UCLA vs. Vanderbilt

[klokov]

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[tbonez71]

I am also deciding on Vanderbilt, and am from the LA area. Personally I thought all the Vandy kids were pretty incredible, at least that was my view of them at SLW and my interview. Very diverse backgrounds, have done incredible things already, and like to go out and still have a good time. No weirdos from what I met, but maybe I'm a terrible judge of that lol. I also like the small class for the individual attention, you can tell the faculty go out of their way to accommodate the students as much as possible.

LA is interesting... There is a lot to do if you can find it, but to me it is much less vibrant than other big cities say like SF or NY in terms of its culture. There are neighborhoods of it that are fun and interesting but they are all far from each other which means you have to get there. The rest just kind of feels like an overwhelmingly large city. You are right that Westwood is a bit different and more secure, with Santa Monica and other nice areas nearby, but you can't really get around the fact that its hard to move about and escape.

As for research, Vandy gives the option to take 6 months of full-time research without taking that extra year. I don't know what UCLA offers but I imagine it is also pretty flexible. I agree about the basic science stuff - Vandy seems more focused on clinical/informatics research. I know for a fact that their eye institute puts out some amazing research though... Might be department dependent. I'm sure you can find a good project and mentor at either institution.

Also don't discredit the fact that your family is nearby, having a support system is a great thing.

 

[deleted930669]

Both are great options! In your case, I think Vanderbilt might be the way to go. It seems like you already feel comfortable there and would be able to take advantage of all the opportunities without being overwhelmed in the beginning. However UCLA is a great school and you won't go wrong with either decision.

 

[trobinsonmd]

I'm from Santa Monica and went to med school in NYC, same situation as you in terms of not having any family within 5 hours... in med school, there are a lot of other students you'll meet who are in that boat and you'll definitely make friends with them, it's super easy to make friends in MS1 at a place like UCLA, definitely a more social group of med students than the average medical school from my experiences... with respect to people outside of med school, LA is kinda douchey and you'll meet a lot of bratty patients, especially at places like Sinai, whereas in my limited experiences in TN, people are super nice and appreciative, so that's another factor... definitely cannot go wrong with either option, I would probably pick Vanderbilt because having family close by is always really nice and flying back and forth four hours is costly and tiring.

 

[frosted2]

The West Coast is the Best Coast!
The food scene in LA can't be beat.

 

[klokov]

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[willow84]

Update: got bumped to a full-tuition scholarship at UCLA, currently have about quarter-tuition need scholarship at Vanderbilt. About 160k difference in amount of tuition I'd pay over 4 years, which would all be loans. However, the difference in cost of attendance would likely be somewhat smaller due to LA's increased cost of living (maybe at most, 10-15K a year?). Still, I'd be crazy to turn down UCLA right?

I'd pick UCLA!

 

[deleted930669]

Update: got bumped to a full-tuition scholarship at UCLA, currently have about quarter-tuition need scholarship at Vanderbilt. About 160k difference in amount of tuition I'd pay over 4 years, which would all be loans. However, the difference in cost of attendance would likely be somewhat smaller due to LA's increased cost of living (maybe at most, 10-15K a year?). Still, I'd be crazy to turn down UCLA right?

Nah, not crazy. $160k in this situation, while is a big difference, if you're still leaning towards Vanderbilt - which it seems like you are considering that offer didn't make the decision easy for you - means that you're still holding onto Vanderbilt.

 

[klokov]

Nah, not crazy. $160k in this situation, while is a big difference, if you're still leaning towards Vanderbilt - which it seems like you are considering that offer didn't make the decision easy for you - means that you're still holding onto Vanderbilt.

I think you may be right - weird that they seemed neck-and-neck a week ago, but I think I was about to go with Vanderbilt and was excited to finally have a decision so it's hard to give it up I guess. Still, I feel like a 120-160k difference is usually considered a black-and-white decision by the typical SDN orthodoxy, so I'm left kinda undecided.

 

[sadkmladkds]

UCLA is the objective right choice. But in this context if you think vandy is where you'll excell try to get them to give you more money and if they say no **** it in the grand scheme of things that money will be covered soon enough