaselhaufen]

No contest. UCLA hands down. Reputation of UCLA is much better, top 20 medical school, fantastic part of the country, Ronald Reagan Medical Center is just so freaking sweet and ranked as the 3rd best hospital in the country by US News (I know, not all that useful but still, people read it).

It really is not contest. The students there are VERY happy too. How can you not be living in Westwood?

Do you go there? Why so happy?

 

[AdmiralChz]

No contest. UCLA hands down. Reputation of UCLA is much better, top 20 medical school, fantastic part of the country, Ronald Reagan Medical Center is just so freaking sweet and ranked as the 3rd best hospital in the country by US News (I know, not all that useful but still, people read it).

It really is not contest. The students there are VERY happy too. How can you not be living in Westwood?

100% disagree. I think you said it yourself, if you are looking for a closer, more personal experience that you'll enjoy, the answer is UVA. UCLA is much more spread out and cliquish - almost to a detriment to the education.

Avg. board scores should mean zero - it's largely dependent on YOU for that preparation, much like the MCAT. I think it basically comes down to this for you: would you rather live on the west coast, or the east coast?

This is a VERY EASY decision for me, but I can't pretend that I would have the same answer as others - like other SDNers would like to do. UCLA will match MUCH more aggressively on the west coast, while UVA will match MUCH more aggressively on the east coast (don't both arguing this, no one can argue geographic bias here). So that is something to consider significantly.

EDIT: UCLA med students answering "UCLA hands down" and providing little to no reasoning (yes, using ranking to back your story does NOTHING, REPEAT NOTHING, to help you're case!!!!) does not help the OP at all.

 

[pntgrd]

100% disagree. I think you said it yourself, if you are looking for a closer, more personal experience that you'll enjoy, the answer is UVA. UCLA is much more spread out and cliquish - almost to a detriment to the education.

EDIT: UCLA med students answering "UCLA hands down" and providing little to no reasoning (yes, using ranking to back your story does NOTHING, REPEAT NOTHING, to help you're case!!!!) does not help the OP at all.

" UCLA is much more spread out and cliquish - almost to a detriment to the education."

And you know this because? What do you mean spread out? The school, hospital, and housing are all together.

If a superior location (most would consider California and Westwood to be more desirable than Charlottslville, Virginia), laid back atmosphere, weather, research reputation, school reputation, and hospital reputation don't matter to you, than UVA is better because you'll save a few thousand dollars.

 

[AdmiralChz]

If a superior location (most would consider California and Westwood to be more desirable than Charlottslville, Virginia), hospital reputation don't matter to you, than UVA is better because you'll save a few thousand dollars.

Wow... these subjective statements don't help anyone 😱. This is a west coast v. east coast question - UCLA's reputation means nada on the east coast. I'll even admit that the same holds true for UVA's reputation on the west coast. Don't believe me? Ask around and it'll be confirmed by people who are actually knowledgeable on these matters.

 

[pntgrd]

Wow... these subjective statements don't help anyone 😱. This is a west coast v. east coast question - UCLA's reputation means nada on the east coast. I'll even admit that the same holds true for UVA's reputation on the west coast. Don't believe me? Ask around and it'll be confirmed by people who are actually knowledgeable on these matters.

By any measure, popular or in quantified rankings, I don't think anyone would contend that the University of Virginia's hospital, research, or medical school has a better reputation. Outside of rankings which you dismiss, reputation is inherently subjective. But subjectivity doesn't preclude an obvious truth.

 

[bobdogsam43]

UCLA's reputation means nada on the east coast. I'll even admit that the same holds true for UVA's reputation on the west coast. Don't believe me? Ask around and it'll be confirmed by people who are actually knowledgeable on these matters.

riiiiiiiiiight

 

[forevrundecided]

Honestly, this is a crappy showing by both sides. I don't give two ****s which has a better reputation.

I think I know what UVA is like- Tell me what it's like to be a UCLA student? What are your classmates like? How do you spend your time? What do you make of the pbl and little lecture? What's it like living in Weyburn? What's the nite life/social life like?

 

[bobdogsam43]

theres not as much PBL as you think at UCLA....you have it from 8-10 on M/F. You have lecture everyday from 10-12 and then stuff in the afternoon Tu/W/Th..........theres alot of time for independent study.


IMO, this is an easy choice.

 

[Slowpoke]

next time, don't start a flame war. decisions like these are next to impossible to be reasoned without subjectivity.

Just go with your personal preference. Done.

 

[flip26]

If a superior location (most would consider California and Westwood to be more desirable than Charlottslville, Virginia), laid back atmosphere, weather, research reputation, school reputation, and hospital reputation don't matter to you, than UVA is better because you'll save a few thousand dollars.

I don't. Not even close.

If by "most" you mean typical preening pre-meds, then maybe you are right.

Charlottesville is consistently at the top of those "best places to live" lists, and has been rated #1 many times. It scores high for families, for work, for schools, for access to culture, outdoor activities, climate, and health care...but I guess those things mean nothing to typical pre-meds.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

In my hopes to end this pointless thread (it really has been pointless, you've got no REAL advice) I will cite RoadRunner:


Personally I don't think its that necessary to have to post a school comparison thread if you've been paying attention at the interview, doing your research and going to the second looks. Also, how are us anonymous posters going to know what YOU want in your school that you will be attending for the next four years of your life?

I find that in most of these threads, the advice inevitably ends up being much like this summarized version:

OP: HELP!!111 I'm choosing between School X and School Y and School Z, but I can't decide! Can someone help me compare these schools? What would you do!!?

Poster 1: Go to school X, it is in a better location and you'll be happier.

Poster 2: No, Go to school Y, it's cheaper.

flip26: Go to the cheapest school. You'd be stupid not to with the bleak outlook regarding student lending and post-graduate salaries.

Poster 2: Actually, wait for the financial aid packages and go with whichever school is cheaper.

Poster 3: Just go to the second look and then decide.

Poster 4: Go to School Z because their matchlist is the most impressive.

Law2Doc: (copy and paste his usual response about seeing the last 5 minutes of a movie and trying to figure out what happened)

Poster 1: Are you guys serious? School Y and School Z are in crappy locations while School X is in the bestest location ever.

Poster 5: Current med student who extols the virtues of School Z, subtly trashing School X and Y.

Poster 6: Some resident who tells the OP to choose the cheapest school, shaking his/her head at the "idealism" and "ignorance" of pre-meds who are illogically chasing "prestige".

That's all you really need to know, ahead of time, so you won't even need to waste the time making a school comparison thread. Just picture yourself as the OP and let the thread roll along as it is above, and you've got your thread.


I think this is spot on as to what this thread has become.

 

[forevrundecided]

Poster 4: Go to School Z because their matchlist is the most impressive.

Law2Doc: (copy and paste his usual response about seeing the last 5 minutes of a movie and trying to figure out what happened)

.

I agree with you, but what have I got to lose?
BTW, the cited part above made me laugh a little bit

 

[pntgrd]

Honestly, this is a crappy showing by both sides. I don't give two ****s which has a better reputation.

I think I know what UVA is like- Tell me what it's like to be a UCLA student? What are your classmates like? How do you spend your time? What do you make of the pbl and little lecture? What's it like living in Weyburn? What's the nite life/social life like?

First, reputation should means something to you because it is often based on some truth, and impacts your residency placement.

Life as a UCLA student is good. We are generally happy and relaxed relative to other schools. We work hard but it is p/f non-ranked so it is not competitive and very friendly. There are about 150 in the class, so it is hard to summarize "what my classmates are like" or "what they do". There are all different types and ages. Some non-study things include IM sports, enjoying the myriad of LA restaurants, clubs, concerts, the beach, hiking, sking, volunteer stuff with UCLA free clinics... Weyburn is a very nice grad student apt complex in westwood that is guerenteed for 2 years for med students. It is reasonably priced for Westwood, and makes for a nice atmosphere since most first and second years choose to live there.

We actually have more lecture than PBL. PBL is usually 4 hours a week (1 block it is 2 hr/week), while lecture averages 10 hours a week. Overall we average 24 hours a week of in class instruction, so PBL is only about 15% of that. The whole curriculum is integrated, so PBL, lecture, anatomy, and histopathology will be covering the same organ system simultaneously.

 

[pntgrd]

Wow... these subjective statements don't help anyone 😱. This is a west coast v. east coast question - UCLA's reputation means nada on the east coast. I'll even admit that the same holds true for UVA's reputation on the west coast. Don't believe me? Ask around and it'll be confirmed by people who are actually knowledgeable on these matters.

I haven't seen UVA's matchlist posted, but UCLA, while matching most heavily in CA, does match several at Mass Gen, Hopkins, Brigham & Womens, BI, Duke, Yale, Vanderbilt, UPenn. Your comment that UCLA's reputation "means nada" on the East Coast is so full of bull that you lose all credibility.

 

[flip26]

First, reputation should means something to you because it is often based on some truth, and impacts your residency placement.

Life as a UCLA student is good. We are generally happy and relaxed relative to other schools. We work hard but it is p/f non-ranked so it is not competitive and very friendly. There are about 150 in the class, so it is hard to summarize "what my classmates are like" or "what they do". There are all different types and ages. Some non-study things include IM sports, enjoying the myriad of LA restaurants, clubs, concerts, the beach, hiking, sking, volunteer stuff with UCLA free clinics... Weyburn is a very nice grad student apt complex in westwood that is guerenteed for 2 years for med students. It is reasonably priced for Westwood, and makes for a nice atmosphere since most first and second years choose to live there.

We actually have more lecture than PBL. PBL is usually 4 hours a week (1 block it is 2 hr/week), while lecture averages 10 hours a week. Overall we average 24 hours a week of in class instruction, so PBL is only about 15% of that. The whole curriculum is integrated, so PBL, lecture, anatomy, and histopathology will be covering the same organ system simultaneously.

Is a car a necessity in years 1 and 2?

For years 3 and 4, I assume a car is necessary. How spread out are rotations? How much driving is involved - distances, freeways, etc?

 

[bobdogsam43]

idk about years 1 and 2 but im sure a car is required for years 3 and 4. The hospital network is pretty impressive but it is spread throughout the southland.....CHS and the VA in westwood, cedars in beverly hills, harbor in torrnace, olive view in the san fernando valley, santa monica, kaiser all over, etc. But SoCal is the freeway capitol of the world soooo....

 

[pntgrd]

Is a car a necessity in years 1 and 2?

For years 3 and 4, I assume a car is necessary. How spread out are rotations? How much driving is involved - distances, freeways, etc?

For years 3 and 4 you'll need a car. Years one and two a car is a nice thing but not necessary. Westwood has a Ralph's, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes.

 

[Lukkie]

Is a car a necessity in years 1 and 2?

For years 3 and 4, I assume a car is necessary. How spread out are rotations? How much driving is involved - distances, freeways, etc?

definitely not needed in 1-2. as someone stated above, westwood village has just about everything you would need on a daily basis. and the bus to santa monica/the beach is very good (comes once every 10 minutes weekdays and saturday, 20-30 min at night/sunday). for those long trips to the mountains etc one of your classmates is bound to have a car

for rotations it is probably a must since one of the rotating hospitals is olive view/sylmar which is kind of far away (20-60 minutes drive depending on traffic). same for harbor-ucla (405 freeway). reagan hospital is obviously on campus, and then the santa monica hospital is a 15-30 minute bus ride or a ~10 minute drive from campus

 

[Lukkie]

- Don't like the superficial aspect of LA culture

i have yet to figure wtf this means

 

[pntgrd]

i have yet to figure wtf this means

It usually comes from people outside of LA who get their impression of LA from a stupid show like The Hills.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

It usually comes from people outside of LA who get their impression of LA from a stupid show like The Hills.

Wait, LA isn't like The Hills? Well then, there's your answer: UVA

 

[Lukkie]

Wait, LA isn't like The Hills? Well then, there's your answer: UVA

UCLA is more like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

BECAUSE ITS ACROSS THE STREET FROM BEL-AIR LOL

 

[AdmiralChz]

I don't. Not even close.

If by "most" you mean typical preening pre-meds, then maybe you are right.

Charlottesville is consistently at the top of those "best places to live" lists, and has been rated #1 many times. It scores high for families, for work, for schools, for access to culture, outdoor activities, climate, and health care...but I guess those things mean nothing to typical pre-meds.

👍

 

[scarletgirl777]

I go to ucla med and think it is easily better than UVA, but LA does have bad traffic. Granted, you won't need to fight it that often if you live near the med school like most med students do, and everything in westwood is walkable. I agree about the smog and superficial part though. I don't notice any smog really and the people in LA are just like those from other big cities.

lol at people not noticing the smog.

 

[copingmethods]

It usually comes from people outside of LA who get their impression of LA from a stupid show like The Hills.

Exactly.

lol at people not noticing the smog.

It's really not bad at all. It's worse if you go further inland or to the valley, but West LA is close enough to the ocean that there's nowhere for the smog to get trapped.

Ironically, I lived in LA most of my life, and it wasn't until I moved away that I started having breathing problems from asthma/allergies - too much pollen and trees 😛

 

[Penguick]

Really? People don't notice the superficial qualities of LA? In comparison threads here, people from UCLA generally mention how "hot" the girls of UCLA are as a reason to go there. Most of the time, people talk about how it's UCLA and that's reason in itself to go. Granted, UCLA was one of my top choices, but these forums definitely gave me a sour taste in regard to the type of students UCLA attracts.

Oh...and I definitely noticed the smog. I don't come from a big city, so the air quality was noticeably different.

But, so that this doesn't seem like a complete bashing of UCLA post....I still think UCLA is a great school. I don't know much about UVA, but the people I actually met from UCLA were very smart and seemed to get along very well. They were hard working, yet knew when and how to have fun. I just hope that the students I met, rather than the people on this forum, are the true indicators of what UCLA students are like.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I vote UVA. The reputation difference isnt a big deal. UVA Is cheaper and I think youll like it better, atleast from what you posted.

 

[pntgrd]

Really? People don't notice the superficial qualities of LA? In comparison threads here, people from UCLA generally mention how "hot" the girls of UCLA are as a reason to go there. Most of the time, people talk about how it's UCLA and that's reason in itself to go.

There is a certain UCLA med alum on sdn who is currently a derm resident who posts about the hot girls of UCLA, but that hasn't been brought up in this thread. What has been mentioned as UCLA's qualities are its great research, clinical sites, curriculum, housing, and location.

 

[forevrundecided]

There is a certain UCLA med alum on sdn who is currently a derm resident who posts about the hot girls of UCLA, but that hasn't been brought up in this thread. What has been mentioned as UCLA's qualities are its great research, clinical sites, curriculum, housing, and location.

Woah there tiger. I think a school with hot girls is definitely nothing to criticize 🙂. I hope this doesn't cause a completely baseless and superficial war on looks, but I did happen to find UVA girls to be more attractive than UCLA girls anyway. If someone tries to post pictures of UCLA's stupid cheerleaders to try to prove me wrong I'm going to be really mad. This is all beside the point though.. Sorry for bringing it up

Hot girls are just fine. What ISNT fine are people like those who are depicted on Dr 90210, which I just happened to click past on my tv. I want to put as much distance as possible between myself and those kinds of people.

 

[scarletgirl777]

Really? People don't notice the superficial qualities of LA? In comparison threads here, people from UCLA generally mention how "hot" the girls of UCLA are as a reason to go there. Most of the time, people talk about how it's UCLA and that's reason in itself to go. Granted, UCLA was one of my top choices, but these forums definitely gave me a sour taste in regard to the type of students UCLA attracts.

Oh...and I definitely noticed the smog. I don't come from a big city, so the air quality was noticeably different.

But, so that this doesn't seem like a complete bashing of UCLA post....I still think UCLA is a great school. I don't know much about UVA, but the people I actually met from UCLA were very smart and seemed to get along very well. They were hard working, yet knew when and how to have fun. I just hope that the students I met, rather than the people on this forum, are the true indicators of what UCLA students are like.

The very first time I went to LA, I remember looking up and being like omg what is that in the sky and being totally grossed out by it. I can see how if you lived there you would just stop noticing it, but to me it was very noticeable. It was just like an ugly stain on the skyline.

 

[AdmiralChz]

The very first time I went to LA, I remember looking up and being like omg what is that in the sky and being totally grossed out by it. I can see how if you lived there you would just stop noticing it, but to me it was very noticeable. It was just like an ugly stain on the skyline.

Wow I've never experienced smog before... that bad huh? Gross!

 

[UCLAstudent]

The very first time I went to LA, I remember looking up and being like omg what is that in the sky and being totally grossed out by it. I can see how if you lived there you would just stop noticing it, but to me it was very noticeable. It was just like an ugly stain on the skyline.

LA does have smog, but UCLA is so close to the beach that it isn't an issue. The smog tends to get trapped in valleys.

 

[Lukkie]

omg what is that in the sky

 

[scarletgirl777]

Wow I've never experienced smog before... that bad huh? Gross!

I'm sure different people will have different levels of caring. I mean, I never at any point felt, for instance, that the air quality was terribly affected (I also don't have asthma) but I guess I was just disturbed by the concept that the air pollution would be so bad that I could actually see it. I'm not small town by any means but I'm just not used to that kind of thing.

I personally remember the streak being much darker (memory is imperfect I guess) but you can see how you could quickly adapt to not noticing that.

Here's another picture, although I don't remember it being quite this disruptive to the scenery either:

It probably does depend a lot on where you are/what day it is.

 

[VincentAdultman]

In my hopes to end this pointless thread (it really has been pointless, you've got no REAL advice) I will cite RoadRunner:


Personally I don't think its that necessary to have to post a school comparison thread if you've been paying attention at the interview, doing your research and going to the second looks. Also, how are us anonymous posters going to know what YOU want in your school that you will be attending for the next four years of your life?

I find that in most of these threads, the advice inevitably ends up being much like this summarized version:

OP: HELP!!111 I'm choosing between School X and School Y and School Z, but I can't decide! Can someone help me compare these schools? What would you do!!?

Poster 1: Go to school X, it is in a better location and you'll be happier.

Poster 2: No, Go to school Y, it's cheaper.

flip26: Go to the cheapest school. You'd be stupid not to with the bleak outlook regarding student lending and post-graduate salaries.

Poster 2: Actually, wait for the financial aid packages and go with whichever school is cheaper.

Poster 3: Just go to the second look and then decide.

Poster 4: Go to School Z because their matchlist is the most impressive.

Law2Doc: (copy and paste his usual response about seeing the last 5 minutes of a movie and trying to figure out what happened)

Poster 1: Are you guys serious? School Y and School Z are in crappy locations while School X is in the bestest location ever.

Poster 5: Current med student who extols the virtues of School Z, subtly trashing School X and Y.

Poster 6: Some resident who tells the OP to choose the cheapest school, shaking his/her head at the "idealism" and "ignorance" of pre-meds who are illogically chasing "prestige".

That's all you really need to know, ahead of time, so you won't even need to waste the time making a school comparison thread. Just picture yourself as the OP and let the thread roll along as it is above, and you've got your thread.


I think this is spot on as to what this thread has become.

Dibs on Poster 6.