UCR SOM vs RUSH

[DMed2029]

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UCR SOM vs RUSH

Hi all! I’m excited about the opportunity to choose between these two great schools and would love some feedback.

A little bit about me:

1) From California, went to UCLA, and my end Goal is to match and work back in LA or SD - where my family is.
2) Interested in IM/Cardiology/ maybe Orthopedics (Not too sure yet but want to keep my doors open), no matter what field I go into, I definitely want to continue working with urban populations and be hands-on.
3) Not interested in academic medicine—I see myself in private practice or a non-academic hospital setting. Although I do enjoy research and respect its importance for public health and improvement.
4) Top Priorities for med school:

• A place where I will genuinely be happy for four years. I want to have a life outside of medicine and balance.
• Strong mentorship and support for matching into my specialty of choice.
• Prepare me well for residency to be a technically-proficient Physician
• Best shot at matching back to California for residency.
• Weather would be nice, but living in NYC right now and have

Rush Medical College
Pros

• Strong service orientation
• Recognition and Prestige? (Anchor Institution)
• Home Hospital (Biggest factor for me tb)
• Excellent facilities and great community
• Have heard from many students that they believe they’ve received a strong clinical foundation which has been echoed by their preceptors on clerkships
• Diverse patient population and opportunities to rotate through Cook County
• Great public transportation system
• Student body seemed to be made up of many non-trads who had very interesting gap years/former careers
• P/F pre-clinical
• I do love chicago as a whole

Cons:

• Name recognition for residency placements in Cali? - may not be as well known outside of the Midwest, although at UCLA (my undergrad) everybody seemed to know them, and RUSH physicians seem to be all over the country.
• Weather - while I’m coming from NYC currently I’m not a big fan and would love to not spend more time in a place even colder than before.
• In-house exams
• Ranked clerkships H/HP/P/F
• COL is way higher given its private and out of state.
• Flipped classroom approach? (I have heard mixed reviews, I don't think this would be too much of a problem.)

UCR SOM
Pros:

• P/F preclinical
• Apart of the greater UC System, great opportunity for research and connections
• Excellent dedication to community and opportunity to further my spanish.
• Several affiliate hospitals to see many different hospital systems (this is a pro and a con in a sense, since no home hospital)
• Has a good match list throughout socal, a lot of students match at other UCs, Like LA and SD (my two ideal residencies)
• Weather
• Would ultimately like to settle down in CA
• COL would be way cheaper
• Couldn’t pinpoint the vibes at this school, unable to visit due to finances currently, but from what I have gathered the support system from the faculty seems amazing.
• M3s tell me that the hospitals they do rotate at LOVE UCR Medical Students.

Cons

• No attached hospital, ( largest issue I can find with the school )
• Mixed reviews on the ability to match into competitive specialties, since the school is more so tailored to addressing the shortage of physicians in Cali
• Rotations being all over the place at times makes me concerned about the night shifts and long days where a lot of driving will be involved too.
• Relatively new program, not as Established as RUSH
• Match Lists do not show a ton of competitive specialty matching, (which is to be expected from this type of school.)

Summary: I want to set myself up to have the best clinical foundation possible. Most of the information about quality of education has been through the grapevine so if anyone had any other input on these schools that would be great! I genuinely am stuck and paralyzed with the choice at the moment. I worry that I’m passing on a great opportunity at RUSH that would open many doors if I changed my mind about interests or want to be as competitive as possible. BUT, California is my home and where my family is and I know that support systems / weather play a way bigger role than most naive incoming M1s may think.

Additional Info!

I have received a scholarship from UCR totalling close to 60k to be dispersed over the 4 years. In addition to being able to apply for more money later on. The Faculty and Dean of the specific program I was accepted to has expressed their strong interest in having me attend which makes me feel like I would be well supported.

RUSH financial aid has yet to be dispersed but hoping to leverage my offers at UCR and other As that I have to see what they can give me too.

Sorry for the long read, Thanks in advance for your advice! I truly appreciate it!

 

[Basalganglia4life]

Unless rush gives you a big scholarship, UCR is close to friends and family, cheaper, and in the area you want to eventually practice. Sounds like an easy choice to me

 

[Goddo Usoppu]

UCRRRR easy! IMO ucr has a greater prestige factor than rush in California for sure!

 

[DMed2029]

Unless rush gives you a big scholarship, UCR is close to friends and family, cheaper, and in the area you want to eventually practice. Sounds like an easy choice to me

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and give input.

 

[The OTC]

RUSH is a great school and keeping your doors open is important. Here are some considerations for UCR:

Being in the UC system could provide connections to other opportunities/connections at other UC institutions via faculty/ admin. I believe this is where UCR makes up on the "prestige" side of things, especially if you want to match in California.

You will be well supported due to the class size and amazing admin/dean, as you have seen with the outreach.

No attached hospital but there are UCR clinics. Additionally, you are close to quality Kaiser clinics/hospitals as well as Loma Linda which you can rotate through in MS3/MS4.

Cheaper is always a plus. The scholarship is huge and living in the IE will be slightly more affordable than Chicago.

 

[DMed2029]

RUSH is a great school and keeping your doors open is important. Here are some considerations for UCR:

Being in the UC system could provide connections to other opportunities/connections at other UC institutions via faculty/ admin. I believe this is where UCR makes up on the "prestige" side of things, especially if you want to match in California.

You will be well supported due to the class size and amazing admin/dean, as you have seen with the outreach.

No attached hospital but there are UCR clinics. Additionally, you are close to quality Kaiser clinics/hospitals as well as Loma Linda which you can rotate through in MS3/MS4.

Cheaper is always a plus. The scholarship is huge and living in the IE will be slightly more affordable than Chicago.

Exactly my thoughts, the money plays a huge role and they dean / support is fantastic which is also such a huge privilege. Thank you for some insight and thoughts.

 

[DMed2029]

UCRRRR easy! IMO ucr has a greater prestige factor than rush in California for sure!

Thank you so much for your time and thoughts!!!