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- Jan 4, 2013
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Damn. Feeling lucky to have to make this tough choice. I've narrowed it down to 2 though!
UCSF/Berkeley Joint Medical Program (JMP)
Pros:
Pros:
Summary: JMP has been my dream program forever. It's all I want to do. Am I crazy to turn down $160k?
UCSF/Berkeley Joint Medical Program (JMP)
Pros:
- Super unique program I'm *so* excited about. 16 students / year embedded in the Berkeley School of Public Health for 2.5 years, all problem-based learning (no lectures!), a Masters in health sciences (usually with a public health focus, but very open-ended) before joining UCSF for 2/3rds of their Bridges curriculum.
- Close to home. I live in San Francisco, love it here, want to do residency here, want to live here and practice medicine here until I die. I have a rent-controlled apartment with dear friends and I'm loath to leave. S.O. doesn't want me to leave. My yoga studio, my zen center, my chosen family are all here and the thought of abandoning my 14 year (I'm non-trad) Bay Area roots feels devastating
- UCSF grads tend to find residency spots in the Bay; it's nicknamed UCSF: U Can Stay Forever
- UCSF is top-notch. Rankings aren't everything, but UCSF is the only school in the top 5 rankings for both research and primary care. I don't know what I want to do but I know UCSF would be able to help me get there.
- I'm queer af and UCSF is in SF and is a leader in progressive LGBTQ+ curriculum and care delivery
- $350k / total, likely all in loans
- 5 years instead of 4
Pros:
- 1 year pre-clinical pretty cool
- $160k merit scholarship, bringing total loans to ~$175k
- Excellent program in most of the ways UCSF is excellent
- Not in San Francisco
- Not as easy to come back to SF for residency
- Though in liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan Medicine is still miles more conservative than UCSF. I have heard anecdotal accounts of frustrated queer students
Summary: JMP has been my dream program forever. It's all I want to do. Am I crazy to turn down $160k?
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