KrispyCreamDonut
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I have had the honor to have been accepted to both med schools. But now I have trouble deciding between the two. Below are my thoughts on both UCR and Rush.
Finances:
- For UCR, I got a scholarship to cover half of the tuition so that I only have to pay about 20k a year. (for Rush, I received at 15k scholarship for an 80k tuition. So if I pick rush I would be in so much debt)
Support system/environment:
- For UCR, my friends and family are nearby: It would be great because I could continue to build and nurture my relationships with my friends there. Even better, since most people who get accepted to UCR are from the area, when I do make med school friends, I know we will more likely last because even if we do end up separating because of education, we will eventually reunite because our families are here. At the same time, sometimes med school gets really tough and I probably would like to drive home and relax. (For Rush, obviously, no family or friends nearby. So I pretty much have to build my support system from scratch. But when I do make friends at med school, not sure how long it would last since we would probably separate as most of the accepted students are not from the area. But still, I can't really predict how my quality of friendships will be there.)
- For UCR, it seems that the admins/med schools are really supportive there. Heard many great stories about how supportive the med school is when students are struggling. Even from my personal experience with the admissions office and financial aid, they have been very nice and supportive. (For Rush, they just seem less supportive in a sense. Emailed the admissions office and financial aid a few times, but they took forever to get back to me. However, the ambassadors said Rush has been very supportive when they are in need of something.. so I am no sure )
- For UCR, the environment is really familiar to me. Feels like home. (But for Rush, I really look forward to the winter season if I do end up there. I grew up in Canada, where there was snow. But ever since I left Canada for America, I have not seen any snow. I miss snow. I miss my White Christmas. Brown Christmas is just sad. I just love snow )
- For UCR, the medical students' vibes seem too familiar to me. It just shouts the Inland Empire to me. (For Rush, students seem to be much more collected and calmer. I think I would like to surround myself with these people and learn to be like them).
Education/EC:
- For UCR, they have free clinics but I do not think I will make a significant impact there (For Rush, they work with a large population that speaks my mother tongue, Toishanese; I miss that language so much and I really look forward to being able to speak it one day. Actually, Rush only has 1 translator right now and she is graduating soon. So, I feel that I can make a much bigger impact at the free clinic at Rush than at UCR
- For UCR, it SEEMS that they have fewer resources (For Rush, it seems that they have more resources, and even the specialties that Rush students match into are pretty diverse).
Personal interests
- I feel that if I am going to live in a different state and experience a new life, it would have to be now. Specifically, I would like to practice back home in California in the future. This means that for residency and maybe fellowship I should probably match back in California. For this reason, Rush is the better choice. I am not too worried about not being able to match in Cali because based on Rush's match list (https://applyrmc.rush.edu/JQFileUpl...YXTLyW_NWP72IE9J7tzFan7NcPeRbxPMFfkNbKqW8FVT8), a decent number of people have matched in Cali. But, obviously going to UCR means I get a higher chance of getting into Cali schools for residency. But I think I would be ok??
- For UCR, since I would like to eventually practice in California, I know having experience with this patient population before residency would help (but at the same time, for Rush, knowing how to use different EMRs and interacting with pt with different pathology since it isn't Cali are great too. I would love to broaden my horizon. And I prefer to broaden my horizon).
*Please let me know if there are other things I should be considering but I am not)
Finances:
- For UCR, I got a scholarship to cover half of the tuition so that I only have to pay about 20k a year. (for Rush, I received at 15k scholarship for an 80k tuition. So if I pick rush I would be in so much debt)
Support system/environment:
- For UCR, my friends and family are nearby: It would be great because I could continue to build and nurture my relationships with my friends there. Even better, since most people who get accepted to UCR are from the area, when I do make med school friends, I know we will more likely last because even if we do end up separating because of education, we will eventually reunite because our families are here. At the same time, sometimes med school gets really tough and I probably would like to drive home and relax. (For Rush, obviously, no family or friends nearby. So I pretty much have to build my support system from scratch. But when I do make friends at med school, not sure how long it would last since we would probably separate as most of the accepted students are not from the area. But still, I can't really predict how my quality of friendships will be there.)
- For UCR, it seems that the admins/med schools are really supportive there. Heard many great stories about how supportive the med school is when students are struggling. Even from my personal experience with the admissions office and financial aid, they have been very nice and supportive. (For Rush, they just seem less supportive in a sense. Emailed the admissions office and financial aid a few times, but they took forever to get back to me. However, the ambassadors said Rush has been very supportive when they are in need of something.. so I am no sure )
- For UCR, the environment is really familiar to me. Feels like home. (But for Rush, I really look forward to the winter season if I do end up there. I grew up in Canada, where there was snow. But ever since I left Canada for America, I have not seen any snow. I miss snow. I miss my White Christmas. Brown Christmas is just sad. I just love snow )
- For UCR, the medical students' vibes seem too familiar to me. It just shouts the Inland Empire to me. (For Rush, students seem to be much more collected and calmer. I think I would like to surround myself with these people and learn to be like them).
Education/EC:
- For UCR, they have free clinics but I do not think I will make a significant impact there (For Rush, they work with a large population that speaks my mother tongue, Toishanese; I miss that language so much and I really look forward to being able to speak it one day. Actually, Rush only has 1 translator right now and she is graduating soon. So, I feel that I can make a much bigger impact at the free clinic at Rush than at UCR
- For UCR, it SEEMS that they have fewer resources (For Rush, it seems that they have more resources, and even the specialties that Rush students match into are pretty diverse).
Personal interests
- I feel that if I am going to live in a different state and experience a new life, it would have to be now. Specifically, I would like to practice back home in California in the future. This means that for residency and maybe fellowship I should probably match back in California. For this reason, Rush is the better choice. I am not too worried about not being able to match in Cali because based on Rush's match list (https://applyrmc.rush.edu/JQFileUpl...YXTLyW_NWP72IE9J7tzFan7NcPeRbxPMFfkNbKqW8FVT8), a decent number of people have matched in Cali. But, obviously going to UCR means I get a higher chance of getting into Cali schools for residency. But I think I would be ok??
- For UCR, since I would like to eventually practice in California, I know having experience with this patient population before residency would help (but at the same time, for Rush, knowing how to use different EMRs and interacting with pt with different pathology since it isn't Cali are great too. I would love to broaden my horizon. And I prefer to broaden my horizon).
*Please let me know if there are other things I should be considering but I am not)
