- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Messages
- 103
- Reaction score
- 104
*Edited 4/20 with final decision: Thank you all so much for your responses and thoughts! I really appreciate it and after a ton of thought, I think I'm going to bite the financial bullet and go UCSD. Overall, I got a wonderful vibe/fit at UCSD's Second Look that was consistent with my interview day. Plus, UCSD checks ALL of my boxes (and more!), except for money. At this point and having weighed my options, I think that, even with the higher upfront cost, what UCSD offers is more than enough for me and that I can look back in 5-10 years without regret about this decision. Again, thanks so much and best of luck to all of you! 🙂
--
Hey all! I'm really grateful to have had a successful (re-)application cycle and I've narrowed my choices down to three schools, UCSD, Wayne State, and Minnesota. I'm leaning towards UCSD but because of Wayne's and Minnesota's full-tuition offers, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've listed the key pros/cons below.
Career goals: most likely a surgical specialty (based on shadowing and research experiences) with global health emphasis; perhaps academic medicine. Unsure where I'd like to settle for residency geographically; California is quite tempting, although parents/family is in upper Midwest.
UCSD
I attended second look for both UCSD and Wayne. I could not attend Minnesota's since it was the same day as Wayne's, so I'd appreciate any input from current Minnesota students.
Comments/advice are greatly appreciated; please share rationale when possible. Thanks so much for your time! 🙂
--
*Edited 4/19 to add in Minnesota full-tuition + non-resident waiver offer
--
Hey all! I'm really grateful to have had a successful (re-)application cycle and I've narrowed my choices down to three schools, UCSD, Wayne State, and Minnesota. I'm leaning towards UCSD but because of Wayne's and Minnesota's full-tuition offers, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've listed the key pros/cons below.
Career goals: most likely a surgical specialty (based on shadowing and research experiences) with global health emphasis; perhaps academic medicine. Unsure where I'd like to settle for residency geographically; California is quite tempting, although parents/family is in upper Midwest.
UCSD
Pros
+ Early and sustained clinical exposure in pre-clinical years
+ 7-week pre-matriculation program (important for me since I really want that extra transition time)
+ Quite varied patient population, especially with Naval Center, immigrant populations, Native American reservations, etc.
+ Formal global health track and multiple global health opportunities (update, 4/19: accepted into Global Health Academic Concentration!)
+ From speaking with current students, there seems to be a very solid support network from faculty and staff (ie, mentorship, advising)
+ Premier free clinic program
+ Academic houses and Big Sibs program
+ Smaller class size than Wayne
+ Opportunities to utilize Spanish and other foreign languages
+ Higher average Step 1 and 2 scores than Wayne
+ Greater prestige for residency directors (unsure on this one, please advise)
+ Match list had more surgical specialties represented
Cons
– CoA over 4 years ~$250k (OOS, all loans, based on financial aid estimate)
– Tied in with above: high cost of living
– Far from family (all in the Midwest)
– Have to uproot; logistical considerations for moving 2/3 across country
– However unlikely, as I detest the cold, maybe I'll miss the snow/four seasons?
Wayne State+ Early and sustained clinical exposure in pre-clinical years
+ 7-week pre-matriculation program (important for me since I really want that extra transition time)
+ Quite varied patient population, especially with Naval Center, immigrant populations, Native American reservations, etc.
+ Formal global health track and multiple global health opportunities (update, 4/19: accepted into Global Health Academic Concentration!)
+ From speaking with current students, there seems to be a very solid support network from faculty and staff (ie, mentorship, advising)
+ Premier free clinic program
+ Academic houses and Big Sibs program
+ Smaller class size than Wayne
+ Opportunities to utilize Spanish and other foreign languages
+ Higher average Step 1 and 2 scores than Wayne
+ Greater prestige for residency directors (unsure on this one, please advise)
+ Match list had more surgical specialties represented
Cons
– CoA over 4 years ~$250k (OOS, all loans, based on financial aid estimate)
– Tied in with above: high cost of living
– Far from family (all in the Midwest)
– Have to uproot; logistical considerations for moving 2/3 across country
– However unlikely, as I detest the cold, maybe I'll miss the snow/four seasons?
Pros
+ CoA over 4 years ~$90k (IS, full-tuition scholarship, so only have to worry about housing/food/transportation)
+ Focus on urban health
+ Varied patient population (perhaps not as much as UCSD but still, quite diverse)
+ Perhaps much more experience available during rotations (based on posts like these)
+ Students seemed happy and relaxed during interview day
+ Solid student orgs; many opportunities to connect with and learn from the community
+ Won't have to move far
+ Close to parents/family
Cons
– No pre-matriculation program
– Large class. Some current students were fine with it; I'm worried about feeling disconnected from my classmates
– Wasn't clear on how much direct clinical exposure available in M1/M2
– Match list had fewer surgical subspecialties and most seemed to place in Michigan or Midwest
– Have not found a formal global health track
– Not as much of a chance to use Spanish
– Academic houses will be started this year so not as well-established as UCSD's
Minnesota+ CoA over 4 years ~$90k (IS, full-tuition scholarship, so only have to worry about housing/food/transportation)
+ Focus on urban health
+ Varied patient population (perhaps not as much as UCSD but still, quite diverse)
+ Perhaps much more experience available during rotations (based on posts like these)
+ Students seemed happy and relaxed during interview day
+ Solid student orgs; many opportunities to connect with and learn from the community
+ Won't have to move far
+ Close to parents/family
Cons
– No pre-matriculation program
– Large class. Some current students were fine with it; I'm worried about feeling disconnected from my classmates
– Wasn't clear on how much direct clinical exposure available in M1/M2
– Match list had fewer surgical subspecialties and most seemed to place in Michigan or Midwest
– Have not found a formal global health track
– Not as much of a chance to use Spanish
– Academic houses will be started this year so not as well-established as UCSD's
Pros
+ CoA over 4 years ~$100k (OOS, full-tuition scholarship + non-resident tuition waiver, so only have to worry about housing/food/transportation)
+ Option to focus on rural health and/or underserved
+ Varied patient population (perhaps not as much as UCSD but still, quite diverse)
+ Solid student orgs; many opportunities to connect with and learn from the community
+ Strong global health program (at least on paper)
+ FlexMD option!
+ Won't have to move far
+ Closer to parents/family than San Diego
Cons
– No pre-matriculation program; one-week course with study skills
– Large class size
– Loooong day, with classes sometimes all day (8am-5pm, even with breaks)
– It's cold. It's so cold, for so long, lol and I thrive in warmer climates...
– Medical school and larger university seem to be having some worries, exemplified by rankings that "tumbled"; not sure what that could entail for students
Summary: So, I really love what UCSD has to offer but I'm not sure if I'm overlooking the cost of attendance or other aspects, especially when compared with Wayne's or Minnesota's full tuition offer. Minnesota was really off my radar until I received the scholarship--very grateful for the opportunity.+ CoA over 4 years ~$100k (OOS, full-tuition scholarship + non-resident tuition waiver, so only have to worry about housing/food/transportation)
+ Option to focus on rural health and/or underserved
+ Varied patient population (perhaps not as much as UCSD but still, quite diverse)
+ Solid student orgs; many opportunities to connect with and learn from the community
+ Strong global health program (at least on paper)
+ FlexMD option!
+ Won't have to move far
+ Closer to parents/family than San Diego
Cons
– No pre-matriculation program; one-week course with study skills
– Large class size
– Loooong day, with classes sometimes all day (8am-5pm, even with breaks)
– It's cold. It's so cold, for so long, lol and I thrive in warmer climates...
– Medical school and larger university seem to be having some worries, exemplified by rankings that "tumbled"; not sure what that could entail for students
I attended second look for both UCSD and Wayne. I could not attend Minnesota's since it was the same day as Wayne's, so I'd appreciate any input from current Minnesota students.
Comments/advice are greatly appreciated; please share rationale when possible. Thanks so much for your time! 🙂
--
*Edited 4/19 to add in Minnesota full-tuition + non-resident waiver offer
Last edited: