I am an MD/PhD at UCSD, in my 7th (!) year here. I just returned to the wards in july.
I happen to like UCSD med alot, but I recognize that it's not for everyone. In my eyes, UCSD's strengths are its rigorous, science oriented preclinical teaching, and the awesome research opportunities that are abundantly available on campus. If you do well in the first 2 years, you WILL do well on the Step 1 boards. Back when they released campus averages, UCSD had among the highest average USMLE scores on consistent basis.
If you suspect that you may want to be a "clinical investigator" or "scientist-physician" type, UCSD should be among your top choices.
Or, if you just like a beautiful city, lots of sun, and surf, UCSD gets top marks as well.
On the other hand, if you can't handle lots of lectures, don't go to UCSD. However, I have to say that my preclinical experience is now 4-5 years out of date, and they have apparently made changes to "decompress" the curriculum, making this less of a problem.
any other q's?
-mrp