UCSF vs Cornell

[Intheworks]

Cornell
Pros:
- NYC, always loved the city
- closer to family in the midwest
- less TBL and mostly lecture-based learning
- Want to ultimately match on the east coast, so may (not sure) facilitate doing so compared to UCSF if geographical bias is a factor
- Considering doing an MD/MBA
- More lay prestige, ivy name

Cons:
- H/HP/P/F Clinical years + AOA so may be more competitive
- less "prestige" within medical community, might not open as many doors
- Had some people not match in my intended specialty this year; with STEP 1 P/F this difference might be more pronounced relative to UCSF (not sure)
- students seemed more stressed, maybe due to weekly quizzes or other factors


UCSF
Pros:
- P/F core rotations and no AOA, so may be less competitive
- more spaced out testing in pre-clinical
- Highly prestigious in medical community, might open more doors in residency matching and beyond
- 100% match rate in my intended specialty in past years, and students usually get within top 3 choices (PD ranking #1 relative to #23 for Cornell)
- Students seemed very happy/less stressed and seemed like more supportive environment

Cons:
- Went to CA public school for undergrad, did not enjoy my experience at all.
- Ultimately want to match and practice on the east coast, yet match list reflects that vast majority match in California especially in (competitive) intended specialty; worried about geographical bias in interviews.
- A lot of TBL and extraneous components like Quality improvement project and others that I am not very interested in and that may eat up time from research I hope to engage in


Thank you so much for your help!!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Davidfromcali]

Based off your cons of UCSF, I’d pick Cornell.
Also, some people at UCSF don’t match for whatever reasons. It can happen. That 100% percent match rate for whatever specialty you’re interested in can change very quickly

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

That's so funny because based on my reading of your pros and cons, I'd think UCSF is more reasonable. I discounted the comment on lay prestige for Cornell because it's irrelevant here UCSF is a bigger name in medicine and you shouldn't worry about what random strangers think.

I didn't see that you disliked SF, in terms of amenities it's pretty similar to NYC. Matching to the East Coast should not be an issue for UCSF, people just like to stay in CA. Being close to family is important, but there's little difference from a 2 hour flight and a 4 hour flight.

The big thing that sticks out to me is how stress free UCSF is. People are straight up chilling.

 

[proudofmykids]

Speak to students at each school to help decide and read their tea leaves.
Do you know for a fact that Cornell students tried to match in your specific specialty but didn’t match, or is it possible that nobody tried to match in it. Send a letter to the Dean and specifically ask this question to get your answer.

 

[Vikingbear16]

I vote UCSF! I have only heard good things from people who go there and they all are the most chill people I know.

Ultimately want to match and practice on the east coast, yet match list reflects that vast majority match in California especially in (competitive) intended specialty; worried about geographical bias in interviews.

I think UCSF is known for welcoming people to stay in the system for residency (and most students are in-state anyways) so that probably really contributes to the match list. I have no doubt you can match back to the East Coast.

 

[Banco]

You can match anywhere from both schools.

More tangibly, you'll have a definite advantage for home residencies at Cornell specifically if that's where you want to stay - but that's hard for you to know at this stage.