UCSD Advice

[riley]

Hello,

Are there any UCSD Students out there, I was just wondering what your experiences have been thus far. Are you enjoying the school academically and otherwise...
My bf was accepted to UCSD and is dreading starting school there. At the interview a few students took him aside and told him, if he got into ANY other school he should go there instead.

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[Cambrian]

I can't believe students there would do that because when I was there for the interview and revisit weekend, all students seemed very happy about their decision to go there.

What did the medical students exactly say to your boyfriend? The advice "go to any other medical school except UCSD" seems kind of harsh and difficult to believe.

 

[riley]

Believe it...
I am sure you had a positive experience interviewing, I do not doubt that,
but his interviews were intense, he was asked by both of his interviewers if as a minority student he would feel comfortable studying in an environment that was not diverse. A considerable amount of time during his interview was spent discussing race and his thoughts on race..
He was told by other minority students "If you get in anywhere else, go there instead."

 

[none]

Well, it definitely doesn't have a diverse overall student body. I don't know about the medical school.

 

[BlackPuma]

I think everything everybody hears is through word of mouth....I personally can't speak of people who I know directly going there, and who are happy....

but then again, how would i know if the same pple went to another school, that they wouldn't complain about that school either?

my point is, people who complain about school's curriculum, atmosphere and difficulty, could have made those complaints no matter which school they went to..

however, having said that...I've heard that among the UCs, UCSD has by far the hardest curriculum, but in terms of intensity, as well as difficulty and competition...

now in the long run, people do extremely well for their board exams...but their life is literally sucked dry out of them...

ok how about real life examples? for example at UCI, most professors give "old USMLE shelf exams" so at the same time you are preparing for the test, you are also indirectly preparing for the boards...

however, I remember my friend at UCSD, made these suggestions to the faculty, and they DID not at all responded well...in fact, UCSD still remains very traditional in the sense that they force feed you material that might not even be on the boards...on the basis that all these info are IMPORTANT and that you have to know it regardless on whether it is or not on the board exam!!!

that is all great, but knowing medical school...and how much competitive it is, and how much you have to cram...it's hard KNOWING EVERYTHING!!! and that is one of the biggest complaints my friend had about the school...

other complaints....

things that happened rarely:

1) classes rarely on saturdays
2) compared to UCLA, and UCSD (which is supposedly pass/no pass) UCSD, UCI (ucdavis i dont know) are honors/pass, no pass
3) for some reason, the student body that is present in UCSD's class seems more cutthroad and competitive than UCI or UCLA's for example....I don't know why, maybe they rely more on numbers for admittance?

either way, these are some of the complaints pple have!

 

[Vader]

Well that's a bad sign if people in the class are telling him that. On the other hand, it could be the perspective shared by a few jaded individuals and not representative of the entire school. The only way to find out would be to talk with other students to see what they think.

I have some good friends who go to UCSD and they say it IS intense and they learn a lot of information that is probably not that clinically relevant. Grades make it a more competitive atmosphere than pass/fail schools. However, UCSD does prepare its students well for the boards and one surely will get a good medical school education there.

 

[none]

I was an undergrad there and UCSD is just in an odd position all around. It has an amazing biology program, absolutely amazing. It certainly rivals UCSF and UCLA easily and yet...it's not considered on par with either by most people. It doesn't have much of the other stuff that UCLA offers and it doesn't have the age of UCSF. I think the school has a major inferiority complex and it comes out in the classroom.

 

[Cambrian]

Riley, you described a "minority student" issue, which does not necessarily reflect the curriculum and the school itself. There are many good schools that do not have diversity and also many bad ones that don't. The point is, you cannot judge a school solely on diversity issues. It seems that the student your boyfriend talked to was fretting about diversity in the school. You even said that the interview was primarily focused on race. I didn't exactly keep count of the under-represented minority students while I was at the revisit weekend but I could see that our class has a good mixture of Mexican Americans, African Americans, and other minorities. I don't know how the final composition will look like once class starts though. If your boyfriend thinks racial diversity is the foremost vital part of a medical student's education, by all means, he should go to another school that has such characteristic.

I wish him well.

 

[username]

ucsd is a good school. your bf is lucky to go there. san diego is fun, exciting, and much cleaner than la. diversity? ucsd may not sport the most diverse class (more diverse than most schools though), but it provides opportunities to learn in one of the most diverse cities in the us (aside from nyc and la in my opinion)

 

[lilycat]

Riley, I'm not a minority student but I had the exact same experience as your bf when I interviewed there two years ago, and most of the people in my interview group had similar experiences. I realize there are always some disenfranchised students at any school, but having run into a good number that specifically made it a point to say "Don't go here," really concerned me. I still haven't figured it out. I think your bf should expect it to be intense, and should plan on ways to help him balance his life a little or to relax and get away from the med school atmosphere when necessary.

 

[matthew0126]

A couple of months from now, after Cambrian and I get a good feel for the school, we'll let you guys know and settle the record straight on SDN. There are too many rumors floating around the internet about UCSD -- who knows which ones are true? cya soon, cambrian!

p.s. -- I've only personally met students that are really happy at UCSD. But then again, the counterargument is that only the happy ones would take the time to meet incoming MS1's. we'll see, I guess

 

[matthew0126]

Originally posted by matthew0126
A couple of months from now, after Cambrian and I get a good feel for the school, we'll let you guys know and settle the record straight on SDN. There are too many rumors floating around the internet about UCSD -- who knows which ones are true? cya soon, cambrian!

p.s. -- I've only personally met students that are really happy at UCSD. But then again, the counterargument is that only the happy ones would take the time to meet incoming MS1's. we'll see, I guess

p.p.s. -- Is the color of every1's skin really that important? I think racial diversity is really overrated. Much more important in my opinion is the diversity of thought, beliefs, values, etc. A portugese farmer and a portugese banker might have completely different states of mind, but yet have the same skin color. I went to an undergrad (berkeley) that had an incredible amount of racial diversity. Yet, quite a big majority of the students there all thought alike, so it wasn't all that, really. I'm sure UCSD has picked students with different backgrounds and experiences, regardless of their skin color

 

[Cambrian]

Hey Matthew, I hope you're settling down ok in La Jolla. Move-in date is only one week away for me. I'm kind of excited and nervous at the same time.

As for the issue of the UCSD vibe. I think this year is going to be a great one. I have at least 4 friends from my undergrad school, UCI. Our incoming classmates are going to be a nice and humble bunch. I know a guy who turned down UCSF to attend UCSD this year. I hope I will see him this fall. I think the only place that will turn him away from UCSD is UCLA. Remind you of someone?

Anyway, I'm just excited that I get to dorm with my friend from college, who is also my classmate for medical school. I am also excited that single graduate apartments have cable and T1 ethernet connection in every room. Woohoo!!!!! Super broadband here I come!!

 

[Dodge This]

Originally posted by none
I was an undergrad there and UCSD is just in an odd position all around. It has an amazing biology program, absolutely amazing. It certainly rivals UCSF and UCLA easily and yet...it's not considered on par with either by most people. It doesn't have much of the other stuff that UCLA offers and it doesn't have the age of UCSF. I think the school has a major inferiority complex and it comes out in the classroom.

From another UCSD graduate, this hits it exactly. (I would go as far as say that UCSD's biology program surpasses UCLA.)

 

[yodi]

Hello folks,

I've been accepted into UCSD. I'm attracted to the diversity of SD and the location of the med school. I've also heard the infamous rumors of unhappiness from current students. Could anyone elaborate on why they ARE or AREN't happy there, especially the MSII's and up?

Thanks,

-Sam

 

[Cambrian]

Originally posted by yodi
Hello folks,

I've been accepted into UCSD. I'm attracted to the diversity of SD and the location of the med school. I've also heard the infamous rumors of unhappiness from current students. Could anyone elaborate on why they ARE or AREN't happy there, especially the MSII's and up?

Thanks,

-Sam

Sam,

I am a first-year medical student at UCSD and I can give you a sincere opinion. You have undoubtedly heard of the cut-throat, competitive student body and the grueling curriculum. I have no way of proving or disproving this myth because I have no reference to compare UCSD with. But I can tell you this, ask any medical student and they'll tell you that medical school is not easy. It is going to be challenging, competitive, and etc. This is expected of most medical schools since the purpose of medical school admissions is to select very bright and motivated people. Overall, my experience here at UCSD for over the past few months has been an enjoyable and meaningful one. Made many new friends and learned many things. But sometimes the curriculum can be a pain because for the past few weeks of winter quarter, we don't get out of class until 5pm; and it started at 8am, too. Winter is hell, what can I tell you. But after this quarter it should be ok (crossing my fingers). My classmates are very studious and competitive (even though they don't show it). But they are also a bunch of nice folks who are willing to help and plan fabulous parties and events. The locale of the school is just speechless. The beach is only a 10-minute walk (depending on where on campus you live). For me, I was drawn to UCSD because of the caliber of its faculty and researchers. The professors are really nice and go out of there way to help you learn and do research with them. The prestige and research background that the faculty members have are just amazing. Also, I am only a first-year and a professor has already allowed me to scrub in and watch surgery. If there are no 3rd-year students around, I might be able to do more. I hope you'll make your decision about UCSD wisely and don't let the "urban legend" be a factor in your decision.

 

[tBw]

bump - I'de be interested in any further viewpoints or updates on the question of how people feel about UCSD, its curriculum, the students, etc.

 

[Bounty]

bump - me too